Amazon will shut all 19 of its Fresh grocery stores in the UK, four years after opening the first in London. Five sites will be converted into Whole Foods outlets as the company shifts focus toward the US organic chain it acquired in 2017.
The Fresh concept allowed customers to walk out without using tills, with sensors and cameras tracking purchases. Launched in 2021, it failed to take off after the pandemic, struggling against established rivals like Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Amazon has not confirmed how many staff will be affected but said it will seek to redeploy workers elsewhere in the business. The closures come as part of a wider strategy to prioritise Whole Foods while expanding grocery partnerships with Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland and Gopuff.
From next year, shoppers will also be able to buy fresh groceries, including meat, dairy and seafood, directly on Amazon’s website. The move follows scrutiny of the company’s grocery operations, including a Groceries Code Adjudicator investigation into late supplier payments.
Amazon UK boss John Boumphrey said the company would “continue to invent and invest” to provide customers with low prices, convenience and broader choice in its grocery services.
