Whole Foods is beloved for its focus on natural, healthy products, but it can be limiting. That’s why Whole Foods’ owner Amazon is reportedly testing out a number of grocery solutions to offer customers access to products not sold in Whole Foods (think items with artificial sweeteners or color additives), but without requiring them to stray too far from its anchor grocery chain.
The latest is an Amazon Grocery store in the same building as one of the company’s Whole Foods in downtown Chicago, The Information reports. The small-format store spans 3,800 square feet and features 3,500 products, including grocery and household brands that aren’t sold in Whole Foods, as well as drinks and grab-and-go meals, spokesperson Jessica Martin told The Information. “We’re testing and learning with a new grocery shopping experience with a small-format store from Amazon under the same roof as Whole Foods Market,” said Martin.
Earlier this month, Amazon also announced a different test with a similar goal. The company is working with the startup Fulfil on a new microfulfillment solution that would see an automated warehouse attached to a Whole Foods in Plymouth, Pa., to offer customers items not sold at the organic grocer. Customers will be able to place an order for things like Tide Pods or Pepsi on their phone while doing their Whole Foods shopping, and the order will be ready for pickup when they check out.
Still Trying to Crack the Grocery Nut
With the exception of Whole Foods, which it acquired in 2017, Amazon has struggled to find its place in brick-and-mortar retail. In late 2023, Amazon completed what Coresight Research described as “a brick-and-mortar retreat to grocery,” with the closure of its two Amazon Style fashion-focused stores, which followed the 2022 closure of all its Amazon 4-star, Books and Pop Up stores.
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But even with this heightened focus on grocery, the ecommerce retailer has struggled to gain traction with customers. In 2023, all new Amazon Fresh builds were put on hold, and while new launches have started up again, the retailer announced this spring that it was removing its cashierless Just Walk Out tech from all Fresh stores. The company’s convenience format Amazon Go also seems to be floundering, with a swath of closures since 2023, most recently three NYC locations earlier this month.
