Amazon Shuttering Pop-Ups, Reconsiders Retail Strategy

In 2016, Amazon began its pop-up store program, consisting of small spaces in malls. As time went on, the pop-ups began appearing in Whole Foods and Kohl’s stores nationwide, with the Amazon website pointing out that these pop-ups would allow customers to “buy Amazon devices and get advice from Amazon consultants at places you already love to shop.”

Now, Amazon announced it would shut down all 87 of its U.S. pop-up stores, “ending the retailer’s years-long experiment with these small shops as the company tinkers with an evolving bricks-and-mortar strategy,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The closings are expected to take place by April 19, 2019. The fate of pop-ups outside of the U.S. wasn’t immediately known.

A specific reason for the closures wasn’t provided, only that “after much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program,” an Amazon spokeswoman told the WSJ. Engadget had its own theory, speculating that the small retail spaces are closing because they might be too limited in scope for the tech company’s ambitions.

Meanwhile, Kohl’s announced that it would drop the store-within-a-store concept, and sell Amazon products with its stock. Amazon, in the meantime, will continue to forge ahead with other brick-and-mortar concepts, opening more bookstores and 4-star stores. Amazon will also reportedly be continuing the rollout of its Amazon Go locations, and a new line of grocery stores.

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