Amazon is opening Real Stores?

[slund]

I really hope that open stores will not cause Amazon to go under. I shop online from Amazon several times a month.

[pickupapenny]

I don't see this as being a big part of their business strategy. As others have noted, Amazon is primarily a digital content/low margin-high volume business. The former doesn't need stores while the latter is already dominated by companies like Wal-Mart and KMart.

[Drkangel]

I think opening stores would be a mistake. If they wanted to get their products out in stores they should partner with a store that is already established like best buy or wal-mart. That way they have the product in a store without the overhead of rent, salary, and benefits.

[tkitten]

I would love to see an Amazon store in my area. Although I love shopping online, sometimes I like to get my items quickier without paying 1-day shipping charges.

[sweetberry]

No, they have Barnes and Nobles beat. Starting a brick and mortar store is just giving B&N the market share of online sales. Its like Microsoft opening stores to compete with Apple. Stick to what you know and leave the other side of the industry alone. Amazon always rebounds in the end of a profit sales fall.

[lizj97]

I hope they remain online. When I do buy online I always check them out but I doubt I would go to a real store for their products.

[julesverne]

This is interesting. I can't believe Amazon would go this route. Maybe they will adopt the Sharper Image approach and only sell in Airports, etc.

[Rob79]

Makes sense. In the past it was "start with B&M then go online", now it's "start online and then go B&M"... I think it's a cool idea, after all Walmart needs a real competitor :P

[johnsmith]

From what I understand, Amazon is actually going to be starting small, and doing the "Sharper Image" approach, primarily selling Kindles (and their new Kindle Fire). It's a way of getting these well-priced devices into consumer hands who might otherwise only see them online and then forget about them. Once you actually take 5 minutes to demo the device, you might change your mind about it. That's the idea.

They could pretty easily expand further down the road, because of their massive supply chain. At that point, that's when they'd consider pushing into true retail (ala Walmart/Kmart/Target).

Most companies have actually dabbled in retail a little bit. Microsoft has at least one "Microsoft Store", Nintendo has a few stores, Nokia and Sony both have stores. They're typically smallish, but it's an important alternative way to get customers to experience your products, rather than only hearing about them.

(btw, Amazon already sells their Kindles in Best Buy and other retail stores, this move simply helps emphasize their brand)

[Goatus]

This would be an even worse idea than netflix opening an on demand cable channel.