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Even if you still have a range of brick and mortar stores you frequent, there is also a more than decent chance than you are a regular Amazon buyer. The online retailer is positively massive, publishing $ 638 billion in sales In 2024, which showed an increase of 11% compared to the previous year, according to a press release from the company. Undeniably, a large part of the draw is the convenience it offers by allowing you to collect practically everything you may need with a few taps or clicks and have it brought directly to your door. But now Amazon has announced that it made a series of changes to its online orders that could affect your shopping experience.

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1. Free delivery with premium is limited to an address.

If you have signed up for a main account to take advantage of free delivery , you may want to take note. Amazon announced that it interrupted its Prime invitation program, which allows members to share the advantage with friends or family at different addresses on October 1, reports CNBC. The company says that it will argue all the accounts concerned by September 5, upcoming changes.

The updated policy means that anyone living in another household will have to register for their own main account to avoid paying additional shipping costs on their orders. Instead, the company transmits the offer to the Amazon family, which will allow another adult, four children and four adolescents to the same address to access the advantage. The company says that it defines a main residence Like "the address you consider your home and where you spend most of your time".

2. There is a whole new way of looking for products.

It is generally not very difficult to find what you are looking for on Amazon in a broad sense. But what happens if you are looking for something quite specific? Thanks to the new technology, your phone's camera could help you mark your next purchase.

On September 2, Amazon announced that it updated the Amazon lens function On its smartphone application and renouncing it the live objective. The functionality - which allows customers to scan a physical article and use it in a search - will now incorporate AI and immediately start the products in real time on a sliding carousel displayed at the bottom of the screen.

The company claims that the updated feature will also allow customers to support specific articles in sight to focus on them, add products to their carts or save them on their wishes without ever having to leave the Amazon lens screen.

The IA improvement element of the AI ​​of the tool will also add quick access to Rufus, which answers questions on the products. The company claims that the new feature is "now available for tens of millions of American customers in the Amazon Shopping Application on IOS and will soon take place on more American customers".

But don't worry if you are set to your ways: the traditional Amazon lens application to scan bar codes or photo download will always work.

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3. You can order fresh grocery products the same day.

Amazon has long been a player in the grocery game thanks to his Amazon Fresh offer and his property of Whole Foods. Now, the company seems to expand its offers to facilitate the search for the products you need without having to run to the store.

Last month, the retailer announced that he was adding a delivery service the same day for thousands of Perisable and fresh grocery articles At more than 1,000 cities in the United States, according to a press release. The company said it planned to double this number to more than 2,300 cities by the end of this year.

"The service offers customers the possibility of ordering from thousands of fresh grocery articles - including products, dairy products, meat, seafood, bakery and frozen food - of incredible value alongside millions of items such as essential elements of daily households, electronics and other products already available for delivery the same day on Amazon.com," wrote the company. “Customers can now control milk alongside electronics; Oranges, apples and potatoes with a mystery novel; And frozen pizza at the same time as tools for their next domestic renovation project - and consult with a cart and deliver everything to their door in a few hours. ”

Prime members will have access to free delivery on costs on all orders of $ 25 and more. Those who have no membership will always be able to use the service with additional flat fees of $ 12.99 on all orders.

And don't worry too much about this spoiled milk on the way: Amazon says that it will carefully coordinate these new deliveries with a "execution network at controlled temperature" and using the same isolated bags seen on Whole Foods or Amazon Fresh Orders.