It's also a good way to start cutting out their biggest expense--shipping. If Amazon is already going to be in your neighborhood every day dropping off food, I don't see why they can't also drop off other Amazon products.
I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years from now, Amazon starts directly competing with FedEx (not just delivering the products they themselves sell). If there is one company that thrives on volume and razor thin margins, it is Amazon.
Just look at the range of markets they are entering - it is scary. cloud storage, selling almost every physical product we can imagine, online video, tablets (and phones soon) ...
thats an interesting point. I'm not sure its all part of some large plan slowly in motion, more likely just monetizing parts of their infrastructure they already had.
It's also a good way to start cutting out their biggest expense--shipping. If Amazon is already going to be in your neighborhood every day dropping off food, I don't see why they can't also drop off other Amazon products.