When it was announced last year that Amazon signed a lease on a large Midtown space across the street from the Empire State Building, everybody thought it was going to be the retail giant's first brick and mortar store. Turns out, it was just a huge warehouse space for the nearly-instant Amazon Prime Now delivery service.
Amazon has fulfillment centers in 20 cities across the United States dedicated to ultrafast orders placed through its Prime Now app. Through this service, which is available for Amazon Prime members, customers can opt for items to be delivered in an hour.
Time recently made some interesting gifs showing what it looks like inside the warehouse from click to delivery.
![Amazon Prime Now's Midtown Warehouse](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/2cd1dab1dc0746b090a2c4d96deec90a/elements/38d97a4e1c94fda70d3a39c62ffcd8d8/xl/f796aa48-bee3-430e-9d0d-d01a89bd0f9a_2x.jpg)
![An Amazon employee walks down an aisle in the company's New York fulfillment center to retrieve items for an order.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/0c0a99e8e00d1af9c7b66b9f17e8497e/elements/2d0210db760ad71c4f9862bfdd5ef1d5/bc43feb7-d346-4004-b5ae-a347fd017bc1.gif)
![Employees responsible for picking items from Amazon's warehouse shelves to compile an order are called "pickers."](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/e21a94ff8b4ec48e27e6d01acbccbe68/elements/07e8f8a4885485436a2d59755349a033/575eee3e-6504-4786-bc56-3e71f081c788.gif)
![Since customers can opt to get items delivered as quick as an hour, Amazon Prime Now sells frozen foods, ice cream, and other groceries.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/f3e5017b69858169527ca7f29afdfde3/elements/3d36e87b6f5788acad181ef88138e058/7fbd3540-6d3d-4bc7-afb1-ccb544551eea.gif)
![Once all of the items in the order are packaged, employees label them to prepare them for delivery.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/1d0f6cc3f4fcfe3e40ef3e8a53a0ee89/elements/c8bd293882bbea00bb28c98246807471/fe7ff372-eff8-4f72-9d73-d9e01a2dcb6a.gif)
![The orders are then placed on racks when they're ready to be handed off to Amazon's couriers.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/1604b91b5154788c5a6b3c46a74554dd/elements/58f3ccb42a66c52874336a83dbc7ad14/fac2e921-358b-4aae-b8e2-8f9936a8126b.gif)
![Each rack is designated for packages to be delivered in different New York City neighborhoods, such as the Lower East Side or Long Island City.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/ba8a74113074dac771e6e2c23c0ae232/elements/f4e0b7b1aa32fa8d7d7305f7f944ce25/6c11a824-49e9-424f-a65d-afc94f0c6a21.gif)
![Prime Now orders are then taken down to the building's main floor through a specific entrance designated for Prime Now deliveries.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/b587bf8bdf73326dc0b29aff64874d0d/elements/efefbd28ee7e5284c94f4cd1623ecaa0/84f72325-ee62-46f8-bccd-f4fa8135897e.gif)
![Amazon's couriers deliver the packages by foot, subway, or car depending on which mode of transportation is the fastest.](https://cdn.viewing.nyc/assets/media/b296bac17fe1fb045288add15c149ec0/elements/43ed3df4ada0c230b331d937df21b727/ec1a188f-d5bf-4133-aa6b-8634863e6854.gif)
via Time
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