Amazon opens first UK checkout-free grocery store in London
The Amazon Fresh grocery store opens in London, Thursday March 4, 2021, where a sign explains for shoppers to pick up items and walk out of the store, contactless, without the need for a till. Customers will scan a QR code on their way into the store, with cameras and technology identifying the items that shoppers take from the shelves and their account automatically paid. Shoppers use a smartphone app to scan a QR code so they can enter the store. Amazon already operates 26 cashier-free convenience stores in the U.S. under the Amazon Go brand and two larger supermarkets called Amazon Go Grocery. As part of its U.K. launch, Amazon also unveiled its new private label food brand, by Amazon.
Amazon drops monthly fee to boost grocery delivery sales
NEW YORK, NY Amazon has a new plan to try and jumpstart its grocery delivery business: cut some fees for its Prime members. The online retailer said Tuesday it will no longer charge $15 a month for its Amazon Fresh service, which delivers raw meat, vegetables and other groceries to customers' doorsteps. It bought Whole Foods in 2017, giving it 500 grocery stores. Stephenie Landry, Amazon's vice president of grocery delivery, said the company plans to expand Amazon Fresh beyond the 2,000 cities and towns it currently is in. She said the company is using small warehouses near cities to pack and send out its grocery orders.