Amazon Closing Fresh and Go Store Chains

After years of trying to establish a solid foothold in the physical grocery-store/convenience-store sectors, Amazon (Seattle) has decided to close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go chains. An as-yet-undisclosed number of those stores will be converted to the company’s Whole Foods Market unit, which Amazon bought in 2017.

Since that acquisition, WF has experienced sales growth of more than 40% and expanded to 550-plus locations, and it will be Amazon’s go-to brand for physical stores going forward, the company said in a news release.

In that statement, the company said while it has “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.”

The company did not disclose just how many of those stores it has. However, in its coverage of the news, C-Store Dive reported Amazon Go had roughly 30 locations at its peak in early 2023, before shuttered over half of those locations since then, while Amazon Fresh surpassed the 60-store mark in 2024.

Meanwhile, “Customers are increasingly choosing Whole Foods Market for both everyday shopping and special occasions, as demonstrated by record-breaking customer traffic and year-over-year comparable store growth that is outpacing the broader industry,” the company said in its release. “Accelerating this growth, we are now planning to invest in opening more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years.

“We’re [also] 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.”

Amazon added that it will continue testing “new physical store experiences.” That apparently includes a large-scale store Amazon is seeking to build in suburban Chicago.