Amazon has opened up its Australian online store to New Zealand shoppers in a long-awaited move.

The company said the change meant Kiwis would be able to buy “millions” of products from amazon.com.au, in addition to the company’s main United States site.

The range of products Amazon offers, and its prices, differs between the two online stores.

The main impact will be that Amazon should be able to offer faster deliveries and lower delivery charges for more of its products.

“Customers can access expedited delivery in as fast as three business days to certain areas in Auckland and Christchurch for as little as A$6.99 (NZ$7.52) and standard delivery starting at AU$2.99,” Amazon said in a statement.

“Customers can access expedited delivery in as fast as three business days to certain areas in Auckland and Christchurch for as little as A$6.99 (NZ$7.52) and standard delivery starting at AU$2.99,” Amazon said in a statement.

Nor now has the suggestion that Amazon might use distribution from Australia as a way to launch a version of its Amazon Prime shipping service in New Zealand.

In many markets, Amazon Prime offers “free” delivery and access to Amazon’s Prime Video and Prime Music services for a single monthly subscription fee.

The bundle has been key to the online behemoth’s more recent retail growth.

Amazon said Amazon Prime would not be available in New Zealand, but customers could subscribe to Prime Video for $8 a month.

The company opened its first Australian distribution centre in Melbourne in 2017 and now has a total of six either completed or planned in the country.

There have been persistent rumours it is on the cusp of also setting up distribution centres in New Zealand, but that has not happened.

In 2017, broker Forsyth Barr caused a stir by suggesting Amazon could grab a $915m annual share of the New Zealand retail market by 2022 by buying up the rights to stream All Blacks matches and bundling that with Amazon Prime.

A spokeswoman for Amazon said it didn’t comment on its future plans.