In the bottom floor of a building at Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, Amazon once operated its Amazon Fresh grocery pickup service and a returns center for packages.
Amazon closed the grocery pickup location in December.
Now, the returns facility has also shut down.
Amazon confirmed that it closed the returns center in early July. Signs at the door direct customers to the nearest Amazon returns location, at a Whole Foods Market store in West Seattle.
Amazon still has a number of return centers across Seattle, including at Whole Foods locations, Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, Amazon lockers, the UPS Store, and other retailers including Staples and Kohl’s.
Amazon says it has more than 8,000 return drop-off locations across the U.S., and that most customers have at least one within a 5-mile radius.
The Fresh Pickup location was part of Amazon’s long foray into grocery and allowed customers to pick up their groceries. Amazon only opened two such locations, including another in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood that closed in January 2023.
The Ballard location also doubled as a returns center.
Amazon has been trimming its real estate footprint in recent years, including the closure of all of its Amazon 4-star, Books, and Pop Up physical stores.
Business Insider reported in March that Amazon expects to save $1.3 billion over the coming years by letting leases expire, negotiating early lease terminations, and stopping the use of some office floors.
Amazon in 2022 said it was pausing expansion of its Amazon Fresh stores, but the company has said it plans to open new locations this year.
Earlier this year the company closed a smaller Fresh grocery store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, saying that it plans to focus on redesigned stores with an expanded selection.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that Petco no longer accepts Amazon returns.
