Shoppers at the newest Amazon Fresh store will be able to ask Alexa voice assistants where to find products, scan and check out their groceries using the shopping trolley, and pick up books that have been ordered off the e-commerce website.
In just a few weeks, the first Amazon Fresh grocery store is set to open outside of Los Angeles in Woodland Hills, California.
"Grocery is a very large consumer sector; by most measures, it's $800 billion in the US," Jeff Helbling, vice president of Amazon Fresh stores, told CNN Business. "And collectively, we're relatively small in the space."
Amazon's current market share is 4%, Helbling said. Walmart, by comparison, holds 21%, according to Cowen estimated.
The rollout of these new store concepts could help the business increase its market share over the likes of Kroger and Walmart as well as allowing it to gain additional shopper data and expand its private label offering.
Although from a distance, the store itself will have similar layouts and categories seen in Amazon grocery stores, this store will feature a significant amount of technology, including Amazon Echo's smart displays where Amazon virtual helper Alexa can help answer customers' queries about where to find particular products.
Amazon Dash Cart will also be debuted, a supermarket trolley that can scan groceries, links to online shopping lists and also doubles as a checkout stand. It is equipped with barcode readers, sensors, and scales. Once shoppers login using their Amazon app, they can place one or two bags in the basket and it will scan items and weigh barcode less products like produce. Customers then exit through a sensor-enabled lane that automatically charges their credit card.
The store will still have traditional checkouts for customers who don't wish to use the Dash Cart or who need to do a larger shop.
