The opening puts to rest a month of speculation within Seattle’s bookselling community on whether Amazon would open a physical store or not.
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The company is betting that the consumer data it has gathered over the years will determine the best possible titles that appeal to shoppers, keeping them ahead of the competition.
Amazon promises that prices at the physical store will be the same as those in the online store. The bookstore will be unveiled on Tuesday, and the name of the store is Amazon Books.
Selected books will be on display based on online customer ratings, pre-orders and sales.
The retailer also announced a program of flexible return-to-work which also allows sharing leave with a spouse not working with Amazon.
The probable reasoning behind the move to set up a bookstore is that there is still a huge market out there both for books and other products sold through brick-and-mortar stores.
Wired’s headline, for example, reads, “Amazon’s new parental leave policy is good – and good P.R”.
It is also shaking things up when it comes to presentation, putting books facing out, so browsers will see covers rather than spines.
Amazon Books VP Jennifer Cast referred to the store as “a physical extension of Amazon.com”, which “integrates the benefits of offline and online book shopping. Most have been rated 4 stars or above, and many are award winners”, says the company.
Customers will be able to try out Amazon technology products including the Fire Tablet and the Kindle in the Seattle store.
Located in the University Village in Amazon’s Seattle home town, the 511 square metre-store will only offer around 5,000 books, which is considerably less than a traditional book shop.
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Amazon Books’ prices are the same prices as appear online. But now, Amazon is joining the ranks of a few of its sharpest critics, and Cast told the Seattle Times, “Our goal is to do a great job selling lots of books”.
