Ed Yruma/KeyBanc Capital Markets
Amazon is launching tech-focused pop-up shops in Whole Foods stores.
The stores display the e-commerce giant's devices — such as its Echo smart speakers, Kindle readers, and Fire tablets — and occupy about 300 to 500 square feet of Whole Foods' store space.
They're staffed by Amazon employees, said Ed Yruma, a managing director at KeyBanc Capital Markets who recently visited one of the pop-up shops.
"Amazon pop-ups are focused on helping consumers understand and purchase Amazon devices," Yruma wrote in a recent note to clients.
It makes sense to bring these devices into the hands of Whole Foods shoppers ahead of the holiday season, he said.
In the week leading up to Black Friday, Whole Foods will offer $20 off the Echo Dot, $20 off the new Amazon Echo, and $30 off the Kindle Paperwhite, among other deals.
The pop-up shops are a sign that Amazon is planning to ramp up its presence in Whole Foods stores since its $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocery chain earlier this year, Yruma said.
So far, the shops are in five Whole Foods locations: Denver; Chicago; Rochester Hills, Michigan; Davie, Florida; and Pasadena, California.
Amazon is likely to expand the pop-up shops and start selling its devices in about 470 Whole Foods stores nationwide within the next year to 18 months, Yruma said.