Amazon to expand same-day Prime to underserved metros

SAN FRANCISCO — A week and a half after an analysis found that Amazon's free same-day Prime delivery wasn't available in largely black neighborhoods in six major U.S. cities, Amazon says it is now working to bring the service to those areas as well.

They include southern parts of Atlanta, Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, Chicago's South Side, Dallas' Oak Cliff and environs, the Bronx in New York City and the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C. and suburbs.

A furor erupted when an analysis by Bloomberg on April 21 found that in some of the largest cities where  free, same-day Prime delivery is available, it bypasses ZIP codes that are predominantly black and Hispanic.

In emails to USA TODAY, Amazon on Monday said it was actively working to enable its Prime Free Same-Day Delivery service to the underserved areas.

Amazon same-day delivery less likely in black areas, report says

Amazon agreed last week to bring the Prime same-day service to Roxbury, a predominantly black neighborhood in Boston, after anger there over the omission.

Amazon says it decides where to enable same-day delivery through a number of factors, including location of fulfillment centers and concentration of Prime members,

Factors "include distance to the nearest fulfillment center, local demand in an area, numbers of Prime members in an area, as well as the ability of our various carrier partners to deliver up to 9 p.m. every single day, even Sunday," Amazon spokesman Scott Stanzel told USA TODAY in a statement.

"We will continue expanding our delivery capabilities and are adding more ZIP codes rapidly," he said.