Food delivery websites like Seamless, Grubhub, and Delivery.com just got a big competitor to Amazon. As of last week, the Seattle-based company, without any prior announcement, launched an online takeout and delivery service through local Amazon services. The service only operates in the company's hometown of Seattle for now, but the company certainly has much bigger ambitions than just serving a city of 650,000 people when it comes to food delivery.
The new service is live on the local website, as well as on the corresponding apps for Android and iOS. Users who have used a service like Seamless will be familiar with the offerings here as well: once a user submits their address, they can read a list of restaurants that deliver or offer takeout. They can browse the menu, choose what they want on their pizza, for example, and then pay with the credit card they have saved to their account on the site.
Amazon Local started out as a Groupon-like, but it has grown into a deals website. In addition to food delivery, the company has a new grocery shopping service, and there are rumors that it is working on a new project that aims to connect users with local businesses, such as plumbers and babysitters. The company has not yet officially announced the new food delivery service.
