Amazon is closing Amazon Fresh stores mainly because the format never hit the right mix of customer appeal and profit, and the company now wants to double‑down on Whole Foods and online grocery instead.

What’s happening right now

  • Amazon announced in January 2026 that it will close all remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go brick‑and‑mortar locations, around 70 sites in the U.S.
  • Some of these sites will be converted into Whole Foods Market stores as Amazon plans to open 100+ new Whole Foods locations over the next few years.
  • Similar retrenchments already happened in the UK, where all Amazon Fresh stores are being closed or converted, with a stronger push toward Whole Foods and online services.

In short: the Amazon Fresh experiment is being wound down, not because Amazon is giving up on groceries, but because it prefers different formats.

Main reasons Amazon Fresh stores are closing

1. Weak economics and performance

  • Amazon has openly said it “hasn’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large‑scale expansion” in Fresh and Go.
  • Stores underperformed financially compared with expectations, especially when matched against established supermarket chains that already run very lean operations.
  • Over the last few years Amazon “pruned” underperforming locations in California and other regions, closing specific Fresh stores whose customer traffic lagged behind others.

2. Not different enough from regular supermarkets

  • Even after remodels (new decor, broader assortment, sharper prices, Dash Carts, etc.), Amazon concluded Fresh still wasn’t a clearly unique supermarket concept.
  • In grocery, margins are thin and loyalty is hard‑won; if a new chain doesn’t feel markedly better or cheaper, shoppers default to familiar brands like Kroger, Walmart, or local grocers. Analysts have repeatedly highlighted that Fresh struggled to answer “why shop here instead of my usual store?”

3. Strategy shift toward Whole Foods

  • Amazon now plans to focus its physical‑store strategy around Whole Foods Market, which already has an established brand, customer base, and clearer positioning (organic, premium).
  • A number of closed Fresh locations in both the UK and U.S. are slated to be converted into Whole Foods stores, effectively recycling real estate into a banner that’s performing better.

4. Pivot to online and same‑day grocery

  • At the same time it is shutting Fresh stores, Amazon is expanding same‑day grocery delivery to more communities in 2026, making fast delivery the centerpiece of its grocery push.
  • Even before the full shutdown announcement, Amazon was heavily investing in same‑day delivery of perishables to 1,000+ cities and towns, aiming to reach over 2,300 locations.
  • This aligns more closely with Amazon’s core strengths: logistics, Prime membership, and app‑based shopping, rather than running a traditional store network at scale.

5. Tech‑heavy stores didn’t win over enough shoppers

  • Amazon Fresh and Go leaned on “just walk out”‑style tech and smart carts to create a frictionless experience, but adoption was mixed; some customers liked the speed, others found entry systems and the lack of conventional checkout confusing or off‑putting.
  • Retail analysts note that shoppers want choice at checkout (regular lanes, self‑checkout, scan‑and‑go), not tech that feels forced every trip.
  • The experimental nature of the format meant high upfront tech and operating costs, which were harder to justify when sales volumes lagged.

How forums and shoppers are reacting

  • Online discussions and forums are full of posts from people surprised their local Amazon Fresh is closing and wondering if the whole concept “failed.”
  • Many shoppers say they liked features like easy returns and quick in‑and‑out trips, but complained about inconsistent pricing, limited selection compared with big‑box grocers, or confusion around the high‑tech entry and checkout systems.
  • Others are more cynical, viewing Fresh as a testbed: Amazon experimented, decided it wasn’t worth scaling, and is now reallocating resources to Whole Foods and delivery.

Big picture: what it means

  • Amazon is not exiting groceries; it is narrowing to two main approaches: upscale physical stores (Whole Foods) plus aggressive online and same‑day grocery delivery.
  • Amazon Fresh store closures show that even a tech giant can misjudge how much in‑store innovation people actually want in their weekly shop, especially when the economics are tough.
  • Over 2026 and beyond, expect more Whole Foods openings in prime locations and a stronger push to make Amazon the default place to order groceries online, rather than to visit an Amazon‑branded supermarket.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.