grocery wars

Amazon Is Launching Convenience Stores

“I’m looking for the candy-bar aisle?” Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Watch out, 7-Eleven — Jeff Bezos is coming for you now, too. People at Amazon “familiar with the matter” say the delivery giant, which unveiled meal-kit delivery back in May, wants to build physical convenience stores where customers could grab produce, bread, milk, orange juice, and even meat — call it “instant” delivery! It seems the idea is to challenge discount supermarkets like Walmart in an area that accounts for a fifth of all consumer spending. Under the setup, lazy shoppers will reportedly also be able to use their smartphones or a touch screen inside the store to get same-delivery of items that have longer shelf lives, like a jar of peanut butter.

Known internally as “Project Como,” the stores for now would be exclusively for Amazon Fresh subscribers, according to the Journal, meaning a max of eight cities where that service is currently available. People who preorder may also get a curbside-pickup option. Amazon hasn’t confirmed or denied any of this, but rumor is the first store could be “just weeks” away from opening in Seattle, where some planning documents show Amazon is behind a storefront under way there.

Amazon Is Launching Convenience Stores