Amazon Shuts Down All 72 Physical Grocery Stores Nationwide

The End of Amazon's Physical Grocery Experiment

Amazon announced Tuesday it will permanently close all 72 of its Amazon Fresh supermarkets and Amazon Go convenience stores across the United States, marking a dramatic retreat from the company's ambitious push into physical grocery retail. In total, Tuesday's announcement will see the closure of 72 grocery locations. The closures affect 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go stores nationwide, ending an experiment that began with the first Amazon Fresh location opening in California in 2020.

The decision caught many customers off guard. Customers showed up to Amazon Fresh stores in Seattle on Tuesday only to find them closed, catching shoppers off guard as the company announced it would shutter all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical locations nationwide. The stores will reopen Wednesday but will close permanently on Sunday, Feb. 1, giving customers and employees only days to adjust to the news. Most of the Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations will close on Sunday, February 1. Stores in California will remain open for an additional 45 days to comply with state labor notification laws.

Amazon acknowledged that despite years of investment and innovation, the stores failed to achieve the economic model needed for expansion. "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 stated in its announcement.

Doubling Down on Digital Delivery and Whole Foods

Rather than abandoning grocery retail entirely, Amazon is pivoting toward its online delivery dominance and Whole Foods expansion. The company highlighted explosive growth in its same-day grocery delivery service, with perishable grocery sales through this Same-Day service have grown 40x since January 2025, and fresh groceries now make up nine of the top ten most-ordered items in areas where perishable groceries are available for Same-Day Delivery. Amazon offers fast, convenient grocery delivery in over 5,000 U.S. cities and towns, including thousands served by Same-Day Delivery—where customers can shop perishables alongside millions of other items.

Whole Foods Market has emerged as Amazon's clear winner in physical retail. Whole Foods Market, a pioneer and leader in natural and organic foods, has seen strong success since our 2017 acquisition, with over 40% sales growth and expansion to more than 550 locations. Amazon plans to open 100+ new stores over the next few years, including expansion of Whole Foods Market Daily Shop, providing a broad selection of natural and organic groceries at a great value to customers.

The company is also testing new ultra-fast delivery options. Amazon recently introduced Amazon Now, an ultra-fast delivery option we're testing that brings thousands of essential items, including fresh food, to customers' homes in about 30 minutes or less. This service delivers the same benefits as a traditional convenience store experience, now with doorstep delivery, and is available in several cities.

What This Means for Workers and Communities

The closures will impact thousands of hourly workers across the affected locations. The moves mean thousands of hourly workers in the stores will lose their jobs. Cuts to Amazon's corporate workforce will likely involve dozens of people, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity because the information was confidential. Amazon has committed to helping displaced employees find new positions within the company and is offering generous severance packages. It did say it is working to find new roles for the staff at those locations, including in its warehouses and throughout its delivery networks. In addition to trying to find new jobs for those workers, the company said it is also offering them the option of a severance package that includes 90 days of full pay and benefits.

Some of the closed locations won't remain empty for long. Company to close Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations to Whole Foods Market stores. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we've made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores. This strategy allows Amazon to maintain a physical presence in key markets while focusing on its more successful grocery format.

The Future of Amazon's Retail Strategy

While Amazon is stepping back from its own-branded grocery stores, the company isn't abandoning physical retail innovation entirely. The technology developed for Amazon Go stores has found success elsewhere, with the cashierless technology is now running in more than 360 third-party locations including sports venues and hospitals. Amazon is also planning ambitious new retail concepts, including plans to open its largest-ever retail store. The 230,000-square-foot mega-store outside Chicago would be large enough to fit two average-size Target stores under its roof .

This strategic shift reflects Amazon's broader focus on areas where it can achieve scale and profitability. With more than $150 billion in gross grocery sales primarily driven by online delivery, Amazon appears confident that the future of grocery shopping lies in convenience and speed rather than traditional store formats. The company's ability to adapt and reallocate resources toward its most successful ventures demonstrates the agility that has made it a retail giant, even when it means admitting that some experiments