Amazon wants to create a drive-up grocery store, so that’s awesome

Real talk: Going grocery shopping is the pits. It’s tedious and always takes longer than you expect, and of course the headache is exacerbated if you accidentally try to stop at the grocery after work to pick up a few quick things. Oh, hello long line that literally starts at the door! But if Amazon’s latest plans work out, you might not even have to get out of your car when you make a grocery run, because the online giant wants to create drive-thru grocery stores.

Yes, you read that right. Amazon wants to open storefronts. But not just any storefronts. These Amazon locations would allow customers to place an order online, schedule their pick-up time and location, and then cruise through to grab their goods. Need some milk before you head home for the day? Just let Amazon know when you’ll be by, and they’ll have it ready for you.

Details on how it’s going to work are still being hammered out, but there are plans to open a pilot location in Sunnyvale, CA (aka, Silicon Valley). The company already delivers groceries and other household goods to your door, but this would be their first venture into brick-and-mortar retail locations. The whole idea sounds pretty great — you can plan your pick-up time, order just what you need, and the store can control business by managing how many people pick-up at once. This could also put Amazon in the ever-changing grocery game, an industry that’s seen some major changes from big players like Whole Foods.

Of course, it’s impossible to know how well this will go over. But as Kirthi Kalyanam from the Retail Management Institute told BizJournals, diversifying their approach could keep Amazon in the game.

“I don’t think there’s one modality for grocery shopping,” Kalyanam said. “Some customers are going to order online and are happy to have it delivered to the house. Some want to order online and pick it up on the way home. Even the same consumer has different shopping-delivery needs on different occasions.

“One thing we know is: The more options a company gives consumers from a retail shopping point of view, the better the chance of success.”

Honestly? We’re pretty into this.

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(Image via Shutterstock)