Online shopping and fast, free delivery of the kind offered by Amazon and Walmart have revolutionized life in small, outlying communities. When we go to our little Great Land post office, about half the people we see there are picking up Amazon or Walmart boxes. It's a lot easier than driving 70 miles to Anchorage for items that we can't find locally, and if it takes a little longer to arrive here, and it does, then it does, that's all. There is, at the moment, no Amazon next-day delivery in rural Alaska, or in plenty of small rural communities in the lower 48, either.
That may be changing. On Tuesday, Amazon announced it will be investing $4 billion to triple its next-day and same-day delivery services to rural communities.
E-commerce giant Amazon is investing more than $4 billion to triple the size of its delivery network by 2026 with a focus on expanding delivery services across rural America.
Tens of millions of U.S. customers in more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns and rural communities will get access to same-day and next-day delivery by the end of the year, the company announced on Tuesday. It's the latest development in its effort to ramp up shipping speeds and jockey for dominance against competitors like Walmart.
So far in 2025, Amazon said that the number of items the company delivered the same or next day in the U.S. increased by more than 30% compared with the same period last year. Now, it's trying to ensure it's appealing to rural consumers.
Note that one sentence, stating they are looking to "jockey for dominance against competitors like Walmart." There is no doubt that this is the case, but bear in mind that if Amazon starts stealing any market share from Big W with this move, Walmart will quickly follow suit. And I can tell you this: Here in our Susitna Valley homestead, which I concede is more outlying and rural than most, Amazon packages can take a week to ten days to arrive. There's no next-day delivery from Amazon here - but Walmart has a warehouse in Anchorage, which means we can get deliveries from Walmart in one day. Amazon's nearest warehouse is, if memory serves, in the Seattle area. (We're getting one, though.)
I have no idea how many of these communities being looked at by Amazon are in similar positions.
Here's the best bit: This will mean jobs, as well, many in those same rural communities.
Amazon's delivery network consists of delivery stations located close to customers, where packages are prepared for delivery, and programs that partner with individuals and small businesses who deliver packages on behalf of Amazon. With the added investment. Amazon touted it will also create an average of 170 jobs at the delivery stations in addition to driving opportunities.
Sounds like a win-win.
See Also: Melania Trump Signs Huge Deal With Amazon - Is Liking Trump Suddenly Becoming Cool?
It's an amazing modern world we live in, when we can tap away on a keyboard or our phone, pick out a set of silverware, a package of Oreo cookies, and a set of spark plugs, place your order, and have everything delivered the next day, or in some places, even the same day. It's certainly changed life out here in the woods, making it necessary to go to town much less often, which is an unmitigated good thing. It saves us time, and that's one thing you can never get back, once it's gone. Now it looks like it will be saving us more time more often.
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