Amazon closing all U.S. pop-up stores to shift focus

March 7 (UPI) -- Retail giant Amazon said it will close all pop-up stores in the United States in April, including those inside Whole Foods, Kohl's stores and malls.

The company said 87 stores in all will be closed, but no physical stores will be affected by the move.

The experimental stores allowed customers in other stores to try out devices like Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers and Echo smart speakers. They also provided information about Amazon services like Prime Video, Audible and Kindle Unlimited.

"After much review, we came to the decision to discontinue our pop-up kiosk program, and are instead expanding Amazon Books and Amazon 4-star, where we provide a more comprehensive customer experience and broader selection," a spokesperson told CNBC.

Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass said this week the home improvement retailer will continue to sell Amazon electronics in the store after the pop-up locations close.

Amazon's 4-star stores let customers browse and try products with a four-star rating or better. The company also plans to open dozens of new grocery stores -- the first of which will be in Los Angeles later this year. It will also keep its Amazon Go stores and could add 3,0000 new locations by 2021. Amazon also owns more than 460 Whole Foods locations.