Whole Foods opens first ghost supermarket

Brooklyn – The retailer’s new facility, open at the Industry City campus, will fulfil grocery delivery orders in Brooklyn.

Marking the first permanent online-only store to open in Sunset Park, the site is closed to walk-in visitors, but appeals to the growing demand for online grocery shopping. The facility, created by Amazon and Whole Foods Market, is designed to better serve the Brooklyn community through increased efficiency, dedicated staff teams and exclusive discounts.

‘This new delivery-only retail model will allow Whole Foods Market to serve even more customers and continue to meet the growing demand for grocery delivery,’ Amazon wrote in an announcement about the store opening. As shoppers continue to embrace the convenience of online ordering, retailers are responding to the lack of demand for walk-in services, and instead providing efficient fulfilment centres.

As the trend for Flagship Fulfilment evolves amid the rise of e-commerce and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, it is changing grocery retail.