Amazon’s Prime Now service has now begun operations in Greater Manchester and surrounding areas. These include Wigan, Warrington, Oldham and Stockport. Amazon Prime Now began operations in the UK in London and Birmingham on June 30.

Customers can choose within one hour for £6.99 or have their goods delivered within a set two hour time slot between 0800 – midnight for free.

Managing Director at Amazon.co.uk Christopher North said, “We’re thrilled to expand our one-hour delivery service to Manchester, our latest Prime Now city.”

“Prime Now has proved immensely popular in the cities that already have the service and we think that customers in Manchester and the surrounding areas will love it. We expect to see many last minute Christmas gifts ordered through Prime Now between now and the late hours of Christmas Eve.”

Deliveries for the Prime Now service in Manchester will be made from the Amazon Logistics’ delivery station in Wardley.

Amazon’s march into the UK e-commerce environment is of interest and potential concern to other e-commerce companies throughout the UK. It is changing in shape and nature too, with a generalised turn towards being a logistics hub and distributor for smaller marketplace customers. As it cuts back on items that it physically sells in favour of marketplace sellers selling their wares through its warehousing and distribution network, so the company is opening up new opportunities for small scale companies but is the elephant in the room for medium to large sized companies. One rival company to jump in reaction to Prime Now was Argos which invested millions in its Fast Track delivery service and caused jitters among its investors as it issued a profits warning as a result. If other companies fall and fail as a result of the online retail giant’s domination of e-commerce in the UK, that will be largely because they have been caught unawares of its recent moves.