Amazon halts checkout-free Amazon Fresh store launch in UK due to disappointing sales and economic headwinds, says Sunday Time.
Sources told British newspapers that Amazon had ended talks about dozens of new locations.
Amazon opens its first UK store in March 2021. The stores use the so-called ‘just walkout’ technology pioneered by Amazon Go in the US. Products that customers bring are automatically recognized and resolved with the Amazon app.
Amazon once had ambitions to open hundreds of similar stores in the UK, but its current 19 locations are not doing well. The costs are too high compared to other convenience stores and UK consumers are also having a hard time due to rising costs.
Amazon will give up looking for more locations. New branches will only be opened where the lease has been signed.
The plan will be re-evaluated within a year and a half, a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, a reorganization is underway at its food branch. Business Insider cites tensions with Whole Foods, the health food chain that Amazon acquired in 2017.
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