by Alex Lloyd Gross
As of 8:02 AM today, customers are now able to get inside the Amazon Fresh store, located on the 1800 block of Street Road, in Bensalem. There was a bit of fanfare as the store was opened, which included a ribbon cutting and the possibility of a free Amazon Fresh gift card, if you were one of the first to go in the store.
It’s a supermarket. Food is sold there. That being said, it has the Amazon name which is creating excitement. This place was long since delayed in opening. Originally, the idea was to have no check out counters and have things rung up electronically. When that proved not to be feasible, the store was delayed for almost two years. It sat vacant.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Just one is the aisles.
Now, customers can go in and get rung up just like at a traditional supermarket. Cash and card are accepted. For those that want a bit more hi-tech experience, there are specialized shopping carts that will keep track of your purchases and there is a dedicated check out line just for those shoppers. Of course, there is self check out as well.
Alex Lloyd Gr5oss Photo-Delaware Valley News.com Cashiers are at the ready to check people out just minutes after the store opened.
The prices are a bit higher on some items than other stores locally and some items are less expensive. For example, Powerade is $1.79 but can be gotten for $1.00 elsewhere less than a mile away. Chicken is priced at the package price, as opposed to individual prices per package.
There is a prepared food section which is priced at $8.00/lb that includes chicken, and mashed potatoes. It is really delicious.
While Jeff Bezos was not there to cut the ribbon, area residents Rick Jones and Connie Fraim were. They lined up at 7:00 PM last night to be the first in line. They were guaranteed a $100.00 gift card and they were also given flowers by store management. While the prospect of sleeping out to get into a store might not appeal to everyone, they made the most of it. However, they did not have to do that because by 6:00 AM the next people showed up.
Amazon Fresh has partnered with Philabundance to get short dated food for area food banks. Prior to the store opening, Amazon gave the organization a $10,000 donation.