Tech

Amazon is planning to open drive-up grocery stores in Seattle


Amazon's Jeff Bezos
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Amazon is putting the finishing touches on a concept for new Seattle area grocery stores called AmazonFresh Pickup, according to permit filings reported by GeekWire.

E-commerce giant Amazon has filed permits for stores in the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard and SoDo, according to GeekWire's images from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections.

Amazon did not formally announce the stores to the technology blog, but CNBC is reaching out for comment.

Signs for the store exteriors read, "Shop online. Pick up here," and "Relax while we load your groceries," according depictions in the permits. GeekWire also visited the planned locations of the stores, where there are awnings for drive-up grocery pickup.

Based on previous permits, GeekWire posits that there will be about 15 employees at each location, and three to five workers will be dedicated to bringing orders out to parked cars with an average wait time of 5 minutes.

Amazon has recently experimented with several retail concepts, including a smart convenience store, Amazon Go. Amazon has also explored permits for drive-up grocery stores in the Bay Area, according to Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said the company's tech savvy — especially artificial intelligence — allows the company to do things like sort fresh strawberries better than the human eye.

For more on the Amazon permits, including pictures, check out the article on GeekWire.com.