Amazon notified wine sellers late Monday, October 23, that it would close its Amazon Wine business at the end of this year.
Amazon Wine, which launched in 2012, allowed hundreds of wineries to sell wine through Amazon. Alcohol industry regulations prevented Amazon from shipping and storing wine, but the industry allowed wine producers to list on the site for a fee and then ship orders to Amazon customers.
Amazon announced via email:
Dear valued Seller,
As Amazon continues to offer Customers additional retail options for buying wine, we will no longer offer a marketplace for wine, and Amazon Wine will close on December 31st, 2017.
Wine will continue to be offered through Amazon Fresh, Prime Now and Whole Foods Markets. Please see our FAQ for further details.
We would like to thank you for being an innovator in how Customers search, discover, and buy wine online.
Warm Regards,
The Amazon Wine Team
The move comes after the company’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods. Amazon said in August that it would add a Whole Foods rewards to its 85 million Prime members in the United States.
Published: October 24, 2017