Seattle suburbs get third frictionless Amazon Go store
Amazon continues expanding its Amazon Go suburban format in the Seattle area.
The company has been broadening the portfolio of its Amazon Go checkout-free convenience concept with a new format for suburban locations. In an email to Chain Store Age, Amazon said the latest site for the concept, which is still called Amazon Go, is its third in the Seattle area and the second location in Puyallup, Wash., about 35 miles south of Seattle and 10 miles east of Tacoma.
An Amazon Go suburban store also opened in the Frederickson area of Puyallup in February 2023. The Amazon Go suburban format debuted at a store in Mill Creek, Wash., in April 2022. The company also has three suburban Amazon Go stores located outside of Los Angeles, in Whittier, Torrance, and Woodland Hills. Amazon opened the first Amazon Go store in its hometown of Seattle in January 2018.
The total square footage of the newest Amazon Go suburban location is approximately 3,800 sq. ft. Front of house measures approximately 2,000 sq. ft.
Customers can 'Just Walk Out’ with purchases
The newest Amazon Go location features Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, and is designed to offer customers a quick shopping experience to pick up grab-and-go food, snacks and beverage items and a few everyday essentials.
The retailer’s Just Walk Out technology leverages a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that enables shoppers to shop the store, pick out what they want and skip the checkout when they’re done. When shoppers arrive, they open the Amazon app, tap “In-Store Code,” and scan in with the QR code presented.
The new Amazon Go also offers an expanded selection of grab-and-go food and beverage items, including a broader range of beer and wine, and everyday essential items. It also features a new made-to-order kitchen, which offers freshly prepared, customizable breakfast and lunch items.
In addition, customers can return eligible items purchased on Amazon.com at the customer service counter located inside the store. Shoppers must start the return on Amazon.com and make sure you select this Amazon Go store as the drop-off location. After submitting the return request, they will receive a return QR code which they need to bring to show a store employee along with their return, without the need to print or package anything.
This store also has an Amazon Hub Locker onsite that enables customers to pick up eligible items purchased on Amazon.com. The location appears as an option and customers can select it as a shipping destination during the checkout process on Amazon.com.
Earlier this year, Amazon shuttered eight Amazon Go stores - two in a high-crime area of downtown Seattle, two New York City locations and four in San Francisco, as a cost-cutting measure. However, none were suburban format stores.
"Amazon Go has always set out to serve people who are in a rush and are hungry and thirsty," an Amazon spokesperson said in the email to Chain Store Age. "Whether they are picking up a cup of coffee before an early morning meeting, a carton of eggs forgotten about on the last grocery shop, or a ready-made meal for dinner, with more than 20 stores, Amazon Go offers a convenient selection to customers in downtown business districts and now closer to their homes."