Whole Foods Market (WFM) opened its newest store in the Mid-Atlantic in the Glover Park neighborhood of Washington, DC on February 23. The 21,500 square foot store, which reopened after being shuttered in 2017, is the first of the retailer’s traditional organic and natural grocery stores in the country to feature Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology. A second WFM featuring the new technology is slated to open later this year in Sherman Oaks, CA.
The Glover Park store, at 2323 Wisconsin Avenue NW, had served the community from 1996 until it was closed in March 2017, first for rodent problems and later due to a dispute with the landlord. It stayed shut until last month.
The legal problems arose when the retailer and its landlord couldn’t agree on who should shoulder responsibility for the breaking of the initial lease agreement after WFM had been cited for health code violations, specifically evidence of rodent infestation. It closed with the intention to remodel. The landlord claimed a closing that exceeded 60 days would violate the retailer’s lease terms.
The court determined that the rodent damage in the store was “an act of God” that caused the breach and that the lessee was therefore not responsible. In the meantime, Amazon bought Whole Foods in June 2017 for $13.4 billion.
Whole Foods and the landlord, Wical LP, were set to go to trial in May 2020, but agreed to settle their differences three months earlier. The agreement gave Wical $2.7 million paid into escrow by Whole Foods since the court began collecting monthly rents in June 2018. Additionally, Whole Foods paid almost $2 million in additional rent directly to Wical during the time between the store closure and the establishment of the escrow account. The retailer received a refund of $247,000 in over-payment of property taxes.
Whole Foods announced in September 2021 that the Glover Park and Sherman Oaks stores opening this year would feature “Just Walk Out” technology that had debuted at the first Amazon Go convenience store in 2018 in Seattle, WA after being tested for a year with Amazon employees at its company headquarters. Six “Go” locations opened in 2018.
“Go’s” sister firm, Amazon Fresh, made its East Coast debut in May 2021 when the big merchant cut the ribbon on its 30,000 square foot Franconia, VA location (a former Shoppers Food Warehouse supermarket). That store utilizes Amazon’s Dash Cart technology.
Two months later it opened a cozy 7,300 square foot neighborhood store in DC’s Logan Circle (14th Street NW), the first East Coast store to feature its proprietary “Just Walk Out” platform. Another Amazon Fresh unit opened last August in Chevy Chase, MD at the site of a former Giant Food (it also features Amazon’s Dash Cart technology).
The “Just Walk Out” technology allows shoppers to enter the store in a variety of ways. Customers can scan their palms when entering, which utilizes Amazon One technology to link to their Amazon account (Prime is not required), or they can scan the in-store code on their Whole Foods or Amazon app; then, when they are done shopping, they check out using the same method and are sent an electronic receipt within two to three hours. Customers also have the option of forgoing the sign-in and using a self-checkout kiosk, paying by cash or credit.
The “Just Walk Out” technology complements Amazon Dash Cart, which uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify items the shopper puts in their cart. When they exit through the store’s Amazon Dash Cart lane, sensors automatically identify the cart, and payment is processed using the credit card on the shopper’s Amazon account.
The Glover Park store is almost completely automated, although associates do still man the meat and seafood counters and the cheese station. Produce is no longer sold by the pound; like everything else in the store, it’s sold by the box or bundle.
Most of the other features of a typical WFM are available in the new store, including a prepared foods section with hot and cold food bars and ready-to-eat soups, sushi, pizza and a hot bistro station. The meat department includes a full-service butcher available to custom cut meats and prepare special orders. Additionally, the store features a beer and wine section.
Amazon has been active in the Mid-Atlantic market in recent years. In 2018 the company announced it would build one of its two new HQ2 campuses in the Crystal City neighborhood of Arlington, VA. That project is well under way.
In addition to the stores noted above, a new WFM opened in Towson, MD in January, bringing the number of WFMs in the Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia to 33. Future WFM locations in the region are also planned in Falls Church and Manassas, VA.
There are also plans to add to the current three stores “Fresh” in Baltimore-Washington area. According to our research, Amazon plans to open “Fresh” units in: Washington, DC (units on H St., Dupont Circle and 15th St. NW); Bethesda, Chevy Chase (Connecticut Avenue), Gaithersburg and Silver Spring, MD; Alexandria, Arlington, Baileys Crossroads, Fairfax, Falls Church, Lorton, Manassas, Springfield and Woodbridge, VA.
Other Amazon Fresh stores are located in California (10 locations), Illinois (six units), Pennsylvania (one store) and Washington State (three locations). Amazon also reportedly plans to add additional locations in those states as well as new stores in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.