Amazon is looking to grow a new section within its online store with the launch this week of a “Plants Store.”
If you have green fingers, or perhaps muddy fingernails from all the love and care you lavish on your potted pals, Amazon’s Plants Store could prove a tempting option for your next purchase.
The site has pulled together plenty of options, including succulents, shrubs, annuals, and perennials, most of which include free shipping for members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime service.
You can shop by brand, too, with the likes of Proven Winners, Shop Succulents, Brussel’s Bonsai, and Kurt Weiss Greenhouses all represented.
At the time of writing, prices start at $8.75 for a wisteria vine, topping out at $350 for 256 succulents delivered in two-inch square pots fully rooted in soil. Wow, that’s a lot of plant right there.
You can shop by browsing all of the offerings posted on a single page, or in a more focused way by hitting the links for “garden and patio,” “your home,” and “great gifts.”
The Amazon Plants Store also offers a few rudimentary notes for those new to the greenery game, with information on shrubs, perennials, and annuals, though the lack of any really useful help here means newbies will be better off exploring the web or their local bookshop for more detailed information.
Whether Amazon’s launch of a plant-specific store has anything to do with the recent opening of its “rainforest” at its new HQ in Seattle is anyone’s guess — perhaps an employee was inspired by the lush surroundings before offering the idea at a brainstorming meeting — but the company has clearly been showing more interest in launching mini sites featuring specific products.
In January, for example, Amazon launched the “$10 and under” store, which, as its name cleverly suggests, offers a range of goods costing up to and including $10.
While the Plants Store and $10 collection are pretty basic offerings at the current time, Amazon has other, more comprehensive marketplace efforts aimed at taking on similar online outfits. Amazon’s Handmade store, for example, offers artisans a place to sell their work — much like Etsy — and features numerous categories and curated sections encouraging browsers to dive into their wallets.
