Amazon Fresh Delivery Expansion Pays Off Within a Year as Seafood Sales Surge 888% Year-on-Year

US retail giant Amazon has achieved a relatively fast return on investment after expanding its home delivery service to perishables last summer. Consumer intelligence firm NielsenIQ disclosed this assessment in a report titled "Amazon's Perishables Expansion Is Reshaping How Consumers Use the Platform," published on November 6, 2026.

The report shows that delivery growth for perishables such as seafood, meat, dairy and baked goods is "significantly faster" than for traditional groceries and non-food items. In the 12 weeks to August 29, sales of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable seafood on Amazon surged 888% year-on-year, growing faster than any other retail category on the platform. The report also notes that consumers are beginning to choose Amazon in categories that have traditionally posed the biggest obstacle to online grocery adoption.

Jake O'Leary, director of e-commerce thought leadership at NielsenIQ, said in the report that one year after integrating perishables into Amazon's core shopping experience, the company's grocery investment is beginning to reshape shopper behavior; higher engagement in fresh food categories is driving more frequent consumer interaction with the platform and helping Amazon capture a larger share of household routine spending.

Beyond the NielsenIQ report, Amazon independently confirmed the jump in grocery sales in its third-quarter earnings: globally, fresh groceries and everyday essentials grew at roughly 3 times the rate of the rest of its online stores, and groceries accounted for about half of all items sold in the third quarter. According to Supermarket News, Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy said on the third-quarter earnings call that faster speeds are driving the grocery business, including perishables and everyday essentials; monthly orders of fresh groceries with free same-day delivery for Prime members more than tripled, and customers who use same-day delivery to buy perishables purchase nearly 7 times as many everyday essential items as those who do not use the service.

Amazon has also encouraged consumers to try fresh food delivery through "significant" price cuts. NielsenIQ believes this strategy is working, citing as an example that over the past year Amazon lowered the weighted average price of salmon by 2.1%, while sales value rose 154.7% over the same period.

NielsenIQ says Amazon's perishables business is particularly favored by "high-value" households, intensifying its competition with traditional grocery retailers. Amazon perishables shoppers spend more than $1,300 (about 1,200 euros) more per year than the platform average.

When Amazon expanded its grocery delivery service last year, it said its dedicated temperature-controlled fulfillment network "ensures customers receive fresh, high-quality perishable grocery items, with every item subject to a six-point quality check upon arrival and before dispatch for delivery." Temperature-sensitive items are delivered in insulated bags that are recyclable through curbside recycling programs in most cities and towns.