Amazon.com is closing all of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores in a shift to focus on its online same-day delivery service and expand its Whole Foods Market business.
The e-commerce giant said Tuesday that its branded stores failed to deliver a distinctive customer experience with an economic model that could be scaled up successfully.
The closures will include 57 Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go locations, according to an Amazon spokeswoman. The company said some of its shuttered Amazon-branded bricks-and-mortar stores would be converted into Whole Foods stores. It said it would open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores in coming years.
The announcement marks the latest pivot in Amazon’s more than decadelong effort to break into physical retail.
Fresh, which offers a more mass-market selection than upscale Whole Foods, was overhauled in recent years but ultimately failed to win over enough customers with its high-tech shopping carts and cheaper prices.
Recently, Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods for about $13.5 billion in 2017, has been experimenting with expanding mass-market offerings in its stores while preserving the brand’s identity as a purveyor of healthful food. The experiments have robots picking up items such as soda, junk food or detergent from storerooms to deliver to customers looking to shop beyond the aisles of nut milk and organic pasta.
Amazon Go’s convenience stores, which let customers check out electronically without waiting in line, also never resonated with shoppers on a large scale, and the company has trimmed its fleet by more than half since 2023. The company does, however, license its Just Walk Out technology to retailers at more than 360 locations in five countries, including colleges and universities, sports arenas, hospitals and airports.
Amazon’s same-day delivery service for groceries is currently available in more than 2,300 U.S. cities and towns, with grocery delivery available in 5,000 locales. The company said it plans to expand the service to more communities in 2026 but didn’t specify where.
The company said that being able to buy batteries and bananas in the same order is proving to be popular with customers.
It also plans to continue experimenting with bricks-and-mortar retail. The company won approval last week to open its largest-ever store in Orland Park, Ill., where it plans to sell groceries, general merchandise and prepared foods.
The megastore, which at about 230,000 square feet will be big enough to fit nearly two Target stores, will incorporate in-person and digital shopping, Amazon said.
Amazon also said it will open five additional Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations in 2026. The company currently operates the small-scale format store in five locations.
The e-commerce giant said Tuesday that its branded stores failed to deliver a distinctive customer experience with an economic model that could be scaled up successfully.
The closures will include 57 Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go locations, according to an Amazon spokeswoman. The company said some of its shuttered Amazon-branded bricks-and-mortar stores would be converted into Whole Foods stores. It said it would open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores in coming years.
The announcement marks the latest pivot in Amazon’s more than decadelong effort to break into physical retail.
Fresh, which offers a more mass-market selection than upscale Whole Foods, was overhauled in recent years but ultimately failed to win over enough customers with its high-tech shopping carts and cheaper prices.
Recently, Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods for about $13.5 billion in 2017, has been experimenting with expanding mass-market offerings in its stores while preserving the brand’s identity as a purveyor of healthful food. The experiments have robots picking up items such as soda, junk food or detergent from storerooms to deliver to customers looking to shop beyond the aisles of nut milk and organic pasta.
Amazon Go’s convenience stores, which let customers check out electronically without waiting in line, also never resonated with shoppers on a large scale, and the company has trimmed its fleet by more than half since 2023. The company does, however, license its Just Walk Out technology to retailers at more than 360 locations in five countries, including colleges and universities, sports arenas, hospitals and airports.
Amazon’s same-day delivery service for groceries is currently available in more than 2,300 U.S. cities and towns, with grocery delivery available in 5,000 locales. The company said it plans to expand the service to more communities in 2026 but didn’t specify where.
The company said that being able to buy batteries and bananas in the same order is proving to be popular with customers.
It also plans to continue experimenting with bricks-and-mortar retail. The company won approval last week to open its largest-ever store in Orland Park, Ill., where it plans to sell groceries, general merchandise and prepared foods.
The megastore, which at about 230,000 square feet will be big enough to fit nearly two Target stores, will incorporate in-person and digital shopping, Amazon said.
Amazon also said it will open five additional Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations in 2026. The company currently operates the small-scale format store in five locations.
