Amazon to reportedly close four U.S. Amazon Fresh stores
Amazon will reportedly scale back its Amazon Fresh high-tech grocery store footprint in California.
CNBC reports that the retailer is shuttering four Amazon Fresh locations in the Southern California communities of LaVerne, Mission Viejo, La Habra and Whittier within the next several weeks.
According to an internal Amazon memo viewed by CNBC, employees at the LaVerne store were informed in a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 1 that the store would close in the middle of November with workers receiving a severance package.
“Certain locations work better than others, and after an assessment, we’ve made the decision to close these Amazon Fresh locations,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. “We’re working closely with affected employees to help them find new roles within Amazon wherever possible.”
Amazon has closed four other U.S. Amazon Fresh locations this year, as well as opened at least one new store in Silver Spring, Md. Closures occurred at Amazon Fresh stores in Manassas, Va., Thousand Oaks, Calif., Plainview, N.Y. and Federal Way, Wash.
"Certain store locations work better than others, and after an assessment of our offering we’ve decided to close our Amazon Fresh stores in Thousand Oaks and Manassas," an Amazon spokesperson said in a March 2025 email to Chain Store Age. "We remain committed to Amazon Fresh and our broader grocery strategy and will continue to refine our portfolio of stores as we learn which locations and features resonate most with customers."
The company is also looking to close all 19 of its Amazon Fresh grocery stores in the U.K., with five of the locations to be converted to its Whole Foods Market store format.
[READ MORE: Amazon closing all U.K. Amazon Fresh stores; converting five to Whole Foods]
Amazon Fresh – a closer look
Amazon debuted Amazon Fresh in 2020, in Woodland Hills, Calif. and opened nine stores across California, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in fall 2024.
Other Amazon Fresh store openings within the past 18 months include four units opened in Roseville, Calif., Tinley Park, Ill., Lodi, N.J. and Bensalem, Penn. in late August 2024, and a location which launched in Eatontown, N.J. in June 2024.
The Amazon Fresh format features a variety of high-tech omnichannel features designed to merge online grocery shopping with an elevated in-store experience. These include fast grocery delivery and pickup options, and newer locations feature the Amazon Dash Cart smart shopping cart and Amazon One palm-based payment devices.
Some locations, which typically measure between roughly 30,000 and 60,000 sq. ft., also feature Amazon’s brick-and-mortar design unveiled in 2024 in select Chicago, Southern California and Baltimore metro stores.
In addition, customers who shop Amazon Fresh stores can save up to 30% on 4,000 weekly rotating grocery items across the aisles both in-store and online, every day. Prime members have exclusive access to Prime Savings, which offers 10% of on hundreds of additional grocery items across the aisles.
