Discount grocer Amazon Fresh is expanding its Southern California footprint with new stores in Mission Viejo, La Verne and Murrieta. All will feature the company’s “Just Walk Out” technology.

The Mission Viejo location at 26940 Crown Valley Parkway opened Thursday, April 21. The La Verne market at 2229 Foothill Blvd. opens Thursday, April 28, while the Murrieta store at 40481 Murrieta Hot Springs Road will be up and running Thursday, May 5.

The supermarkets are all around 35,000 square feet and will collectively employ hundreds of workers at a starting wage of $16.40 an hour, Amazon said.

Once all three are open, the company will have 14 Amazon Fresh locations in Southern California and 30 across the country in California, Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

Additional Amazon Fresh stores are coming to Huntington Beach and Westlake Village.

How it works

Customers who opt for Just Walk Out shopping can enter the store by scanning the in-store QR code in their Amazon app, using Amazon One or by inserting a credit or debit card to open Just Walk Out gates.

Once inside, anything they take off the shelf is automatically added to a virtual cart, and anything a customer puts back comes out of it. When they’re finished shopping they simply scan or insert their entry method again to exit and they’re good to go.

The technology works with the help of hundreds of cameras, weight gauges and scanners that monitor what a customer removes from shelves and puts into their carts.

Customers, including non-Amazon members, can also use a traditional checkout lane, and those buying alcohol move through a separate, one-way aisle where they show an ID to an employee and exit through a gate.

Amazon Fresh carries a wide assortment of national brands and produce, meat and seafood, as well as a range of prepared foods made fresh in-store every day — from fresh-baked bread and made-to-order pizzas, to rotisserie chickens and hot sandwiches.

Amazon Fresh stores can also be found in North Hollywood, Woodland Hills, Whittier, Irvine, La Habra and Long Beach, among other Southland locations.

Jeff Helbling, vice president of Amazon Fresh Stores, said the company’s efforts to evolve its grocery experience into a “seamless, omnichannel offering” have been well-received by both shoppers and the grocery industry.

“We have exciting plans for Amazon Fresh stores this year and in the future,” Helbling told Supermarket News in a recent email interview.

Automation on the rise

Bob Phibbs, CEO of The Retail Doctor, a NY-based retail consulting firm, said consumers will be seeing more hands-free shopping options as the nation’s retail sector continues to evolve.

“I think we’ll probably see this sooner in more convenience stores, rather than grocery stores,” he said. “It’s easier to manage in a smaller footprint, and in those stores, you don’t have to deal with things like fresh fruit.”

Other retailers have also shifted some of their operations to a cashier-free model.

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Walmart and Sam’s Club have a Scan & Go program that allows customers to scan products with their smartphones and pay with a credit card registered on the app.

7-Eleven has a similar Mobile Checkout program, and Aldi opened its first checkout-free grocery store earlier this year in London. Like Amazon Fresh, Aldi’s Shop & Go app uses motion-sensor cameras and weight sensors to track what’s picked up by customers, who are then charged through the app after they leave.

The trend of increased automation in the retail industry will continue to displace workers,  Phibbs said, but these days those people have more revenue-generating options available to them, including DoorDash, Uber and other app-based services.