Amazon offers great deals through 'Amazon Pantry'

Online shopping has not been limited to non-perishable goods, clothes and beauty products. The continuously growing online demand for perishable products has raised the competition level among many shopping retailers, who are struggling to maintain their position by offering affordable packages.

According to Wired, Amazon has launched Pantry, a grocery delivery service for the UK with more than 4,000 items available to order. Previously, Amazon has been offering one-hour delivery in London since earlier this year, but now it has expanded its grocery delivery roots, approachable to everyone in the country.

The move, which was announced on Friday, is the e-commerce giant's most determined incursion into Britain's growing online grocery market but stops short of replicating its broader U.S. Amazon Fresh service, which offers about 20,000 chilled, frozen and perishable products and items from local shops, as mentioned by Reuters. Only Amazon Prime members, who pay an annual fee of 79 pounds ($120), can get themselves facilitated by the new incredible yet affordable "Amazon Pantry" service. The subscribers are given the choice of more than 4,000 "everyday essentials, in everyday sizes", including major brands of food and drink, household supplies, baby, child and pet care, health, and beauty.

"Amazon Pantry has been designed to take the heavy lifting out of replenishing the often bulky basics and store cupboard essentials that people need every day," Amazon Pantry manager at Amazon UK, Helene Parthenay, said.

As reported by The Guardian, the latest drive into groceries provides another challenge to British supermarkets, which are already struggling to cope with the rise of online shopping and contending discounters Aldi and Lidl. Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, and Waitrose are also providing online grocery services, which is giving Amazon more competition than it might have in its home market. But the traditional supermarkets have struggled to make a profit from home deliveries.

However, Saunders said: "Many shoppers do not like buying the type of products Pantry sells from stores as they are bulky and hard to transport. For them, Pantry may well be a good solution, especially if they are already Prime members."

As mentioned in Reuters, regarding the rumors of introducing Amazon Fresh in the UK, a spokesman said, "We've never made any announcements about Amazon Fresh in the UK and nor would I wish to comment on rumor and speculation,"

Shoppers wanting to order and get their groceries delivered need to sign up to Prime. It is the company's premium postage and streaming service and the giant retailer's bid to convert its many users to its paid-for subscription.