Amazon To Open Brick And Mortar Shops

(RTTNews) - Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is planning to get back into brick and mortar shops as the company is looking to open large departmental store-like facilities, reported WSJ on Thursday.

The stores are expected to follow the concept of the in-business departmental store brands like Macy's Bloomingdale's Inc. and Nordstrom Inc., but will be significantly smaller in size. The report says that the size will be around 30,000 square feet, compared to the traditional 100,000 square feet. The first outlets are being expected to open around Ohio and California. The big guns of retail, both e-retail and physical retail, Amazon, Walmart, and the likes have been vying to make the lives of their customers easier during the lockdown period. While Amazon carried on with its growth, it was Walmart who surprised the world by tipping Amazon in the e-retail sector. However, as the markets have re-opened, buyers have moved back to their usual habits of visiting stores.

As things stand, it is Amazon's turn to take the game to Walmart's strong zone. The pandemic inflicted lockdown severely impacted the retailers, with many of them turning to a loss last year. This has presented Amazon with the opportunity to venture into the market. After spending years destroying the brick and mortar retail market, Amazon's entry into the market is surely raising a few brows.

The Journal points that while these physical stores will increase the expenses of the company, they will also help Amazon reach the less-internet savvy shoppers who like the physical experience of shopping.