Rarely does Ealing attract very new/ground breaking ideas, granted its the home of London Jazz and the location for the world famous Ealing studios - but much of that was a long time ago. Image my surprise to find out that the first UK branch of Amazon Fresh was opening on Ealing's main shopping street - and just this week!

So I had to drop by and see what all the fuss was about, so I battled through a throng of Press to get a look at the first store in the UK to have no check-outs, that's right you make your choice and walk straight out!

The first thing that hit me were the queues - and with Covid restrictions in place it became impossible to work out where the back of the queue really was. One look at the people in the queue made it clear these were watchers (much like me) rather than real shoppers - but maybe that's to be expected.

At first glance - it was clean, clutter-free and well presented. A myriad of ceiling cameras and on-shelf sensors are key to replacing the tills, along with the need to scan your Amazon QR code on entry. The range felt more geared towards the lunchtime shopper - albeit there was plenty there to satisfy those shopping for evening meals , and even take away coffee (all with non milk milk - which I liked)

All in all - a great first attempt, despite the queues - only one quibble, we should be able to use Paypal when paying - current options are a little restricted.

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The first UK branch of Amazon Fresh opens in Ealing - London