First look: Inside redesigned Amazon Fresh stores in Chicago suburbs
- Amazon revealed that Amazon Fresh stores in the Chicago area have been updated with Amazon’s newest vision for grocery.
- The Amazon Fresh stores in Schaumburg and Oak Lawn, Illinois, also include Krispy Kreme Doughnut shops.
- Along with the newest version of Dash Carts and self-checkout lanes, Amazon Fresh stores will offer kid-friendly shopping carts for consumers shopping as families.
Amazon revealed in a blog post on Aug. 2 that Amazon Fresh stores in the Chicago area have been updated with Amazon’s newest vision for grocery, including with an expanded selection, low prices on even more grocery items and greater convenience with updated checkout options and Dash Carts. Amazon’s posting is the first hint of its new direction for grocery since the retailer said it was searching for the best physical format to scale its grocery efforts.
The Amazon Fresh stores in Schaumburg and Oak Lawn, Illinois, also include Krispy Kreme Doughnut shops offering a variety of doughnuts and a wide selection of coffee drinks and other beverages. These shop-in-shops are the first Krispy Kreme shops of its kind in Amazon Fresh.
Expanded selection
The two updated stores also now offer more than 1,500 new national and private label products. The retailer said it is introducing hundreds of new items across the aisles, with the greatest increases in dairy, snacks, home care, health and baking categories. The stores also now offer a wider selection of international products, including condiment and sauces from around the world.
With convenience in mind, shoppers can pick up grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, wraps and snack boxes along with take-and-bake pizzas, ready-to-heat burritos, and ready-made meals.
For families shopping with kids, these stores include kid-friendly shopping carts, stickers and a new “Fruit Freebies for Kids'' program, which invites families with kids to take a piece of fruit from a special cart in the produce department. Additionally, the store will host several seasonal events with entertainment for families.
Updated retail tech
For added convenience, shoppers will have the option to use the latest version of the Dash Cart, a smart shopping cart that now is larger in size and able to hold four bags of groceries now, Amazon said. Shoppers also are now able to take Dash Carts to their cars and unload groceries there.
Additionally, Amazon added self-checkout lanes to the Schaumburg and Oak Lawn stores.
Amazon also has been working since November 2022 to lower prices on thousands of items and tripled the size of the promotion plan to deliver savings to customers. Across all grocery stores, Amazon Fresh now offers shoppers everyday sales, low prices on even more core grocery items, and Prime member exclusive deals in-store. Prime members also receive a discount of 10% off on hundreds of items.
Amazon also has begun providing Amazon Fresh grocery delivery services to consumers who aren’t Prime members, according to the Associated Press. The delivery service will be available in several cities, Amazon told customers on Aug. 2 in an email.