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Amazon.com plans to redesign Amazon Fresh stores in other parts of the country and begin expanding more stores next year, but it remains to be seen whether and when Metro Detroit will join the list of open stores. I don’t know yet.
Over the past two years, several Amazon Fresh stores in Metro Detroit have been confirmed to someday open, or construction is underway on buildings similar to the retailer’s existing locations. However, the current status of the buildings is unknown, and although the exterior is nearly complete, many remain empty without signage.
Last month, Claire Peters, Amazon Fresh’s worldwide vice president, told Bloomberg that the company plans to resume opening new Fresh stores next year after a hiatus of more than a year. Amazon also redesigned five stores, including three in the Los Angeles area.
“We’ll have a good pipeline for next year,” Peters told the publication. “What we don’t do is open stores in a haphazard manner.”
What that means for Metro Detroit is unclear. In St. Clair Shores, Dennis Pike, the city’s director of community development and inspections, said he hopes Amazon follows through with its plans to open an Amazon Fresh store or an Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market at the former Kroger site. He said he is doing so. We have a store on Nine Mile near Greater Tarmac.
Construction on site is limited to exterior work, Pike said. As of late November, permits had not yet been obtained for interior work on the project. The most recent on-site inspection was of the parking lot in October. Workers had been using heavy equipment at the site recently.
“There are no plans for interior construction,” Pike said. “We know this is still an Amazon-led development. Contractors are still working with Amazon to finish the exterior, but that’s really all we know.”
Pike said he expects the building’s exterior work to be completed by the end of the year. “It’s up to Amazon to decide what the next steps are,” she said, adding that she hopes the property never becomes vacant.
“That would be our worst nightmare,” she said. “The building will be beautiful, but we want to have another location, another retail store in the area. If they terminate this permit, the city will be forced to move forward with that project.” There’s nothing they can do as a property. They’re holding on to the property.”
Lou Scudere, principal at Riverbend Retail Consulting, said he believes Amazon is stuck in its store opening process.
“They started rolling these out during the pandemic because they realized they were outdated,” he said. “And they had that last mile that other retailers like Walmart and Kroger couldn’t do. So they started rolling out stores with the purpose of essentially being distribution centers, so If someone wants to come in and buy groceries, that’s fine, but they weren’t really trying to encourage traffic on the street.”
Amazon is being forced to pivot as more people return to traditional ways of shopping, Scudere said.
Consumers’ rapid shift to e-commerce grocery shopping during the pandemic has reached a plateau, according to McKinsey & Company’s 2023 State of North American Grocery Report. E-commerce’s share of total grocery spending in May 2023 was 7.2%, more than 35% above pre-pandemic levels.
“It’s not like online is going away by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s flattening out in a way,” Scudere said. “We’re not seeing the growth that we saw three years ago. As a result, we’ve come to the realization that in order to be competitive in grocery stores, we need to encourage some road transportation.
“That’s fine and good. They should have done that a while ago. But honestly, they need to figure out how to make a compelling reason not to shop at the mall. “I don’t think so.” An alternative location. ”
Amazon spokeswoman Jessica Martin declined to comment on specific store opening plans.
“We will continue to open new Whole Foods Market stores, but will also selectively open Amazon Fresh if we see the results we like,” she said in an email. “We are encouraged by early signs of new store designs in Chicago and Southern California and remain adaptive.”
Earlier this year, plans for at least two Amazon Fresh stores in Michigan appeared to be scrapped as space became available for lease: 23000 Michigan in Dearborn and 29501 John R. in Madison Heights.
Here are the remaining confirmed or presumed Amazon Fresh store locations in Michigan: 13975 Hall Road in Shelby Township; 662 E. Big Beaver in Troy. 2651 S. Rochester, Rochester Hills. 32070 Gratiot of Roseville. 22332 Nine Mile, East Clare Shores. Ann Arbor at Hagerty in Plymouth Township. 29370 Plymouth, Livonia. 12730 S. Saginaw in Grand Blanc.
Meanwhile, buildings slated to become Amazon Fresh sit vacant in metropolitan Detroit, and others, including facilities in Roseville and Shelby Township, have seen little activity.
But at least one Metro Detroit community is still hoping for an Amazon Fresh location. Plymouth Township Supervisor Kurt Heise said plans are still in the works to open a store on Hagerty Road in Ann Arbor in 2024.
“As far as I know, everything is still a work in progress,” he said. “We are really excited and excited that they have chosen Plymouth Township for this really exciting opportunity.”
The building’s façade is complete and internal systems, including plumbing, heating and cooling, are being installed. Mr. Heise said: “All we need to see is the Amazon Fresh logo. All other colors and motifs are already in place.”
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