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Amazon Shuts Down Amazon Go and Fresh Stores

  //food-wine.news-articles.net/content/2026/02/19/amazon-shuts-down-amazon-go-and-fresh-stores.html
  Published in Food and Wine on Thursday, February 19th 2026 at 15:27 GMT by KOB 4
      Locales: Washington, Illinois, California, UNITED STATES

Seattle, WA - February 19th, 2026 - Amazon today announced the closure of all Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, signaling a significant recalibration of its physical retail strategy. The tech giant will now focus its efforts on its established Whole Foods Market chain and the continued expansion of its grocery delivery services. This decision, while not entirely unexpected given previous retail closures, marks a retreat from the ambitious experiment of fully automated, cashierless convenience stores.

For years, Amazon has been attempting to disrupt the grocery industry with innovative concepts like 'Just Walk Out' technology in Amazon Go, and the more conventional, though smaller-format, Amazon Fresh stores. The 'Just Walk Out' system, relying on a network of cameras and sensors to track purchases and automatically charge customers, garnered significant media attention and promised a glimpse into the future of retail. However, despite the technological prowess, these stores seemingly failed to achieve the profitability necessary to sustain them in a competitive landscape.

According to internal sources, the decision wasn't driven by technological failure alone. While the 'Just Walk Out' system functioned reliably for many customers, issues with accuracy - leading to frequent false positives and customer disputes - created a negative experience for a segment of shoppers. Moreover, the cost of maintaining the complex network of cameras, sensors, and AI algorithms proved to be significantly higher than initially projected, particularly when weighed against the relatively low transaction values typical of convenience store purchases.

Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion, a move initially seen as a way to instantly establish a physical presence in the grocery sector. In the years since, Amazon has integrated its technology into Whole Foods, offering Prime member benefits and expanding online ordering and delivery options. The company now appears to be doubling down on this strategy, leveraging the existing infrastructure and brand recognition of Whole Foods to capture a larger share of the grocery market.

The move also reflects the intensifying competition in the online grocery sector. Companies like Instacart, Walmart, and Kroger have all made significant investments in their own delivery services, offering consumers a wider range of options and increasingly competitive pricing. Amazon, while a dominant player in e-commerce overall, faces a challenging battle for market share in grocery, where established players have strong logistical networks and customer loyalty.

This isn't an isolated incident. Amazon previously shuttered its larger-format Amazon Go Grocery stores in 2023, as well as several of its Amazon Books and 4-star stores, indicating a pattern of scaling back physical retail ambitions. The company is clearly prioritizing investments in areas where it sees a clearer path to profitability and sustainable growth.

Employees working at the closing Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations will be offered roles within other parts of the company, Amazon stated. However, the closure will undoubtedly result in job losses and disruptions for many workers. The company has pledged to provide support and resources to affected employees during the transition.

Industry analysts suggest this marks a turning point in Amazon's retail strategy. "Amazon is realizing that simply offering a technologically innovative shopping experience isn't enough," says retail consultant Emily Carter. "Consumers still value convenience, price, and a wide selection. Whole Foods, with its established brand and supply chain, offers a more stable platform for growth, while Amazon's delivery services cater to the increasing demand for online grocery shopping."

The future of retail is likely to be a hybrid model, combining the convenience of online shopping with the experiential aspects of physical stores. Amazon's decision to prioritize Whole Foods and delivery suggests that the company believes the best path forward lies in integrating these two approaches. While the 'Just Walk Out' technology may not be disappearing entirely - it could potentially be integrated into other retail settings, such as airports or stadiums - its reign as the cornerstone of Amazon's grocery strategy appears to be over. The company is betting that a focused approach, centered around its existing assets and a robust delivery network, will ultimately prove more successful in the long run. The question now is whether this strategic shift will be enough to secure Amazon's position as a leading force in the evolving grocery landscape.