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  • July 2014 (Revised August 2014)
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AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market

By: Rory McDonald, Clayton Christensen, Robin Yang and Ty Hollingsworth
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:17
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Abstract

More than a decade after the high-profile failures of several early online grocers, grocery remains the largest single U.S. retail category and one of the few that has not yet migrated online. Amazon began testing its grocery-delivery service, AmazonFresh, in Seattle, in 2007; five years later, the company has made significant progress. The case traces the evolution of AmazonFresh's business model and describes the operating capabilities necessary to compete with brick-and-mortar supermarkets like Wal-Mart and Safeway and with new digital grocery startups. Now Amazon needs to decide on AmazonFresh's next step. Should the company continue refining its business model in Seattle or expand to another city? What factors should it take into account when planning its next move?

Keywords

Innovation; New Markets; Grocery; Operations Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Learning; Service Operations; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Citation

McDonald, Rory, Clayton Christensen, Robin Yang, and Ty Hollingsworth. "AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market." Harvard Business School Case 615-013, July 2014. (Revised August 2014.)
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Related Work

    • March 2017
    • Faculty Research

    AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market

    By: Rory McDonald
    • December 2018
    • Faculty Research

    Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)

    By: Rory McDonald, Sarah Mehta and Shaye Roseman
    • July 2014 (Revised August 2014)
    • Faculty Research

    AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market

    By: Rory McDonald, Clayton Christensen, Robin Yang and Ty Hollingsworth
Related Work
  • AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market By: Rory McDonald
  • Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B) By: Rory McDonald, Sarah Mehta and Shaye Roseman
  • AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market By: Rory McDonald, Clayton Christensen, Robin Yang and Ty Hollingsworth
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