Amazon Shuts Down Fresh And Go Stores As It Refocuses On Whole Foods

Amazon is winding down its standalone grocery store experiment, announcing plans to close all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations across the United States as it sharpens its focus on the Whole Foods brand.

The move will affect roughly 70 physical stores and represents another reset of Amazon’s in-person retail strategy. In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said that while the stores showed early promise, they ultimately failed to deliver a customer experience and cost structure that could support nationwide expansion.

Some of the affected locations will be converted into Whole Foods Market outlets. Amazon also revealed plans to open around 100 new Whole Foods locations in the coming years, including an expansion of its smaller-format concept, Whole Foods Market Daily Shop.

Amazon said it is working to support employees impacted by the closures. “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,” the company noted, pointing to opportunities across its wider operations network.

Despite pulling back from Fresh and Go, Amazon is not abandoning physical retail entirely. The company said it is experimenting with new formats, including a hybrid grocery store in Illinois that blends Amazon Grocery with Whole Foods Market. In suburban Chicago, it is also developing a massive 229,000-square-foot retail space designed to mirror the scale and layout of big-box stores like Walmart.

Retail analysts say the challenge for Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go was a lack of clear differentiation. Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said Fresh stores were largely indistinguishable from traditional supermarkets, while Amazon Go’s checkout-free technology failed to resonate with most shoppers. “It’s not something consumers really care about,” he said.

The closures mark the latest adjustment in Amazon’s long-running effort to crack the grocery market. Previous initiatives, including partnerships with local grocery chains for delivery, often led to fragmented online experiences with multiple checkouts and delivery fees, leaving customers confused.

At the same time, Amazon has continued to expand its grocery footprint in other ways. The company has grown its private-label offerings, such as Amazon Grocery and Amazon Saver, to compete with discount chains like Aldi and Lidl. It has also rolled out same-day fresh food delivery to more than 2,000 cities.

According to Saunders, the decision to close Fresh and Go stores does not signal weakness in Amazon’s overall grocery business. He estimates the company’s grocery operations are now worth around $150 billion, serving more than 150 million shoppers and steadily gaining market share—even as Walmart remains the sector’s dominant player.