Amazon to shut checkout-free UK grocery shops

Amazon plans to shut all its grocery stores in Britain, after the shops without checkout registers failed to compete with online delivery demand. 

The US tech giant on Tuesday said the decision would impact all 19 Amazon Fresh stores, less than five years after opening.

Amazon Fresh stores allow customers to choose groceries and simply walk out, as a tracking system charges the shopping to their bank accounts. 

The company said it made its decision following "a thorough evaluation of business operations and the very substantial growth opportunities in online delivery".

Amazon will launch a same-day fresh food delivery service next year.

It is set to completely shut 14 Amazon Fresh stores, and convert the remaining five into Whole Foods Market shops, the organic grocery chain it bought in 2017.

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Amazon launched its first "just walk out shopping" outlet outside of the United States in London in 2021.

It used "deep learning" algorithms -- technology which allows machines to learn by themselves -- with cameras and sensors to tell what customers have picked up.

Amazon, which was already growing in Britain before the Covid-19 pandemic, saw its position strengthen after the outbreak and months of closure for shops deemed non-essential.

However, its checkout-free technology "always felt a little awkward for a post-pandemic shopper", said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

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