They started off online flogging books then came stores, then food stores, now Amazon is looking to move into the department store business.
According to the Wall Street Journal Amazon is planning to open a chain of department stores with one observer claiming they should take over Myer Stores in Australia.
The concept is based on the big US online retailer selling everything from household goods to clothing to appliances and consumer electronics to food.
FILE – In this Jan. 30, 2019, file photo people walk past and into an Amazon Go store in San Francisco. An Amazon Go store opening Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in New York, will be the first of its kind to accept cash. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
It’s believed that certain parts of the stores will be fully automated linking mobile phones on entry with payment systems.
The stores on average will be 3,000 square metres with Amazon aiming to create one-stop-shopping destinations where they will also showcase its private label brands.
Distributors and manufacturers who are suppliers to Amazon will also be able to lease space in the stores according to one source similar to the Companies online marketplaces.
Amazon already operates 500 Whole Foods stores nationwide after acquiring the chain in 2017, as well as some 20 bookstores and two dozen Amazon 4-Star stores, which showcase popular gadgets, books and household items including kitchenware.
Analysts claim their timing is “perfect” With so many vacant bricks and mortar stores due to the pandemic, providing the online giant with plenty of options.
Amazon executives have long sought insight into consumers’ shopping habits in physical stores and are likely looking to better showcase their own products to shoppers who otherwise might not have tried them, The Journal said, citing a person familiar with the plan.
