Amazon to Close Select Stores Amid Whole Foods Expansion Plans

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(NEXSTAR) – Amazon has announced the closure of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical locations, pivoting its focus toward expanding Whole Foods Markets instead.

Known for their cutting-edge technology, Amazon Fresh and Go stores allowed shoppers to bypass traditional checkout lines entirely. While the company found these stores offered “valuable insights” into customer preferences, it admitted they lacked a “truly distinctive customer experience” paired with a sustainable economic model for widespread growth.

Amazon confirmed on Tuesday that these locations will begin to shutter, with many slated to transform into Whole Foods Market stores.

Amazon Fresh is still available for online orders and delivery where services are provided. Notably, the physical stores were only operational in nine states.

California: Cerritos, Citrus Heights, Corona, Encino, Elk Grove, Fontana, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Ladera Heights, Long Beach, Moorpark, Murrieta, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pasadena, Poway, Roseville, Torrance, Upland, and Woodland Hills
Illinois: Arlington Heights, Bloomingdale, Morton Grove, Naperville, Naperville-Ogden, Norridge, North Riverside, Oak Lawn, Schaumburg, and Tinley Park
Maryland: Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase-Lake Terrace, Gaithersburg, Glen Burnie, and Silver Spring
New Jersey: Eatonton, Lodi, Paramus, and Woodland Park
New York: East Setauket and Oceanside
Pennsylvania: Bensalem, Broomall, Oxford Valley, Spring Garden (Philadelphia), Warrington, and Willow Grove
Tennessee: Nashville Warehouse
Virginia: Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franconia, and Lorton
Washington: Factoria and Seattle (Aurora Avenue and Jackson Street)

There are 14 Amazon Go locations found in Seattle, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.

The first-ever Amazon Go location opened in Seattle in 2018, and the first Amazon Fresh grocery store opened two years later in Woodland Hills, California.

Amazon didn’t say when these stores would close.

The company is, however, pivoting its focus toward Whole Foods Market stores. The grocery store already has more than 550 locations, and “more than 100 new” stores are expected to open “over the next few years,” Amazon said Tuesday.

Amazon is also planning to open additional Whole Foods Market Daily shop locations, which have a smaller format focused on convenience, “with a curated selection of grab-and-go meals, coffee, and everyday essentials.” One such store opened last month in Hoboken, New Jersey, while another is expected to open in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, early this year. The New York City area already has three locations, and one store has opened in Arlington, Virginia.

Five Whole Foods Market Daily stores are expected to open before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Amazon said it will test other in-store experiences, like the Amazon Grocery within the Whole Foods Market in Chicago, which offers name-brand products the latter, a more natural and organic-focused retailer, doesn’t. The company also pointed to its “store within a store” experience, allowing shoppers at a Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, to also shop and pick up orders from Amazon.

Whole Foods isn’t the only grocery brand preparing to expand. Aldi announced earlier this month that it plans to open 180 new stores across 31 states this year.

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Amazon to Close Select Stores Amid Whole Foods Expansion Plans

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