In bold move, Amazon opens...A BOOK STORE

[epphd]

Really.

www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2015/11/inside-amazons-new-brick-and-mortar-store-where.html

A half hour after Amazon opened its first-ever physical bookstore at University Village in Seattle Tuesday, the store was flooded with customers. People were clamoring to see what the famous e-commerce company will bring to the bookstore industry it is known for decimating.

Their response? Very positive.

"I think it's going to bring back bookstores," customer Heija Nunn said. "Even though the price pressure will still be tough on independents, I think people will be reminded why we loved bookstores in the first place."

At Amazon Books, as the new store is called, the signs below the books don’t indicate the price, nor do the books themselves. That’s because prices on Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) change rapidly, and the physical store offers the same prices as customers would get online. To get the latest price, customers can scan the books with the Amazon app, take them to one of the store’s price check devices or ask a salesperson.

Inside, books on the shelves face out, which means a less-efficient use of space than the traditional spine-out display method.

“We wanted the books to be the heroes,” Amazon Books Vice President Jennifer Cast said. “We wanted them to call out to customers.”

In the center of the store, the company has its devices on display, including the Kindle, its newly released Amazon Fire tablet in both adult and kid versions, the Amazon Fire TV and its voice command device Amazon Echo.

But it was the less tech-centric products – books – that were the stars of the show Tuesday.

“They definitely need a bookstore in University Village,” Barbara Klein, a U Village L’Occitane employee who has worked in the shopping center for years said, echoing comments of many other customers. “It hasn’t been the same the past few years since Barnes and Noble left.”

Barnes and Noble left the mall in 2011 after the company could not come to terms on a new lease, the store’s Community Relations Manager Terry Foster told the Seattle Times at the time.

Even e-book readers flocked in to the new Amazon store to see what it offered on opening day.

David Peck, who lives nearby but is typically just interested in e-books, said the outward-facing books make it easier to peruse the aisles to "see what's out there."

Customers also raved about the customer review ratings and colorful quotes, which feature prominently on shelves below each book.

“I love it,” Rich Bushnell, a customer and the editor of the local publisher Bilingual Books Inc., said of the signs. “It’s so creative.”

Cast said the quotes are part of an effort to get customers helping customers.

“We walk around the store, and we hear the voice of the customer,” Cast said. “Customers informed our choice of which books to sell here, and we want customers to inform the customers here as well.”

Amazon used these reviews nationwide, as well as ratings data, when selecting which books to sell. It also aimed to feature books with four star ratings or higher, although there are some exceptions, she said.

In a nod to its entrance into a space often termed “brick and mortar,” Amazon chose brick as the material for the store’s outer wall.

**********

I admit. I want to go to there.

[atlas]

I still like B&N. And have ordered a grand total of 1 thing from Amazon my whole life.

[saz]

I feel embarrassed to admit I want to go there. I ADORE bookstores although I usually buy my books from amazon (but actually typically just use the library to borrow).

[RoxMonster]

I want to go, too.

Man, I love bookstores. I mean, I like that I can finish a book at 1 AM and order another immediately with my Kindle. I love that my Kindle is easy to travel with.

But nothing beats a Good, local used bookshop. I always seek those out on vacations. (I realize this is not a local used bookstore, but I digress).

[WOT?*]

I see I am going to have to make a special trip. I wonder how close it is to the Apple and Microsoft stores.

I have every electronic under the sun but really it's embarrassing how many books I donate to the Friends of the Library each year. As much as I appreciate the space-saving-ness of the electronics, there's nothing like the feel of paper between your fingers.

[epphd]

Nov 3, 2015 19:21:25 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

I see I am going to have to make a special trip. I wonder how close it is to the Apple and Microsoft stores.

www.uvillage.com/map/

Next to Banana Republic - so "far" (though MSFT and Apple are close together!)

[AJL]

I am a cheap bitch and pretty much haven't bought a book (paper or e) in two years. Libraries for the win!

Of course I buy a ton of other shit from Amazon. I love Prime.

[2curlydogs]

Nov 3, 2015 19:58:50 GMT -5 AJL said:

I am a cheap bitch and pretty much haven't bought a book (paper or e) in two years. Libraries for the win!

Of course I buy a ton of other shit from Amazon. I love Prime.

This is me as well.

Well, no. I've bought books in the last 2 years. They're de rigueur for presents in our house. But I'd say 90% of the books I read in a year are library books.

On my Kindle.

Dammit. 

[meshaliuknits]

I buy a real book like once a week. There's a Black Oak a block from work. That's where I go so I don't murder people. The smell of old books is soothing.

[sushi]

I got the stupid comment at b&n that they don't price match... their own website.

It was $20 difference.

So I vowed to only buy independent or kindle.

Yes, I hold a grudge

[Kattey]

I work at a book store. I wonder how Amazon's model and success will affect how the company I work for operates.

[secretlyevil]

::le sigh:: I miss borders.