[Ads-l] The rise and predicted decline of "dark store"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

I recently heard the term "dark store" while watching a YouTube video.
Here is a definition:

Website: A blog from Cambridge Dictionary
https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2012/07/09/new-words-9-july-2012/

[Begin excerpt]
New words – 9 July 2012
dark store noun
a supermarket which stocks goods used exclusively for home delivery

David Gray, retail analyst at Planet Retail, predicts more ‘dark
stores’ – supermarkets where the public are banned as staff fill
trolleys for thousands of online orders.
[The Guardian (UK broadsheet) 13 Jan 2012]
[End excerpt]

Wikipedia already has an article for "dark store" which includes the
claim that the term was in use by 2009, but "citation needed" has been
attached to the claim.

Wikipedia: dark store
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_store

[Begin excerpt]
The term dark store first appeared in the UK in 2009 [citation needed]
when Tesco opened their first such supermarkets in Croydon, Surrey,
and Aylesford, Kent.
[End excerpt]

Here is a 2009 citation in an Irish newspaper. I do not know if "dark
store" appears in the OED because my OED access is still blocked.

Date: December 9, 2009
Newspaper: Irish Independent
Article: Tesco shares fall 1.8pc on back of limp Q3 volumes
Author: John Mulligan
Quote Page 26, Column 8
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Earlier this week, Tesco confirmed that it is planning to open more
so-called "dark stores", which are laid out exactly the same as its
regular UK stores, but which customers never visit. The stores are
used exclusively by Tesco staff fulfilling customers' online orders.
The company plans to open one a year in the UK for the foreseeable
future.
[End excerpt]

The term "dark store" will probably disappear in the coming years. A
"dark store" is a warehouse with a layout that is similar to a
conventional store. Yet, modern efficient warehouses are being
transformed via automation. For example, a roboticized Amazon
warehouse looks nothing like a store. Within a decade "dark store"
will be considered anachronistic.

Amazon Warehouse is Run by Robots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUx-ljgB-5Q

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org