The company is now planning to invest in opening more than 100 new whole foods market stores over the next few years
As Amazon shifts its focus to online grocery delivery and whole foods market expansion to reach more customers, the company has decided to shut down Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores to prioritise investment in growth areas. The company will be converting various locations to whole foods market stores.
“While we have seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we have not 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 have made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores,” the company said in a statement.
Over the coming years, the company plans to introduce new store concepts and is exploring a new supercenter physical retail concept designed for customers to conveniently shop Amazon’s broad selection and low prices across fresh groceries, household essentials and general merchandise.
However, the company noted that customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for fast and convenient delivery. Whole foods market has seen strong success since the acquisition by the company in 2017, with over 40 per cent sales growth and expansion to more than 550 locations.
“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,” it said.
Accelerating this growth, the company is now planning to invest in opening more than 100 new whole foods market stores over the next few years.
