Amazon’s Fresh Stores Likely To Suffer Amid Amazon Staff Cuts

There are seven AmazonAMZN
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“Zombie” stores that appear to be ready to open but sit there without any activity according to The Information reports. People are wondering whether these stores will ever open.

In addition, there are 26 Amazon Fresh stores that are in development with no announced opening plans; one does not know whether these stores will open at all. It makes you wonder. Did someone get cold feet and put a hold on the Amazon Fresh project?

Currently, there are 42 Amazon Fresh stores open throughout the U.S. and operating well. The stores offer self-checkout; they are “just walk out” stores where customers can skip the check-out lines by scanning the QR code on the Amazon app to capture their purchases. By connecting with your Amazon account this way, you do not need to check out with a cashier.

The store is a new type of store designed from the ground up. It offers a seamless grocery shopping experience, whether customers are shopping in a store or on-line. The merchandise is low priced and offers same-day delivery for Prime Members. The store offers a wide range of national brands and high-quality produce, meats, and seafood. In addition, there are prepared foods made fresh-in the store every day. The store offers the “just walk-out shopping” service described above and Amazon DashDASH
Carts. There are also traditional checkouts.

Just recently, Amazon announced a cutback of more than 18,000 employees. The cutbacks will be primarily in Amazon stores and the company’s People Experience and Technology divisions according to a blog by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure. Affected employees will receive separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits and external job placement support,” Jassy said.

Does this mean the Amazon Fresh project is over?

With 42 stores in operation, it is unlikely that the company would abandon the Amazon Fresh project entirely. It certainly can be slowed down, and management can be realigned, but the operation appears to be working, and this creative new idea deserves continuing attention in my opinion.

Amazon also operates about 500 Whole Food Markets in the U.S., Canada, and London (England) which are popular because of their attention to organic food. That company was bought by Amazon in June 2019 for $13.7 Billion.

POSTSCRIPT: Amazon’s investment in food stores is important for two reasons. One, Amazon is inventive and creative and does not accept the status quo. That creates opportunities for industry disruption that can lead to new customer shopping options. Second, while we are looking at a possible recession, we will always need to eat and Amazon will provide us with the best food at the best prices.