Will Amazon and Whole Foods Reinvigorate the Strip Mall?

Amazon is breathing new life into the American shopping module – and they’re using grocery stores to get it done. After purchasing Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, the online e-commerce giant has big plans for this beloved grocery chain.

Get ready to see Whole Foods cropping up all over the country in some unprecedented places including strip malls, retail centers, and other suburban districts. So, what does this mean for metro hubs around the country? Here’s how this new wave is going to be impacting the U.S. retail district:

Can Amazon Save the Strip Mall?

The fall of the American shopping center has been a cause of woe for brick-and-mortar retailers and CRE pros across the board. The supposed ‘retail apocalypse’, or the mass-closure of stores across the country, has left many of the most bustling hubs for commerce vacant.

However, in 2020 a contemporary perspective can see that this wasn’t all that bad. It’s been the biggest force of retail’s wide-scale refresh that we’re starting to see rise to the surface. Brands have been boosting their strategies to fit into the modern retail scheme and all of the retail spaces left empty have been providing the necessary room for growth.

These changes have actualized the retail sphere, but with Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods and big plans to move forward, things are going to be shaken up within the grocery industry, too.

Tech Coming Into Play

Not only is Whole Foods going to become more accessible to the masses, but Amazon is also experimenting with cutting-edge technologies to transform the food shopping experience. Their latest cashier-less module is making big waves in the way consumers interact with grocery brands. It’s forcing competing brands to integrate new technologies in efforts to stay current and deliver what their clients want.

Amazon tried out this tech-powered system with basic retail products in their groundbreaking Amazon Go stores – and consumers have gone wild. This has empowered the expansion into grocery stores, so expect to see tons more technology in the food shopping module. 

Once this system seeps into strip malls, it will deliver the tech-forward experience that may just be strong enough to give retail centers a long-awaited modern makeover. 

A New Era of Groceries

The American grocery market has already taken a major hit from Amazon entering the scene. 

Competing brands like Kroger, Walmart, and Costco all lost a combined $22 billion in value in 2017 whenever this deal first kicked off. Now that it’s 3 years later and the Amazon-Whole Foods’ integration is running at full-throttle, even more changes are coming. Resultantly, the entire grocery industry is hunkering down in preparation.

The upcoming expansion of Whole Foods locations will bring this luxury grocer to locations all around the country and it will mean a major upheaval for competitors. The experts are anticipating to see many other grocery chains rethink their game plans to compete with Amazon’s massive presence through Whole Foods.

Specialty Stores Will be A Big Competitor 

Local niche grocers are able to put up a fight against Amazon’s strong hold on the industry. Specialty grocers that have a loyal community of brand enthusiasts will be able to remain relatively stable even with Amazon flexing their grocery muscles. Keep an eye on brands like Trader Joes, Sprouts, and other small independent grocers. 

Amazon is setting trends and forcing competitors to keep up. How do you expect Amazon’s influence on the grocery industry to impact the US market? Stay tuned to NAI Global for the latest updates.