Amazon Fresh. Is it Amazon’s new grocery store, an Amazon distribution channel, or Amazon’s newest Private Label line? The answer is, “Yes, to all of the above.”
Amazon has launched its first full size, 35,000+ sq ft grocery store in Woodland Hills, CA, named “Fresh.” The store contains many elements of Amazon’s technology platforms (i.e. cashier-less checkout, Alexa integration, etc.), but of special interest is their expansion of the Amazon “Fresh” brand of products within perishable meat.
The Amazon Fresh brand already has limited representation across the U.S. through PrimeNow delivery. Products like “Fresh” Brand Applewood Smoked bacon, have been available in most PrimeNow delivery markets across the U.S. What’s unique about the Woodland Hills “Fresh” store location is the expansion of the “Fresh” brand in areas like fresh packaged beef, pork and chicken.
While most grocers will see this new store opening as just that, “a new store,” the reality is that it is an integrated, additional touchpoint for the shopper eco-system that Amazon is defining and then redefining on behalf of the shopper.
The meat case at the Woodland Hills store delivers a strong representation of the “Fresh” brand, with items like Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts, in regular and Value packs, as well as USDA Choice Angus Beef in a variety of cuts. “Fresh” Ground beef dominates the section with the various grinds and package sizes a shopper would expect to find in any neighborhood market.
Creating, sourcing, distributing, and maintaining a perishable private label line is not an easy task, especially for what is right now a single physical store location. How long it takes Amazon to move these “Fresh” branded items over to their “Fresh” PrimeNow delivery service will be interesting to watch. While the trade area of this new physical “Fresh” store location may only be +/- 3 to 5 miles, the PrimeNow delivery service in the greater Los Angeles area alone is exponentially larger, not to mention the national scope of PrimeNow coverage. Time will tell how quickly it takes Amazon to move this Fresh branded product launch from this single, physical store location to national distribution through the massive PrimeNow network.
While most grocers will see this new store opening as just that – a new store – the reality is that it is an integrated, additional touchpoint for the shopper eco-system that Amazon is defining and then redefining on behalf of the shopper. How shoppers curate, source and consume food is changing daily, especially during these current, challenging times. Two-hour delivery…same-day delivery…two-day delivery…ship-to-home…curbside-pickup…shop-in-store… subscribe-and-save…touch-less checkout… What’s next for the shopper and to what extent will Amazon define it?
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