Amazon is planning a renewed industrial push in a multibillion-dollar effort to boost its same-day fulfillment ability.
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The initiative, dubbed “Project Mercury,” would expand Amazon's same-day fulfillment center network to more than 1,000 locations by 2031, up from around 85 facilities today, Business Insider reported, citing internal planning documents reviewed by the outlet.
The project would create shorter distances between Amazon customers and same-day delivery distribution centers, aiming to create a network that is within a 10-mile straight-line radius from 80% of Amazon’s Prime customers, BI reported. That puts inventory closer to customers, including Amazon's grocery items, which generate more than $150B annually.
Amazon's reported plans would likely help shape the health of the industrial real estate market moving forward, Greg Boler, founder of Atlanta-based industrial development firm KMT Partners, told Bisnow in an interview.
“At the end of the day, Amazon’s movement, either with creating more demand or even pulling back from the marketplace, is a heavy indicator for industrial development demand,” he said.
Amazon described the project in one document as a “transformational initiative to reshape the Same-Day Delivery network,” BI reported. The effort would cost billions of dollars and further the online retail giant’s efforts to rival Walmart’s same-day delivery ability.
Amazon slated $6.8B to increase that capacity in 2026 and 2027, according to BI. But internal financial estimates say the move could generate $7.1B in economic value over the next decade and have a positive cash flow by 2030, based on the assumption that faster delivery will make customers shop more, according to BI.
Same-day delivery is expected to account for about 28% of Amazon orders in 2029, and half of its volume by 2035, BI reported.
BI previously reported that the online retailer eyed a plan called Orbital that would create 100K SF facilities for around $48M each to fulfill 75,000 same-day orders each day.
“It’s no secret that we’re focused on delivering faster for customers and the expansion of our same-day delivery network is playing a big role in that,” an Amazon spokesperson told BI, adding that its internal projections for Project Mercury were “preliminary, subject to significant revision, and shouldn’t be treated as finalized plans.”
From 2019 to 2021, Amazon increased its warehouse footprint by 453M SF, but in 2023, it dialed back its industrial expansion, canceling development projects and putting nearly 100 facilities up for sublease that year.
Activity has mounted this past year, with Amazon expected to increase its U.S. warehouse footprint by 51M SF, up from 39M SF in 2025, MWPVL previously reported. Amazon is also expanding its rural delivery network, spending $4B to increase the number of warehouses serving rural areas to 210 by the end of 2026, a 200% increase in three years, according to Supply Chain Brain.
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