Amazon (AMZN) is closing its remaining Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, repurposing those locations as Whole Foods markets and ramping up investment in online grocery delivery to meet growing consumer demand for fresh foods.
“Everyday household essentials represent one out of every three units sold on Amazon.com, as customers increasingly look to our broad selection, low prices, and fast delivery to fill their fridges and pantries,” the company said in a statement, noting the “remarkable” growth in its online grocery delivery, demonstrating growth of 40x over the past year.
As Amazon transitions its remaining Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, it plans to expand Whole Foods with 100 new locations over the next few years and also add five more Whole Foods Market Daily Shop locations by year-end. The Daily Shop format offers a small, convenience-style store focused on grab-and-go meals, coffee, and everyday essentials.
Finally, to match the physical scale of competitor Walmart (WMT), Amazon (AMZN) is exploring a supercenter retail concept to shop the company’s broad selection of merchandise, including fresh groceries and household essentials.