Amazon.com Inc. is once again upping the ante against its traditional brick-and-mortar rivals.

The company today made its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service free in more than 2,000 cities throughout the U.S, removing the $15 monthly subscription required before.

But consumers will still have to sign up for the online retailer’s Prime membership program to use it. Prime costs $13 a month or $119 a year and also provides access to other services including Amazon’s video streaming platform.

Prime already has more than 100 million members worldwide, a number that the addition of free grocery delivery could help increase. Amazon Fresh allows users to order “tens of thousands” of everyday items from the online retailer and its Whole Foods supermarket chain. Consumers can choose between one- or two-hour delivery in most cities, as well as browse their nearest Whole Foods’ product selection via a new online catalog launched in conjunction with today’s update.

“Grocery delivery is one of the fastest growing businesses at Amazon, and we think this will be one of the most-loved Prime benefits,” Stephenie Landry, vice president of Amazon’s grocery delivery group, said in a statement. The company doesn’t break out sales figures for the business but a 2018 report estimated it accounted for 30% of all online grocery spending in the U.S.

Amazon’s new free shipping option will put price pressure on retailers such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. that currently offer paid delivery services to their customers. It may also complicate the expansion plans of Uber Technologies Inc., which recently entered the grocery delivery market with the acquisition of Chile’s Cornershop. It may become harder for Uber to create a sustainable revenue stream in this segment if major retailers decide to follow Amazon and make their delivery services free or heavily discounted.

As Amazon continues to expand its logistics network, the pressure will only grow on competitors. The company spent a massive $9.6 billion on shipping last quarter and plans to cut delivery times for Prime members from two days to one, a move that RBC Capital Markets LLC estimates could add as much as 15% to its revenues.

In parallel, Amazon is working to add more physical retail locations. The company has opened more than a dozen cashierless grocery stores in recent years and is reportedly leasing real estate for a new supermarket chain that will operate separately from Whole Foods.

Photo: Amazon