Amazon Plans To Open 2,000 Grocery Stores In The Next 10 Years

Amazon doesn't want to stop at branded groceries from its online grocery service, AmazonFresh, which launched in Seattle in 2007. Now, the online retailer plans to open brick-and-mortar grocery stores across the United States with up to 2,000 locations in the next 10 years.

Amazon's pilot program consists of 20 locations to open by 2018 in Seattle, Las Vegas, New York City, Miami, and the Bay Area, Business Insider reported. During the pilot program, there will be two types of stores: One will act as a drive-thru to pick up online orders and one will be a traditional grocery store. 

Amazon's vision for a large number of brick-and-mortar grocery stores is ambitious considering potential future competitors Trader Joe's and Walmart already have 453 and 5,000 stores in the U.S., respectively.

The question of whether the grocery stores will be open to the public or for Amazon members only has yet to be answered.