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Amazon, the giant online retailer, is closing all 87 of its U.S. 

, which let customers try and buy gadgets such as smart speakers and tablets in malls, Kohl's department stores and Whole Foods groceries.
It's the latest change in Amazon's bricks-and-mortar retail strategy, which includes 

"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 said Thursday. Instead, the company is expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star retail stores, the spokesperson said.

, currently in New York City, Denver and Berkeley, Calif., sell various products, including consumer electronics, kitchen products and books that are rated 4 stars or above by customers on Amazon.com.
The pop-up kiosks are expected to close by the end of April, 

 that Amazon plans to open dozens of grocery stores in several major U.S. cities. Those stores would be separate from the Whole Foods Market chain, which Amazon bought in 2017 

. The Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the report. 
Last year in Seattle, the company opened its first 

 to the public. The automated stores replace cashiers with a smartphone app and hundreds of small cameras that track purchases. A customer's Amazon account is charged as they exit the store. There are currently 10 Amazon Go stores in Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco, 

.
Amazon said it launched Amazon pop-up stores in 

 during the 2018 holiday season. It was unclear if those stores would be affected by the closings.


 Amazon is one of NPR's financial supporters.

Business and Economic News

Avie Schneider

Author

The giant online retailer is closing all of its U.S. pop-up kiosks, which let customers try and buy gadgets such as smart speakers and tablets. It's the latest change in Amazon's retail strategy.

Amazon's latest retail shift means closing 87 pop-up kiosks

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