Amazon Fresh Adds Another Illinois Location
A second Amazon Fresh store has opened in Naperville, Ill., just over a year after Amazon opened its first Midwest location in that large western suburb of Chicago. The new 35,000-square-foot store at 1351 E. Ogden Avenue is the only site in the area to offer Just Walk Out cashierless technology.
Amazon has steadily built up its presence in the region over the past year. The latest Naperville location is the seventh Amazon Fresh in Illinois and the 25th in the United States.
In addition to the option of frictionless checkout, the company is touting other store features that resonate with today’s shoppers and employees. Amid inflation concerns, Amazon Fresh is highlighting its low-priced items, both on an everyday basis and on grand opening discounts for offerings like wild halibut, fresh strawberries and premium bacon that can be purchased with cash, credit or debit card; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefits Transfer (SNAP EBT); or the in-store QR code on the Amazon app. As it continues to staff up, Amazon is also noting that wages for its workers start at $15.85 an hour. And emphasizing the corporate commitment to sustainability and responsibility, Amazon shared that it will donate surplus food to local food banks.
As with other sites, the latest Amazon Fresh is stocked with a variety of national brands, fresh meat, seafood and produce and a range of hold and cold prepared foods. And as with its Whole Foods sister stores, the second Naperville store carries several local and regional brands, along with the 365 by Whole Foods Market organics packaged products.
Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods is No. 26 on PG's list.
