New York City is about to get a new bookstore, but it's not exactly your typical "shop around the corner."
Amazon plans to open a 4,000-square-foot location at The Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center this Spring, where it will sell books and devices like the Kindle and Amazon Echo, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
This isn't Amazon's first foray into brick-and-mortar. Its first one opened in Seattle in 2015, followed by locations in San Diego and Portland. But don't expect these stores to be your average cozy book nooks. Kindles are displayed next to paper copies, and customers can only check for prices using Amazon's shopping app (since they change frequently depending on the book's online price).
Bookstore locations for Boston and Chicago are in the works. The company is also considering a second Manhattan location in the Hudson Yards, which would be completed in 2018. And Amazon Go, a cashier-free convenience store in Seattle, allows customers to walk in, grab items, and leave. (The items are billed directly to their Amazon.com account.)
The scourge of countless Main Street bookstores is a sure sign that Amazon is setting out to tackle--and reinvent--the old-fashioned brick-and-mortar model. And with the development of a delivery service said to rival UPS and FedEx, the company is steadily conquering every step in its supply chain.