Amazon Preps Fresh Grocery Delivery Launch in U.K.

Amazon’s grocery delivery service is still only available in a few markets in the U.S., but the e-commerce company is already planning to launch the service outside of the country.

Multiple sources tell Re/code that Amazon is prepping to launch the Amazon Fresh service in the U.K. this year, where it will encounter a competitive grocery delivery market that is more mature than that in the U.S. IGD estimates that online sales make up 5 percent of grocery sales in the U.K., where ordering online and picking up in a store is also becoming increasingly popular. Most estimates show that online grocery sales in the U.S. currently account for less than 1 percent of the market here.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.

Amazon Fresh is currently available in metro areas in and around Northern and Southern California, Seattle, New York, Philadelphia and parts of northern New Jersey. The service delivers a selection of fresh, frozen and prepared foods to customers, either the same day the order is placed or the day after. Amazon is also using the service to test out its own last-mile delivery network in these areas for both grocery and some non-grocery items.

The plans for a U.K. launch were first reported by the Times of London.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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