E-commerce giant Amazon announced on 27 January that it is closing all of its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go retail locations in the U.S. to focus more on expanding its online grocery delivery service and investing in Whole Foods Market stores.
“While we've seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven't yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, we've made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores,” the company said.
The move reportedly affects 72 stores.
Amazon, which added fresh seafood and other perishables to its grocery delivery service in August 2025, has determined that perishable grocery sales “scale more efficiently through its e-commerce and same-day delivery network than through Amazon Fresh stores,” eMarketer Senior Analyst of Retail and Commerce Zak Stambor told SeafoodSource.
Among the fresh seafood offerings that are part of Amazon’s grocery delivery service are Chilean sea bass fillets from Whole Foods Market and Mowi 12-ounce fresh Atlantic salmon portions.
Millions of customers in over 5,000 cities and towns across the U.S. can shop online with Amazon for affordable household essentials and groceries, including selections from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh online, and local retail partnerships like Weis Markets, Winn-Dixie, and Metropolitan Market, the company said.
Amazon is one of the top three grocers in the U.S., with over USD 150 billion (EUR 126 billion) in gross sales and more than 150 million customers buying groceries annually.
Perishable grocery sales through its Same-Day service have grown 40 times since January 2025, and fresh groceries now make up nine of the top 10 most-ordered items in areas where perishable groceries are available for Same-Day Delivery.
“Our online grocery delivery service has experienced remarkable growth, and in 2025, we delivered more groceries at faster speeds than ever before, helping get affordable, high-quality groceries into the hands of more customers,” the company said.
On the other hand, Amazon Fresh served only a few dozen communities, compared with more than 2,300 cities and towns that are now reached by Same-Day delivery, according to Stambor.
“Being great at e-commerce doesn’t automatically translate to winning in physical retail. Amazon Go and Fresh were ambitious ideas, but they never found a sustainable business model,” Stambor said. “Rather than forcing standalone store concepts to work, Amazon is refocusing on its core strengths: a powerful delivery infrastructure and Whole Foods’ brand equity. The bet is that mass-market groceries sell more efficiently through Same-Day delivery, with Whole Foods as its primary physical retail brand.”
Amazon echoed that sentiment, noting it is increasing its investment in “our physical stores that are resonating with customers,” referring to Whole Foods Market. The grocery chain, which has more than 550 locations, has realized over 40 percent sales growth since Amazon acquired it in 2017.
“Customers are increasingly choosing Whole Foods Market for both everyday shopping and special occasions, as demonstrated by record-breaking customer traffic and year-over-year comparable store growth that is outpacing the broader industry,” Amazon said.
As a result, Amazon is planning to invest in opening more than 100 new Whole Foods Market stores over the next few years, including a new store format: Whole Foods Market Daily Shop.
“This smaller store format is redefining convenience and the neighborhood grocery shopping experience with a curated selection of grab-and-go meals, coffee, and everyday essentials,” Amazon said, adding that it plans to open five additional Whole Foods Market Daily Shop stores by the end of 2026.
The retailer is also testing other new physical store experiences such as Amazon Grocery, which it launched alongside Whole Foods Market in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., and its “store within a store” experience in the Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., which allows customers to shop for groceries and household essentials from Amazon.
That 10,000-square-foot micro-fulfillment center enables shoppers to pick up mass-market staples not typically carried by Whole Foods, Stambor said.
Amazon plans to “continue inventing on behalf of customers to develop a mass physical store format that brings customers distinctive selection, value, and convenience,” the retailer said. “Over the coming years, we plan to introduce new store concepts that we think customers will be excited about.”
To further increase grocery sales, Amazon unveiled its Amazon Grocery private-label brand, which includes value-priced seafood items, in the U.S. last fall.
Encompassing more than 1,000 “high-quality” food items, the selection includes fresh meat and seafood, milk, produce, and pantry staples. Most products are priced under USD 5.00 (EUR 4.19), “offering exceptional value to customers,” Amazon said. The products were previously under the Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly private-label lines.
"During a time when consumers are particularly price-conscious, Amazon Grocery delivers more than 1,000 quality grocery items across all categories that don't compromise on quality or taste – from fresh food items to crave-worthy snacks and pantry essentials – all at low, competitive prices that help customers stretch their grocery budgets further,” Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel said at the time of the brand’s release.
Among the seafood items in the private label line are Best Aquaculture Practices-certified, large raw farmed shrimp; wild-caught sockeye salmon skin-on fillet portions; and wild-caught Pacific cod portions.
