Amazon finally launched its Prime Now one-hour delivery service in the Seattle area this week, following months of rumors and a series of articles by GeekWire.
But there was one major question left unanswered by the big reveal: what is Amazon Flex?
We first discovered the mysterious new logo when we walked into Amazon’s new Prime Now distribution center in Kirkland, Wash., last week. But when we went back to visit again this week, the facility had gone incognito, with no exterior signs for Flex remaining.
A sign on the front door used to read, “Welcome Amazon Flex!” Inside the facility, where Prime Now drivers go to pickup packages for delivery, there had been more signs and an Amazon Flex “waiting area.”
“Please take a ticket located behind you,” one Amazon Flex sign read previously. “Please look for your number on the top corner of the wall on your left. Proceed to pick up your package once your number is displayed.”
Those clues led us to believe Flex is one of two things: a new option that lets online shoppers pick up their own packages from the distribution center themselves, or a new crowdsourced delivery option that will use Uber-like drivers to make deliveries.
Whatever it is, the offering appeared to be tied to Amazon’s one-hour Prime Now delivery service. But when the company did announce Prime Now’s Seattle launch on Tuesday, there was no mention of Amazon Flex or any new way of dispensing packages.
At the Kirkland facility this week, the Amazon Flex signs were nowhere to be found and the logo had been removed from the front door. We did see some Amazon Flex references inside the facility, but they were just smaller ones that were less noticeable.
This time when I walked in, there was a front desk right beside the door with a sign instructing visitors without a badge to check in. When I asked about Amazon Flex, an employee there handed me a laminated card directing me to Amazon’s PR webpage.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment, leaving us with yet another mystery reminiscent of the disappearance of the famed Treasure Truck.
Clearly, Amazon Flex isn’t ready for its public debut quite yet, but we have a feeling we’ll be seeing it again soon.
