Earlier this year, Amazon launched it’s own-operated airline, “Prime Air” to shuttle freight between its major US distribution centers.

Not exactly a burning issue for the air freight industry, but interesting nonetheless to anyone who follows the e-commerce revolution:  Yesterday, Seattle-based retail and online services giant Amazon unveiled its newest concept, the “Amazon Go” small-format grocery store.  It promises a feature that no other supermarket currently offers, the ability to grab products off the shelf and leave the store, without ever having to line up at the checkout counter.

According to a company release, a pilot store located in Seattle is already open to Amazon employees. The first store open to the public meanwhile, is slated to commence operations in early 2017 (and coincidentally, is located just one block away from Cargo Facts’ Seattle office).  While not going into detail about precisely how the store will work, Amazon said customers will enter and exit with their smartphones, and the store will automatically track what they pick up, and, when they walk out the door, charge their Amazon account.

While the impact on the air freight logistics sector is minimal, at least initially, it’s a sign that grocery is one retail segment which continues to remain stubbornly cemented within bricks-and-mortar retail stores.  If you are interested in learning more about the impact of e-commerce on the air freight industry, don’t miss Cargo Facts Asia 2017 where e-commerce and the rise of own-controlled air networks will once again be in focus. We invite you to join us 25 -26 April at the Shanghai Grand Hyatt. To register, or for more information, go to CargoFactsAsia.com.

Will an Amazon Go store becoming to a neighborhood near you? Expansion plans will likely depend on just how trial operations play out at the company’s first store. In the meantime, Amazon has released an interesting promotional video describing the concept: