Amazon closing Fresh and Go stores as it expands Whole Foods
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Amazon is closing its 57 Amazon Fresh stores. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images
Amazon announced Tuesday it is closing its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores and shifting resources toward Whole Foods Market expansion and faster grocery delivery.
Why it matters: The move underscores Amazon's ongoing effort to refine its grocery strategy — even as the business now generates more than $150 billion in annual sales.
Driving the news: Amazon confirmed to Axios that 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go stores are closing, with most locations set to shutter Feb. 1. California stores will remain open longer due to state requirements.
- Amazon said it plans to convert some locations into Whole Foods Market stores, while also opening new stores and testing smaller formats.
The big picture: Amazon has spent years experimenting with grocery formats, from cashierless convenience stores to full-size supermarkets.
- The closures mark a pullback from those homegrown concepts in favor of channels and brands that have shown stronger traction.
What they're saying: "This brings one of Amazon's longest-running physical grocery experiments to a close," said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData. "The blunt truth is that neither Fresh nor Go delivered clear differentiation for shoppers."
- Whole Foods, Saunders said, has emerged as Amazon's strongest grocery brand, with clearer economics and customer loyalty.
- Amazon said that while it saw "encouraging signals" in its Amazon-branded grocery stores, it did not create "a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion."
Zoom out: Amazon said customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas and that it is accelerating grocery delivery, particularly same-day service for perishable items.
- Just Walk Out checkout technology will continue to be licensed to third parties, even as Amazon steps back from using it in its own stores.
Flashback: In November, Amazon began testing a robot-powered "store within a store" concept at a Whole Foods Market near Philadelphia, signaling it was already channeling innovation into the Whole Foods brand rather than standalone formats.
The bottom line: Amazon isn't exiting grocery — it's narrowing its focus, with Whole Foods increasingly at the center of its physical retail strategy.
More from Axios:
