Amazon to enter grocery store market in New Jersey

The already red-hot grocery store wars in New Jersey are getting a new giant competitor; Amazon has announced that they will be opening a new Amazon Fresh grocery store in Woodland Park. The Woodland Park Planning Board approved Amazon’s application to take over the space of a former Fairway supermarket on Route 46 and Browertown Road.

The Amazon Fresh concept is a new one; the retail giant opened the first two stores in California this past August but plans to roll out more locations. As reported on NorthJersey.com, the Amazon Fresh experience is a little different from your ordinary grocery store\. Along with traditional carts and checkout lines, the store will also feature the Dash Carts which allow the customer to skip the trip to the cashier. The carts automatically scan the items as they’re placed in the cart and gives you the total when you leave. Along with the Dash Carts, Amazon will also offer same day delivery which is free for Prime members as well as curbside pickup.

Amazon made its entry into the grocery realm when it purchased Whole Foods in 2017 for almost $14 billion. It joins an increasingly crowded market for grocery stores in New Jersey; Aldi, Lidl, and Trader Joes have already opened or plan to open additional stores and Acme just bought 27 former King’s Markets.

No opening date has been announced, but Amazon did say that 100 jobs will be created that will pay at least $15 an hour. Amazon also recently opened its first New Jersey brick and mortar store in the Willowbrook Mall that sells “four star” items selling items that got at least a four star rating on the website.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.