Here’s a rumor from TimesOnline about Amazon.com’s secret plans to open actual stores in the United Kingdom. Apparently, realtors have been queried by the American company regarding available retail space.
Could this be a reaction to the well-received Nook being integrated into Barnes and Noble’s long-standing membership in the bricks and mortar club? Industry analysts have already stated that B&N’s chain of stores is the retail giant’s trump card in the eBook Revolution.
So that’s one good reason to open something on main street. The other is Amazon’s desire to capitalize on consumer impatience with a click and collect service. In such a case, customers buy online and retrieve their own purchases from a neighborhood store when it’s convenient for them. (Another drive-thru?)
Mix that notion with Kindle owners wandering around looking at paperbacks or displays and then wirelessly slurping up the bestsellers with their devices. Whatever the actual case, it is an interesting reversal at a time when other booksellers are closing up shop.
