London is undoubtedly the European capital of stand-alone stores. Four brands already operate a unit at least and the only Amazon Fresh has a total of 18. On Holborn Street, three brands are even in immediate competition, less than 500 meters away: Sainsbury’s Local, Tesco Express Get Go and Amazon Fresh. Technologically, the three stores are similar with cameras on the ceiling and scales under the shelves (to confirm the observations of the cameras). For Sainsbury’s, it’s even a copy/paste from Amazon since the Briton bought the technology from the American! Aldi stands out by using only cameras (review here). Advantage: a less expensive tech’, not the slightest interest in making the investment profitable!
Since the opening of its first Amazon Fresh in 2021, the Seattle giant has made no secret of its ambitions on the English market, even mentioning 260 units by 2024. Then, at the start of the summer, shortly following the opening of the 18th London location and the first store outside the capital, in Sevenoaks in Kent, Amazon has announced that it is interrupting its expansion plans. Behind this decision, an economic motivation. In addition to the fact that Amazon Fresh sales in the United Kingdom were lower than expected, inflation and purchasing power tensions might only have a significant impact for these stores with a positioning that is not really discount.
Ignoring the economic context, Tesco has just announced the continuation of its collaboration with the Israeli start-up Trigo, whose technology equips the Tesco Express Get Go in High Holborn. In Chiswell Street, the No. 1 in English retail has opened a “hybrid” convenience store offering both payment at the checkout (assisted or automatic checkout) or, in total autonomy, via the Get Go app. same model, two other points of sale are due to open soon, one in London (Fulham Reach) and the other in Birmingham (Aston University).
To visit Amazon Fresh, it’s here >>
To visit Sainsbury’s Local, it’s there >>
And for Tesco Get Go, it’s up to you to scroll >>
