A Look Inside the New Amazon Grocery Co-Located With Whole Foods
The store-near-a-store concept aligns with Amazon’s retail strategies that were highlighted at the recent “Delivering the Future” event in Nashville. Among other updates, Amazon shared that is putting the finishing touches on its first automated micro-fulfillment center at a Whole Foods store in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., which will supplement products found in that market with items from Amazon.com and Amazon Fresh.
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The new Amazon Grocery in the mixed-use One Chicago building was doing brisk business during PG’s recent visit. Customers could browse from 3,500 products within the 3,800-square-foot store and pick up everyday essentials and groceries along with grab-and-go meals and snacks, ranging from fresh-baked cinnamon rolls to jars of Farmer Fridge salads. An onsite coffee bar is another amenity that caters to nearby residents and urban workers.
Amazon’s technologies are on display at the Amazon Grocery store, too. Customers can pay by palm, enjoy frictionless checkout and return Amazon.com packages via a kiosk by the front door.
Upstairs, the Whole Foods Market features a popular hot foods bar, along with an array of fresh products and household and self-care products. That store opened in 2022.
Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon. Both Whole Foods and Amazon were named among PG’s Retailers of the Century. PG also named Whole Foods one of its 2024 Top 10 Sustainable Grocers.