Amazon makes money when you bypass physical stores and buy products from it online. It’s almost ironic to see the company set up physical stores but they do figure in its overall strategy. The company has already established a few book stores and if a new report is believed, it might be planning to establish physical grocery stores. These stores will reportedly sell perishable items such as meat and milk. It may launch drive-up pick-up locations for groceries as well.
The Wall Street Journal reports that this is part of the company’s plans to expand its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service beyond the web. The retail presence and an easy pick-up process will certainly make it easier for people to get their grocery shopping done without possibly even having to leave their car.
The report mentions that this project is internally referred to as “Project Como,” and that it will be exclusively rolled out for Amazon Fresh subscribers initially. The physical stores will stock perishable items with short shelf life while those with a longer expiry date such as peanut butter would be available for online order and delivery via touchscreen terminals present inside the stores.
Amazon is said to be looking at potential locations for these grocery stores so it might take the company about a year to get them up and running. The drive-up pick-up locations may get their start in Seattle where one might be opened up in the next few weeks.
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