Amazon to shut all offline stores

By Alimat Aliyeva

American e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. has announced plans to close its Amazon Fresh grocery stores and several automated Amazon Go convenience stores, Azernews reports.

According to company sources, Amazon will shift its focus to online grocery delivery and expanding its more premium Whole Foods Market chain, which specializes in natural and organic products. Some of the stores that are closing may be converted into new Whole Foods locations.

Amazon plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores over the next few years. The company purchased the chain in 2017 for approximately $13.5 billion.

“We have seen encouraging results in our physical grocery stores under the Amazon brand, but we have not yet created a truly unique consumer experience with the economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company stated.

Amazon has been experimenting with offline retail for over 10 years, previously closing dozens of branded stores and more than half of its Amazon Go locations, which feature cashierless technology and electronic payments. The newly launched Amazon Fresh chain faced initial challenges, but after an internal audit, the company began developing plans to open additional stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

At the same time, Amazon announced plans to open its largest-ever retail store near Chicago, comparable in size to two Target stores, with additional large-format stores planned across the United States.

On January 27, Amazon also revealed plans to expand its same-day grocery delivery service in 2026, which is currently available in more than 5,000 U.S. cities.

Amazon Go stores were once considered the future of retail with their “just walk out” technology, but the high operational costs and slow customer adoption have made it difficult to scale. Analysts say this shift signals Amazon’s renewed focus on profitability and efficiency over experimental retail formats.

This move reflects Amazon’s strategy to combine its online dominance with targeted offline investments, emphasizing high-end stores and rapid delivery services.