Amazon Fresh to close all 19 UK stores as Amazon pivots to online groceries
Five locations to be converted to Whole Foods; up to 250 UK staff affected as the company shifts toward online shopping and a broader Whole Foods footprint.
Amazon on Thursday announced it will close all 19 Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the United Kingdom, a move that could affect up to 250 workers. The company said five of the locations will be converted to Whole Foods Market stores as part of a broader overhaul of its UK grocery operations, aimed at shifting more focus to online shopping while maintaining a physical retail presence. The closures come as the retailer reorganizes its grocery strategy to emphasize convenience, delivery speed, and third-party partnerships.
Amazon said it has launched a consultation process with employees at the affected sites and that staff may be offered new roles within the business. Not all workers are expected to lose their jobs, and the company noted it would seek to redeploy them to other parts of the organization where possible. All the Amazon Fresh shops targeted for closure are in Greater London, with one location in Sevenoaks, Kent.
The decision marks a retrenchment for Amazon Fresh, a brand the company launched in 2021 with a focus on technology-driven shopping, including a till-less store model in its first Ealing location. The initial concept relied on a smartphone app to enter stores and then billed customers through the platform as they left, supported by a network of cameras and other sensors to track purchases. Growth ambitions for Fresh were scaled back as demand waned after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and the UK closures reflect a broader recalibration of Amazon’s grocery bets in the region.
As part of the plan, Amazon will convert five of the 19 stores to its Whole Foods Market brand, which emphasizes organic produce and higher-end offerings. The company said the conversions and two additional new sites are expected to grow the Whole Foods footprint to 12 stores by the end of next year. The UK arm also outlined a push to broaden access to its grocery options for Prime members, aiming to double the number of Prime subscribers with access to at least three Amazon grocery options through partnerships with Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op, and Gopuff.
Additionally, Amazon signaled ongoing plans to expand fresh groceries on Amazon.co.uk, saying it will begin offering dairy, meat, and seafood as part of its fresh grocery lineup from next year. John Boumphrey, the country manager for Amazon UK, defended the company’s broader strategy, saying, “Since 2008, we’ve worked hard to innovate to help our customers save time and money when shopping for groceries and household essentials. We continue to 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.”
Reaction to the news has been mixed among industry observers. Steve Dresser, chief executive of consultancy Grocery Insight, noted on social media that while the closure is sad for staff, the Fresh format itself faced challenges. “There were huge numbers of closures and churn too. Still felt like tech looking for a problem to solve, until it wasn’t,” he wrote, underscoring the difficult economics of the model as demand shifted post-pandemic.
The UK closures are the most visible sign yet of a broader recalibration in Amazon’s grocery business in Europe. While Amazon Fresh remains a smaller part of the UK operation, the company has continued to invest in online grocery delivery and third-party partnerships, aiming to offer competitive pricing and convenience. The consultation process with affected workers is expected to run through the coming weeks, with the company outlining timelines for potential redeployments and store closures as part of its ongoing UK strategic review.
In the near term, the shift toward Whole Foods in selective locations will expand the brand’s footprint in the region, while the online groceries push and Prime-related initiatives are designed to preserve Amazon’s relevance in a crowded and price-sensitive market. Executives emphasized that the company remains “deeply invested” in the UK, despite the planned store closures, and that shoppers will continue to have access to a range of Amazon grocery options through multiple channels and partners.