Amazon to Shut All 19 Fresh Grocery Outlets Across the UK
In a surprising reversal of strategy, Amazon has announced plans to close its entire network of 19 Amazon Fresh stores in the United Kingdom. Launched in 2021 with its first outlet in Ealing, West London, the Amazon Fresh concept offered a high-tech, checkout-free shopping experience. However, the trial format has failed to gain sufficient traction in a post-pandemic retail environment, prompting the retail giant to pull the plug on its physical grocery experiment.
From Innovation to Retrenchment
When Amazon Fresh first appeared, it promised shoppers the ability to fill their baskets and simply walk out, billed automatically via the Amazon app. Cameras and weight sensors tracked items removed from shelves, eliminating queues and cashiers. Yet as consumer habits shifted away from contactless convenience and back toward traditional supermarkets, the format struggled to match the scale and pricing power of established players such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
- The first store opened in Ealing in 2021.
- All 19 UK outlets are slated for closure.
- Up to five locations will be converted into Whole Foods Market branches.
- Amazon Fresh employees will be offered new roles within the broader Amazon business.
Focus Shifts to Whole Foods and Online Grocery
This move is part of a wider reorganisation of Amazon’s grocery operations in the UK. Instead of competing with supermarket chains through standalone stores, Amazon plans to strengthen its existing organic food brand, Whole Foods Market, which it acquired in 2017. Up to five Fresh locations will be repurposed as Whole Foods outlets, bringing Amazon’s physical grocery efforts under a single banner and tapping into the growing demand for organic and premium produce.
Meanwhile, Amazon is doubling down on its online grocery services. Fresh groceries—including dairy, meat, and seafood—will be made available for home delivery from next year, expanding the reach of Amazon’s digital grocery platform. In addition, Amazon has forged partnerships with traditional UK grocers Morrisons, Iceland, Co-op and the on-demand delivery service Gopuff to broaden the range of products available to Prime members.
Impacts on Staff and the Wider Workforce
Amazon has not yet confirmed the exact number of Fresh employees affected by the closures, but has indicated that it will offer affected staff new roles elsewhere in the UK business. John Boumphrey, Amazon UK country manager, emphasised the company’s ongoing commitment to the grocery sector:
“Since 2008, we’ve worked hard to innovate to help our customers save time and money when shopping for groceries and household essentials,” he said. “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.”
Amazon’s UK headcount now exceeds 75,000, primarily in warehouse and delivery roles. The company plans to create up to 2,000 new jobs at forthcoming logistics hubs in Hull and Northampton, further cementing its position as a major UK employer.
Financial Performance and Strategic Outlook
Despite shuttering its Fresh stores, Amazon’s UK operations remain profitable. In 2024, Amazon’s UK-based businesses delivered an estimated pre-tax profit of around £500 million, up from £457 million in 2023, on a turnover that rose to £14.7 billion from £13.3 billion the previous year. While Amazon Fresh contributed to the overall grocery revenues, the decision to exit the physical format reflects a pivot towards digital grocery services and premium retail via Whole Foods.
The closures underline Amazon’s pragmatic approach to market experimentation: when a format underperforms, the company is prepared to scale back rapidly and reallocate resources to its proven strengths. As Amazon transitions to a predominantly online grocery model in the UK, it reinforces the shift in consumer shopping preferences back to e-commerce, accelerated but not sustained by pandemic-era behaviour.
Looking Ahead in UK Grocery Retail
As Amazon reshapes its grocery footprint, the UK supermarket landscape braces for further disruption. With Amazon Fresh’s physical stores set to disappear, consumers will rely more heavily on traditional grocers, online marketplaces, and hybrid models such as partnership deliveries. Meanwhile, Amazon’s renewed focus on Whole Foods and digital delivery will test the company’s ability to meet UK shoppers’ expectations for convenience, variety, and value in an increasingly competitive sector.
