In May, Amazon Fresh grocery store opened in Franconia, Virginia outside Washington, DC. The supermarket incorporates technology the company believes is the future for easy shopping. This mystery shopper was focused on finding authentic Italian products. In terms of private labels, the store sells both the Whole Foods 365 label as well as Happy Belly, an Amazon brand. Amazon describes the label as, “quality food and beverage favorite all at friendly prices.” Some 365 products are from Italy such as the pesto sauce while others are not imported. Italian Food did not see any products imported from Italy under the label Happy Belly.
Italianfood.net spotted Vivaldi Italian cheeses, Gorgonzola PDO and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO for sale. Amazon’s smart shopping cart, the Dash cart, is available at this location. It is designed for customers to skip checkout while using built in sensor technology and computer vision algorithms to identify the products put in the cart. Customers must link the cart’s QR code on the touch screen to their Amazon app. As customers select products to purchase, the cart recognizes the items using the cameras installed. The user-friendly touch screen shows in real time the total amount of their expense. An Alexa kiosk is stationed to help find products in the store. In one corner, customers can pick up and return items purchased from Amazon.
Overall, there was a limited selection of authentic Italian products for sale at Amazon Fresh. While the store sells private label products from the upscale Whole Foods, it is focused on having an accessible price point. Industry experts are watching to see whether Amazon Fresh will either compete or complement Amazon owned Whole Foods.
Elena Isella