Amazon to close all 87 US pop-up stores

The company will be expanding its bookstores and '4-star stores' instead

(AFP/Getty Images)

Amazon announced this week it will be shutting down all of its 87 pop-up store locations in the United States beginning in April.

The retail giant said on Wednesday that it will instead be expanding its bookstores and “4-star stores.”

“Across our Amazon network, we regularly evaluate our businesses to ensure we’re making thoughtful decisions around how we can best serve our customers,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC. “After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program, and are instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star, where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection.”

Amazon has pop-up kiosk locations inside malls, Kohl’s stores, and Whole Foods locations all over the US with the purpose of letting customers try out its products and services like Echo smart speakers and Prime Video.

The company’s 4-star stores will offer customers the opportunity to browse, try and buy some of the products sold on its website with a customer rating of four stars or more.

The pop-up kiosk closings will not impact Amazon Go stores, the company’s brand of cashier-less convenience stores. It is considering opening up about 3,000 Amazon Go locations by 2021.