Amazon said it will shut down all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations by early February, redirecting its physical retail strategy toward Whole Foods Market, grocery delivery, and a new large-format store concept.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Amazon announced it will close all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh brick-and-mortar stores as part of a broader shift in its grocery and physical retail strategy, focusing instead on delivery services, Whole Foods Market, and a new “supersized” store concept still under development.
The Seattle-based online retailer said in a blog post Tuesday that it plans to shutter all 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go locations. Some of those locations may be converted into Whole Foods Market stores, the company said. The final day of operation for Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores will be Feb. 1, with the exception of California locations, which will remain open longer to comply with state regulations.
“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company said in the post.
Amazon said customers will continue to be able to shop Amazon Fresh online in supported areas, with groceries available for fast and convenient delivery.
Since acquiring Whole Foods Market in 2017, Amazon said Whole Foods has achieved more than 40% sales growth and expanded to more than 550 locations. The company said it now plans to open more than 100 additional Whole Foods Market stores over the next several years.
At the same time, Amazon said consumer behavior continues to shift toward online grocery shopping and home delivery. The company currently delivers groceries to about 5,000 U.S. cities and towns, including thousands where same-day delivery is available for fresh produce, perishables, and household staples. Based on customer feedback, Amazon said it plans to expand same-day grocery delivery to additional areas this year.
Despite the closures, Amazon said it will continue experimenting with physical retail formats. The company announced plans to open a new “supercenter” concept that would allow customers to shop a wide selection of fresh groceries, household essentials, and general merchandise in one location. Amazon did not disclose when or where the first of these stores would open.
Amazon is also testing a new in-store concept called Amazon Grocery, launched alongside Whole Foods Market in Chicago. The format, currently operating at a Whole Foods Market location in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, allows customers to shop for groceries while also purchasing household essentials from Amazon.
Amazon opened its first Amazon Go store in Seattle in 2018. The concept allowed customers to select items such as ready-to-eat meals and packaged groceries and leave without stopping at a checkout, with purchases automatically charged using the company’s “just walk out” technology. Amazon said those stores served as innovation hubs that helped develop the technology, which is now used in more than 360 third-party locations across five countries.
The company said it is expanding “just walk out” technology within its own operations, with more than 40 North American fulfillment centers currently using it in employee breakrooms, and additional deployments planned for 2026 to reduce checkout delays for workers.
Amazon introduced its first Amazon Fresh physical grocery store in 2020, offering a mix of national brands and fresh produce, meat, and seafood. The company said insights gained from both Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go will inform future retail initiatives as it reshapes its physical store strategy.
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