Amazon’s Finally Coming for Your Local Grocery Store

This content has been archived. It may no longer be accurate or relevant.

From Eater:

Online retail behemoth Amazon is tackling the ultimate IRL retail challenge: It’s opening stand-alone grocery stores. The Wall Street Journal reports that “dozens” of Amazon groceries are planned in the coming years, with the first location slated for Los Angeles debuting “as early as the end of the year.” The news comes just days after the Amazon-owned Whole Foods announced that it would kill its 365 by Whole Foods stores, a “cheaper” iteration of the Whole Foods brand that lasted just two years. WSJ’s sources report that the Amazon grocery concept would be totally separate from Whole Foods, and expand upon the items usually carried by “Whole Paycheck”: Whole Foods famously does not offer any products with artificial ingredients; presumably, shoppers at an Amazon grocery could stock up on all the Coca-Cola and Doritos they want.

. . . .

Amazon has likely learned a lot from its 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods. Interestingly, the Amazon grocery stores will purportedly have a smaller footprint than the average supermarket — a strategy that 365 by Whole Foods also attempted. In January, it was reported that Whole Foods was eyeing recently shuttered Sears and Kmart locations as potential sites for expansion; today, WSJ reports that Amazon’s groceries could also be targeting vacated Kmarts.

Link to the rest at Eater

1 thought on “Amazon’s Finally Coming for Your Local Grocery Store”

  1. Just for fun, I’ll make a prediction. These smaller footprint grocery stores will do well in urban environments where people shop quickly and like to be able to carry their stuff on the subway/bus/bike.

    Based on the failure of several prominent small-footprint chains in Southern California, I doubt they will do so well in a more sprawling culture such as ours. Tons of choices already available. If we want specialty stuff at good prices, we have Trader Joe’s, Sprouts (a favorite in my family!) and, yes, Whole Foods.

    For weekly shopping, where we fill up the trunk and prefer a wide selection, my crystal ball says they’ll get lost in the crowd.

Comments are closed.