Washington's 1st Amazon Fresh Grocery Store Opens In Bellevue

BELLEVUE, WA — Washington's first full-sized Amazon Fresh grocery store opened Thursday at the Factoria Mall, greeted by hundreds of customers waiting outside. Unlike earlier Amazon Go stores, Amazon Fresh locations are largescale grocery operations, stocked with both company-owned and national brands, produce, meat, and pre-prepared foods.

Customers in Bellevue also have the option to use Amazon's cashierless "Just Walk Out" technology, which uses a network of sensors and cameras to detect which items each shopper grabs and charge it to their Amazon account once they leave the store. As the Seattle Times reports, the 25,000 square-foot Factoria location is Amazon's largest grocery store to offer the checkout-free option. Earlier in the year, the Times reported that another full-size Fresh store appeared to be in the works in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, replacing the old New Seasons.

Amazon Fresh - The Marketplace at Factoria

• Location: 3901 Factoria Square Mall SE
• Hours: Open daily, from 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Even with the cashless option, the store is still be staffed with hundreds of employees, Amazon said, and shoppers who prefer a traditional cashier checkout can also use that. Visitors wanting to skip the checkout lines will first need to scan an in-store code in their Amazon app, use Amazon One's palm reader, or insert a card linked to an account. Shoppers intending to use the checkout enter the store through a designated "traditional shopping" gate.

For those looking to check out the new store, there are a few perks to start things off, including Amazon credits, gift cards and tote bags. More information about how everything works is posted on the Amazon fresh website.