But that was always the case? At least as late as 2001, they had weekly milk delivery in Moncton, New Brunswick. It cost the same as milk in a store. You put your order in an envelope with some cash for next week. It wasn't just milk, you could get most non-frozen dairy that way.

Is it at all the same as Amazon? No. But it shows that you can be profitable delivering low value items right to peoples doorstep.