Two years after Amazon opened two real-life seasonal pop-up stores in San Francisco and Sacramento, the company is reportedly working on a plan to open 100 more of the limited-run stores.
Business Insider, citing people familiar with the matter, reports that Amazon will open dozens of new pop-up stores at malls across the country starting in 2017, adding to the 22 locations already up and running.
The stores, which will differ from the physical book stores Amazon has focused on and often have more of a kiosk feel, will showcase the e-commerce giant’s devices, particularly the connected home speaker, Echo, tablets, and e-readers.
Like Apple’s retail stores, the locations offer customers the option to test-drive devices, ask questions of experts, and make purchases.
The soon-to-open storefronts are expected to open in rapid succession, with as many as 30 total stores likely to be in operation by the end of this year, the source tells Business Insider.
While Amazon is notoriously silent on confirming the locations of pop-up stores before they open, the company launched a new website dedicated to the venture.
As of Friday, the site showed 22 pop-up stores operating in 12 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
The pop-up nature of the stores seems to be somewhat dubious, as Business Insider reports that the San Francisco store that opened in 2014 is still in operation.
Additionally, job listings for positions at soon-to-open stores in Connecticut and Florida describe the venture as having “emerged from the test phase with a goal to expand and grow.”
Amazon is doubling down on retail stores with plans to have up to 100 pop-up stores in US shopping malls [Business Insider]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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