Amazon has closed yet another ‘contactless’ supermarket amid falling interest in the innovative ‘Just Walk Out’ technology.
The Richmond Amazon Fresh shop was the technology company’s 10th UK store, having opened just over three years ago, in December 2021.
With the first launched in London’s Ealing Broadway in March 2021, the unique shopping experience sought to offer customers a ‘new convenience grocery format’.
Upon entering the shop, customers scan a smartphone app meaning they are automatically billed as they leave with their items, rather than having to use a traditional scanning checkout system.
The innovative shops use ‘Just Walk Out’ camera sensor technology, which is able to track what people buy as they walk around the supermarket.
The initial allure of the new technology meant that Amazon were reportedly set to open hundreds of stores across the UK.
But interest quickly declined, with Fresh stores in Ealing, Wandsworth and East Sheen all closing in 2023. The most recent opening of a new store was in West Hampstead, in November 2024.
Amazon’s Fresh Richmond supermarket store (pictured), which opened in December 2021, is the latest in a string of branches that have been abruptly closed
Opening its first Fresh supermarket store in London ’s Ealing Broadway in March 2021, Amazon sought to offer customers a ‘new convenience grocery format’
The company uses ‘Just Walk Out’ camera sensor technology, which is able to track what people buy as they walk around the supermarket, rather than using a traditional tilling system
Now, the closure of the e-commerce giant’s Richmond store has taken the number of Amazon Fresh shops across the UK to just 19 in total.
At the time of the flagship Ealing store closure, Amazon said that the decision had been made following a review of its ‘portfolio of stores’ but that it ‘doesn’t mean we won’t grow’, with the company remaining ‘committed to our investment in grocery’.
However, retail experts have previously told MailOnline that Amazon was ‘struggling to make the move offline’, with one saying he expected more outlets to close in the ‘medium term’.
Retail and retail property expert Jonathon De Mello, founder and chief executive of JDM Retail, told MailOnline in July 2023 that the Amazon Fresh store closures ‘come as no surprise’ and anticipated that ‘more will close in the medium term’.
Dr Mello believed that a combination of ‘poor location strategy’ and an underestimation of ‘the strength of the local market’ were among the reasons Amazon had failed to remain open.
Meanwhile, retail and consumer analyst Robert Carruthers, director of research company ConsumerCast, added that Amazon had ‘always struggled with physical stores’.
Mr Carruthers also believed that the ‘intrusive’ camera surveillance in their stores, alongside high prices, may have put customers off returning to the unique grocery store.
Products to buy at an Amazon Fresh store, which is operated by camera sensor technology
Concerns over the technology used in stores have also been raised by privacy campaign groups including Big Brother Watch, which said much of it is a ‘mystery’.
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at the organisation, told MailOnline in 2023: ‘Amazon Fresh offers customers a total-surveillance shopping experience which is now being copied by other retailers.
‘Checkout free shops rely on intense AI powered tracking and data mining to monitor customers, but it is often a mystery what companies then do with this information.’
Reflecting on the closure of the Richmond branch, 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.
‘Customers in the area can continue to shop from a wide selection of grocery products at Amazon.co.uk/grocery with same-day delivery options, or from our other Amazon Fresh stores across London.
‘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.’
However, just last month, it announced that the chain was to abandon the till-free approach in favour of a more traditional checkout system.
Meanwhile, while other large supermarket stores, such as Tesco and Aldi, have utilised checkout-free grocery shops, several have shifted to so-called ‘hybrid models’ that contain both self-checkouts, alongside regular checkouts.
