WOODLAND HILLS—The first ever “Amazon Fresh” grocery store, which opened in late August, officially became open to the public on Thursday, September 17, and is allowing all customers to shop there, even those without an Amazon Prime membership.
The grocery store, which is being dubbed as a new way to shop for essential food items, and at cheaper, more affordable prices, was not initially open to the public. Customers were only allowed in if they were invited, so the concept could be tested out.
With everything from 15-cent bananas to 89-cent baked bread, low prices appears to be the central theme, whose online namesake is known for selling many items for much cheaper prices than anywhere else on the internet.
Jeff Helbling, Vice President of Amazon Fresh Stores, proudly stated as much. “We’ve taken our decades of operations experience to deliver consistently low prices for everybody and free same-day delivery and pickup for Prime members.”
According to Helbling, “[A]ll customers can count on Amazon fresh for consistently low prices every day. It’s part of our core promise.”
While Amazon owner Jeff Bezos already owns a grocery store, Whole Foods, which tends to emphasize organic, gluten-free products, Amazon Fresh is advertised as another conventional grocery store with the same type of products as a local Ralphs or Vons.
Amazon Fresh stores will have organic foods, and a hot bar, where customers can prepare their own dish in a container to take home, similar to its sister store.
One unique feature at Amazon Fresh will be its “Amazon Dash Cart,” which utilizes a sensor and a camera to see what product it is you’ve bought, and put into your cart, so the total price of your order can be displayed on the front of the cart.
This allows customers to check out, instead of having to wait in line with a cashier ringing everything up while they wait for someone to bag items for them. Traditional cashiers are still there as an option for customers that would prefer it.
