…By for TDPel Media. Amazon Fresh, the retail giant’s chain of physical stores, bid farewell to its Wandsworth, East Sheen, and Ealing Broadway locations in the UK on Sunday.
These stores were among the first of their kind to open in the country.
Utilizing Amazon’s innovative ‘Just Walk Out’ sensor technology, customers could conveniently pick up items and leave, with their purchases automatically charged to their Amazon accounts.
Despite the closure of the pioneering UK store after just over two years of operation, Amazon Fresh has rapidly expanded throughout London and maintains a reasonably strong presence.
Even after the recent closures, there are still 17 Amazon Fresh stores listed on the official site across the capital, including key locations like Southwark, Euston, Chancery Lane, and Kensington.
However, the recent closures are not the first for Amazon Fresh in the UK.
Earlier in the year, the Dalston branch shut its doors.
Amazon framed these closures as a strategic shift in their plans rather than a complete withdrawal from the brick-and-mortar retail store market.
They pointed to the opening of new stores in Croydon and Monument as evidence of their ongoing commitment.
An Amazon spokesperson emphasized that, like any physical retailer, they regularly assess their store portfolio and make optimization decisions as needed.
Despite the closure of three Amazon Fresh stores, the company intends to continue growing and plans to open new stores in the greater London area this year, aiming to better serve their customers.
Amazon’s approach to retail has always been driven by data and analytics, giving the company confidence in making tough decisions regarding underperforming stores.
Nevertheless, the simultaneous closure of three stores on the same day may raise questions about the company’s confidence in this endeavor.
In the past, there were reports of Amazon’s ambitious plan to open around 100 stores across the UK, but it appears that this vision might be experiencing a slowdown, if not a complete halt.
Insiders cited two primary reasons for this slowed expansion.
First, the existing Amazon Fresh stores were not meeting performance expectations.
Second, the incorporation of the sophisticated checkout-free technology into new locations proved to be expensive, which may have contributed to the company’s cautious approach in expanding the chain further.
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