Amazon to close Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores

Amazon stated in a post to its corporate news site: “Over two decades ago, we started adding groceries and everyday household essentials to Amazon.com (AMZN). Today, Amazon is one of the top three grocers in the U.S., with over $150 billion in gross sales and more than 150 million customers shopping groceries each year. Everyday household essentials represent one out of every three units sold on Amazon.com, as customers increasingly look to our broad selection, low prices, and fast delivery to fill their fridges and pantries… Increasingly, U.S. shoppers are turning to online delivery for everyday essentials and fresh food to fit their busy lifestyles… Our online grocery delivery service has experienced remarkable growth, and in 2025, we delivered more groceries at faster speeds than ever before, helping get affordable, high-quality groceries into the hands of more customers… We are also increasing our investment in our physical stores that are resonating with customers. Whole Foods Market, a pioneer and leader in natural and organic foods, has seen strong success since our 2017 acquisition, with over 40% sales growth and expansion to more than 550 locations… We’re building on the brand affinity for Whole Foods Market with a compelling new format, Whole Foods Market Daily Shop. This smaller store format is redefining convenience and the neighborhood grocery shopping experience with a curated selection of grab-and-go meals, coffee, and everyday essentials. The format-now in five locations-has quickly become part of customers’ daily lives, with shoppers loving how it offers the same Whole Foods Market quality they trust in a convenient, quick-stop location. Based on strong performance, we’ll open five additional Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations by the end of 2026… 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. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores. Customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for fast and convenient delivery. We’re grateful to our team members for their many contributions over the years and are working whenever possible to help them find roles elsewhere in Amazon, including across our vast operations network, as we make this transition.”