Amazon announced in November 2023 that it would close its only two Amazon Style clothing stores and focus on online fashion shopping. At the time, the company said it would keep investing in grocery stores. That was not a lasting promise to keep Amazon-branded grocery stores open: in a company announcement updated May 12, 2026, Amazon said it would close its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, while continuing online grocery delivery and expanding Whole Foods Market.
What happened to Amazon Style?
Amazon confirmed the closure of its two Amazon Style stores in Glendale, California, and Columbus, Ohio, with both scheduled to close on November 9, 2023. Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish said the company had decided to close the stores and focus on its online fashion shopping experience. GeekWire reported that Amazon was working with affected employees to help them find other roles. GeekWire’s November 2, 2023 report covered the announcement.
Style used an app-enabled shopping model. Instead of keeping full racks of merchandise on the sales floor, the stores displayed selected items. Shoppers could scan QR codes with the Amazon Shopping app to see available sizes and colors, customer ratings, and other product details. The available reporting does not establish that this technology caused the closures or that customers rejected it.
The Style closures followed Amazon’s separate 2022 decisions to close its bookstores, Amazon 4-Star shops, and Pop Up stores. Those were earlier decisions, not part of the November 2023 Style announcement.
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Why did Amazon close the Style stores?
Amazon’s stated reason was a shift in focus to online fashion shopping. The announcement, as reported by GeekWire, did not give a financial performance metric or other detailed explanation for the decision. It would therefore be speculation to say that the stores closed because they lost money, failed to attract shoppers, or because of their QR-code shopping format.
Why did Amazon say it would keep investing in grocery in 2023?
At the time of the Style announcement, Amazon distinguished fashion from grocery. Kish told GeekWire: “Physical retail remains an important part of our business, and we’re continuing to invest in growing our grocery stores business.”
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Amazon’s 2022 shareholder letter described its grocery approach as a combination of an established specialty grocer and experimentation with a broader format. The letter characterized Whole Foods Market as an established grocery business and Amazon Fresh as a format being tested as Amazon looked for a mass-market concept it could expand more widely. It also said that most US grocery shopping still took place in physical venues and framed a broader physical footprint as an opportunity. These were Amazon’s descriptions of its strategy, not independent assessments of performance. Amazon’s 2022 shareholder letter gives that context.
In his 2023 shareholder letter, CEO Andy Jassy also described adding perishables such as milk and eggs to orders through same-day fulfillment facilities. He wrote: “It might change how people think of splitting up their weekly grocery shopping, and make perishable shopping as convenient as non-perishable shopping already is.” This was a plan to bring more grocery items into online orders, alongside the company’s discussion of physical grocery—not a guarantee that every grocery format or store would remain. Jassy’s 2023 shareholder letter describes the approach.
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What changed for Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go?
Amazon’s strategy changed after the 2023 statement. In a company announcement updated May 12, 2026, Amazon said it would close its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores and convert various locations to Whole Foods Market. It said customers could continue to shop Amazon Fresh online in available areas, and that it planned to expand Whole Foods Market and online grocery delivery. These are plans stated by Amazon as of that announcement; store conversions and online availability can vary by location and change over time.
Amazon gave this explanation for closing its Amazon-branded grocery stores: “While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion.” That rationale applies to the 2026 Go and Fresh decision. Amazon did not state that it was the reason for the earlier Amazon Style closures.
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- Versatile Use: WISELIFE reusable tote bags with handles are reliable for grocery shopping, trunk organization, camping, picnics, storage, and more. They keep your items neat and organized on the go, offering a portable storage solution for all kinds of outings
In the same announcement, Amazon reported over $150 billion in gross sales and more than 150 million grocery customers each year, as well as more than 550 Whole Foods Market locations. These are figures reported by Amazon in May 2026, not independent estimates. Amazon’s announcement on its grocery-store plans provides the company’s figures and stated plans.
Amazon’s store strategy, by announcement date
| Format | Announcement and channel emphasis | Stated rationale or context |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Style clothing stores | November 2023: close the two stores in Glendale and Columbus; focus on online fashion shopping. | Amazon stated the shift to online fashion. No closure-specific performance metric or detailed cause was reported by GeekWire. |
| Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical grocery stores | Announcement updated May 12, 2026: close the physical stores, convert various locations to Whole Foods Market, and continue online grocery in available areas. | Amazon said it had not yet created a sufficiently distinctive customer experience and economic model for large-scale expansion of its Amazon-branded physical grocery stores. |
| Whole Foods Market and online grocery | May 2026: Amazon said it planned to expand Whole Foods and online grocery delivery. | Amazon described Whole Foods as having more than 550 locations and reported grocery sales and customer figures in its announcement. |
Is Amazon still investing in grocery stores?
The answer depends on the date and the format. In November 2023, Amazon said it would continue investing in grocery stores. By May 2026, it had announced plans to close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go physical stores, convert various sites to Whole Foods Market, and keep investing in Whole Foods and online grocery delivery. The 2023 statement was accurate when made, but it should not be read as a promise to preserve Amazon Fresh or Go stores indefinitely.
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