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Online Shopping Is Reshaping Real-World Cities | WIRED

wired.com · 1,911 words · saved by 1 readers

The uptick of grocery delivery apps led to the rise of “dark stores”: empty warehouses right in city centers. They're changing the design—and feel—of neighborhoods.

Save this story Save this story Walk down a major street in Manhattan or Brooklyn today, and—wedged between a coffee shop and a FedEx shipping center—you might stumble across a storefront that looks, for all intents and purposes, empty. It probably has frosted glass windows, a door covered in branded stickers or QR codes, a bike rack out front, and a collapsible sign that directs you to download its mobile app to receive grocery deliveries in 10 to 15 minutes. Though employees might be racing in and out, customers aren’t allowed inside. These ghost storefronts—often called “dark stores”—are wa

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