The Silicon Valley Business Journal reports that Amazon is going to test a new service that lets users pick up fresh groceries and other products from a physical store, it mentions that paperwork for a retail location in Sunnyvale, CA has already been signed and plans for an 11,600 square foot warehouse with eight auto stalls for pickups have already been approved.
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The news comes in a report from the Silicon Valley Business Journal, who have said that this new Amazon store is being developed in Sunnyvale.
Not much is known on the possible grocery project from Amazon for now; there’s no way of knowing how diverse the inventory will be or when the store will be open. According to the planning application, customers will pre-order their groceries, as well as any other items they want to buy, and then a specific 15-minute to two-hour pickup window will need to be chosen. Such services have become popular with consumers in Europe, but the e-commerce giant is hoping the “click and collect” option gathers steam in the US, although it is yet to really take off in the country.
Another service Amazon is planning possibly launching is “Prime Air”, which will involve the use of a drone to deliver purchases to Amazon customers in 30 minutes, or in even less time than that.
Amazon alone is not named in preparing files, but true estate sources acquainted with the subject told the Journal that Amazon is the probably tenant. When the grocery drive-through store is completed, it will share the land with a hardware store.
What’s more, it’s also suggested that Amazon could roll out the concept throughout Silicon Valley. There is also Amazon Fresh, which is available for people in California.
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The company’s reported move to expand its distribution strategy would certainly add pressure to existing brick-and-mortar supermarkets close to the depot, forcing them to review their own range of offered services in order to retain customers.
