Amazon Fresh brings omnichannel design together in-store and online in a network of 60 stores to provide a seamless experience for shoppers, allowing customers to move easily between digital technologies and physical retail shopping.
Challenge
Most locations were second-generation structures that needed to be repurposed to meet the requirements of a full-service grocery store. The design also had to accommodate complex Building Information Systems and high-tech services while maintaining a scalable, repeatable model for a multi-store rollout.
Solution
As Architect of Record and Engineer of Record, we provided architecture and structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services for stores across the US. Using 3D scanning and BIM technology, our design integrates checkout-free shopping, Amazon Dash Carts, Alexa-powered customer tools, and online grocery pickup within a prototype that accommodates bakery, produce, prepared foods, refrigerated and frozen goods, and dedicated staging areas for order fulfillment.
Outcome
Virtual and physical retail come together in a seamless omnichannel shopping experience. Sustainability strategies across the portfolio include CO₂-based refrigeration systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38 metric tons annually, concrete floor systems that reduce embodied carbon by nearly 40%, and electrification powered by 100% renewable electricity at select locations.
The program supports Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, allowing customers to select products and leave without visiting a traditional register
Amazon Dash Carts, Alexa-powered tools, and online grocery pickup are fully integrated into the store prototype to create a seamless omnichannel experience.
3D scanning and BIM digitally mapped existing buildings to integrate high-tech retail systems
Amazon Fresh brings omnichannel design together in-store and online to provide a seamless experience for shoppers.
In collaboration with Amazon Fresh, NORR is an Architect of Record (AOR) and Engineer of Record (EOR) providing architecture, and structural, mechanical and electrical engineering for stores across the US. Most stores are second generation structures that have been, or are being, repurposed to meet the requirements of a full-service grocery store. With the use of technologies such as 3D scanning, we are able to collect the data points in the existing structure and convert the data into a BIM model that is used for design and construction drawings. It is efficient, precise, supports speed-to-market and is critical to design for the complexity of the multiple Building Information Systems that must be coordinated and integrated to provide multiple high-tech services including:
- Just Walk Out technology: Amazon’s checkout-free tech that allows shoppers to grab and go without visiting a register
- Amazon Dash Cart: Amazon’s shopping carts equipped with built-in checkout functionality
- Alexa: Alexa features to help customers manage their shopping lists, find easy recipes, and better navigate aisles
The large and medium format design strategy is to let the products be the star. The prototype accommodates a bakery, fresh produce, freshly prepared foods, refrigerated and freezer items, in combination with an interior staging area where shoppers can pick up Amazon grocery orders. Virtual meets physical in the omnichannel design.
From a sustainability perspective, select stores will transition to a CO2-based refrigeration system, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 38 metric tons per year compared to a conventional system. Additionally, some stores will use alternate aggregates and cement in the concrete floor to reduce the embodied carbon — the carbon associated with the manufacturing and installation of the flooring — by nearly 40% compared to a standard concrete floor. Select stores will also be electrified using 100% renewable electricity sourced from Amazon’s renewable energy projects.
