Amazon Wine announced to sellers via email that it is shutting down at the end of the year.
According to a TechCrunch news report, existing laws surrounding alcohol sales made it difficult for Amazon to sell alcohol as a retailer and operate a marketplace. The eCommerce giant has tried to work with regulators, but ultimately decided to shutter the service.
In the email sent to sellers, the company pointed out that wine will still be offered on the site through Amazon Prime and Amazon Fresh. Fresh is available in 20 major U.S. metros in addition to London, Berlin and Tokyo. Amazon’s two-hour delivery service, Prime Now, allows customers to order wine and other alcohol in Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Los Angeles and Orange County, Minneapolis, Manhattan, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
Amazon also plans to offer grocery delivery and pickup through Whole Foods, which would include alcohol delivery.
According to the website, Amazon Wine sellers can continue to fulfill online orders, but customers will no longer be able to place orders or browse products after December 31, 2017. On January 1, 2018, sellers will no longer be able to add or edit products in Seller Central, but will still be able to access their accounts.
Launched in 2012, Amazon Wine was the company’s third attempt at the online wine sales market. The company has not revealed how well it performed in terms of sales, but dozens of brands were offering their wines in the marketplace.
Amazon Wine’s customers will also be notified of the closing via email, as well as through a message on the Amazon Wine home page.
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