While the Google Maps listing for Amazon Fresh in Arlington Heights is marked “Permanently Closed” in a red and white banner, observations Friday, May 17, 2024 at the store site at 325 East Palatine Road tell another story. This past week, contractors installed a security system for shopping carts around the parking lot at Town & County Center at the southeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Palatine Road. There are two black lines marked by asphalt sealant that form a border around a section of the parking lot near the future Amazon Fresh store site. Apparently there is some type of detection system located near the surface of the parking lot and traffic lanes connected to the black sealant stripes. Also, at certain locations there is a yellow bar with “No Shopping Carts” symbols (like a “Do Not Enter” symbol) painted on the parking lot surface. The cart security system apparently uses a different system than the system in use at Mariano’s in Arlington Heights, where the secured carts are sometimes taken beyond the Mariano’s store’s designated perimeter.
Also, a variety of contractors have been working at the site for that past few months.
Amazon Fresh stores give the customers the option to use a high tech shopping cart known as the Amazon Dash Cart, which bypasses the checkout lines and self checkout lanes at stores. The Dash Cart relies on the stores Point of Sale (POS) system to calculate the basket total and to process payments. Customers can link loyalty programs while they shop, and the cart’s display provides a map of the Amazon Fresh store and a real-time receipt as items are entered into the Dash Cart.
The Dash Cart has also appeared at some Whole Food stores, and was featured in news reports in February 2024. The Whole Foods in San Mateo was the first Whole Foods in California to feature the Amazon Dash Cart.
Amazon rolls out smart shopping carts at Bay Area Whole Foods, letting you skip checkout line (Lena Howland/ABC7 News Bay Area). YouTube Tips ⓘ
According to Amazon, the Dash Cart, which has a built-in scale, can handle most items, including ready-to-sell hot food, sell-by-item products, bulk goods, some heavy or bulky products (which can be stored on the weighted shelf under the cart), deli foods, produce, and salad bar purchases. In order for the process to work with the Dash Cart, purchased items must have a barcode or a PLU identifying number (e.g., stickers on fruit), and the items must fit into the Dash Cart.
“The Dash Cart is a smart cart that makes grocery trips easier and more efficient. Shoppers log on using one of the methods your store provides, such as scanning a QR code on the store loyalty app, to begin their personalized shopping trip. They can find items with store maps, and weigh and bag items right in their Dash Cart. When done shopping, they can skip the checkout line by going through the Dash Cart lane and roll outside. They can also transfer to a point of sale depending on whether that option is enabled.”
— Amazon
According to Amazon, the new version of the Amazon Fresh Dash Cart features …
a real-time receipt on the electronic cart display,
appearance on the display of fresh items (such as produce) that are near the cart when approached,
the ability to input a search by product name instead of by PLU code (e.g, Gala apple instead of 4132, 4133,4134 or 4135),
the ability to weigh produce directly in the cart without stopping the cart,
a lighter weight shopping cart to push around,
increased shopping cart capacity (four-bag limit instead of two),
a new ‘delicates’ shelf, and
a new ‘lower shelf’ for over-size items.
Back-end improvements included a smart cart that is more precisely located in the store by the Amazon store’s information system, which improves the display of nearby products and deals for the customer. The cart also has an improved extended all-day battery life, and was tested for durability in extreme cold and extreme heat.
Arlington Heights Jobs Post Created
Also, a job listing for “Amazon Fresh Grocery Associate – Arlington Heights“ was posted on March 25, 2024 (and was updated yesterday, Friday, May 17, 2024) on the official Amazon Jobs website.
According to Amazon, the Amazon Fresh Grocery Associate’s primary responsibility is to deliver an extraordinary grocery shopping experience for Amazon’s customers. Amazon is seeking individuals who have a passion for customer service, a desire to continuously learn, and are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. Daily tasks will vary based on store needs, but some of responsibilities may include:
Customer Engagement: Greet customers, engage in friendly conversations, and ask about their shopping needs
Product Knowledge: Offer customers product recommendations and provide information to help them make product-related decisions
Checkout Operations: Use cash register to ring up customer transactions and assist customers in self-service checkout lanes
Return Processing: Receive and process in-store and Amazon.com returns
Fresh Food Preparation: Prepare fresh food items such as cold salads, pizzas, rotisserie chickens, and sandwiches
Store Presentation: Stock shelves and produce, set up merchandise displays, and maintain a cleanly sales floor
Inventory Management: Unload product deliveries and organize stockroom
Order Fulfillment: Pick items to fulfill customer grocery orders for pickup and delivery
There is no start date range indicated on the job listing, but Cardinal News was told by an unofficial source “off the record” that the Amazon Fresh Arlington Heights store opening is targeted for late July or August 2024.
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The Amazon Fresh stores in Schaumburg and Oak Lawn, Illinois were recently refreshed, and include an expanded selection of more than 1,500 new national and private label products.
If similar to the two refreshed stores in Schaumburg and Oak Lawn, the Arlington Heights store will feature a Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop offering a variety of fresh doughnuts, and an expansive selection of iced coffee, hot coffee, espresso drinks, and frozen lattes that can be customized with extra espresso shots and flavors. Each Schaumburg and Oak Lawn store features the first Krispy Kreme shop of its kind in Amazon Fresh, which include iconic Original Glazed®, Chocolate Iced Glazed with Sprinkles, and Glazed Raspberry Filled doughnuts.
Future of retail: AI-powered shopping cart that we may be seeing soon in other grocery stores or other types of stores (Gerri Willis/FOX Business/FOX 32 Chicago). YouTube Tips ⓘ
Amazon is creating a whole new high tech shopping experience with its latest version of smart shopping carts rolling out at Whole Foods stores (Island News/KITV in Honolulu/February 24, 2024). YouTube Tips ⓘ
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