A budget-conscious grocery store from one of the largest companies on the planet will be kicking off their Northeast presence along a major highway in Passaic county.
During their November 2 meeting, Woodland Park’s planning board approved an application to revamp a vacant property at 1510 Route 46 West. Previously home to a Fairway Market before that company filed for bankruptcy, Amazon purchased the lease rights at the parcel earlier this year.
The 59,350-square foot space is located within the Plaza 46 development, which intersects Browertown Road and currently hosts other major retailers including Kohl’s. The sprawling storefront will soon be home to a new concept called Amazon Fresh, a subsidiary brand currently operating three stores in California that have all opened within the last few months.
Amazon famously purchased Whole Foods for $13.2 billion in 2017, but the ethos behind Amazon Fresh is decidedly different. The market prides itself on lower priced national brands alongside weekly deals and has introduced a few inventive features since debuting their first store on the West Coast this past September.
One of the perks of Amazon Fresh’s established markets is called Dash Carts, which allows shoppers to skip a visit to the cashier. Customers can bag their own groceries as they shop, as the store’s carts automatically scan items placed inside a cart using a computer vision algorithm and sensor fusion system.
Shoppers are then charged for the items in their cart when they leave the store. Other perks of the experience at Amazon Fresh’s markets include an in-store version of their Alexa to help assist with shopping lists and aisle navigation, and all the company’s locations promise free same-day delivery for all Prime members.
The company has not yet announced an opening date for the first New Jersey location of Amazon Fresh, but consumers locally and around the country might want to get used to the brand’s presence. Amazon owns the lease rights to space at the Fashion Center in Paramus that was also previously home to Fairway Market and plans are also underway to open several Amazon Fresh locations around the greater Chicago area.
