While there are still months to go before Amazon reveals it selection for its HQ2 project, making the pitch has rallied developers and public-sector leaders in Newark in a way that the city hasn’t seen in recent memory. That show of unity was only amplified on Oct. 16, when Gov. Chris Christie announced that the state would officially support the city’s bid, even as several other cities in New Jersey jockeyed for the project.
Game-changer: Amazon has been a driving force in surging N.J. distribution market
There’s no ignoring Amazon’s impact on the state’s industrial sector since early 2013, when the company committed to building its first New Jersey fulfillment center in Robbinsville. Not only has Amazon absorbed at least roughly 9 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space since that time. It quickly emboldened other pure e-commerce players that were hesitant to establish a footprint in New Jersey, amid concerns over having to collect sales tax from customers if they had a physical location here.
Smart homes: Amazon making inroads in package delivery, sound systems
Amazon in mid-October detailed a partnership with some of the country’s largest apartment owners and management firms to install its smart phone-connected package lockers at their properties, in the latest sign of the impact that e-commerce has had on the multifamily sector. Developers have sought to include more sophisticated package rooms and concierge services into their new luxury projects in recent years, in an effort to handle the constant stream of boxes coming into their buildings.
A new front in grocery wars: Whole Foods acquisition will add fuel to ultracompetitive supermarket sector
The news of Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market this summer came with a bit of irony: Many bricks-and-mortar supermarkets in New Jersey and elsewhere had offered online delivery for years, but Whole Foods wasn’t among them. But at the very least, the deal signaled to those other operators that Whole Foods is not to be taken lightly, especially with Amazon’s stated goal of lowering the chain’s notoriously high prices.
