Amazon may take another, even bigger swing at physical stores, this time with a Walmart-like Supercenter. On Tuesday, the Orland Park Plan Commission in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, Illinois voted 6-1 to approve Amazon’s proposal to develop 35 acres of land for a 229,000-square-foot retail center, as reported. Information.
The development will include a brick-and-mortar supercenter selling groceries, general merchandise, and prepared foods. It will also double as an Amazon fulfillment center, like a department store with an Amazon warehouse in the back. Customers will be able to select Amazon orders there as well.
The proposed development is far from Amazon’s first attempt to launch a brick-and-mortar retail location. Over the past few years, it has been closing its physical stores in droves. In 2022, it closed all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, 4-star stores and pop-up shops. It also closed both of its Amazon Style clothing stores in 2023. Recently, Amazon has been focusing its brick-and-mortar store efforts on Whole Foods Market, which Amazon bought in 2017, but it appears to still have ambitions for a physical store.
