I went to visit the new @AmazonFresh grocery store that opened last week in the #Chicago suburb of Naperville.

The following is a thread about my experience and general impressions.

#retail #tech #technology

When entering the store, you can choose between the Amazon Dash Cart experience or a standard shopping cart. Although the Amazon Dash Cart is the draw for this outlet, it had a higher percentage of the standard carts than the tech-forward ones. #tech #retail

If using the Amazon Dash Cart, you would select up to two recyclable paper bags for the cart and sign into your @amazon account using the touchscreen on your cart. Given that the experience is new, Amazon had employees on hand to teach shoppers.

If using the Amazon Dash Cart, you are limited to two smaller size grocery bags. To provide perspective, I sat those two bags next to a 12-pack of Bubly after I got home. As such, this experience will only be for those doing lighter shopping trips (eg. Less than 25 items).

This is a tour of the cart. You use the scanner to the right to scan a QR code from your Amazon app to sign in. A touch screen tracks your purchases. Points for the purse hook and the dual-purpose drink or phone holder.

Packaged food is more straight forward. The cameras at the top of the cart scan the item at it is added to the cart. The cart will beep, if successful. If it doesn’t pick up the item, the lights will flash orange.

As you might expect, produce is more complicated. Shoppers need to enter a four-digit code onto the cart and then the cart weighs the item after it is placed in the bag. #retail #tech

I had issues when I went to select my first produce. I was looking at the code on the vegetable itself. I entered various combinations, but all failed. The consumer needs to enter the code found on the signs. This was presumed knowledge.

I had issues with this solo tomato. It took four attempts to get it to pick up the weight. Upon exiting the store, I had to review these images with a clerk to ensure I wasn’t shoplifting a 58-cent tomato. #retail

The cart also didn’t provide a good home for these delicate items. I sat the tomato off to the side of the bag until I finished so I could put in on top of the other groceries. In the end, I arrived at home with bruised bananas and two broken eggs out of the dozen.

At one point, I realized I picked up pork sausage instead of chicken sausage so I swapped out the packages in the cart. The Amazon Dash Cart impressively nailed this experience perfectly.

I selected fresh fish. While waiting for it to be packaged at the counter, I noticed this sign. You could pre-order those items through the app and then return to the counter to pick them up. #food #retail

Anything you purchase, must be able to sit in the cart below the cameras. I needed to buy paper towels, but the six-pack of Bounty that I wanted to purchase caused a sensor error. Instead I had to buy another brand that was sold in two packs. #CPG #Retail

Throughout the experience, you’ll notice shout-outs to the Alexa ecosystem. @alexa99 #tech #voicefirst #grocery

If using the Alexa Shopping List function at home, you will see those items come up the cart’s interactive screen. In addition, there are stands that you can use Alexa to help find items in store. I did this experience after I struggled to find kosher salt. #Alexa #voicefirst

These are some scenes around the new @AmazonFresh store in Naperville, Illinois, outside of #Chicago. #retail #tech #technology

You will notice a lot of Amazon’s private label, Happy Belly, around the Amazon Fresh store. #retail #privatelabel

You will also notice the tie-in to the broader Amazon ecosystem. You can shop for Amazon devices, make returns at the customer service desk or pick up purchases at the Amazon lockers. #Alexa #Amazon #technology

When using the Amazon Dash Cart experience, you exit through this lane, denoted by the balloons for the opening. A clerk was there to help acclimate shoppers to the experience. This is also the moment you would scan any coupons.

This Amazon Fresh store does a healthy click-and-collect business. While shopping on on this weekday afternoon, I’d estimate that at least one-third of the "shoppers" were Amazon employees. #digital #ecommerce

From my perspective, this experience would be best received in a city center. @Euromonitor research has found that consumers are most comfortable with such tech-forward experiences in the large urban areas (>1.5 mil plus).

These are also the consumers that might only buy two bags of groceries that would fit in the Amazon Dash Cart either because they are walking home or making smaller, more frequent trips to the grocery than a family that might plan for the week in a suburb like Naperville.