
Amazon To Shutter Physical Bookstores
Breaking this afternoon, Amazon announced plans to close all 68 of its physical stores, pop ups, and other shops carrying books, toys, and home goods. This applies to those both in the US and across the UK.
Amazon, which began with books, is choosing to pursue other offline ventures. They’re going to focus on opening more grocery retailers and develop a department store concept.
The physical stores for the giant retailer comprised only 3% of total revenue, primarily from their Whole Foods stores.
Amazon will announce dates the stores will close. Employees will be offered severance and/or assistance in finding positions at other Amazon physical locations in their communities (like their Fresh Stores). No details about the number of jobs being slashed were shared by the company.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
More breaking news here
- Esquire Names Best Books of 2025 So Far
- The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
- Oprah’s Book Club’s 114th Pick
- SUNRISE ON THE REAPING Checkouts Up 515%, According to Libby
- The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
- The 10 Most Popular Books of April, According to Libby
- Here are the Winners of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize
- Read the Best of SFF with the 2025 Locus Awards Finalists
- The Most Read Books on Goodreads in April 2025
- The New York Public Library’s Best New Poetry Books