Amazon To Close Bookstores, Eyes Expansion In Grocery Business

Amazon is closing a slew of concept stores in an effort to better focus on its grocery and fashion business.

Amazon forayed into physical retail with the opening of a book store in Seattle, Washington, in 2015. Three years later, the company launched its 4-star concept store, offering a variety of items including games, kitchen appliances and electronics that had a rating of at least four stars. The store was open to all, but Prime members had the ability to purchase items at prices listed on Amazon’s website.

Now Amazon will be closing out all of its 4-Star, Books and Pop Up experiences to focus on Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go and Amazon Style stores that offer a cashier-free shopping experience.

The move comes on the heels of Amazon’s plan to open its first clothing store in the Los Angeles suburbs by the end of this year, offering apparel and accessories for men and women from both established and emerging brands at a wide range of price points. The company also teamed up with Starbucks in November 2021 to open cashierless store in New York City, with more stores expecting to launch the offering this year.

As the eCommerce giant works to close out some of its stores, the company will assist impacted employees in identifying new roles within the organization, including placement in other stores. Employees who choose to leave Amazon will be provided with severance.

“We remain committed to building great, long-term physical retail experiences and technologies,” said a company spokesperson.

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Originally published at https://retailbum.com on March 3, 2022.