Amazon to Close Eight Go Convenience Stores to Cut Costs

• Amazon is closing eight Go stores in Seattle, New York and San Francisco.
• The company previously announced that it would close some Go stores and Fresh supermarkets as it revisits its traditional strategy and seeks to cut costs.

Amazon plans to close eight of its convenience stores, the company said on Friday, a decision that coincides with a reduction in its physical footprint and broader cost-cutting efforts.

The company will close two Go stores in New York, two stores in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco. Stores will close on April 1, and Amazon has said it will work to help affected employees move to other positions within the company.

“Like any physical retailer, we periodically evaluate our store portfolio and make optimization decisions along the way,” Amazon spokeswoman Jessica Martin said. “In this case, we have decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York and San Francisco. We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operating over 20 Amazon Go stores in the US, and will continue to learn which locations and features shoppers love the most as we continue to develop our Amazon Go stores.”

This was previously reported by GeekWire.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassi is taking steps to cut costs across his grocery division and elsewhere as the company struggles with slowing sales and a worsening economic outlook. In January, the company said it would lay off up to 18,000 employees, and some of the cuts were in Amazon’s grocery business. It has ditched warehouse and brick-and-mortar retail space in recent months after a period of rapid expansion driven by a surge in e-commerce spending during the pandemic.

Amazon executives previously confirmed that the company would close some Fresh supermarkets and Go stores following the release of fourth-quarter results. Amazon is also temporarily pausing the expansion of its Fresh grocery store chain until it finds a format that resonates with customers and “where we like the economy,” Jassi said during an earnings call.

Amazon has been determined to crack the grocery segment since the launch of its fresh food delivery service in 2007. It made a historic splash when it acquired the upscale grocer Whole Foods Market in 2017 for $13.7 billion, Amazon’s biggest ever acquisition.

The first Amazon Go store opened to the public in 2018 at the company’s Seattle headquarters. Amazon equips stores with cameras and sensors that allow shoppers to buy items without waiting in line at the checkout. Last January, the company opened its first Amazon Go store in suburban Mill Creek, Washington, after focusing launches in urban areas to attract commuters during lunch breaks.

LOOK: How Whole Foods has changed in the five years since Amazon took over