Amazon's tendrils are continuing to reach out from the digital world into the physical. The tech giant's latest bricks-and-mortar retail endeavor, AmazonFresh Pickup, gives Prime members a quick and easy way of ordering and collecting their groceries.
The service involves ordering online from AmazonFresh's selection of grocery items. It's then a matter of choosing a timeslot, which can be as early as 15 minutes from placing the order, driving to one of the Pickup locations, then having the food loaded straight into your vehicle by an employee. Best of all, there are no minimum order requirements.
There are two Pickup locations available, both in Seattle: One on First Ave South in Sodo and another on 15th Avenue Northwest in the Ballard neighborhood, according to Recode.
AmazonFresh Pickup is exclusive to Prime members, making it another incentive to subscribe to the $99-per-year program. While AmazonFresh delivery costs $14.99 per month on top of the Prime fee, the new Pickup service is free for members - no extra charges for using it.
Like its cashier-free grocery store, the Pickup service is in beta and only available to Amazon employees right now. Expect it to be a popular feature when it does roll out to Prime members, especially among those wanting to pick up their groceries quickly while on the go.
The AmazonFresh Pickup announcement came just a day after Amazon was forced to delay the public launch of its Amazon Go store. Technical difficulties in the outlet, which uses an array of cameras, sensors, machine learning and advanced algorithms to track items picked from the shelves, have forced the company to push back the public opening date.
It was revealed yesterday that Amazon could be opening furniture stores that come equipped with AR or VR headsets to allow shoppers to visualize how items would look in their homes. The company may also be planning to open Apple-style electronics stores that sell dedicated products such as Echo speakers and Amazon Prime.