Amazon is closing eight physical stores in the United States: all of them cashless Amazon Go stores, which use very expensive technology. The retailer downplays the importance of the closures: “We are optimising our store portfolio”.
Expansion on pause
On 1 April, Amazon will close two Amazon Go convenience stores in New York and four in San Francisco permanently. Two stores in Seattle closed earlier, giving rise to many questions among observers about the future of the cashless shops. The retailer put the expansion of the store format on hold early this year, pending the development of a more successful format. In London, a cashierless Amazon Fresh supermarket closed as well. Last year, the retailer also discontinued non-food formulas Amazon Books and Amazon 4-Star.
