The Upper Street branch of Amazon Fresh

AMAZON’S till-less grocery store in Angel could close just four years after it opened.

The online shopping giant announced on Tuesday that it has plans to shut all 19 of its Amazon Fresh stores, including the Upper Street branch – although it said no final decision has yet been made.

The shops use “just walk out” technology, where artificial intelligence and sensors track what customers take off the shelves and charge them via an app without anything needing to be scanned or manually paid for.

Islington’s Amazon Fresh branch opened in 2021, following a contentious licensing process where councillors criticised the company for failing to disclose its name on the application documents.

For Upper Street resident Felizitas Thoma, the Fresh store is a “waste of space” and its departure will be no great loss to the high street.

She said: “I think it’s extremely confusing and it also barely works.

“What makes it a flop is that it’s connected to your Amazon account. If a normal person wants to buy a bottle of water, maybe they don’t have Amazon, or I’m German and my Amazon account isn’t in English so the whole system has never worked for me.

“Anytime I’ve been there more than half the customers seem extremely confused, and it’s also just kind of annoying.”

Back in 2021 when Amazon sought a licence to run its store in Angel, its application was initially submitted through a company called British Overseas Bank Nominess Limited M & G Property, rather than under Amazon’s own name.

Labour’s local ward councillor Martin Klute described the application as “curiously opaque”, and then-Labour councillor Phil Graham said it had been presented in a “rather underhanded manner”.

At the time, a barrister representing the company told councillors that the company name was not disclosed because it had not yet launched its grocery store concept to the public.

Cllr Klute told the Tribune this week: “The concept clearly hasn’t taken off in the way [Amazon] would have liked.

“If I had a magic wand, I’d like the building to go back to being an antiques arcade, but that’s not going to happen.”

He added that the next occupant of the historic space would depend on the market.

Islington’s Amazon Fresh has been based in a Grade II-listed former electricity station and tram depot known as The Mall.

The building was converted into an antiques market during Angel’s heyday as a destination for second-hand treasure shoppers, and was later turned into a men’s clothing store and then a Sofa.com showroom.

If the shop closures do go ahead, Amazon has said five Fresh branches will be converted to its Whole Foods Market brand, and employees will be redeployed within the company where possible.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “We have launched a consultation with our employees regarding the future of our Amazon Fresh UK stores.

“Our everyday essentials business has grown nearly twice as fast than all other categories in the UK this year, with over 2 million grocery and household items available.

“Today, millions of UK customers can shop with us for affordable groceries, both online through amazon.co.uk, Amazon Fresh, and our partnerships with Morrisons, Co-op, Iceland, and GoPuff as well as in store at Whole Foods Market.

“Our priority right now is supporting our affected store employees during this consultation period.”