After closures, Amazon Go expands with new Washington store

Amazon Go on Tuesday opened a new location in Puyallup, Washington, its sixth store of this format in the United States. It features the same Just Walk Out Shopping experience available at other Amazon Go stores with no lines or checkout.

In March, Amazon permanently closed eight Amazon Go stores to pull back on some of its brick-and-mortar retail operations; however, according to the company, Amazon saw 7% physical store sales growth year over year in the second quarter and aims for the new store to further those efforts.

The Seattle-based retail giant appears to have paused growth of its high-tech Amazon Fresh grocery store concept, with many locations once slated to become Fresh stores sitting empty and unfinished. It has been more than a year since a new Amazon Fresh supermarket opened, though Amazon has updated some of its existing stores to include a broader selection of grab & go items, self-checkout lanes and a more vibrant atmosphere. 

The new Amazon Go location, with about 2,000 square feet of shopping space, is its third in suburban Seattle, while the other three are outside of Los Angeles in Whittier, Torrance and Woodland Hills.

The store offers a selection of grab-and-go food and beverage items, including family meals, a broader range of beer and wine and everyday essentials, according to the company.

Its Made-to-Order kitchen offers freshly prepared customizable meals, including breakfast, sandwiches and burritos, hot and cold deli sandwiches and wraps available all day. The menu features more than 35 options, such as the Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch; the Cuban; and the Sausage, Egg & Cheddar Sandwich.

Amazon Go also offers a variety of specialty beverages including Starbucks freshly brewed coffee, fountain soda from Coca-Cola and ICEE frozen beverages.

The store offers local food and beverage items, including Alki Bakery, Macrina Bakery, Molly’s, Reuben’s Brews (Ballard), Georgetown Brewing, Stoup Brewing (Ballard), Charles Smith (Washington) and Gilbert Cellars (Washington).

Customers can also find items for home, personal, health, pets and auto, including everything from trash bags to dog treats.

Amazon Go provides a location for customers to complete package-less returns on Amazon items at a customer service counter inside the store. Customers start the return on Amazon and select their preferred Amazon Go store as the drop off location. After submitting the return request, they will receive a return QR code which they need to bring to show a store employee along with their return, no need to print or package anything.

The store also features Amazon Hub Lockers, which enable customers to pick up eligible items purchased on Amazon. This store appears as an option and customers can select it as a shipping destination during the checkout process on Amazon.

On Oct. 20 and 21, the store will host grand opening events where the first 100 customers to arrive will get an Amazon Gift Card of up to $100 value.

Additionally, all customers will get 10% off every purchase on Oct. 29th and enjoy $3 breakfast sandwiches and $5 oven-toasted sandwiches from the Made-to-Order kitchen through the end of the year.

Currently, in the United States, Amazon’s physical stores include 535 Whole Foods Markets, 44 Amazon Fresh grocery stores, 28 Amazon Go c-stores and two Amazon Style apparel, footwear and accessories stores. The company opened the first Amazon Go cashierless convenience store using its “just walk out” technology in January 2018.

This story originally appeared in WGB sister publication CSP Daily News and has been modified slightly.