Amazon.com Inc. has been working hard over the last few years to put products into the hands of customers as fast as possible, but apparently same-day delivery still isn’t fast enough for some people.

Today, Amazon announced the launch of a new order option called Instant Pickup, which allows Prime and Prime Student members to order from what it calls a curated selection of daily essentials and have them ready for pickup at a nearby Amazon-staffed pickup center in two minutes or less.

Although any Prime members in participating areas will be able to order from Instant Pickup, the new program seems to be focused primarily on college students. Many of the quick-grab items that will be available are the sort of items that might be found at a campus bookstore or student union, including food, drinks, personal care items and “technology essentials,” which of course includes Amazon products such as the Echo and Fire TV devices.

Instant Pickup will be available in only a few major cities and college towns at first, including Los Angeles; Atlanta; Berkeley, California; Columbus, Ohio; and College Park, Maryland. The company said it plans to expand the program in the near future, and Amazon noted in a statement that it currently operates 22 fully staffed pickup centers on or near college campuses across the country.

“Instant Pickup is another way Amazon is making life more convenient for Prime members,” said Ripley MacDonald, director of student programs at Amazon. “As shopping behaviors continue to evolve, customers consistently tell us that they want items even faster. Whether it’s a snack on-the-go, replacing a lost phone charger in the middle of a hectic day or adding Alexa to your life with an Echo, Instant Pickup saves Prime members time. While Instant Pickup is available at select pickup locations today, we’re excited about bringing this experience to more customers soon.”

According to Amazon, customers can add Instant Pickup items to existing orders as a last-minute addition and then pick them both up together. The company also said that, as with all Prime orders, returns on Instant Pickup items are free.

“Instant Pickup reinforces what Amazon has always reinforced with their services — buy anything, anywhere and get it quickly,” said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “In a way, Amazon is trying to replace the convenience store.”

Amazon’s not alone in picking up the pace of delivery in e-commerce, though other retailers are not quite so instant just yet. Target Corp. today announced it’s expanding its next-day essentials delivery service to Denver and Dallas.

Photo: Amazon.com