Amazon plans to invest $4 billion to expand its delivery network, enabling faster delivery speeds in small towns and rural communities nationwide.

The company aims to triple the size of its delivery network by the end of next year and expand Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery services to more than 4000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities by the end of this year.

The retail giant expects the expansion to “transform daily life” for rural customers, who typically live farther from brick-and-mortar retailers, have fewer product and brand choices, and face limited delivery options when shopping online.

“Whether you live in Monmouth, Iowa or in downtown Los Angeles, now you’re going to have the same fantastic Amazon customer experience: The ability to get the wide variety of items you need to keep your household running every day, delivered the same or next day,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores.

According to the company, the number of items delivered the same or next day in the US so far this year has increased over 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Amazon has begun offering free Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery in the more than 1000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities and has received “very positive” response. Customers in these areas are shopping at Amazon more frequently and purchasing household essentials at meaningfully higher rates, it added.

Aside from faster delivery speed, Amazon expects to create more than 170 jobs for each new delivery facility it opens.

The company also plans to transform existing rural delivery stations into hybrid hubs that serve multiple functions, as well as use machine learning algorithms to predict which items will resonate with local customers based on their unique needs.

Amazon reported an 8.6 per cent increase in sales for the first quarter.