Hannah Grace Tech 03.02.2022 22:Mar PM EST

Amazon to Close Down Most of Its Physical Stores: Here are All Those Affected

The retail giant Amazon will close down most of its physical stores across U.S. and U.K. With regards to the date, Amazon announced that the closure may vary per location.

68 Amazon Physical Stores Will Close Down, Amazon Books and 4-Star Is Affected

In the recent report of Reuters, the retail giant will be closing 68 Amazon physical stores across the U.S. and U.K., adding that the affected stores include their bookstores, pop-ups and shops.

For background information, Amazon opened its first physical store in Seattle in 2015 and has since steadily expanded its brick-and-mortar footprint to include more locations across the United States and abroad, per Tech Crunch.

To notify customers, Amazon disclosed to Reuters that they will use in-store signage of the planned closures, although the actual closing dates may vary by location.

In terms of the workers affected, the company also clarified that they are finding alternative jobs for affected employees or offering them severance when possible.

Keep in mind that not all Amazon physical stores will be closed.

The company will be focusing on Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods stores, as well as Amazon Go convenience stores. Aside from this, the retail giant's experimental clothing store Amazon Style will also remain.

Amazon Books

According to their website, Amazon has applied their more than 20 years of experience of being an online retailer and a customer-focused business for Amazon Books. In addition to this, the company also stated that they aim "to build a store that integrates the benefits of offline and online shopping and spurs discovery of great books."

Aside from being customer-focused, Amazon also added that Amazon Books is a place where customers can discover good books and products as well as learn more about their devices. With regards to its uniqueness, the company designed unique features that showcase what people are reading, how they're reading and what they're loving.

Through this feature, customers will be able to easily discover books to read.

For those wondering about the available products on Amazon books, customers can expect a highly selected variety of books, devices, toys and games. In terms of its quality, Amazon clarified that all of their products have received a four-star rating or higher from their consumers, or are bestsellers or new releases.

Amazon 4-Star

Meanwhile, Amazon 4-Star is a physical version of Amazon.com.

The retail giant explained that Amazon 4-Star was created to assist customers in discovering products they would love. This physical store contains highly selected products from the top categories across their online store.

To emphasize, this contains toys, games, devices, books, kitchen products, homes, consumer electronics and more. Similar to Amazon Books, Amazon also noted that the products placed in this physical store were also given four stars and above by their customers, or tagged as their best seller, new, and trending on their website.

For the pricing, the company explained that Amazon Prime members will pay the same price as if they were on Amazon.com. While those who aren't Prime members will pay the same price for Amazon products as they would on the website.