COLUMBUS – Amazon, the online retailer that has nearly made the brick-and-mortar store obsolete, is expanding its investment in, of all things, brick-and-mortar stores.
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The online retail giant’s latest venture is ‘Instant Pickup,’ which will be available in Columbus, where shoppers can retrieve items immediately after ordering them, shortening delivery times from hours to minutes.
The retailer will install points around five college campuses, including Ohio State, where Amazon Prime members can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each location, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers, on the Amazon app.
Employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them.