Amazon Fresh Takeaways Part 2: A potent brick-and-mortar competitor

In the spirit of compare and contrast, we visited the newly opened Amazon Fresh in Schaumburg on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 along with Stephanie Halley ,the National Senior Category Strategy Manager Insights Activation FC& Digital at Mars Wrigley.

Here are our takeaways and an updated BMC POV (see below) based on shopping the two Amazon Fresh stores currently open in Illinois. Two additional stores are in the works for IL in Bloomingdale and Oak Lawn.

Schaumburg (Store #8) vs. Naperville (Store #7)

The Schaumburg store is larger than Naperville, and three other things stood out as quite different within only a few minutes.

•  Many more customers than staff on the floor of the store , even though the Schaumburg store had been open for less than a week and the Naperville store had been open for more than two weeks when we visited.
•  A lot more inventory on the shelves. In fact, most shelves were completely full, indicating that store management wanted to avoid out-of-stocks. That said, there were still a significant number of holes in the shelf inventory.
•  Better merchandising. Produce was first in the door at the Schaumburg location, and several end-aisle displays showed a merchant’s touch, suggesting that there is more grocery expertise active in this store than in Naperville.

Another observation, the Schaumburg store had larger sections of “home indulgence” categories like confectionery, beer and wine, than many other grocery stores, which shows they are factoring in the impacts of COVID on shopper lifestyles.

Test Driving a Dash Cart

As soon as Stephanie entered, employees asked her if she wanted to learn how to use the Dash cart and helped her get set up.

• The cart has limited capacity so it’s only useful for smaller trips (two bags worth).
• Process: If you are a Prime member, open the Amazon app, scroll to Amazon Fresh, scan your QR code on the cart, and you’re ready to go.
• If you created a grocery list in the Amazon app or via an Amazon Echo (calling out items to add to the list), the list automatically shows up on the touch screen and even tells you which aisle those items are in for easier navigation.
• As you place an item in the cart, it is scanned by cameras encircling the rim of the cart. For produce, you just enter the PLU number on the touch screen and the values automatically totaled.
• The screen shows your running total as you move items in/out of cart.
• At the end, you pass through the Dash-specific lane and walk out unless an ID check for alcohol purchase is needed. You do have to carry out your bags or switch to a "regular" cart when leaving the store, as the Dash carts aren’t allowed into the parking lot.

BMC POV

Based on shopping the Schaumburg Amazon Fresh store, here's an updated POV.

We’d suggest grocers continue to think of these stores as potent online competitors that can take share without other retailers realizing it.

As a brick-and-mortar competitor, this store has sizeable appeal.

• It’s faster to shop than a larger supermarket, has excellent fresh and prepared foods, and more brand choice than a typical supermarket in a number categories.
• In other words, it has more of what many shoppers want and less of what they don't.
• For these reasons, it may attract more than its fair share of higher income shoppers who are Prime members.