Amazon is preparing to shut all 19 of its Amazon Fresh stores in the UK, a mere four years after opening its first supermarket outlet in London.
The tech behemoth has plans to transform up to five of these locations into Whole Foods Market stores, an American organic food chain it purchased in 2017, as reported by City AM.
The Fresh shops, initially launched in 2021 in Ealing, West London, offered customers the convenience of leaving without using a checkout, with billing done via an app while cameras and sensors monitored purchased items.
However, this format has found it difficult to gain popularity as the demand for contactless shopping decreased post-pandemic, leaving Amazon struggling to compete effectively with established supermarket chains such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Amazon has not disclosed how many of its 250 UK Fresh employees will be impacted, but has stated that it intends to offer staff new roles within the company.
Amazon’s broader strategy
This move forms part of a larger reorganisation of Amazon’s grocery operations in the UK, with a greater emphasis on whole foods and its online grocery services.
In recent months, Amazon has incorporated more corporate policies, pay structures, and benefits at Whole Foods, indicating tighter control of the brand.
Amazon also unveiled plans to double the number of Prime members in the UK who have access to at least three grocery options through partnerships with Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op, and Gopuff.
Fresh groceries, including dairy, meat, and seafood, will also be available online from next year.
John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager, said: “Since 2008, we’ve worked hard to innovate to help our customers save time and money when shopping for groceries and household essentials.”
“We continue to invent and invest to bring more choice and convenience to UK customers, enabling them to shop for a wide range of everyday essentials and groceries with low prices and fast delivery.”
Amazon employs more than 75,000 people in the UK, chiefly across warehouses and delivery operations, and intends to establish up to 2,000 new positions at forthcoming distribution centres in Hull and Northampton.
Whilst Amazon Fresh has made a substantial contribution to the firm’s total grocery revenues, the move signals a pivot towards a predominantly digital-first approach in the UK.
In 2024, Amazon’s UK-based operations delivered an estimated pre-tax profit of approximately £500m, rising from £457m in 2023, whilst total UK turnover climbed to £14.7bn from £13.3bn.
The store closures represent a significant pullback for Amazon in the bricks-and-mortar grocery market, four years following its prominent UK debut.
