Amazon has turned its attention towards the grocery market, as it hopes to provide yet another valuable service for its customer base in the form of drive-up grocery stores. The e-commerce giant has launched two drive-up stores in Seattle’s Sodo and Ballard neighborhoods, identified under the AmazonFresh brand. The service enables customers to place a grocery order on the Amazon app, and then select a time frame for collection - which can be as soon as 15 minutes after the order is placed.
The online grocery store includes a selection of fresh produce, meat and dairy products, in addition to a number of household items. Amazon"s previous attempt at targeting the grocery market took shape via its Amazon Go store - an establishment that doesn"t require a cashier - revealed in Seattle late last year.
The service is currently only available to Amazon employees, although it is set to be free of charge for Prime members when it"s made available in the future. To enjoy the benefit of the 15 minute collection option, a $15/month AmazonFresh subscription is required. Neither in the case of Amazon employees, nor Prime customers, is there a minimum amount of money you need to spend to spend to access the service.