Bloomberg report link at the bottom of thread
Amazon expands same-day delivery to all of Boston following reports of it excluding black neighborhoods
Amazon expands same-day delivery to all of Boston following reports of it excluding black neighborhoods
Amazon will make its same-day delivery available to all of Boston, following a Bloomberg report last week that showed it excluded a predominantly black neighborhood from its service area.
"We are actively working with our local carrier to enable service to the Roxbury neighborhood in the coming weeks," Amazon said in a statement.
"Once completed, Prime members in every zip code in Boston, including the Roxbury neighborhood, will receive Prime Free Same-Day Delivery, in addition to existing Free Two-Day and One-Day shipping options."
The change comes after the Bloomberg report pointed out Roxbury, a predominantly black neighborhood located in central Boston, was the only Zip code area in the whole region to not have access to Amazon's same-day delivery. It also highlighted that other cities, including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, saw the same patterns.
Amazon launched same-day delivery last year for Amazon Prime members, its annual membership that gives access to two-day free shipping and a bunch of video and music content. The same-day delivery was initially only available in 12 metropolitan areas but have since expanded to 27 regions.
Amazon told Bloomberg last week that it doesn't make its service available based on race but on the size of its Prime membership base in each region. It just happened that most of the predominantly black neighborhoods didn't have enough Prime members to justify the cost of making same day delivery eligible, it said.
But Roxbury was an interesting case because it was centrally located, and in most cases, same day deliveries had to pass through the area anyway. And after the report was published, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey pushed Amazon to expand coverage.
Amid controversy, Amazon to launch same-day delivery to Boston’s Roxbury
Originally published April 26, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Battling backlash from local elected officials, Amazon says it will soon launch same-day delivery service for Prime members in a predominantly African-American Boston neighborhood had previously left out despite serving surrounding areas.
By
Ángel González
Seattle Times business reporter
Battling backlash from local elected officials, Amazon.com says it will soon launch same-day delivery service for Prime members in a predominantly African-American Boston neighborhood it had previously left out despite serving surrounding areas.
The move came as Boston mayor Martin Walsh on Tuesday lambasted the company for leaving, in the neighborhood of Roxbury, “a hole right in the heart of our city” in terms of same-day delivery.
It’s a controversy that was sparked last week by a Bloomberg News investigation that highlighted how Amazon’s same-day delivery service was unavailable in some minority neighborhoods in six big cities.
In Boston, Roxbury stood out because it’s fairly central, right in the middle of areas where same-day delivery happened.
Amazon contended that as it deployed the service it focused on places with a high density of Prime members and considered other data such as distance from fulfillment centers. The company also says it factors in whether the logistics providers it contracts with are able to deliver packages up to 9 p.m. “every single day, even Sunday.”
In a statement released by Boston city hall on Tuesday, the mayor bemoaned that Amazon’s bosses were “not willing to change their policy.”
“We understand that the people who run Amazon don’t live here and might not understand our great neighborhoods, but this is an egregious mistake that must be changed,” the mayor said.
After the mayor’s statements, Amazon said it is “actively working with our local carrier to enable service to the Roxbury neighborhood in coming weeks.”
“We are always looking to expand the benefits our Prime members receive and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Amazon said.
Amazon didn't comment on what exactly prompted this change, or if it had plans to expand to other predominantly black areas, only saying, "We are always looking to expand the benefits our Prime members receive and that’s exactly what we are doing."
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
Amid controversy, Amazon to launch same-day delivery to Boston’s Roxbury
Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers. Should It?
By David Ingold and Spencer Soper
April 21, 2016
Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers. Should It?
Amazon expands same-day delivery to all of Boston following reports of it excluding black neighborhoods
Amazon expands same-day delivery to all of Boston following reports of it excluding black neighborhoods
Amazon will make its same-day delivery available to all of Boston, following a Bloomberg report last week that showed it excluded a predominantly black neighborhood from its service area.
"We are actively working with our local carrier to enable service to the Roxbury neighborhood in the coming weeks," Amazon said in a statement.
"Once completed, Prime members in every zip code in Boston, including the Roxbury neighborhood, will receive Prime Free Same-Day Delivery, in addition to existing Free Two-Day and One-Day shipping options."
The change comes after the Bloomberg report pointed out Roxbury, a predominantly black neighborhood located in central Boston, was the only Zip code area in the whole region to not have access to Amazon's same-day delivery. It also highlighted that other cities, including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, saw the same patterns.
Amazon launched same-day delivery last year for Amazon Prime members, its annual membership that gives access to two-day free shipping and a bunch of video and music content. The same-day delivery was initially only available in 12 metropolitan areas but have since expanded to 27 regions.
Amazon told Bloomberg last week that it doesn't make its service available based on race but on the size of its Prime membership base in each region. It just happened that most of the predominantly black neighborhoods didn't have enough Prime members to justify the cost of making same day delivery eligible, it said.
But Roxbury was an interesting case because it was centrally located, and in most cases, same day deliveries had to pass through the area anyway. And after the report was published, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey pushed Amazon to expand coverage.
Amid controversy, Amazon to launch same-day delivery to Boston’s Roxbury
Originally published April 26, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Battling backlash from local elected officials, Amazon says it will soon launch same-day delivery service for Prime members in a predominantly African-American Boston neighborhood had previously left out despite serving surrounding areas.
By
Ángel González
Seattle Times business reporter
Battling backlash from local elected officials, Amazon.com says it will soon launch same-day delivery service for Prime members in a predominantly African-American Boston neighborhood it had previously left out despite serving surrounding areas.
The move came as Boston mayor Martin Walsh on Tuesday lambasted the company for leaving, in the neighborhood of Roxbury, “a hole right in the heart of our city” in terms of same-day delivery.
It’s a controversy that was sparked last week by a Bloomberg News investigation that highlighted how Amazon’s same-day delivery service was unavailable in some minority neighborhoods in six big cities.
In Boston, Roxbury stood out because it’s fairly central, right in the middle of areas where same-day delivery happened.
Amazon contended that as it deployed the service it focused on places with a high density of Prime members and considered other data such as distance from fulfillment centers. The company also says it factors in whether the logistics providers it contracts with are able to deliver packages up to 9 p.m. “every single day, even Sunday.”
In a statement released by Boston city hall on Tuesday, the mayor bemoaned that Amazon’s bosses were “not willing to change their policy.”
“We understand that the people who run Amazon don’t live here and might not understand our great neighborhoods, but this is an egregious mistake that must be changed,” the mayor said.
After the mayor’s statements, Amazon said it is “actively working with our local carrier to enable service to the Roxbury neighborhood in coming weeks.”
“We are always looking to expand the benefits our Prime members receive and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Amazon said.
Amazon didn't comment on what exactly prompted this change, or if it had plans to expand to other predominantly black areas, only saying, "We are always looking to expand the benefits our Prime members receive and that’s exactly what we are doing."
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
Amid controversy, Amazon to launch same-day delivery to Boston’s Roxbury
Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers. Should It?
By David Ingold and Spencer Soper
April 21, 2016
Amazon Doesn’t Consider the Race of Its Customers. Should It?
