SEATTLE, WA - You’ve probably been hearing plenty of buzz from analysts watching Amazon slowly roll-out plans for its takeover of the brick and mortar grocery business, but little has been revealed about the company’s long-term plans. Now, new documents uncovered by Business Insider reveal the e-commerce giant is planning an attack on the U.S. market with as many as 2,000 AmazonFresh-branded stores over the next ten years.
Amazon plans to start slow, operating a 20-location pilot program for its brick and mortar locations. The documents reveal that by the end of 2018, we could see stores pop up in places like Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and the Bay Area.
If successful, Amazon will then begin rolling out a possible 2,000 "multifunction" stores across the U.S., with the company proposing an aggressive launch schedule of 200 stores per year. Also on the company’s radar, Business Insider suggests, is a new generation of distribution centers to aid in store growth.
“Multifunction” likely refers to the company’s penchant for experimenting in both "click-and-collect" drive-up spots, as well as traditional stores. The 20-store pilot will involve ten of each, pitting AmazonFresh against both e-commerce type shopping services, as well as rivals like Walmart.
Although it hasn’t been made public what an Amazon grocery store will look like exactly, Bloomberg compares its drive-through spots as "gas station” types, while The Wall Street Journal makes a "convenience stores” comparison for the more traditional locations. Business Insider revealed that the documents say the drive-through spots will be 10,000-square-feet in size, while physical stores could go up to 30,000-square-feet.
AndNowUKnow will continue to keep our eyes out for even more details on what these locations will look like and where they will arrive, so keep following us for updates.
