Amazon rethinks brick-and-mortar retail in Illinois
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A recently closed Amazon Fresh store in California. Photo: Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Global retailer Amazon signaled a shift in strategy this week, using Chicago as the test case for a new shopping experience.
Why it matters: The company that upended brick-and-mortar retail wants to get into more brick-and-mortar retail.
The big picture: The company is building a first-of-its-kind big box store near the Orland Square Mall in Orland Park. It hopes to start construction this spring and be open in 2028.
Between the lines: The move comes as the company plans to close its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, including 14 in Illinois.
Reality check: Amazon isn't getting out of the grocery business, though. The company says it's shuttering those stores to bolster its Whole Foods presence by opening more than 100 markets over the next few years.
- The company also wants to focus on grocery delivery, which has seen "remarkable growth."
Zoom in: Amazon's Orland Park experiment is planned for 35 vacant acres at the corner of 159th and LaGrange Road that would feature a 229,000-square-foot building — bigger than a Walmart.
- It would include a warehouse to support on-site operations.
- Amazon says it will sell groceries, general merchandise and offer delivery for the surrounding area.
- Customers will be able to use their phones to locate hard-to-find items and have them delivered to their carts, possibly through automated kiosks.
Yes, but: The village of Orland Park and the Illinois Department of Transportation would need to build out infrastructure to accommodate the extra freight and consumer traffic along 159th Street and LaGrange Road.
- Village officials say the tax revenue from the Amazon store would cover any infrastructure costs.
- "We have a wonderful opportunity here. Amazon's doing it for us, and they're doing it here in Orland Park. And they're spending their own money," Village trustee Joanna Leafblad said at a recent meeting.
Friction point: The retail giant's moves have drawn the ire of local unions, who marched on its Chicago headquarters on Wednesday after the company cut 16,000 jobs this week.
- Since October, it has cut nearly 30,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.
- The protesters called for more worker protections, benefits and for billionaires like owner Jeff Bezos to pay more in federal taxes.
What we're watching: Amazon will release its 2025 financial earnings report next week.
The bottom line: Amazon has changed the way you shop online. Now, it wants to change where you shop in person.