E-commerce giant Amazon announced it would close down several of its cashierless Amazon Go stores. According to the company, eight Amazon Go stores in Seattle, San Francisco, and New York will permanently cease operation on April 1st.
Reportedly, the decision to close the stores—two in Seattle, two in New York, and four in San Francisco—is part of Amazon’s efforts to cut its costs. While this represents more than a quarter of all Amazon Go stores in the U.S., the company insists that they are “committed to Amazon Go format.”
“We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the U.S., and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores,” said Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin said in a statement to TechCrunch.
The company recently opened a new Amazon Go store in Mill Creek, Washington, meaning that there are will be 21 locations operating under the brand in the U.S. moving forward. Amazon also has 15 Amazon Go stores in London, UK.
Amazon debuted Amazon Go in 2016 with the goal of offering customers a unique purchasing experience. A customer just needs to scan the store’s QR code using the Amazon Go app to gain access. From there, they can pick up products, put them in a smart cart and then just walk out when done. The store tracks the purchases using advanced technology and automatically charges the customer’s account.