Amazon Go and Fresh physical store locations will soon be no more, with Amazon announcing on Tuesday that it’s closing up the majority of the stores and converting others into Whole Foods Market locations. Customers will still be able to order from Amazon Fresh online, but won’t be able to shop at physical stores with the same name. Amazon is also planning to expand its same-day delivery option for groceries and household essentials to more cities over the coming year.
The Go and Fresh closures come as Amazon doubles down on expanding the Whole Foods brand rather than its own in-house physical grocery stores. That expansion includes over 100 new Whole Foods Market locations opening over the next few years, along with five new locations for the smaller, convenience store-style Whole Foods Market Daily Shop.
Amazon also stated that it will still be “testing new physical store experiences,” like its Amazon Grocery location in Chicago and a Whole Foods concept store in Pennsylvania where shoppers can also purchase products from Amazon. Earlier this month, an Amazon proposal for a sprawling Walmart-like supercenter was approved in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, Illinois. That development does not appear to be a Whole Foods Market, so Amazon’s plans for more of its own brick-and-mortar stores may still be in the works despite closing its book stores, 4-star stores, Pop Up shop, Style stores, and now Go and Fresh stores.
