Amazon's scheme for additional than 1,000 same-day fulfillment centers is basically an attempt to near Walmart's long-held proximity advantage, Bank of America analysts wrote in a investigation note.
Business Insider reported this week that Amazon is considering an inner project called Mercury, which would develop its same-day fulfillment network from approximately 85 accommodation today to additional than 1,000 by 2031. The goal is to location inventory inside 10 miles of concerning 80% of Prime members in the US, according to inner preparedness documents reviewed by Business Insider.
BofA expert Justin Post stated Project Mercury's scheme is small concerning expanding choice than making a smaller set of high-demand products additional immediately accessible. Amazon's capability to vie alongside same-day shipment is "very crucial strategically," he wrote.
"We see Project Mercury as another part of Amazon's broader attempt to build a denser, faster, and increasingly automated countrywide fulfillment network," Post wrote in the note.
The financial institution called the project's estimated $6.8 milliard funding "manageable" for Amazon. Internal projections reviewed by Business Insider forecast that Mercury would rotate cash-flow affirmative by 2030 and create $7.1 milliard in financial value complete 10 years.
Walmart has a important caput start. Its approximately 5,000 stores put accelerated shipment inside 10 miles of 90% of the US population. The retailer has increasingly used those stores as local fulfillment centers, assisting it provision 70% of e-commerce orders the identical day.
Amazon's same-day sites transport a narrower assortment — approximately 90,000 fast-moving products specified as document towels, cough medicine, and caller food — fairly than the broad choice of a accepted fulfillment center. The scheme is to move those mundane purchases nearer to customers without trying to replicate Amazon's complete catalog in all market.
The Bank of America note added that Amazon's investments in faster shipment and automation could bolster its retailing gain margins for years. It cited an before Business Insider study on Project Tetromino, Amazon's automated delivery-station initiative.
"The blend of greater network density, faster delivery, and continued automation can enhance client cognition during extending the Retail border betterment sequence for multiple years," the note said.
Have a tip? Contact this newsman via email at [email protected] or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a individual email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing data securely.
Read next
Eugene is Business Insider’s Chief Tech Correspondent, anywhere he leads safety of Amazon. His reporting spans the company’s retailing and logistics operations to AWS, Alexa, and its inner culture.Previously, he worked at CNBC, Fortune Magazine Korea, and Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun. He holds degrees from NYU and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.In 2022, Eugene reported on inner documents indicating that Amazon allegedly used deceptive strategies to enroll customers in Prime and made cancellation difficult. The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon the following year, citing his reporting. The case ended in a document $2.5 milliard colony in 2025.His activity has received multiple honors, including the SF Press Club’s Bay Area Journalism Award and SPJ NorCal’s Excellence in Journalism Award.Eugene lives in the Bay Area. Contact him via email at [email protected], or Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 650-942-3061. Use a individual email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing data securely.
