Amazon Closes All Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go Physical Stores, What Happened?

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, made a major strategic decision by announcing the closure of all physical Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores.

This announcement, made on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, marks a significant shift in the company's approach to the grocery retail business.

Most Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores are scheduled to cease operations on Sunday, February 1, 2026.

However, to comply with state labor notification requirements, stores in California will remain open for an additional 45 days.

These closures will impact a total of 72 stores across the United States, comprising 57 Amazon Fresh locations and 15 Amazon Go locations.

The first Amazon Fresh opened outside of Los Angeles in September 2020, while Amazon Go debuted in Seattle in 2018.

Despite being in operation for several years, Amazon has acknowledged that it has not yet managed to create a "truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion" for its Amazon-branded brick-and-mortar grocery stores.

In response to the closure of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, Amazon will significantly shift the focus of its brick-and-mortar store strategy to Whole Foods Market.

The company plans to convert several closed Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go locations into Whole Foods Market stores.

“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company said in the post.

Furthermore, Amazon has ambitious plans to expand Whole Foods Market's footprint by opening more than 100 new stores over the next few years.

In addition to full-size stores, the company will also expand its smaller Whole Foods Daily Shop format from five to ten locations by the end of 2026.

Amazon stated that it will work to help team members from the closed stores find roles elsewhere within Amazon's operations.

In addition to focusing on Whole Foods Market, Amazon will also prioritize its same-day grocery delivery service.

Currently, Amazon's grocery delivery service is available in more than 5,000 cities and towns in the US, with thousands of these served by same-day delivery options.

Amazon plans to expand its same-day fresh grocery delivery service to more communities by 2026.

By December 2025, the company reached the milestone of reaching 2,300 cities and towns with same-day grocery delivery.

Increased investment in logistics and delivery infrastructure will be key to achieving this expansion goal.

The focus on delivery also aligns with changing consumer behavior, which increasingly relies on the convenience of online shopping. 

Despite closing Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, Amazon hasn't completely abandoned physical retail innovation.

The company will continue to test new physical store experiences, including the "Amazon Grocery" concept launched with Whole Foods Market in Chicago.

In addition, Amazon also plans to introduce new, larger store concepts, such as a 230,000-square-foot supercenter-style retail model near Chicago.

This store will combine groceries, household essentials, and general merchandise and is expected to open in 2027.

The "Just Walk Out" technology developed in Amazon Go stores will continue as a licensing business.

This innovative technology, which uses cameras and sensors to allow customers to shop without waiting in line at the checkout, is now operational in more than 360 third-party locations across five countries and in more than 40 Amazon fulfillment center break rooms.