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Amazon Shutters All Fresh and Go Stores to Refocus on Whole Foods and Faster Grocery Delivery

The company says the formats lacked distinctive economics, prompting a pivot toward Whole Foods growth and accelerated online delivery.

Overview

  • All 72 Amazon-branded grocery locations will close, including 57 Amazon Fresh supermarkets and 15 Amazon Go convenience stores.
  • Most stores will cease operations by Feb. 1, with California locations staying open longer to meet state notice requirements.
  • Some closed sites will be converted to Whole Foods Market as Amazon plans more than 100 new Whole Foods stores over the next few years.
  • Amazon Fresh continues as an online service with grocery delivery to over 5,000 U.S. cities and towns, and the company plans to expand same-day delivery to more areas this year.
  • Amazon will keep deploying its Just Walk Out technology, now in 360+ third-party locations and 40+ fulfillment center breakrooms, and it will continue testing new formats including a planned supercenter concept; the company says it will try to place affected workers, while reporting indicates thousands of hourly jobs could be lost.