NEW YORK – Amazon has announced the closure of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, shifting its emphasis towards enhancing grocery delivery, expanding Whole Foods Market, and launching a new, larger store concept.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant revealed in a Tuesday blog post that some of the locations set to close will be repurposed as Whole Foods Market outlets. Currently, Amazon operates 57 Amazon Fresh and 15 Amazon Go stores.
“Although we’ve observed promising trends in our Amazon-branded grocery outlets, we have yet to establish a truly unique shopping experience paired with a sustainable financial model suitable for extensive growth,” Amazon stated in the blog post.
Customers can still shop online at Amazon Fresh in regions where it’s available, ensuring “quick and convenient delivery,” the company assured.
Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations will shut their doors on February 1, except for those in California, which will remain operational for a longer period to meet state regulations, according to Amazon.
Since acquiring Whole Foods Market in 2017, Amazon reports over 40% sales growth, increasing the chain to more than 550 stores. The company also plans to launch over 100 new Whole Foods Market locations in the coming years.
At the same time, shoppers are turning to online delivery for everyday essentials and fresh food, Amazon said.
The online retailer is now delivering groceries to 5,000 U.S. cities and towns, including thousands served by same-day delivery where customers can shop produce and other perishables along with staples. Based on strong customer feedback, it said it plans to expand its same-day delivery service of fresh groceries to more areas this year.
Still, Amazon pledges to continue to experiment with new physical store formats.
The company revealed on Tuesday its plans to open a “new supercenter” physical retail concept designed for customers to shop Amazon’s broad selection across fresh groceries, household essentials, and general merchandise. The company didn’t provide any other details including the timing of the opening.
Amazon also is testing a new in-store format called Amazon Grocery, which it launched alongside Whole Foods Market in Chicago. This concept at Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, lets customer also shop for groceries and household essentials from Amazon
Amazon opened its first Amazon Go concept in 2018 in Seattle, letting shoppers take milk, potato chips or ready-to-eat salads off its shelves and just walk out. Amazon’s technology charges customers after they leave.
It said that it’s gathered valuable insights along the way.
For example, its Amazon Go locations served as “innovation hubs” where it developed “just walk out” technology—now a checkout solution operating in more than 360 third-party locations across five countries.
Amazon said it expanding its “just walk out” technology to Amazon’s own operations, with more than 40 North American fulfillment centers using it in breakrooms today, and more planned for 2026, helping employees grab meals without checkout delays.
Amazon introduced its first Amazon Fresh physical store in 2020. The stores features an assortment of national brands and produce, meat and seafood.
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