Amazon, Whole Foods, ALDI Open Grocery Stores Despite Pandemic

Physical grocery stores are opening despite COVID-19, with Amazon, Whole Foods and ALDI making plans to cut the ribbon on new brick-and-mortar sites in Chicago and other cities.

Amazon Fresh, a new physical retail concept from Amazon, is setting up shop in four locations in the Chicago market, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The stores will reportedly be in Bloomingdale, Naperville, Schaumburg and Oak Lawn in the Chicago market, while stores have also been announced for North Hollywood, Northridge, Whittier and Long Beach in California.

Amazon had snapped up many headlines with past news that it would soon open its inaugural Amazon Fresh physical grocery store — first by invite and then to everyone.

In September, the eTailer gave the public open access to the Los Angeles store. Anyone can shop, experiment with the Dash Carts, while settling up with the Dash Cart and the Amazon app in lieu of the checkout line.

Shoppers also have the opportunity to engage with Echo Show devices strategicly installed in the location, tailored to provide suggestions and help shoppers locate items on their lists.

Furthermore, Whole Foods Market lists new store openings In Sherman Oaks, California; Sunnyvale, California and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In Arizona, low-cost supermarket chain ALDI will bring two new stores to the Phoenix area. Two stores — one in Chandler and the other in Goodyear — are set to open at the beginning of November. They will provide curbside pickup and delivery, AZ Central reported.

An additional two locations, one in Gilbert and one in Peoria, are set to open by the conclusion of 2020.

“We’re thrilled to continue expanding in the Southwest, and we take great pride in reaching this milestone as we open our first Arizona stores,” Aldi Group Director of Operations and Logistics Tom Cindel said in a statement, as per AZ Central.

As it stands, ALDI plans to open more than 70 retail locations by the end of 2020 as it starts a new period of growth.

The value chain said it has intended to come into the greater Phoenix market and keep supporting Gulf Coast store growth with a new Alabama distribution hub.