THE GROCERY STORE OF THE FUTURE
GROCERY STORE THE OF THE FUTURE
BY: CHRIS WALTON, CO-FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF OMNI TALK
I n July, reports surfaced from Axios that Amazon soon plans to open its new Amazon Fresh grocery concept in four locations across the Twin Cities. Lucky shoppers in Coon Rapids, Eagan, Arden Hills, and Burnsville will reportedly be the first in line to sample Amazon’s latest and greatest retail innovation. Amazon Fresh had its beginnings in January 2018, when Amazon opened its first Amazon Go store in Seattle, which showcased its now-famous “Just Walk Out” technology.
The first Amazon Go store was small, only 3,000 square feet, and roughly the size of a convenience store. But over time, Amazon slowly and smartly began experimenting with bigger-sized retail boxes to make sure the technology could accommodate more shoppers and handle more extensive retail operations with more product categories. What began as a 3,000 square foot experiment in 2018 soon became an almost 10,000 square foot iteration in 2020 and then morphed into a full-scale 25,000 square foot grocery concept called Amazon Fresh in 2021. And now Amazon Fresh is likely coming to the Twin Cities in its full “Just Walk Out” glory, and, as a result, Minnesota grocery shopping may never be the same again.
The tech, from a consumer standpoint, is about as simple to understand as it gets.
Consumers take out their mobile phones, scan a barcode to enter the store (much like you would when boarding an airplane), and simply walk in, take whatever they want off the shelves, and “just walk out.” Payment is then made electronically upon exiting the store, similar to paying for an Uber or a Lyft.
How Amazon grocery stores could change the future of shopping in the Twin Cities and beyond.
28 | The Grocery Store of the Future
The Grocery Store of the Future | 29
Powered by FlippingBook