Way back in July this year, Neowin reported that Amazon would be opening up the second of its Amazon Go checkout-free stores at the Madison Center building in Seattle on 5th Avenue. Indeed, the firm has now launched the store, however, it’s considerably smaller than first anticipated. The new store is 1,450 square feet as opposed to the originally planned 3,000 square feet. The new measurements make this second store a bit smaller than the first Amazon Go store and it comes with a smaller selection of items as a result.
According to the Seattle Times, which got an advanced look at the store, customers won’t find the liquor aisle nor groceries such as milk and bread. Additionally, the smaller size means there is no room for a kitchen to cook fresh food, instead, it is being shipped in from an Amazon kitchen elsewhere in the city.
According to Gianna Puerini, Amazon’s VP of Amazon Go, the reason for the omissions is due to there being a different customer base in the city. She said Amazon anticipates more office workers to use the store and therefore the store focuses more on non-perishable goods such as sweets, gum, drinks, and take-away oatmeal snacks.
Going forward, the firm plans to open more Amazon Go stores in Chicago and San Francisco. No dates were given for future store openings and, according to analysts, Amazon likely won’t license out the technology it uses in its stores to other retailers, that is in stark contrast to Microsoft’s plans. The new store is open Monday to Friday between 7AM and 7PM, and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Source: Seattle Times via TechCrunch | Image via YouTube