Amazon, whose online sales platform has participated in the closure of many bookstores, will close its physical bookstores and temporary stores to invest more in its other brands (food and clothing), and in its in-store sales technologies.
"We have decided to close our Amazon 4-star, Books, and Pop Up stores, and focus more on our Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market
(organic supermarket chain)
, Amazon Go, and Amazon Style stores
," it said. a spokesperson at AFP.
The e-commerce giant also wants to develop its technology called "Just Walk Out", which allows customers to pay automatically when they leave the store, without going through the checkout.
Read alsoThe book price war is declared between booksellers and Amazon
In all, 66 American stores and two in the United Kingdom will close their doors.
4-star Amazons offered eclectic product selections that were rated highly on the e-commerce platform.
"We remain committed to building great physical retail experiences and technologies over the long term
," the spokesperson said.
"And we're working closely with affected employees to help them find new positions at Amazon
. "
The move came as a
“surprise” to GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders, as some stores had opened recently, including in
“high-cost”
malls
.
But
“people are going to the stores less,”
he notes, and most importantly,
“Amazon is not your typical retail business.
They try and test new things, investing reasonable funds, but don't hesitate to walk away if they don't see future potential
.
Read alsoIn great shape, bookstores attract new readers
Amazon announced in January that it would open a high-tech clothing store in Los Angeles later this year with technologies used in its logistics centers, allowing the benefits of online and in-person shopping to be combined.
At “Amazon Styles”, consumers will be able to scan the clothes they like, and the algorithms will
“make them personalized recommendations in real time”
, according to the press release from the Seattle group.
From the fitting room, they can also order different models and sizes, which will be brought to them
“in a few minutes”
by the sales staff.
The tech giant, a world leader in the cloud (remote computing), bought the organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market in 2017 for 13.7 billion dollars, which allowed it to expand its physical presence significantly, and also to strengthen loyalty programs.
But this acquisition and expansion policy also fuels accusations of abuse of a dominant position by the American authorities.
