Amazon opens second high-tech grocery store with ‘Just Walk Out’

The Washington, D.C., market is getting its second Amazon Fresh brick-and-mortar grocery store, and its first with fully autonomous checkout.

Opening July 22 in Logan Circle, Washington, D.C., the 7,300-sq.-ft. location is both the second Amazon Fresh store in the D.C. area and on the East Coast, following the May 2021 opening of an Amazon Fresh store in Franconia, Va.  

The omnichannel giant now operates 15 Amazon Fresh stores across the U.S., including eight in California, four in Illinois, and one in Bellevue, Wash. Amazon Fresh stores are designed from the ground up to offer a seamless shopping experience, with extra perks for members of the Amazon Prime paid loyalty program.

Like the store in Bellevue, the new Logan Circle store features Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. Just Walk Out leverages a combination of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning that enables shoppers to shop the store, pick out they want and skip the checkout when they’re done. Anyone shopping at the new Amazon Fresh store can take advantage of the technology, which connects to their Amazon account or credit card. Customers are prompted at the store’s entry gates to scan the QR code in their Amazon app to open the Just Walk Out gates.

Once inside the store, customers can shop like normal. Anything they take off the shelf is automatically added to their virtual cart, and anything they put back on the shelf comes out of their virtual cart. At the end of their trip, customers scan their QR code again to exit. This store does not offer a traditional checkout experience. But, customers who wish to pay with cash or EBT can do so at the customer service desk in the store.

Furthermore, customers have access to Amazon.com package pick-up and free packageless product returns, as well a range of prepared foods made fresh in store every day.