The company whose name is synonymous with online commerce, Seattle’s Amazon.com, may soon open a physical store to test its prowess at on-the-ground retailing.
That’s the report Tuesday from Internet site Good E-Reader, which says insiders have told it Amazon will open a prototype of a retail store in Seattle before the holidays this year.
The store would follow the example of Apple and Microsoft, both of which have opened a series of trendy stores in shopping centers and on retail streets.
The store wouldn’t attempt to stock the full range of Amazon’s merchandise – such a store would be as big as Boeing’s Everett assembly plant – but would concentrate on giving Amazon customers a hands-on experience with its Kindle Fire tablets and Kindle e-readers.
The stores would also carry Amazon’s own line of books, which its brick-and-mortar competitors refuse to stock for obvious reasons.
The stores would also carry Kindle accessories and would give Kindle customers a local place to seek technical help for Kindle-related issues, some analysts speculated.
Amazon wouldn’t comment on the rumors.
John Gillie, staff writer
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