After a successful run as an experiment, Amazon has made the decision to close its two Fresh Pickup facilities, signaling the end of its drive-in and drop-off grocery service. The closure of these stores comes as Amazon reevaluates its brick-and-mortar presence and focuses on finding store formats that resonate with customers and offer good economics.
Fresh Pickup, which was launched in 2017, allowed customers to place their grocery orders online and schedule a convenient time for pick-up. Upon arrival at the store, customers would stay in their cars while a grocery worker loaded their bags into the vehicle. This contactless shopping experience became even more significant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At its peak, Amazon had two Fresh Pickup locations in Seattle, which were seen as an indication of the company’s commitment to the grocery business. However, these facilities were never expanded outside of Seattle, and now both locations have been closed.
The closure of the Fresh Pickup store in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood occurred in January 2023, while the facility in the Sodo neighborhood closed in December. The vacant lot that was once the site of Louie’s Cuisine of China, now bearing the Amazon logo, serves as a reminder of Amazon’s departure from the Fresh Pickup concept.
According to Jessica Martin, an Amazon spokesperson, the closure of the Fresh Pickup stores is part of Amazon’s regular assessment of its portfolio and optimization decisions.
While Amazon has closed its Fresh Pickup stores, it still operates over 40 Fresh grocery stores across the country, including five in Seattle. Additionally, Amazon runs Go convenience stores in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. Furthermore, Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
In the second quarter of 2023, Amazon reported a 7% year-on-year growth in physical store sales.
In recent years, Amazon has significantly scaled back its brick-and-mortar presence. The company closed all of its bookstores, 4-star shops, pop-ups, and Amazon Style stores, which were its first foray into in-person fashion.
Last year, Amazon temporarily halted the expansion of its grocery stores as it sought to find the ideal store format that resonated with customers and provided the desired economic returns. As part of this reevaluation, Amazon closed some stores and terminated certain lease agreements.
However, Amazon has continued to invest in its physical stores. The company recently refreshed and redesigned some of its Fresh grocery stores in Chicago and Los Angeles to enhance the customer experience.
Fresh Pickup revolutionized the shopping experience by allowing customers to complete their grocery shopping without leaving their cars. Unlike other services that require customers to send a text or check-in on an app or website, Fresh Pickup used license-plate reading technology to automatically identify customers and notify grocery workers for a seamless drop-off process.
Customers had the option to opt out of the service through Amazon’s website. During the initial setup, a human worker would record the customer’s name and license plate, manually entering the information into Amazon’s system for future orders.
As Amazon continues to reimagine its store formats and explore innovative ways to serve its customers, the closure of the Fresh Pickup stores represents a shift in strategy towards formats that better align with Amazon’s goals and customer expectations.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it