Amazon said it will close its Fresh and Go brick-and-mortar chains, marking a major change in its strategy. “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 wrote in a blog post.
Amazon said the closures are part of an effort to prioritize investments, though it hasn’t given up on physical retail. It said it will continue to test new physical store experiences, “like Amazon Grocery, which we launched alongside Whole Foods Market in Chicago, Illinois, or our ‘store within a store’ experience in the Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where customers can also shop for groceries and household essentials from Amazon.”
The company said it expects to open more than 100 new Whole Foods locations over the next few years. It will also expand its line of Whole Foods Daily Shops, which are mini-markets that offer a smaller assortment of grocery items.
READ: Amazon set for new job cuts next week in major workforce shake-up (January 23, 2026)
Amazon did not share how many Fresh and Go workers will be impacted by the store closures, however it stated it is working to help employees find roles in its operations network, and that they will be eligible for a severance package.
Amazon said that while it has seen “encouraging signs” in its branded physical grocery stores, the company was unable to come up hasn’t yet “created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” which led to the decision to close the Fresh and Go stores. Customers can continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas for fast and convenient delivery.
This comes shortly after Amazon announced plans to open what it called a “first-of-its-kind” retail store in Orland Park, Illinois, after receiving the final approval from the village’s board. The estimated 230,000-square-foot store at 9600, 159th St. will offer shoppers general merchandise, household items and groceries. Amazon said in a statement that it expects to open in late 2027 at the earliest. Orland Park Mayor James Dodge said that this would help cement Orland Park as “a go-to place for retail, and it has a lot of benefits for our communities in terms of revenue.”
An Amazon Prime membership won’t be required to shop there and it will offer pickup areas and online order integration.