In a surprise move on Wednesday, Amazon revealed plans to close all of its brick-and-mortar bookstores in the US and the UK.
Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, and its high-tech Amazon Go stores will continue to operate. The company told the New York Times that it will open its first Amazon Style store in Los Angeles later this year.
Amazon hasn't given any details about when the stores will be shut down. The company will offer to help staff find new jobs or give them a severance package if they lose their jobs.
The first physical bookstore opened by Amazon was filled with books that were selling well on its website. It operated 24 bookstores in 12 states last year.
While the pop-up stores were temporary installations that let shoppers get hands-on with Amazon's growing range of tech devices, the 4-sar was more experimental, stocking items that received high ratings on its online store.
We shouldn't be too surprised by Amazon's decision to pivot away from certain sectors, since it isn't completely turning its back on its retail store operation. Revenue from Amazon's brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 3% of its $137 billion in sales during its most recently reported quarter, with most of that coming from sales at its Whole Foods subsidiary.
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