Amazon expands free shipping for the holiday season

Amazon.com said today that it is expanding its free shipping services for a limited time this holiday season, beginning November 5.

All U.S. customers will get free shipping with no minimum purchase on hundreds of millions of items this holiday season, while Amazon Prime members in the United States will get free same-day delivery on more than three million items during the holidays, the company said. On top of that, Amazon said it is offering Prime members one-hour delivery from Whole Foods Market in 60 cities through its Prime Now program, again for a limited time beginning November 5.

Amazon said the free shipping for all program applies to items in every product category on Amazon.com, and that its expanded free, same-day shipping program for Prime Members is available seven days a week on eligible orders.

The announcement follows other recent moves the company has made to speed delivery to customers nationwide, including the addition of 20,000 vans to its "delivery service partner" program and the continued expansion of pick-up and delivery services from Whole Foods Market.