Amazon has just launched Prime Now, a one-hour delivery option for Amazon Prime members in NYC.  The service will debut in Manhattan beginning today, and should roll out to additional cities through 2015.  It covers tens of thousands of what Amazon calls “essential” products, including things like paper towels, batteries, toys and books. 

The local one-hour delivery is a service that Amazon arguably has to offer in order to stay competitive with the growing number of startup services offering similar benefits, including trials from larger companies like Uber.  The local delivery business has ensured that especially in hubs like NYC, buyers have options that generally undercut Amazon’s standard delivery rates in terms of expediency for certain staple items. 

Amazon’s offering is launching in select areas of Manhattan today, and will be accessible via a dedicated Prime Now app for iOS and Android.  The app will also be able to alert Prime members when the service rolls out in their area, and Prime Now will provide deliveries between 6 A.M. and midnight, seven days a week.  One-hour delivery is $7.99 on any item, but two-hour delivery is completely free (again, as long as you’re a Prime subscriber). 

Amazon’s Prime push has seen the company add a lot to membership benefits in 2015, alongside a price hike earlier in the year.  Prime membership now also provides access to a streaming music service, unlimited photo storage, 4K Instant Video streaming and more.