Early verdict: Temper your expectations for Amazon's new service in Singapore

SINGAPORE — After months of hype and speculation, Amazon finally launched its services in Singapore on Thursday (July 27).

I downloaded the new Amazon Prime Now app, wrote down my shopping list and was ready to place my orders.  

But my excitement was quickly doused during check-out — when I found out that my postal code was not available for one-hour delivery, and that my orders could only arrive in 24 hours.

The online retail giant's Amazon Prime Now service promises “ultra-fast deliveries” in two hours for thousands of items with a minimum spending of S$40, or at a S$5.99 fee for orders below S$40.

One-hour delivery is also available “in most postal codes serviced by Amazon Prime Now” with an additional fee of S$9.99, according to Amazon’s Singapore website. It also states that deliveries are available from “10am to 10pm, seven days a week”.

Like other online grocery retailers, Amazon lets users pick a delivery window.

The browsing experience on the Amazon Prime Now app was relatively fuss-free. It showcases an extensive array of items across 36 categories, from groceries, alcohol, to household essentials and electronic devices.

To cater to the Singaporean audience, it has also curated “local favourites”, which includes homegrown and regional brands such as Ayam Brand, Prima Taste and Tiger.

Then came the reality check.

To my dismay, I was told at check-out that the one-hour delivery service “is not available for this postcode” — referring to my house at Kembangan in the east.

The other two-hour delivery time slots for the rest of Thursday were also marked “unavailable” — due to orders from large numbers of eager Singaporean shoppers, perhaps? I was advised that the earliest time my orders could arrive was at the same time the next day, on Friday.

Results were unchanged even after adjusting the address closer to my workplace in one-north, thinking that it could be closer to the Amazon’s warehouse at Toh Guan Road.

Bummer.

I also noticed that other Amazon Prime services including video streaming or ordering through hands-free speaker Amazon Echo, are not yet included here. Books, too, were unavailable for order via the app.

Amazon Prime is a service available to Amazon customers who pay an annual membership fee. But the e-commerce giant is making the Prime Now service available to regular Amazon users in Singapore for a limited period of time while working to launch the membership service here soon.

Looks like I’ll be making that trip to the mall this weekend afterall.