


This is incredibly valuable data that can drive deeper consumer insight for Amazon and their partners."Īmazon Fresh is going for a different customer than Whole Foods, which is geared toward a more affluent shopper. Amazon Fresh allows them to understand the physical decision-making process when it comes to groceries and other items.

"But opening a brick and mortar store with Amazon Fresh gives them more insight into the behaviors of consumers. "Amazon certainly has been able to gather a lot of customer data through their online store experience," said Gregory Ng, chief executive of the consulting firm Brooks Bell. The Amazon Fresh store in Woodland Hills is its first Amazon-branded full-service grocery location. A year later, it began operating Amazon Go convenience stores that let customers purchase products without going through a checkout line or using self-checkout. The company didn’t get into the brick-and-mortar grocery business until 2017 when it purchased Whole Foods. Zuckerberg, Bezos, Other Tech CEOs to Testify Over Digital Marketplace Competition.Amazon Seller Struggles to Reclaim Business Amid Pandemic.Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cook, Pichai Tell Congress They Don't Stifle Competition."The Boys" Are Back With Timely Second Season.Prime customers who pick up their orders can do so at customer service or by pulling up to a dedicated pick-up parking spot right in front of the store. Wandering through the new Amazon Fresh, roughly half the customers were actually Amazon shoppers, filling their carts on behalf of Prime members who let someone else pick out the bananas and bread, which, at Amazon Fresh, cost 15 cents and 89 cents, respectively. Amazon Fresh plans to open a handful of other SoCal locations in North Hollywood, Northridge, and Irvine.Customers can use Alexa Shopping lists to help navigate them through the store, and "dash carts" that automatically tally up the items once they're placed in the basket, allowing them to avoid a checkout line.The store's selection is similar to a conventional grocery store, but also offers general merchandise such as Instant Pots, Amazon tablets, and smart speakers.The first Amazon Fresh grocery store opened to the public in Woodland Hills Thursday.Promising “consistently low prices for all and free, same-day delivery for Prime members,” Amazon Fresh is “designed from the ground up to offer a seamless grocery shopping experience, whether customers are shopping in-store or online,” said Amazon Fresh Stores vice president Jeff Helbling in a press announcement released Thursday. Sandwiched between a nail salon and a Citibank on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, the store gives ordinary grocery shopping a major technology boost with digital price tags, Alexa assistance that can navigate shoppers through the aisles, and so-called dash carts that automatically tally up the groceries as they’re placed in the basket, allowing customers to avoid the checkout line. After years of hype, the first Amazon Fresh grocery store in the nation is now open to the public in Woodland Hills. To watch the video report, click the play icon above. Besides groceries, you can also pick up your same-day Amazon Prime deliveries from the store, and there’s even the option to pre-order deli items through the Fresh app.Editor’s Note: This is a collaboration between digital journalist Susan Carpenter and multimedia journalist Itay Hod. If that's not enough automation for you, there are also Echo Show stations throughout the store where you can ask Alexa to point you in the direction of a specific product. Another nifty feature of the Dash Carts is that you can access any shopping lists you made with Alexa directly from the cart. If you only plan to buy about two bags worth of groceries, the Amazon Dash Cart allows you to skip a visit to the cashier. Once you're done shopping, the amount you need to pay is automatically deducted from the credit card associated with your Amazon account. Each one features a scale and a variety of cameras and sensors, allowing it to calculate your total as you shop. The centerpiece of the store is Amazon's new Dash Cart. Starting today, anyone who wants to visit the Woodland Hills, Los Angeles store can do so from 7AM to 10PM PT daily. After a short period where you could only visit the store if you had an invite, Amazon's first Fresh grocery location is now open to the public.
