As an online retailer, Amazon maintains a predominantly strong online presence. It doesn’t have any actual, physical stores. However, that could begin to change soon, as the retail giant will reportedly open its first physical store in New York City. The news of a brick and mortar Amazon store was reported by CNBC. Shortly thereafter, new reports hinted that the online retailer will open two pop up stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, California as well. Amazon later confirmed the report in a statement to Geekwire.
Updated on 10-14-2014 by Malarie Gokey: Amazon says it will open pop up stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, California for the holiday season.
One of the pop up stores will reportedly open in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, a shopping mall in the city’s downtown area. Even though Amazon confirmed that it will open a few temporary stores for the holiday season, the exact locations and dates of operation were not mentioned.
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“We’re excited to open new pop-up kiosks in San Francisco and Sacramento in time for the holidays so that customers can try out our new devices,” a spokeswoman from Amazon said. “The team is moving incredibly quickly – already this year we’ve launched Fire TV, Fire phone, new Fire tablets, new Kindle e-readers, and a bunch of new features and services. While customers can already see our products online and at retailers like Best Buy and Staples, we wanted to provide another option to try out our full line-up leading into the holidays.”
Amazon has yet to confirm plans for the New York store and it’s unclear if it will be a seasonal pop up store, too, or something much more permanent. According to the earlier CNBC report, the store will function as a small warehouse, where Amazon will hold some inventory of same-day deliveries for New York City residents. The store will also allegedly be a showcase for the company’s devices, including the Kindle tablet and ebook reader lineup, the Fire Phone, as well as the Fire TV. The store is set to open in time for the holidays, though no specific date was given.
This kind of physical immediacy is something that Amazon has lacked, though the company has certainly tried the idea before. Back in 2012, it was rumored that Amazon would open a physical store in Seattle, where it happens to have its headquarters. Even though that rumor failed to come to fruition, Amazon does still have a physical presence in some cities with Amazon lockers, which basically act as automated Post Office boxes designated only for purchases from the online retailer.
We’ll have to wait and see whether an Amazon store will actually crop up in New York City. It will be interesting to see when and where it does appear.
