Amazon Opens First Brick-And-Mortar Grocery Store In California To Take On Rivals

The grocery store wars are heating up as Amazon (AMZN) launches its first grocery store under the Amazon Fresh banner.

The store, which Amazon said was designed from the ground up, will offer Prime members free same-day delivery along with the use of its Amazon Dash Cart, which allows customers to skip the checkout line.

Located in Woodland Hills, California, the Amazon Fresh store features a wide assortment of national brands, produce, meat, seafood and prepared foods, including fresh-baked bread, made-to-order pizzas, rotisserie chickens and hot sandwiches. It will also offer same-day pickup and free Amazon.com returns for packaged or package-less merchandise.

Amazon Echo devices will be located throughout the store to help customers find the products. Amazon said it will be stocking local as well as regional products that can’t typically be found in a Los Angeles County grocery store.

Only invited customers will be allowed to visit the store to start, with plans to open the location up to the public soon. Emailed invitations will be sent to select customers.

Customers earn 5% back when shopping at the store using Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature or Amazon Prime Store cards.

Store hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. PDT daily.

“I’m excited to announce that starting this week, we’re opening our doors to a select group of invited customers in Woodland Hills, California, to shop the store before it opens widely to the public in the coming weeks,” Jeff Helbling, vice president at Amazon Fresh Stores, said in a statement.

The grocery store will also implement a series of safety protocols, which Amazon said it has taken from its Whole Foods Market brand during the coronavirus pandemic. It will require daily temperature checks for employees, face masks for employees and customers, and a reduced store capacity to 50%.

The move by Amazon is one more step toward beating out its grocery competitors, such as Walmart, with a brick-and-mortar store.

Shares of Amazon were trading at $3,416.43 as of 10:16 a.m. EDT, down $25.42 or 0.74%.