Amazon Fresh in Bloomingdale offers customers variety of new shopping options
On the opening day of Bloomingdale's Amazon Fresh grocery store, customers arrived Thursday to find options like carts that handle checkout and departed with free keepsakes of the conglomerate's newest endeavor.
Some customers tried the Dash Cart, a shopping cart equipped with cameras and sensors to detect and tally items as they are placed in the cart, including weighing produce. A credit card is billed to the user as the customer leaves the store, bypassing checkout lines, and a receipt is emailed.
Other customers like Marcos Reyes and Juana Mercado opted for a normal shopping cart and checkout, citing its reliability. But they praised the store's selection.
"The variety here is great," Marcos Reyes said. "It's cool to see things around like 20 different types of Oreos to pick from."
Upon leaving, customers were offered coupons for $10 off a purchase of $30 or more, along with free energy drinks, stickers, bag clips and plastic spatulas.
Located at 405 West Army Trail Road at the site of a former Toys "R" Us, the 40,000-square-foot store is the fourth of its kind in the Chicago area, joining Schaumburg, Naperville and Oak Lawn.
"I'm delighted to welcome Amazon Fresh to the Bloomingdale community," said Bloomingdale Mayor Franco Coladipietro. "The new store has created hundreds of job opportunities and it gives residents a new, low-priced option for fresh groceries."
Other grocery stores in Bloomingdale include Aldi, Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets, Mariano's, Meijer and Walmart.
At Amazon Fresh stores, customers with an Amazon account can use the Dash Cart. The new store offers free same-day delivery and pickup for Prime members.
The store has a food line that serves sushi, pizza, sandwiches and more. It includes a kiosk where customers can return and pick up online Amazon orders.
The store is integrated with Amazon Alexa in Dash Carts for grocery lists and as a price scanner that speaks to customers to locate groceries, tells the price of an item, or even tells a joke.
The store will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with the first hour reserved for customers who are age 60 or older, those with disabilities and those whom the CDC defines as high-risk individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Face coverings are required for customers and daily temperature checks are required for employees and vendors entering the store. Free, disposable face masks are offered and the store is operating at 50% capacity.
Amazon Fresh is separate from Whole Foods, which also is owned by Amazon. The first location opened in Woodland Hills, California.
Amazon Fresh is donating surplus food from the Bloomingdale Amazon Fresh store to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Julie Yurko, president & CEO of Northern Illinois Food Bank, said the food bank has received more than 2 million meals from the Naperville location that opened in December.
"Northern Illinois Food Bank is extremely grateful for our partnership with Amazon - especially during this time of crisis and tremendous need," Yurko said. "We're already partnering with the managers of the Bloomingdale store, and we anticipate the results will have similar ripple effects throughout the Western suburbs, helping us to achieve our vision for everyone in Northern Illinois to have the food they need to thrive."