Amazon has closed its futuristic 'till-free' grocery story in East Sheen along with two others in Ealing and Wandsworth.

The Amazon Fresh outlet pulled down the shutters on Sunday in an admission that sales failed to meet expectations.

It is not clear whether locals were not fans of the prices or the high-tech approach to shopping.

At the same time, the area is already well-served with big brand supermarkets and convenience stores, from Waitrose and M&S to Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda, as well as independents.

The East Sheen store on the Upper Richmond Road opened in November 2021 and featured what the company calls 'Just Walk Out Technology'.

The idea is that customers scanned in at an entrance turnstile and were then monitored by a mix of cameras and sensors to identify what they were picking up and putting in their bag.

Currently, an Amazon Fresh in central Richmond remains open. Significantly, the web giant also owns Whole Food Markets, which has a major premium food outlet in Richmond.

They would then be automatically charged through the Amazon app after leaving the store, rather than going through a till.

The East Sheen outlet was the seventh opened by Amazon in the UK and, initially, hundreds more were planned, including several across south west London, including Twickenham.

Currently, an Amazon Fresh in central Richmond remains open. Significantly, the web giant also owns Whole Food Markets, which has a major premium food outlet in Richmond.

Amazon said: "Our goal is to build a best-in-class grocery shopping experience where Amazon is the first choice for selection, value, and convenience, including in the UK.

"As part of that, like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimisation decisions along the way.

"While we decided to close three Amazon Fresh stores, it doesn't mean we won't grow—this year, we will open new Amazon Fresh stores to better serve customers in the greater London area.

"We are committed to our investment in grocery, and as we grow we'll continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers."

There are currently 15 remaining Amazon Fresh UK stores across the greater London area, including one in Kent.