Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announces plans to offer a boost for local artisans in its Amazon Handmade community by offering them faster delivery of their products through its Prime Now service. A specially-curated list of products from Amazon Handmade artisans is available through Prime Now in time for the holiday season. Last-minute shoppers can order handcrafted gifts made by Amazon Handmade Artisans with same day deliver until 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Solo artisans who make and sell handmade craft products can be faced with the challenge of shipping and delivering their goods quickly and cost-effectively, particularly during busy holiday periods.

Giving Amazon Handmade artisans the ability to ship through Prime Now will help small local artisan businesses overcome delivery issues, by taking advantage of Amazon’s one and two-hour delivery service.

The Benefits of Sending Handmade Products via Prime Now

In a press release, Stephanie Landry, vice president of Prime Now, commented on the benefits the service will bring to both local artisan businesses and consumers.

“Amazon is thrilled to continue expanding on our commitment to small businesses and artisans who can leverage Amazon’s last-mile delivery technology to get their handcrafted items to Prime members in an hour or less. This holiday season, customers can shop an even greater selection of handcrafted, giftable items and have the products delivered through Christmas Eve – the ultimate solution for those procrastinations who still want to get a unique, quality gift for their loved ones.”

Through Prime Now, members of Prime in eligible postcodes are now able to receive Amazon Handmade products for free in a delivery time of just one to two hours.

The new service highlights Amazon’s continued commitment to helping small businesses by enabling local artisans to compete with larger companies by offering an ultra-fast delivery service.

Amazon Handmade launched in 2015, giving local artisans the chance to sell their handcrafted products through the convenience and, now, incredibly fast delivery service Amazon offers.

Image: Amazon

This article, “Amazon Handmade and Prime Now Trying to Promote Small Business with Same Day Delivery” was first published on Small Business Trends