Amazon Expanding Into Grocery Market

Attending an online culinary school can be time-consuming, especially if you have work or family commitments. Whether you need to cook something in your kitchen for a school project or just want to test out a new recipe that you learned about, you’ll need to find the time to head to the grocery store to buy the necessary ingredients. Wouldn’t it be great if you could purchase your groceries and have them delivered to your door – just as your books and electronics are? If you live in the Los Angeles or San Francisco areas, that wish may soon become a reality thanks to Amazon.com.

While there are a handful of online grocery delivery services, the market, for the most part, has gone largely untapped. With little competition and plenty of room to expand, Amazon has set its sights on e-groceries. After five years of testing AmazonFresh in Seattle, the major online retailer has decided that it is time to expand to other cities. Refrigerated warehouses are being constructed near the new markets and will also have room for other goods already offered on the site. If AmazonFresh is deemed successful, the service will expand to another 20 major cities, allowing even more students to order and receive their groceries alongside their their textbooks for their online chef programs.

In response, market analysts are predicting that traditional grocery stores will try to counter AmazonFresh by offering the ability to order and pay for groceries online so that they will be ready for the customer to pick up at a designated time. For busy people taking online cooking courses, this can reduce a 30- to 40​-minute shopping trip to a five- to-10 minute pickup. The only drawbacks to either of these programs is not being able to hand-select your own fruits, veggies and meats that will be used in your meals.