Tech giant Amazon closes no-till supermarket store after just three years as it blames closure on one issue
AMAZON has closed down one of its iconic no-till supermarkets just three years after opening.
The Richmond Amazon Fresh is the latest in a string of branches to get the chop after an abandoned expansion plan.
The south-west London site was the 10th Fresh shop when it opened in December 2021, but sales have proved disappointing.
When the shop – on The Quadrant, next to Richmond Station – closes, it will take Amazon Fresh’s count down to 19.
Hundreds of Fresh shops were reportedly chalked for the UK, but Amazon hit the breaks when success fell short of expectations.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Grocer: “Certain store locations work better than others, and after an assessment of our offering we’ve decided to close our Amazon Fresh store in Richmond.”
They added: “Customers in the area can continue to shop from a wide selection of grocery products at Amazon.co.uk with same-day delivery options, or from our other Amazon Fresh stores across London.”
The online giant opened up its first physical grocery shop in Ealing Broadway in March 2021 – but did not enjoy the success it hoped.
That flagship Ealing site – alongside one in Wandsworth and East Sheen – shut up shop in July 2023.
And now the Richmond shop is joining their ranks.
The last new site to open was in West Hampstead in November 2024 – after a year of no new stores.
The statement continued: “We remain committed to Amazon Fresh, and will continue to refine our portfolio of stores as we learn which locations and features resonate most with customers.”
Amazon Fresh shops were touted as offering customers a “new convenience grocery format”.
Rather than paying at tills, customers simply exit the shop and the “Just Walk Out” technology bills them automatically.
Sainsbury’s became the first international customer of the tech when it opened a till-free shop in the supermarket’s head office in November 2021.
But, earlier this year, it pulled the plug on the trial.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We continue to work with Amazon across a range of projects and we are looking at how we can use technology to make shopping with us even simpler and more convenient in the future.”
Meanwhile, a map has revealed where a vast number of Morrisons sites are set to close their doors.
The 69 closures are part of an enormous shake-up from the retail giant.
Some 52 cafes will be axed, alongside 17 stores.
Morrisons said they are “not taking lightly” the which plunges 365 staff members into potential redundancy.
As well as stores and cafes, certain services are set to close with 18 Market Kitchens, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies also getting the chop.