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Amazon closing Amazon Go store

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Amazon is closing an Amazon Go frictionless store.

Amazon continues scaling back its Amazon Go checkout-free convenience concept.

According to a statement emailed to Chain Store Age, Amazon plans to shut down an Amazon Go location in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2025. 

“Certain locations work better than others, and after an assessment of our portfolio, we’ve decided to close the Woodland Hills store," Amazon said in the statement. "Customers in Woodland Hills can continue to shop from a wide range of grocery products and enjoy exceptional customer service at our nearby Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market stores."

The company opened the store in the Greater Los Angeles area in November 2022. Measuring approximately 5,000 sq. ft. with front of house measuring approximately 2,400 sq. ft., the store is an Amazon Go format developed specifically for suburban locations offering an expanded selection of grab-and-go food and beverage items, including a broader range of beer and wine, and a made-to-order kitchen.

The Woodland Hills Amazon Go store will operate normally until it closes Feb. 26. Two other Amazon Go stores currently operating in the Greater Los Angeles area will remain open. Amazon is working with all affected employees to find new roles within the company.

The Amazon Go format debuted at a store in Seattle in January 2018. It features Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” technology, and is designed to offer customers a quick shopping experience to pick up grab-and-go food, snacks and beverage items and a few everyday essentials.

According to the Amazon website, it currently operates 16 Amazon Go locations (including the Woodland Hills store slated for closure) across California, Illinois, New York and Washington. 

Amazon operated a peak of approximately 30 Amazon Go stores in 2023 but then began gradually shrinking the format’s footprint with the closure of eight locations in March 2023.

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[READ MORE: Amazon to shutter eight Amazon Go c-stores]

Amazon teams with Starbucks in Amazon Go-based format

Amazon also extends the Amazon Go store concept in a partnership with Starbucks that lets customers bypass the checkout when they pay for orders.

The second "Starbucks Pickup with Amazon Go" location opened in Manhattan in 2022. The first location, also in Manhattan, opened in 2021. The store is a combination of the Starbucks Pickup format, which primarily accepts orders that are placed through the Starbucks app prior to the customer arriving at the store, and Amazon “Just Walk Out.” Amazon began licensing the Just Walk Out platform in 2020.

Customers can order a coffee or beverage at the new Starbucks format by pre-ordering (and paying for) their drink on the chain’s mobile app, choosing the location, and then going to the store where the order will be waiting. Orders that are still being processed are noted on a digital screen above the counter. 

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