The company laid off 18,000 corporate and tech employees, and in a memo to employees earlier this month, CEO Andy Jassy signaled a shift in mindset with significant implications for the company’s future and its past efforts to dabble in everything. In recent months and weeks, Amazon has been hit by the same economic uncertainty as a number of large tech companies.

(GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)īut in March 2022, Amazon’s brick-and-mortar ambitions took a surprise turn when the company announced that it would permanently close 68 physical retail locations, including all of its Amazon 4-star, Books, and Pop Up stores.

Groceries are loaded in a vehicle at the Amazon Fresh Pickup in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as people turned to online shopping and ways to avoid being in crowded stores. Over the years, Amazon Fresh Pickup competed with a number of “click and collect” pickup services at traditional grocery stores, such as Fred Meyer. GeekWire tested the facility in May 2017, ordering groceries online and then driving up to a parking spot in front to retrieve them.

Amazon fresh store