PHOTO GALLERY: Amazon Fresh Moves Forward With Store Openings and Remodels
It’s a new dawn for an Amazon Fresh store in Naperville, Ill., which hosted a grand reopening at 8 a.m. on Sept. 12. First unveiled in December 2020, the 35,000-square-foot location at 3116 S. Route 59 has been refreshed with a greater assortment of fresh offerings, meal solutions and everyday essentials, along with updated technologies that reflect the company’s latest capabilities.
Progressive Grocer was on hand for the event, which drew a small crowd that queued up early to get a free gift card handed out to the first 100 people in line. Customers also enjoyed giveaways such as special Naperville tote bags, fresh bananas, cups of cold brew coffee, banana plush keychains, stickers and more.
On the reopening morning, many shoppers took the handles of Amazon’s automated Dash Carts to buy groceries in a frictionless way. Grocery technology is evident in other features at this store, including an “Ask Alexa” kiosk that assists with product location and store navigation and a weigh station in the produce department that enables shoppers to enter item codes, check a product’s weight and price and print a label for faster checkout. In the self-checkout areas, Prime members can scan an in-store QR code to get exclusive benefits.
As Amazon has resumed store openings and reopenings following a pause to focus on providing the best shopper experience, the company is also emphasizing freshness and daypart solutions in the perimeter. One new addition is a stand that offers “fruit freebies for kids,” where youngsters can grab a banana, orange or apple while they accompany parents and caregivers on grocery errands.
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In the meal solutions area, shoppers can pick up ready-to-eat and ready-to-eat meals and learn more through a retail media screen touting daily deals and weeknight meal suggestions. Customers could also check out a new line of Amazon Saver store brand products that were announced on Sept. 10.
“These Naperville Amazon Fresh stores feature the company's latest brick-and-mortar design unveiled last year in the greater Chicago and Southern California areas,” Amazon spokesperson Griffin Buch told Progressive Grocer. “As Amazon continues its journey to become the most loved grocer, these re-openings reflect our commitment to providing a best-in-class grocery shopping experience—whether customers shop in-store or online.”
Also on Sept. 12, Amazon Fresh held a grand opening for two new stores in Elk Grove, Calif., and Fontana, Calif., and a grand reopening for a site in La Verne, Calif. Those events follow the debut of four new outposts in Roseville, Calif., Tinley Park, Ill., Lodi, N.J., and Bensalem, Pa., in late August.
Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.
