Amazon, the Seattle-based commerce giant, is closing all 72 of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go brick‑and‑mortar stores. Most of the closings will occur around Feb. 1. These include four Amazon Fresh stores in New Jersey in Eatontown, Lodi, Paramus and Woodland Park, according to Amazon’s website.
There are 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go stores that are being closed. Thousands of hourly workers will likely be idled. Amazon said it would help displaced employees find other jobs within the company.
Amazon’s actions do not mean the company is getting out of the supermarket business. Amazon will convert some Amazon Fresh and Go locations into Whole Foods Market stores, open more than 100 stores, and continue testing new concepts such as Amazon Grocery. Amazon Fresh opened its first store in 2020.
The company is shifting its strategy toward expanding Whole Foods Market locations and strengthening online grocery delivery, which remains available nationwide. Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017.
Grocery orders will remain available online via Same-Day Delivery and Amazon Now, which offers 30-minute delivery in certain markets
“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,” the company said in a statement announcing the closings.
The retailer is shifting away from its branded grocery stores, and the company says it will stock more produce and perishables at its 550 Whole Foods stores and same-day Amazon delivery warehouses.
Neil Saunders, a retail analyst with GlobalData, told Bloomberg News that the real reason for the closing might be that the stores weren’t turning a profit. “The main reason behind the decision is that neither Fresh nor Go stores were delivering the sales needed to make them fully economic,” he said.
