Amazon To Close Bookstores, Shops; 3 NJ Locations Affected

NEW JERSEY — Amazon this week announced it will close all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, pop-ups, and shops in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a report by Reuters. Three New Jersey locations are among the stores that will close.

Following the closures, Amazon will concentrate its efforts on Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, its convenience concept called Amazon Go and its upcoming Amazon Style stores.

The closures will affect Amazon Books, Amazon 4-star and Amazon Pop Up locations.

New Jersey has two Amazon 4-star store locations in East Rutherford and another in Wayne. A third was supposed to open this year in Cherry Hill, NJ.com reported.

An Amazon bookstore at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus will also close, according to NJ.com.

Closing dates have not been announced.

In New Jersey, Amazon Fresh grocery stores are expected to open in Eatontown and Holmdel.

RELATED: Amazon Fresh Coming To Eatontown, Holmdel: Report

Amazon opened its first brick-and-mortar bookstore in Seattle in 2015, two decades after it began selling books online and helped drive a number of shops out of business. Amazon's 4-star shops, which first made their debut in 2018, carry a limited selection of best-selling products from top categories that Amazon.com sells, including devices, consumer electronics, toys and games.

The purpose was to reach more customers in person rather than online; however, the company's physical stores were responsible for only 3 percent of $137 billion in sales last quarter, most of which came from Whole Foods, Reuters reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.