Amazon to shut cashierless stores in NYC, other cities

BLOOMBERG

Amazon.com Inc is closing eight cashierless Amazon Go locations in Seattle, New York and San Francisco, marking the e-commerce giant’s latest round of cost-cutting amid slowing sales growth.
The affected stores will remain open until April 1, the company said.
“Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimisation decisions along the way,” Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin said. “We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the US and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers.”
The company unveiled its first cashierless store near its Seattle headquarters in 2016, offering salads, sandwiches and snacks for busy office workers seeking a meal-on-the-run option. The format was a victim of the pandemic because so many people worked from home and still go to the office only a few days a week.
Amazon made its biggest move into physical retail in 2017 with the $13 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market, which has more than 500 locations. Since then, the company has launched its own chain of Amazon Fresh supermarkets, arguing that it needed its own distinct format to increase grocery sales.