Whole Foods Market has launched a new store concept in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, allowing customers to shop for both its natural and organic groceries as well as national name-brand products from Amazon in one location. The initiative is part of Amazon’s effort to offer more convenience and selection to grocery shoppers.
The new format features a 10,000-square-foot automated micro-fulfillment center located within the store. This facility manages over 12,000 unique items from Whole Foods Market and Amazon. Customers can access this expanded assortment by scanning QR codes placed throughout the store with their smartphones, which directs them to a custom storefront in the Amazon app. From there, they can add additional products—such as household essentials and snacks—to their cart for pickup at an in-store counter.
“At Whole Foods Market, we’ve always taken pride in offering a wide selection of natural and organic products, but we understand our customers appreciate the convenience of one-stop shopping,” said Jason Buechel, vice president of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and CEO of Whole Foods Market. “We’re making grocery shopping more convenient for customers by thoughtfully blending our grocery offerings and leveraging new fulfillment capabilities in creative ways. This new concept store experience allows customers to get everything on their shopping list in one convenient stop or one online order, combining quality with convenience while still delivering the exceptional shopping experience customers expect.”
Local shoppers using the Whole Foods Market online store through the Amazon app or website will also find an expanded product range that includes everyday essentials alongside traditional Whole Foods selections. Orders can be picked up curbside or inside the store.
Grocery pickup is available at no cost for all orders regardless of size. For Prime members, delivery incurs a $9.95 service fee per order unless they subscribe to Amazon’s grocery delivery subscription at $9.99 per month—which provides unlimited deliveries on qualifying orders over $25 from various participating stores.
Amazon reports that it achieved over $100 billion in gross sales of groceries and household essentials during 2024 and serves more than 150 million Americans as a destination for these goods (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/how-paper-towels-avocados-and-bananas-became-some-of-amazons-most-frequently-purchased-items). The company now offers same-day perishable grocery delivery across more than 1,000 cities and towns nationwide with plans to double that reach by year-end (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-same-day-grocery-delivery).
The micro-fulfillment technology used at Plymouth Meeting was developed by Fulfil, a robotics company based in Silicon Valley whose platform is tailored specifically for grocery operations rather than general e-commerce fulfillment systems. Autonomous robots handle sorting and staging items across various temperature zones behind the scenes before employees complete orders for customer collection or delivery.
Amazon plans to further refine this model based on customer feedback with intentions to expand it into additional locations over time.
