Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Amazon Eyes Its Own Convenience Stores In Addition To Drive-Up Grocery Sites (geekwire.com)

Posted by msmash on from the convenient-expansion dept.

Amazon's next push into the grocery business could be convenience stores as well as curbside pickup locations, reports WSJ. The Seattle-based company aims to build small brick and mortar stores that would sell things like milk, meat and other perishable items (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; alternate source). GeekWire adds: But the convenience stores are a new twist. The WSJ says Amazon "aims to build small brick-and-mortar stores that would sell produce, milk, meats and other perishable items that customers can take home," according to its sources. "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." However, the report cautions, the convenience stores "may take a year or more to open while Amazon scouts locations, and may be shelved because of financial or operational concerns, the people said."Interesting move from Amazon, a company that has run many convenience stores out of business with its online business.

14 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. they won't be C-stores by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Funny

    without lottery tickets

    1. Re:they won't be C-stores by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 2

      Better add 3.2 beer, coffee, and smokes to that list as well. Those were by far the largest share of inside sales when I worked at a gas station.

      --
      Time to offend someone
    2. Re:they won't be C-stores by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 2

      My impression of the roller food was it was there because someone might want to buy it and it was the hot food available but it was so low volume that they basically broke even. I never worked the day shift so maybe they sell better then and I just didn't know. As far as the rest of the "food" it always seemed best to avoid it as Doritos were about as healthy as you would get. I will admit that I had forgotten about fountain drinks and the 90+% margin but are energy drinks really big sellers? Seriously I didn't start seeing redbull until after I graduated college and tried it once and I think drinking battery acid would have been a more pleasant experience so I honestly don't know.

      My worst nightmares of the gas station was hearing the shopping cart winding its way down the aisles. We had one and it lived in the back corner of the store and was mostly used for restocking ice but every once and a while someone would find it and do their grocery shopping with it. This would frequently lead to them bitching that our prices were ridiculous as they just spent $150 on groceries and only got a small cart full. Why anyone would shop at a gas station for groceries is beyond me especially since just down the road was a real grocery store that you could see from the parking lot.

      --
      Time to offend someone
  2. This is a bad idea. by sims+2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The brick and mortar market is already at saturation.

    Walmart is already starting to offer in-store pickup and drive up pickup.

    Amazon would be better off investing in drone delivery as it has a much better chance of being profitable.

    Oh and little stores that sell milk and stuff? Walmart already tried that with "walmart express" it didn't work.

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    1. Re:This is a bad idea. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It is already saturated and looks to be little profit for a large risk. Nonetheless, they will have advantages over other convenience stores:

      1) People will be going there anyway to pick up packages. (same idea as petrol stations, only most people avoid going inside at those places now you can pay at the pump).

      2) Amazon name recognition which many people correlate with "cheap prices" (regardless of whether that is true anymore).

      If you're going to have pick-up locations you might as well sell something there too to help cover the costs.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:This is a bad idea. by grahamsz · · Score: 2

      It seems like it'd be a good way to reduce some of the delivery hurdles. If you live in a city where delivery companies aren't comfortable leaving packages on your door step then it'd give you another location where you could pick up your Amazon stuff - presumably less inconvenient than driving out to the UPS depot.

      It also would give them a chance to offer cheaper next day delivery since they could just nextday a giant box of small things to the convenience store and split them out for all their customers. Given that Amazon must account of a third of the boxes on just about any residential delivery truck it seems like they've got a lot of margin to try different models.

    3. Re:This is a bad idea. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      The brick and mortar market is already at saturation.

      Back in 1994, most people thought the book market was saturated.

    4. Re:This is a bad idea. by houstonbofh · · Score: 2

      Eventually, Amazon. People may love the pictures, but no one wants to actually be near the "people of walmart" in person.

    5. Re:This is a bad idea. by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 2

      but no one wants to actually be near the "people of walmart" in person.

      They're not so bad. It's the judgmental classist hipsters that most people are afraid of running into.

  3. Let me guess... Prime by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

    Let me guess, if you don't subscribe to Prime or spend $49 in one purchase you can't have a free plastic bag to carry your groceries to your car in; instead you have to buy one for $15.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  4. Re:*Could* be paywalled? by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Informative

    Some places have a global license (Universities, businesses, libraries, some ISPs) and not have the paywall. Others will see it. The only way to know is click the link and see...

  5. Why is it a bad reason? by sjbe · · Score: 2

    The brick and mortar market is already at saturation.

    And yet new ones open up all the time, many of which manage to turn a profit. Curious definition of saturation you have there.

    Walmart is already starting to offer in-store pickup and drive up pickup.

    So what? It doesn't follow that Amazon couldn't do some physical store fronts in a profitable manner just because Walmart has stores too. I don't think Amazon is dumb enough to try to model their business after Walmart. Furthermore Walmart isn't in a lot of places, particularly dense urban areas and Walmart's business model doesn't work well there. Amazon on the other hand has a business model much more compatible with dense urban locations so a small store might make some sense depending on exactly what they do with it.

    Amazon would be better off investing in drone delivery as it has a much better chance of being profitable.

    Two problems with that argument. 1) Nobody has proven that drone delivery is economically viable. 2) Innumerable brick and mortar stores continue to be profitable despite repeated predictions of their impending demise.

    Oh and little stores that sell milk and stuff? Walmart already tried that with "walmart express" it didn't work.

    Again, so what? Just because Walmart tried a model that didn't work doesn't mean there aren't small store models that can work.

  6. Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Finally I'll have somewhere to get fresh milk, instead of waiting two days for it to get delivered on prime.

    1. Re:Finally! by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

      The worst part is when the UPS guy throws the eggs over the fence instead of opening the gate to walk up to my door.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch