As technology changes around the world, so does retail. When it comes to grocery shopping, Amazon has a lot to do with it.
With 39 of the company’s new Amazon Fresh stores currently in the works, the once-bookstore tech giant is completely changing the way Americans buy their products.
1. Customers Can “Just Walk Out” of a Cashier-less Store
Imagine walking into the grocery store and leaving with your purchased items without interacting with a human or even standing in a checkout line. While this might sound like something out of a futuristic movie, this “Just Walk Out” capability is already available in some places.
Using the company’s innovative “Dash” carts and advanced merchandise pricing technology, Amazon has completely changed the way people obtain their groceries.
In small stores around the United States, Amazon has implemented the use of advanced shopping carts that automatically add the costs of items as customers put them into the cart.
Although this technology has not expanded to all of the Amazon Fresh stores, the company is currently testing it out at an Illinois location.
According to Amazon, if things go well, customers could be able to “Just Walk Out” of bigger-sized grocery stores, too.
2. Other Grocers Are Expanding Convenient Services
While Amazon has been busy taking the grocery store industry to technological heights it has never seen before, more traditional stores are trying to keep up. For example, you only need to look at some of the popular brick-and-mortar grocery retailers in the U.S. to see how places are competing.
Over the past year, stores like Kroger, Walmart, Target and Aldi have all made major changes to the ways customers can buy their products.
While stores like Aldi have particularly focused on expanding with more retail locations, Walmart, Kroger and Target have all stepped up on their technologies.
With Walmart, customers now have several more online shopping and pickup options. In addition, stores are now offering various delivery services as well, with many of them being available for same-day processing.
3. Prices Are Going Down
As the competition in this market increases, customers can expect to see some lower prices. This phenomenon is not uncommon in the business world. With that said, Amazon has taken things a step further by naming price reduction as one of the company’s priorities with the new grocery store chain.
4. Groceries and Package Pickup Are Combining Like Never Before
By providing customers with numerous options for picking up general Amazon merchandise at the grocery store locations, Amazon is totally changing the interaction between grocery stores like Aldi and Safeway and package delivery services like the United States Postal Services and FedEx. For more traditional stores like Walmart or Kroger, this kind of service is harder to provide.
5. Advanced Voice Technology Has a New Place
As the first grocery retailer to do so, Amazon Fresh has taken advanced voice technology to a level no other stores have tried before.
By incorporating Alexa into the customer shopping experience, Amazon has given voice technologies a completely new role in the industry. Once the technology that Amazon customers just used to look up movies on their television, Alexa can now guide you to the carrot aisle.
6. Third-Party Vendors May Have a New Place
When it comes to new ways of doing things, voice technology and the checkout line are not the only changes. In addition to the myriad of experimental technology that Amazon is testing out with this endeavor, another option the company is considering is the incorporation of third-party vendors.
While the future for this idea is still uncertain, it nonetheless presents another opportunity that grocery stores have never dipped their feet into before.
Without a doubt, buying spaghetti sauce may never be the same. With all of these changes underway, how do you think your grocery shopping habits might change?
