Amazon Opens Its First Amazon Fresh Physical Grocery Store, in LA

The shift to online shopping has accelerated in the COVID-19 pandemic, but today Amazon made a bold move that underscores its belief that physical stores will remain a key component of how consumers shop. From a report: In the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills, the e-commerce giant today opened its first Amazon Fresh supermarket. This is the first of a series of Amazon Fresh stores that the company plans to open, with others so far confirmed in Oak Lawn, Illinois; Schaumburg, Illinois; Naperville, Illinois; Irvine; California; and North Hollywood, California. A blog post from Jeff Helbling, the head of Amazon Fresh Stores, notes that the store will open initially invitation-only, based on emails it will be sending out to locals, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. PT.