Amazon announced yesterday that it plans to close all 19 of its grocery stores in the UK, less than five years after launching the high-tech checkout-free Fresh sites in London.
The online giant said that it had “made the difficult decision” after a “thorough evaluation of business operations and the very substantial growth opportunities in online delivery.”
Amazon’s UK manager John Boumphrey stated that the firm would “continue 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.”
The company highlighted that in the first quarter of 2025, its everyday essentials category – which includes groceries and household items – grew nearly twice as fast as all other categories in the UK and now represents almost one out of every three units sold on its website. In 2026, it plans to make grocery shopping “even more convenient” by adding perishable groceries to the offer on Amazon.co.uk with same-day delivery, copying a service that recently launched in the US.
By next year, it also aims to more than double the number of Amazon UK Prime members who have access to three or more online grocery delivery options through Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op, and Gopuff. It stated that the expansion would result in more than 80% of its members having access to at least one of its grocery partners.
Meanwhile, five of the Fresh stores earmarked for closure will be converted to its Whole Foods Market format as part of plans to expand the chain to 12 sites by the end of 2026. Last week, it was revealed that the premium natural foods retailer suffered another fall in sales and a significant loss in the UK in 2024.
Amazon opened its first UK grocery store in Ealing Broadway in March 2021. After pausing the rollout in 2022 due to lacklustre sales amid a weak economic environment, Amazon resumed its opening programme at the start of 2023. However, the online giant also closed several stores amid reports of a mixed response from shoppers to its ‘just walk out’ format. To make its stores more accessible, the company introduced more traditional ways to pay, rather than just via the Amazon app.
Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at Forrester, commented: “I think that grocery everywhere in the world, including the UK is very competitive. It’s unlikely that Amazon Fresh has created a differentiated offering, and it may not even have ideal locations, so it’s probably not been set up well for success from the start.”
She noted that Amazon “continues to be experimental”, changing its grocery strategy every few months, but that it “hasn’t quite figured out a successful plan” for its stores.
Meanwhile, Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, noted that the till-less technology “always felt a little awkward”, adding: “Amazon’s strength is in convenience of delivery and it’s no surprise that as one door closes many more van doors are set to open, with the US firm announcing greater access to grocery for its prime members and plans to offer fresh goods via its online shop window from next year.”
