Amazon will shut all 19 of its Amazon Fresh stores in the UK, just four years after opening the first in London. Five of the outlets will be converted into Whole Foods Market stores, as the company shifts its focus to the organic grocery chain it acquired in 2017.
The Fresh concept, launched in Ealing in 2021, allowed shoppers to leave without using tills by tracking items with cameras and sensors. But demand waned after the pandemic, and Amazon failed to compete with established supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The company did not confirm how many staff will be affected, though it said employees would be offered roles elsewhere in the business. Amazon now plans to integrate Whole Foods more closely, while expanding grocery partnerships with Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op and Gopuff.
From next year, UK customers will also be able to buy fresh groceries directly through Amazon’s website. The shift comes amid regulatory scrutiny, as the Groceries Code Adjudicator investigates claims Amazon has delayed payments to suppliers.
