Amazon shuts three suburban shops, opens two City outlets in pivot to the Square Mile
A
mazon has closed three of its suburban Fresh shops and is poised to open two new websites within the Square Mile in an obvious pivot to draw extra City clients.
The e-commerce large shut areas in Wandsworth, East Sheen and its first London retailer in Ealing on the finish of final week, after closing an extra website in Dalston again in January. But work is underway to open two new outlets in Moorgate and close by Liverpool Street, with exact opening dates but to be determined.
An Amazon spokesperson informed the Standard: “Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way.
“While we decided to close three Amazon Fresh stores, it doesn’t mean we won’t grow. We are committed to our investment in grocery, and as we grow we’ll continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers.”
The closures and openings are set to deliver the whole variety of Amazon Fresh shops in London to 19. There are already three City areas, in Monument, Chancery Lane and Aldgate East.
The US-based enterprise, which additionally owns the upmarket grocery store chain Whole Foods, first launched the high-tech shops in London in March 2021, earlier than increasing at breakneck velocity with the opening greater than a dozen extra throughout the UK in a matter of months.
But the online drop in whole shops within the capital suggests these enlargement plans might have come to a halt. As many as 100 Amazon Fresh shops had been deliberate for the UK, based on news website Retail Tech Innovation Hub – however thus far this yr solely three new ones have been introduced.
Customers visiting the shop can stroll out with out queuing on the until or utilizing a self-service checkout utilizing the agency’s Just Walk Out expertise, which makes use of sensors alongside product cabinets to detect which objects which are being purchased and cost consumers’ Amazon accounts accordingly.