Amazon halted fresh grocery store rollout for review, CEO says

Amazon.com Inc. has paused expansion of its line of Amazon Fresh grocery stores as it evaluates how to make the chain stand out to shoppers, Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said on Thursday.

Amazon has owned Whole Foods Market since 2017, but in recent years much of its energy has been devoted to Amazon Fresh, a line of mainstream grocery stores that now number in the dozens after a rapid expansion during the pandemic. The effort to crack the grocery market has long been one of Amazon’s biggest bets — and struggles.