Amazon is closing several Amazon Go convenience stores in major cities, including New York City, Seattle, and San Francisco.
While the company did not mention theft as a reason for the closures, instead stating that the move is a cost-cutting measure, the decision mirrors Walmart’s recent announcement that it plans on closing its stores in Portland, Oregon, which media outlets have attributed to rampant crime.
“Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimization decisions along the way. In this case, we’ve decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco,” said Amazon in an emailed statement to The Dallas Express.
“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,” Amazon added.
Amazon will close eight of its 29 Amazon Go convenience stores, which are essentially fully automated with no cashiers, according to TechCrunch.
The company also said it will close two stores in New York City, four in San Francisco, and four in Seattle on April 1.
At Amazon Go stores, only a low-set barrier separates a customer from the exit, and shoplifters can easily jump over them.
The Dallas Express reached out to Walmart and asked what prompted its shuttering of Portland stores.
“This decision was not made lightly and was reached only after a thorough review process. We have nearly 5,000 stores across the U.S., and unfortunately, some do not meet our financial expectations,” Walmart spokesperson Lauren Willis told The Dallas Express.
“While our underlying business is strong, these specific stores haven’t performed as well as we hoped. There is no single cause for why a store closes, and our decision is based on several factors, including historic and current financial performance, and is in line with the threshold that guides our strategy to close underperforming locations,” added Willis.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted about Walmart’s closures on Sunday, stating, “This is what happens when cities refuse to enforce the rule of law. It allows the mob to take over. Businesses can’t operate in that environment, and people can’t live in it.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler fired back at Governor Abbott, tweeting, “Are the dozens of Walmart stores that have closed in Texas in recent years all communities that ‘refuse to enforce the rule of law?’ The retail industry is changing, and retail theft is a national issue.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, organized retail theft has been on the rise, growing to $94.5 billion in 2021, up from $90.8 billion in 2020, according to a report from the National Retail Federation.