Amazon opens first high-tech grocery store in Maryland
Live from Chevy Chase, Md. - it’s the latest Amazon Fresh location.
On Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, Amazon opened its 18th Amazon Fresh high-tech, brick-and-mortar grocery store. The 33,172-sq.-ft. store, located in Chevy Chase, Md., is the first Amazon Fresh location in Maryland and the third in the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Amazon designed the Amazon Fresh format from the ground up to offer a seamless shopping experience, with extra perks for members of its Amazon Prime paid loyalty program. Although Amazon Fresh features traditional checkout counters, shoppers who prefer to skip the queue have the option of using the Amazon Dash Cart.
[Read more: First Look: Amazon debuts new high-tech grocery store]
Initially announced in July 2020, Amazon Dash Cart uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify items customers put in the cart. Customers can place their bags in the cart, sign in using their Fresh QR code in the Amazon app, shop, and exit through the Dash Cart lane to automatically complete their payment.
In another omnichannel offering, Amazon Fresh customers can find items in the store more quickly by using Amazon Alexa voice technology and Alexa shopping lists. When customers arrive in store, they can access their Alexa shopping list through the Amazon app or on the Amazon Dash Cart, enabling them to more quickly navigate aisles and check off items as they shop. Throughout the store, there are Amazon Echo Show devices customers can use to ask for help via Alexa voice technology, such as by saying, "Alexa, where can I find the hot sauce?"
Amazon Fresh also offers direct same-day delivery and pickup services. Customers can pick up their orders by visiting the service counter or by pulling up to a dedicated pick-up parking spot. Same-day delivery is free for Prime members.
Furthermore, the store format offers Amazon.com package pick-up and free packageless product returns, as well as a wide assortment of national brands and produce, meat, and seafood, along with a range of prepared foods made fresh in store every day.
Customers will earn 5% back at Amazon Fresh when they use their Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card or Amazon Prime Store Card at checkout. Low-priced items are available to shop every day—including $0.15 cent bananas; $0.89 cent freshly baked bread; $1.79 freshly baked pizza slices; and $4.97 rotisserie chickens. As doors open to the Chevy Chase Amazon Fresh store, customers will discover deals on a variety of items like $2.69 for a 12-pack of Coca-Cola, buy one get one free Lay’s chips (7.5-8 oz.), and 50% off all Aplenty products.
“We’re excited to introduce Amazon Fresh to the Chevy Chase community today,” said Amy Denner, store manager of the new Chevy Chase Amazon Fresh grocery store. “As we open our doors, customers will discover a unique checkout-free shopping experience with our Amazon Dash Cart, which offers the ultimate convenience when shopping for low-priced, high-quality foods. I’m looking forward to the positive impact this new store will have on the local area, which starts with the hundreds of good jobs we’ve created for the community.”