Do not pass go… Amazon said it’ll close eight of its futuristic Amazon Go convenience stores next month. The company launched its first cashier-less location in 2018, with reported plans to open thousands more. Now Amazon’ll shutter Go stores in NYC, Seattle, and San Francisco, leaving only about 20 open.
Amazon Go-ing back online… While Amazon said it remains committed to Go, the closure is just the latest step away from its brick-and-mortar push. Last year the biz said it would close 68 physical Amazon Books, Amazon 4-Star, and Amazon Pop Up locations. And last month it said it’s ditching a bunch of Amazon Fresh grocery stores. One possible reason: Amazon suggested it had yet to land on a formula for IRL-store success. Despite its $13B+ purchase of Whole Foods in 2017, Amazon's brick-and-mortar biz represents only 3% of its revenue.
Convenience has its (physical) limits... Amazon redefined online shopping by crushing competitors with convenience (think: Prime, next-day delivery) but has struggled to transfer that success to the physical realm. Efforts to streamline grocery trips through splashy tech (picture: palm scans for payment and smart shopping carts) haven't connected with shoppers. They might actually find it more convenient to pull out their physical card than onboard to Amazon’s techy systems.