Amazon pushes Dash Carts at Whole Foods

Amazon is rolling out its redesigned Dash Cart to more Whole Foods stores in 2026, deepening a grocery strategy built around smart carts instead of full cashierless checkout. (aboutamazon.com) Amazon said on January 7 that the newest Dash Cart is already live at Whole Foods stores in McKinney, Texas, Reston, Virginia, and Westford, Massachusetts, with expansion to dozens more U.S. locations by the end of 2026. Grocery Dive reported the rollout will reach more than 25 Whole Foods stores this year. (aboutamazon.com) (grocerydive.com) The cart is a checkout system inside the basket: shoppers scan in, add items as they shop, and pay without stopping at a register. Amazon says the new version is 25% lighter, holds 40% more, weighs produce, shows a running total on screen, and now accepts more payment options. (aboutamazon.com) (grocerydive.com) That marks a clear break from Amazon’s earlier grocery bet on Just Walk Out, the camera-and-sensor system that charged shoppers automatically as they left the store. Amazon confirmed on April 3, 2024, that it was removing Just Walk Out from its United States Amazon Fresh supermarkets and relying more heavily on Dash Carts there instead. (cnbc.com) Whole Foods followed days later. On April 5, 2024, Grocery Dive reported that Whole Foods would remove Just Walk Out from its only two stores using it, in Washington, District of Columbia, and Sherman Oaks, California, while keeping Dash Carts at select locations. (grocerydive.com) Amazon’s public explanation has centered on what shoppers can see while they shop, not just how fast they exit. A company spokesperson said customers wanted to find nearby deals, view their receipt during the trip, and track how much they were saving, features Amazon now highlights on the cart’s built-in screen. (cnbc.com) (aboutamazon.com) The Dash Cart push also fits a broader reset in Amazon’s grocery business under Worldwide Grocery head Jason Buechel. Amazon said on January 27 that it will close Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, convert some locations to Whole Foods Market stores, and open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores over the next few years. (aboutamazon.com) Amazon is still keeping Just Walk Out in smaller formats. CNBC reported the system remains in Amazon Go convenience stores, some smaller Amazon Fresh stores in the United Kingdom, and third-party venues that license the technology. (cnbc.com) For Whole Foods shoppers, the immediate change is simpler than the retail-tech debate around it: more stores will get carts that total the basket in real time and let customers skip the checkout line without outfitting the whole store with ceiling cameras. Amazon says that expansion will continue through the end of 2026. (aboutamazon.com)