Amazon has become the leader in the online retail industry over the last decade. In fact, the industry has suffered major shifts and losses in quite a few areas. However, the mega online retailer has remained at the center of the drive to make all retailers develop an online presence. Today, the company’s footprint has become a global giant for retail products shifting the focus in the industry to expand an internet footprint for almost every major retailer in the industry.

Because of their massive consumer reach, companies that have failed to give their consumers an online portal have often been the ones that have shuttered their doors in an increasing demand for people who wish to shop online. Online shopping gives hundreds of millions of Americans the ability to shop 24/7 for great deals and the company has proven its ability to master the world of online retail like no other company in the industry.

HQ2 Second Headquarters

Presently, the mega online hub is searching for a second headquarters outside of their Seattle location. The company has already done an amazing job bolstering the Seattle economy and skyscape. Amazon is sure to do the same for its second location. The company has finally reduced their search down to 20 locations across the United States and Canada.

For the region that is the final winner of the new headquarters, the company will be investing $5 billion dollars to build and create another mega center for distribution. The company has already committed to hiring 50,000 new employees in its second location which will bring an enormous boon to whatever region it settles on for its second home. Because of the sheer investment and need for a need for a large employable base, the company has sought to locate in a vibrant -thriving metropolitan area that has at least a population of a million people.
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After having over 280 metropolitan areas submit applications to be considered for the second headquarters the company has finally settled on 20 cities for final consideration. The final top 20 location sites under consideration for their second headquarters are:

• Atlanta
• Austin, Texas
• Boston
• Chicago
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas
• Denver
• Indianapolis
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• Montgomery County, Md.
• Nashville, Tenn.
• Newark, N.J.
• New York City
• Northern Virginia
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Raleigh, N.C.
• Toronto
• Washington, D.C.

Austin and Pittsburgh are popular with speculators online.

Amazon Go Supermarkets

Recently, the mega online retailer has also ventured into the retail supermarket industry. This has been a two-fold change for the retail online giant. Their first step was their acquisition of Whole Foods and their second supermarket imprint is the opening of Amazon Go. This new venture is a retail supermarket with highly advanced new store technology where there is no cashier or checkout needed.

The technology used for this allows customers to be acknowledged via sensors and all their items tallied for their bill with each item they take off the shelf and put in their cart. If they decide to put the item back on the shelf then the item is taken off their virtual bill. Sensors are installed to keep tally of each shopper’s carts. The final payout is handled for customers through their app. This can be done for iOS and Android systems. These are then linked up with their online account, before they start shopping at the store and checkout is done through an automatic payment charged through their online account’s primary payment source.

The first store of its kind opened December 5, 2016 and was meant as a trial run for the future and was centered around catering to their employees. Their first retail grocery store prototype for the public opened on January 22, 2018 in Seattle Washington. The initial store is limited in its offerings for prepared foods, liquors, regular grocery items and meal kits. The goal is to expand but the company is focused on just above basics as the company begins to better understand the grocery industry. The company has said it would like to open possibly as many as 2,000 of these new types of grocery stores in the next 10 years.