// Amazon has walked away from talks on dozens of sites it had earmarked for checkout-free grocery format Amazon Fresh
// The online retailer had plans to open hundreds of Amazon Fresh stores in the UK but has experienced lacklustre sales, according to reports
Amazon has put its expansion of checkout-free Amazon Fresh stores on ice amid lacklustre sales and a tough economic environment.
The online behemoth in understood to have abandoned talks on dozen of sites for its convenience stores and will not be seeking any more sites, according to The Times.
Amazon has opened 18 Fresh stores in the UK since the debut of the format in Ealing last March. However, the only new openings this year will be on sites that the online giant has already committed to a lease.
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The newspaper reported that sales at most Amazon Fresh stores had fallen short of expectations, according to a source.
Amazon has targetted opening hundreds of Fresh stores. It is thought the retail giant will revisit expansion plans for Fresh in the next 12 to 18 months.
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