The Wall Street Journal lays out Amazon’s big plans to become a central hub for shoppers.
Amazon.com Inc. is pushing deeper into the grocery business with plans to introduce convenience stores as well as curbside pickup locations, say people familiar with the matter.
The Seattle company aims to build small brick-and-mortar stores that would sell produce, milk, meats and other perishable items that customers can take home, these people say. Primarily using their mobile phones or, possibly, touch screens around the store, customers could also order peanut butter, cereal and other goods with longer shelf lives for same-day delivery.
The new stores are designed to capture the large share of people who prefer to pick out their produce or bring home their groceries on the way from work.
Groceries account for about a fifth of consumer spending, but online grocery purchases make up only about 2% of U.S. grocery sales, according to Morgan Stanley Research. They estimate the online grocery market could more than double to over $42 billion this year.
Groceries would represent the latest effort by Amazon to upend a new market to become a central hub for shoppers and businesses.