Amazon to shut Go and Fresh stores, shift focus to Whole Foods and online groceries

Amazon plans to shut Amazon Go and Fresh stores, shifting focus to Whole Foods and expanding its online grocery business.

After conducting a thorough analysis of its grocery business, Amazon has announced the closure of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical locations. According to the corporation, the decision was made after assessing how it can best assist consumers in a rapidly changing retail environment.  

“We’ve made the painful decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores after carefully evaluating the business and how we can best serve customers,” the company stated in a statement.  

With the decision to concentrate on growing Whole Foods Market and bolstering its online grocery delivery services, Amazon has made a strategic change in its retail strategy. Built on the company’s “Just Walk Out” checkout-free technology, Amazon Go and Fresh stores found it difficult to develop a unique customer offer and a viable business model.  

On the other hand, Whole Foods Market, which Amazon purchased in 2017, has seen rapid expansion, with sales increasing by over 40% in recent years. Amazon’s online grocery business has also grown quickly; since early 2025, Same-Day Delivery sales of perishable groceries have increased dramatically.  

In the future, Amazon intends to expand its online grocery delivery network throughout the United States, open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores, and launch smaller-format Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations. The Just Walk Out technology will still be utilized in Amazon facilities and third-party locations even after the Amazon Go stores close.