Amazon to expand its c-store pilot

Amazon is reportedly planning on opening 3,000 cashier-less stores by 2021.

According to a Bloomberg report, the e-commerce giant is planning on opening physical stores, an aggressive and costly expansion that would threaten convenience chains like 7-Eleven Inc., quick-service sandwich shops like Subway and Panera Bread, and mom-and-pop pizzerias and taco trucks.

According to Bloomberg, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos sees eliminating meal-time “logjams” in busy cities as the best way for Amazon to reinvent the brick-and-mortar shopping experience, where most spending still occurs. But he’s still experimenting with the best format: a convenience store that sells fresh prepared foods as well as a limited grocery selection similar to 7-Eleven franchises, or a place to simply pick up a quick bite to eat for people in a rush, similar to the U.K.-based chain Pret-a-Manger, one of the people said.

People who have visited the Amazon Go pilot store in Seattle, which opened in January on the ground floor of an Amazon building, will find largely the same experience at the new downtown store.

Customers, who need to have the Amazon Go smartphone app installed, swipe a code on their device on the way in. At that point, Amazon’s system of cameras and sensors tracks them through the aisles, charging a credit card for items they take after they leave.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment.

To read the full Bloomberg report, click here.