Amazon's online grocery store

Amazon.com (US) has announced an innovative feature called Subscribe & Save offering customers automatic delivery of grocery products with discounts of 15% and free shipping on the everyday low prices found on thousands of items in its Grocery store.

Customers choose when they would like shipments delivered (in one-month, two-month, three-month, and six-month intervals) and receive a guaranteed discount and free shipping for the length of the subscription.

Amazon.com's grocery store carries over 22,000 non-perishable items from major brands, as well as a selection of natural and organic products. The Subscribe & Save programme includes automatic e-mail reminders allowing customers to make changes as needed or cancel at any time. Plus, customers are charged only when each order is shipped. The program requires no minimum purchase amount and no time commitment.

"We enable customers to set up automatic reorders of their favorite products delivered to their door at discounted prices," said Maria Renz, VP of consumables, Amazon.com. "And with free shipping, the cost and convenience of Subscribe & Save is a winning combination."

The Amazon grocery store (www.amazon.com/grocery) was one of only two US companies honored for its "strong launch into online grocery retail" by international food and grocery research firm IGD.