Amazon’s extraordinary growth in recent years has forced traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to adapt or die, with major chains creating online stores to compete with the Seattle-based behemoth.
So it’s with some irony that Amazon has begun to do the reverse, opening a string of brick-and-mortar stores to take on those giants, beat them at their own game, and utterly dominate the world of retail.
Following the opening of a string of book stores and, more recently, several revolutionary Amazon Go stores that let you just grab your stuff and go, the company has just announced that on Thursday, September 27, it’s opening Amazon 4-star, a physical store in New York City.
As its name suggests, Amazon 4-star will sell products that have been rated highly by customers shopping on its online store. Top sellers, as well as new and trending items, will also feature in the new retail space.
Located on Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette Streets in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood, Amazon 4-star will start by offering products from its most popular categories at Amazon.com, namely consumer electronics, kitchen, home, toys, books, and games.
Visitors will also find special displays showing “most-wished-for items” created according to data from its online store, and products that are popular specifically in the New York area.
Digital price tags alongside every item will show the regular price and a cheaper Prime price — that’s right, you can shop for less if you’re an Amazon Prime member.
This is from Amazon’s website:
“Customers will find products like the card game Codenames (4.8 stars, with more than 2,000 customer reviews), which 88 percent of reviewers rated 5 stars, and a Lodge 3.5 Inch Cast Iron Mini Skillet (4.4 stars, with more than 10,900 customer reviews), which 76 percent of reviewers rated 5 stars. Of course, Amazon 4-star shoppers can also find Amazon devices like the Echo Spot (4.5 stars, with more than 5,600 customer reviews), and the Fire TV Stick (4.4 stars, with more than 197,000 customer reviews). Customers can test-drive dozens of Amazon devices and smart home accessories that work with Alexa, and shop a curated selection of speakers, fitness tech, and other highly rated consumer electronics.”
With Amazon 4-star, the company is testing the waters to see if its latest physical-store idea flies. There’s no suggestion at this stage that Amazon is planning to open additional Amazon 4-star stores.
Amazon 4-star opens Monday through Saturday between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., and on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.
