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

[Dan Goncharoff]

Here is a USA Today story on a new online-only grocery:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/09/01/amazon-store-whole-foods-online-groceries-orders-coronavirus/5677610002

On Mon, Sep 7, 2020, 1:32 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dan Goncharoff wrote:
> > Amazon continues to open new Whole Foods "dark stores", so it's demise
> may
> > not come as quick as you think.
>
> Thanks for your response, Dan. I agree that the predicted demise of
> "dark store" may take many years to come true. Also, the prediction
> might be wrong.
>
> Tesco was one of the pioneers of "dark stores", but this 2014 article
> in "The Guardian" indicates that the company was already building
> specialized warehouses to fulfill online orders. Goods are located in
> "towers of blue crates". It is not really possible for a conventional
> shopper to walk through the aisles and gather goods. So the label
> "store" might be considered misleading.
>
> Website: The Guardian
> Article: Inside the supermarkets' dark stores
> Author: Leo Benedictus
> Date: 7 Jan 2014 10.54 EST
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2014/jan/07/inside-supermarkets-dark-stores-online-shopping
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Elsewhere, they look like nothing you've ever seen. At Tesco's sixth
> and newest dark store in Erith, south-east London, they operate what
> is basically a giant robot butler, although they call it a
> "goods-to-person pickstation" and a "dotcom centre" (the supermarkets
> themselves aren't keen on the term "dark store"). Instead of laying
> out the groceries in aisles, at Erith they store most of them more
> efficiently in towers of blue crates. The robot extracts whatever is
> needed and brings it to the picker, who stands still (until it's time
> to visit the freezer).
> [End excerpt]
>
> Here is a YouTube video of the warehouse.
> Building a multichannel Tesco
> Dec 3, 2013
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QONyKR0KdYs
>
> Nevertheless, some anachronistic terms persist. So "dark store" might
> persist. In addition, some "dark stores" are open to the public during
> limited hours. Some are open to restricted sets of people, e.g.,
> people who are vulnerable to Covid19. Maybe the label "partially dark
> stores" makes sense.
>
> Garson
>
> > On Mon, Sep 7, 2020, 11:51 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > 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
> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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