New autonomous grocery store opens in suburban Atlanta

The autonomous grocery store industry is heating up in Georgia with the opening of the state’s second automated, frictionless shop, Green Picks Market, in the suburban Atlanta city of Chamblee.  

The 2,000-square foot store is outfitted with 96 cameras and shelves equipped with scales and sensors to detect when an item has been removed for purchase. The store’s opening follows the debut of Nourish Bloom Market, an autonomous store that launched in Fayetteville, Georgia, in 2022. 

Green Picks Market President Ismael Fernandez told Winsight Grocery Business in a recent interview that the store operates similarly to Amazon’s brick-and-mortar convenience locations, known as Amazon Go, which also use cameras and sensors to detect when an item has been removed from the store.  

Fernandez said there’s somewhat of a learning curve for customers who may still be concerned about walking out of a store without ever pulling out cash or a credit card. He said it’s been common in the first month for customers to purchase just one item to test the system. 

“And those that come back with some reassurance, they start shopping freely, and then they start paying $20, $30, $40 in one transaction,” Fernandez said.  

The store is currently staffed with one person, as the company works with new customers to get them acclimated to the system, but Green Picks will eventually go fully autonomous at night, Fernandez said.  

The store carries a wide variety of products, including frozen foods, produce, packaged goods, bakery items and snacks, among other products. “It’s almost like a Whole Foods but the size of a 7-Eleven, and we are targeting those looking for healthy options in a convenient environment,” he said.  

He said the first store was privately funded, but Green Picks is currently looking for investors to scale the concept. “We’re doing a capital raise right now to help support growing the number of stores here in Atlanta,” he said. “I think we’re going to go with perhaps four or five stores in Atlanta before we branch out into neighboring cities and states.” 

Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee are the next states Green Picks would like to open up shop, according to Fernandez.