AMAZON FRESH AT Chalk Farm

 licensed for reuse under the  Creative Commons Licence

67goingon50 visited the new Amazon Fresh checkout-free store in Chalk Farm which opened recently   Disappointment abounded; expectations that it would stock some Whole Foods goodies, saving a trip to Camden Town, were not realised.

The Chalk Farm Amazon Fresh is more like a Morrisons - which is no bad thing - but nothing tempted on that first visit. I did pick up a bag of crisps and put it back to test the system but it didn't  register at all on my bank account.

If your phone isn't geared up to no check-out shopping, it will take a little time to get it started but the staff are extremely helpful and patient.  Now that my phone is ready to go, I will return and try some of the well-priced produce.  On first glance, much of it seems to be British.

An excellent report from Sam Chambers of the Sunday Times on the Chalk Farm Store (including a possible Amazon bid for Morrisons  -- the full report is here) saved me the trouble of writing about my own experience.  

And, by the way, after The Sunday Times story, it was revealed that Morrisons has been testing cashless stores at its Bradford Head Office.  

By Sam Chambers: part of a Sunday Times article 18 July

Locals in north London are still getting to grips with Amazon’s new checkout-free convenience store. A middle-aged man hesitated last Wednesday when the gate swung open for him to leave. After regarding it with suspicion, he held his sandwich aloft and turned to the young worker next to him.

“So it knows I’ve bought this?”

“Yes,” she replied, pointing to the black cameras affixed to the rails snaking around the roof of the store.

“Genius!” came the reply.

The hi-tech store in Chalk Farm is one of five that Amazon has opened in the capital this year — its latest attempt to crack what is proving to be an unusually difficult market for the otherwise all-conquering behemoth of the retail industry.

In its store in Chalk Farm there is a hub for collecting or returning Amazon parcels and a coffee machine next to the entrance. Most fresh goods are sold under the “by Amazon” label and prices are competitive: a pack of bacon costs £2, two punnets of strawberries are on offer at £3. Despite the absence of checkouts, there are as many staff as shoppers.

The jury is still out. Retiree John Heather is fast becoming a regular. “I love the concept, it’s so easy,” he said as he made use of the coffee machine. “The problem is that now when I’m in a supermarket, I just chuck all my shopping in my bag without thinking about it.”

 

 

But his companion, Majella Fawle, had been brought to the store against her wishes. “I don’t use it — I hate the idea that we end up only ever shopping with Amazon,” she said.

Love it or loathe it, Amazon is just getting started in food.

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This recipe was developed by B  Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.