Amazon has been a force to reckon with when it comes to e-commerce, but the Seattle-based company is proving it has legs in brick-and-mortar too. Between its recently opened Amazon Fresh grocery concept and its sister Whole Foods Market, which has about 500 stores, it is reported Amazon could reach about 2,000 retail stores. Here, we track Amazon’s progress in retail and map its physical Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations.
Technology
Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology Makes Waves
Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology will be available for the first time at a new full-size Amazon Fresh grocery store opening in Bellevue, Wash., this week.
Retailers
Is Too Much Amazon Confusing Shoppers?
As Amazon continues to build its retail-technology empire, it has decided to rebrand its Amazon Go Grocery concept to Amazon Fresh.
Retailers
Women of Color Inspiring Amazon Fresh
Three Amazon Fresh leaders share their experience of working for the Seattle-based e-tailer with a rapidly growing grocery operation.
New Stores
Amazon Fresh Opens Second U.K. Store, Eighth in California
Amazon Fresh is on an opening spree, with three new locations in the U.S. and another pair of stores welcoming shoppers in the U.K. in recent weeks.
E-commerce
When Elephants Dance: A Grocery War of Intelligence
As Amazon, Instacart and Walmart load up, the battle for grocery is about to go nuclear, the author says.
New Stores
Amazon Fresh Opens Third Chicagoland Location
Amazon Fresh opens store in Oak Lawn, Ill., with a fourth location for the state planned in Bloomingdale.
Financials
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to Focus on ‘Going Into Grocery’
Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky says CEO Jeff Bezos' new role will focus on “the more important decisions” like acquisitions, strategies and “going into grocery.”
"Amazon clearly has its sights set on grocery and the key to its success may come down to understanding how different audiences engage with the different offerings under its umbrella. Learning how to maximize Amazon Go alongside Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods, while simultaneously leveraging the unique advantages that each bring, will be critical to maximizing success in this sector.”
New Stores
Amazon Fresh Opens 2nd Chicago-Area Store Amid Twin Cities Rumors
Amazon Fresh opens its second Chicago-area location with a 45,000-square-foot store at 16 East Golf Road in Schaumburg, Ill., marking the grocer’s eighth store in the country.
New Stores
Up Close and Outside the New Amazon Fresh Chicago
Nicely priced slices, bargain bananas and winning chicken dinners beckon shoppers into the newly opened Amazon Fresh in Naperville, Ill.
New Stores
Amazon Fresh to Open First Chicago Area Store
Slated to open next week, the new Amazon Fresh in Naperville, Ill., marks the grocer's fifth store and its first outside of Southern California.
New Stores
How Fast Will Amazon Grow?
Amazon's strategic SpartanNash partnership and rapid real estate acquisitions seem to suggest its newly opened third Amazon Fresh location is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to its grocery ambitions.
“Our channel research continues to indicate that Amazon’s current goal is 2,000 consumable-focused retail stores in the U.S. blended between Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh."
New Stores
Will Amazon Fresh Crush it in California?
Amazon Fresh opens its second California store, which is also its second location in the country.
E-commerce
Amazon Exec: Quality Is Our Advantage in Grocery
In a livestreamed interview from Vox's "Code Commerce" series, Amazon Grocery VP Stephenie Landry says "advancing the experience" is the goal with physical stores.
"We don’t just want to be in the physical store space for the purpose of being there. We want to provide something that's an alternative to customers that we think is really advancing the experience.”
Financials
Amazon to Take A Stake in SpartanNash
A stock warrant in connection to a supply agreement gives Amazon—reportedly on the verge of a major grocery store expansion—the potential to acquire nearly 14% of the food wholesaler for $96 million over time.
14%
Amount of SpartanNash's business Amazon could potentially acquire via an agreement between the companies
Executive Interviews
Whole Foods, Amazon Relationship a ‘Happy Marriage,’ Says John Mackey
In an exclusive trade interview with WGB, Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey discusses his new book, the company’s relationship with Amazon, and turning COVID into a win-win-win.
"Our relationship with Amazon is best described as a 'happy marriage.' Amazon’s customer-centered culture meshed so well with ours and now our customers get to enjoy lower prices and access new services such as grocery delivery and pickup."
New Stores
Seven Ways Amazon Fresh Is Winning Over Customers
The new Amazon Fresh offers more than well-priced national brands, Whole Foods Market 365 items and a smattering of tech. There’s an intrinsic "wow factor" that accompanies the new discoveries to be had in-store.
Amazon Goes Bananas in Woodland Opening
Amazon Fresh has a long fight ahead to be a significant contender in U.S. grocery, but its first store opens with a provocative pricing punch.