Amazon Plans Massive Big-Box Store in Chicago Suburb Larger Than Walmart Supercenter
Amazon is taking another swing at physical retail with plans for a huge new store concept in the Chicago suburbs. The company has submitted plans for a 229,000-square-foot location in Orland Park, Illinois, that would sell groceries alongside general merchandise - and it's bigger than a typical Walmart Supercenter.
The proposed store would be Amazon's largest physical retail format yet. For context, Walmart Supercenters typically average 179,000 square feet.
Located at 9600 159th St., the facility would sit right next to a Costco and down the street from Target and Trader Joe's. Plans for the 35-acre site include dedicated parking for pickup orders and space for delivery drivers, plus a limited warehouse component to support on-site operations. The store would replace Petey's II, a local restaurant that closed in January 2024.
RELATED: Target Opens Seven Supersized Stores with Enhanced Services
"We regularly test new experiences designed to make customers' lives better and easier every day, including physical stores," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. "The site in question is our planned location for a new concept that we think customers will be excited about."
The Orland Park Plan Commission approved the proposal last week, though some local residents have raised concerns about potential traffic impacts in the area.
This marks Amazon's latest experiment with brick-and-mortar retail after years of mixed results. The company's previous attempts at physical stores - including bookstores, apparel shops, and its 4-star format that only sold highly rated items - have largely fizzled out. Even Amazon Fresh, which launched in 2020, has seen stop-and-go growth.
The new concept blends groceries with general merchandise, a strategy Walmart has perfected over decades. Amazon has been pushing this approach lately, rolling out same-day delivery of perishable groceries alongside millions of Amazon.com products to roughly 2,300 cities and towns last year.
RELATED: Amazon Expands Same-Day Grocery Delivery to Over 2,300 U.S. Cities
Amazon said over 150 million people in the U.S. shop with the company for groceries, and its grocery business brought in more than $100 billion in gross sales in 2024. That's still well behind Walmart, which reported $276 billion in food and beverage sales during its 2025 fiscal year.
Despite its challenges with physical retail, Amazon continues testing new formats. The company acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017 and has been experimenting with various store concepts, including Amazon Go convenience stores and Whole Foods Daily Shop locations.