Amazon's Drive-Up Grocery Sites Move Closer to Reality

SEATTLE — Drive-up grocery sites may be moving closer to reality for e-commerce giant Amazon.com.

New permit documents reveal that the city of Seattle has given Amazon permission to put up "AmazonFresh Pickup" signs for locations in the Ballard and SoDo neighborhoods, as well as signs with messages such as "Shop online. Pick up here" and "Relax while we load your groceries" for location exteriors, reported GeekWire.

The news outlet noted that a film crew had been working at the SoDo site on what is believed to be a promotional video. Additionally, the bulk of construction work on the site appears to be done.

Each inaugural pickup site includes an awning for drivers to park under, as well as a brick-and-mortar building for workers to compile orders. Parking spaces at the Ballard location have motion-activated signs installed that read "Your order is on the way" when triggered.

In 2016, GeekWire uncovered permit filings for the Ballard location stating that customers may schedule specific 15-minute or two-hour windows for pickup, receive orders via delivery to their car or by walking into the retail room and picking up, and place orders in the retail room via tablet and receive delivery there.

In addition to curbside pickup, Amazon has been making a splash in the convenience channel with the piloting of its first, no-checkout Amazon Go convenience format in its hometown. In addition to c-stores, the online retailer reportedly is looking to open 20 grocery stores over the next two years under the AmazonFresh banner.

Amazon has also upped its presence in grocery delivery by expanding into new territories such as South Florida and the San Francisco Bay Area. It has also slashed subscription fees for its AmazonFresh online delivery service.

Click here to see the full story from Convenience Store News sister publication Progressive Grocer.