Amazon opens retail store in Seattle

According to the industry blog GoodEReader, online retail behemoth is planning to open a physical store in Seattle sometime this year. Apparently, CEO Jeff Bezos is going for a boutique kind of experience, mainly selling all kinds of Kindles as well as accessories there:

A source has told us that they are not looking to launch a huge store with thousands of square feet. Instead they are going the boutique route and stocking the shelves with only high margin and high-end items. Their intention is to mainly hustle their entire line of Kindle e-Readers and the Kindle Fire. They also will be stocking a ton of accessories such as cases, screen protectors, and USB adapters.

As Techcruch has is, this move adresses all those who have not yet been able to experience the look and feel of an ebook reader:

We’re talking older folks, luddites, grumps, and folks who claim that “reading it in paper” is better. To have them walk up to a display of working Kindles, newly minted and displaying the latest Stephen King book, is the only way Amazon will convince them that going digital is the only way to go.

The Apple example shows that physical stores can do a lot to support one’s brand and provide a tangible user experience. I remember a video where Steve Jobs introduces the first Apple store in 2001, arranging his hard- and software according to fields of interest, enabling a supreme brand experience. If Amazon follows this strategy and opens well-designed small physical stores and no warehouse-look-alikes, this will me more than an interesting experiment.