Amazon Shuts Down Go and Fresh Stores, Focusing on Grocery Delivery and Whole Foods Expansion
In a move that signals a significant shift in its grocery business strategy, Amazon has announced that it will be closing all of its remaining physical stores under the Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh banners. The closures come as the e-commerce giant shifts its focus towards online grocery delivery and expansion into Whole Foods Market stores.
The decision was made despite "encouraging signals" from the company's brick-and-mortar locations, according to an Amazon blog post. However, the firm believes that it has yet to create a distinctive customer experience that can support large-scale expansion.
Instead of continuing to operate its own grocery stores, Amazon will be converting some locations into Whole Foods Market outlets. This move is expected to help drive growth for the company in the retail sector.
Amazon will also provide support to employees working at Go and Fresh stores, with job opportunities available within the company.
As part of its ongoing efforts to expand its presence in the grocery market, Amazon has announced plans to open over 100 new Whole Foods Market locations in the coming years. The company's focus on grocery delivery is also expected to continue, with services like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Now set to play an increasingly important role.
Amazon has hinted at the possibility of introducing new types of physical locations in the future, including "supercenters" that would offer a broad selection of goods from Amazon. However, this concept appears to be met with skepticism by some observers, who view it as essentially being a rebranding of a traditional supermarket.
In addition to its retail efforts, Amazon is also continuing to deploy its checkout-less Just Walk Out technology in various settings, including hospital cafeterias and sports arenas. This technology allows customers to browse products without checking out, with the items automatically added to their order at checkout.
Despite these efforts, some have raised concerns about the potential for Amazon's use of this technology to be used to monitor employees' behavior more closely.
In a move that signals a significant shift in its grocery business strategy, Amazon has announced that it will be closing all of its remaining physical stores under the Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh banners. The closures come as the e-commerce giant shifts its focus towards online grocery delivery and expansion into Whole Foods Market stores.
The decision was made despite "encouraging signals" from the company's brick-and-mortar locations, according to an Amazon blog post. However, the firm believes that it has yet to create a distinctive customer experience that can support large-scale expansion.
Instead of continuing to operate its own grocery stores, Amazon will be converting some locations into Whole Foods Market outlets. This move is expected to help drive growth for the company in the retail sector.
Amazon will also provide support to employees working at Go and Fresh stores, with job opportunities available within the company.
As part of its ongoing efforts to expand its presence in the grocery market, Amazon has announced plans to open over 100 new Whole Foods Market locations in the coming years. The company's focus on grocery delivery is also expected to continue, with services like Amazon Fresh and Amazon Now set to play an increasingly important role.
Amazon has hinted at the possibility of introducing new types of physical locations in the future, including "supercenters" that would offer a broad selection of goods from Amazon. However, this concept appears to be met with skepticism by some observers, who view it as essentially being a rebranding of a traditional supermarket.
In addition to its retail efforts, Amazon is also continuing to deploy its checkout-less Just Walk Out technology in various settings, including hospital cafeterias and sports arenas. This technology allows customers to browse products without checking out, with the items automatically added to their order at checkout.
Despite these efforts, some have raised concerns about the potential for Amazon's use of this technology to be used to monitor employees' behavior more closely.
... But, I guess this makes sense, they're trying to focus on making money, not wasting resources on stores that might not be profitable. Plus, who knows, maybe they'll open those Whole Foods locations and make them a bit more Amazon-y? 
. On one hand, it's just not sustainable for them to keep trying to create this 'Amazon' experience in brick-and-mortar, considering how hard it is to replicate online shopping in a real store. But on the other hand, I'm worried about all those employees losing their jobs 
. I guess we'll see how this new strategy plays out...
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. I mean, who needs to physically go into a store when you can just tap your phone? Plus, with Amazon Now and all that, it's like the lines between grocery shopping and regular old shopping just got blurred 
. Maybe they'll figure out some new concept for those supercenters, but for now, I think Amazon's playing it safe 
. personally i love the just walk out tech tho, its so much fun browsing products without having to do any actual work 
? I'm just wondering what's going to happen to all those employees, tho... they must be kinda bummed out 
. Maybe Amazon can hire them for their new Whole Foods gigs or something 
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They're gonna focus more on online shopping and just stick with Whole Foods. It's kinda weird that they think going from 0-100 is gonna work... or maybe it'll be a supercenter thingy in the future? 
but like, what's the point of that? don't get me wrong, online delivery is where it's at, but can't they see that people still wanna shop in person for some reason? 
they seem like a solid idea but apparently its not worth the investment? I mean, who needs to physically shop when you can have everything delivered right to ur doorstep? plus, its gonna be easier for them to expand into whole foods instead of trying 2 compete with actual grocery stores 
i mean dont get me wrong amazon is huge and online shopping is comfy but theres somethin about walkin into a store that cant be replicated online u get the vibe, the people watchin, its like a whole experience 
plus whats gonna happen to all those ppl who work at them? theyre not just gonna lose their jobs cuz of some new tech 
what a bummer, i was so hyped about trying out Amazon Go and Fresh stores 
meanwhile, amazon is still pushing its grocery delivery service hard