Amazon is due to dramatically ramp up its Whole Foods footprint across the US while introducing its two-hour delivery service to all stores.
According to the reports in the Wall Street Journal, Whole Foods employees have been scouting for potential retail spaces across the US into suburbs and regions where it currently has no presence.
This move promises to push the growth of Amazon’s grocery arm, which currently trades from 475 stores in the US and seven stores in the UK, to unseen levels.
Meanwhile it was reported that the technology giant is planning to expand its two-hour delivery service and 30-minute pick up service to every Whole Foods store, though the service will still only be available to Amazon Prime customers.
It is understood that the store spaces under consideration in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming are around 45,000sq ft, slightly larger than usual.
This suggests that Amazon could be moving away from the strategy it employed throughout much of 2018, launching a number of smaller multi branded 365 stores, which focused largely on locally made produce and more affordable groceries.
Amazon purchased Whole Foods back in 2017 for $13.7 million and has since continued to drive its expansion into the physical retail market across the US and the UK, launching numerous Amazon Go stores alongside its new 4-star stores.
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