The expansion of Amazon Fresh stores is moving faster than nearly anyone predicted, with nearly a dozen stores already operational in the United States, less than nine months after the first one opened its doors. These store designs aim to reach a sort of middle ground: less fancy than Whole Foods but with more available services than Amazon Go. That is, by purchasing Whole Foods, Amazon already could access high-end grocery shoppers. With its experimental Amazon Go locations, it can test out completely self-service, technology-enabled stores. Amazon Fresh falls somewhere in between, such that the stores are staffed but still embrace advanced technology, such as through the presence of Amazon’s Dash shopping carts. The pace of expansion does not appear likely to slow either, as Amazon seeks to catch up to much larger competitors in the grocery sector, such as Walmart with its more than 5000 stores and club locations throughout the country.

 Source: Jon Porter, “Amazon Quietly Opens its Eleventh Fresh Store, Reportedly Plans 28 More,” The Verge, March 11, 2021