Amazon Go and Fresh physical store locations will soon be no more, with Amazon announcing on Tuesday that it’s closing 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.
At the same time, Amazon says it’s “planning to invest in opening more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years,” as well as five more convenience-store style Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations by the end of this year. Additionally, a memo sent to Amazon employees on Tuesday mentions that “Amazon Grocery, our new unified private brand, now offers over 1,000 items at exceptional value,” and will be expanding in 2026.
CNBC reports that on Monday, former chief merchant for Amazon Fresh Grocery, John Farrell, announced in a post on LinkedIn that he is leaving Amazon and “moving on to explore new challenges.”
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.
Update, January 27th: Added quote from memo sent to Amazon employees and noted former Amazon employee John Farrell’s departure from the company.
