Amazon Fresh sees increased visits to close out 2021
Amazon Fresh saw foot traffic increase in Q4 of 2021, ending the year on a high note according to Placer.ai. After the first Amazon location opened in August of 2020, the chain has quickly launched over 20 locations.
The success of Amazon Fresh is well-documented, with the retailer topping dunnhumby’s latest Retailer Preference Index, partially due to its private label portfolio. Placer.ai, a data company that examines in-store traffic, compared Amazon Fresh store visits in Q2, Q3 and Q4 of last year, showing increases in the final quarter, likely in-part due to holiday shopping.
“So far the data looks promising,” wrote Placer.ai’s Shira Petrack in a blog post. “Between Q2 ‘21 and Q4 ‘21, visits grew for every single one of the eight stores analyzed. While part of the growth may be due to initial COVID-related capacity restrictions, the fact that store occupancy rose across the board at these early locations indicates that these venues are generating increased demand over time – a positive sign for any retailer.”
Placer.ai examined another retailer, Whole Foods, and how monthly visits have changed at the Amazon-owned grocer. Whole Foods saw decreased visits during the start of the pandemic, but that tide appears to be turning. In December of 2021, in-store visits were down only 5.2% compared to 2019, a major shift compared to 21.8% in January of 2021.
Placer.ai’s cross-shopping data shows what other stores a company’s customers are visiting. For the last six months of 2021, cross-shopping data shows that Amazon Fresh customers are increasingly shopping at Ralphs and Aldi, and shopping less and less at Whole Foods.
“This means that competition is decreasing between Amazon’s offline grocery brands, indicating that the company’s approach to grocery is diversified and complementary,” wrote Petrack. “While Amazon Fresh is positioning itself as a value grocer, whose primary competition comes from grocers such as Ralphs and Aldi, Whole Foods is positioned as a premium supermarket chain that appeals to a whole different consumer base. With Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh catering to different segments, Amazon is set to strengthen its standing as an offline grocery leader in 2022.”
The full report on Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods can be found here.