Amazon is preparing to shut down all of its Amazon Fresh stores in the UK, just four years after the US tech company launched its first grocery shop in London.
The company plans to close all 19 Fresh stores, with plans to convert five of these into Whole Foods Market shops, the US organic grocery chain that it bought in 2017.
Amazon launched its first Fresh store in 2021 in Ealing, west London, that allowed customers to walk out with their shopping without having to use a till.
Instead, shoppers use an app to enter the store and are charged when they leave, with a range of highly sensitive cameras and sensors used to monitor which products they picked up while in store.
However, the concept has struggled as demand for contactless shopping waned at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and Amazon has not been able to pose a serious threat to the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Amazon did not confirm how many staff would be affected by the closures but it said it planned to offer workers new roles in other parts of the business.
It comes amid a broader overhaul of how Amazon approaches the grocery market, with a stronger focus on the Whole Foods business.
While Whole Foods has operated with significant independence since its $13.7bn (£10.7bn) acquisition, Amazon has been exercising more control over the brand.
Over the summer, Amazon extended its corporate staff programmes, including pay structure and benefits, to its US corporate employees at Whole Foods, in a move designed to integrate the business more closely into the group.
Amazon also announced on Tuesday that it planned to double the number of Prime subscription members in the UK with access to at least three of its grocery options, through its partnerships with Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op and Gopuff.
Shoppers would also be able to buy fresh groceries, including dairy, meat and seafood, on the Amazon website from next year, the company said.
Amazon’s grocery business has come under increasing scrutiny in the UK, including demands to comply with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
In June, the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), the industry watchdog, launched an investigation into Amazon over claims that the firm was failing to pay its suppliers on time.
John Boumphrey, country manager for Amazon UK, 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 through Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market stores, alongside our third-party grocery partners, including Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and Gopuff.”
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