#MidweekMusings: What’s all the fuss about Amazon Fresh?
Initially, the whole buzz around Amazon Fresh passed me by. It’s been a couple of years since the first stores were launched in the United States under the Amazon Go brand and, in the past couple of months, three Fresh stores have popped up in West London in:
- The Broadway, Ealing
- Wembley Park
- Fountain Park Way, White City (near Westfield)
I thought I would take a walk and nip into my nearest Fresh store in White City to see what people were so impressed by. The entrance has a similar traffic light system to the one implemented by Tesco stores to aid social distancing inside. At the time I visited, there was no queue so I was able to walk straight in...to barriers. In order to admit yourself into the store, you are required to:
- Download the Amazon shopping app prior to admission
- Login to/setup your Amazon UK account
- Go to the Shopping Basket and swipe to the right to select “Fresh code”
This will then produce a unique QR code for your visit which you hold your phone to scan at the barriers to then get through into the actual store.
The range of goods on offer at Fresh is pretty standard and I would say akin to the quality levels of a Little Waitrose or M&S Simply Food. The food in the UK stores is supplied via Morrisons which should be no surprise considering that there is a partnership for Morrisons supermarket delivery via Amazon.co.uk.
As for experience of buying stuff? All you need to do is take an item from the shelf, pop it in your bag and keep browsing. I was quite sceptical of this, particularly as I had bought a couple of pastries. However, just a few hours later the bill came through to my AMEX and was completely accurate:
Impressive considering the bakery section is self serve!
Is Fresh revolutionary? No. Does it feel like this might be the future of convenience stores? Potentially and especially in the pandemic to reduce physical contact. For me, unless I was passing by and in need of something urgently I would not go out of my way to visit again - particularly as one of the “selling points” is being able to drop off your Amazon parcel which you can do at practically any corner shop. Like any convenience store, it’s expensive and the selection is limited in exactly the same way as a Sainsbury’s Local or Co-op.
I will commend Fresh on the cleanliness of the store and organisation - it is nice to walk around and feels clean, unlike some competitors, although time will tell if this remains the case. One negative may be that as an individual does not have to physically hand over cash or slot a credit card into a terminal, it can lead to irresponsible purchases or impulse buying because it does not have the same psychological effect of going to a checkout. Clearly, Amazon must have some figures and data which backs up this leading to greater sales.
And, after all, Amazon Fresh will never have Percy Pigs...so for now if I have to get an overpriced sandwich or goods at a convenience store, I’d much rather go to M&S Food.
Have you managed to visit Amazon Fresh in the UK or Amazon Go in the US yet? How did you find it?