Amazon's massive delivery expansion

Project Mercury plans to grow Amazon's same-day fulfillment network from 85 facilities today to over 1,000 by 2031. The multi-billion dollar initiative targets Walmart's dominance in everyday shopping.

Getting dramatically closer to customers

Amazon will place fulfillment centers within 10 miles of 80% of Prime subscribers by 2031. Currently, these facilities sit about 90 minutes away from customers.

“The project fundamentally redesigns this network around shorter distances.”

Challenging Walmart's biggest advantage

Walmart has 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a store, with 95% of households able to get three-hour delivery. Amazon needs physical proximity to compete for groceries and essentials.

The Orbital system speeds things up

Amazon plans to use smaller 100,000-square-foot Orbital facilities that process 75,000 units daily. Each costs about $48.4 million to build, helping accelerate the expansion.

Same-day centers will dominate volume

Internal projections show these facilities handling 28% of Amazon-fulfilled orders by 2029 and 50% by 2035. Most packages will arrive within a five-hour window.

The economics of Project Mercury

Amazon budgeted $6.8 billion for US capacity in 2026-2027. The company estimates $7.1 billion in economic value over 10 years, turning cash-flow positive by 2030.

Faster delivery makes people buy more

Amazon believes speed increases purchase probability and brings customers back sooner. The $150 billion grocery business depends on competing with local stores on convenience.

“When we speed up the service, the probability that somebody buys a product from us goes up.”