Amazon to open retail stores

[bjl584]

Bottom Line - Amazon reportedly looking at opening retail stores

[disneysteve]

My initial reaction was, "what would they sell?" since one can buy virtually anything on Amazon but I can see them having small stores to push Kindles, accessories and any other exclusive items. It wouldn't appeal to us at all. We shop on Amazon all the time but the items we buy wouldn't be what the stores would sell.

I don't think the comparison to Apple is a good one though. Very different businesses and very different business models.

[cashfromcells]

I don't think I would actually go to a B&M Amazon store, I think what makes amazon work is the fact that products are just a click away.

[snshijuptr]

I wonder if you could use your virtual amazon.com gift cards at a brick and mortar Amazon store.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by snshijuptr

I wonder if you could use your virtual amazon.com gift cards at a brick and mortar Amazon store.

I'd bet they will allow that sort of thing... If their stores aren't integrated with the massive website engine that is Amazon.com, they're clearly missing the boat.

[disneysteve]

I think it would be brilliant of them to set up computers where customers could come in and browse Amazon.com with guidance from an employee who can show them all of the different things they could buy there. Though some of us shop on Amazon all the time, there are still a great many who don't. It could be a great way to drive business to their site.

[J. Spence Financial]

Why do they even need to do this? The overhead alone would make it not worth it. I am kind of at a loss why they need this?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Though some of us shop on Amazon all the time, there are still a great many who don't. It could be a great way to drive business to their site.

Originally Posted by J. Spence Financial

Why do they even need to do this? The overhead alone would make it not worth it. I am kind of at a loss why they need this?

J. Spence, see my reply. I think a few small stores could have a big impact on their customer base.