Amazon To Open Large-Format Physical Stores In The US

Amazon is planning to open large-format stores in the United States that will be akin to other department stores. The company will open its first set of stores in California and Ohio.

The stores are expected to be about 30,000 square feet in size and offer products from popular consumer brands. The launch of stores will add to Amazon’s growing physical footprint. The company currently operates a growing number of Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores, in addition to the 500 stores operated by Whole Foods, which Amazon bought in 2017.

Amazon’s plan to open large-format stores comes at a time when consumers are feeling more confident about shopping in physical stores, especially when it comes to buying beauty, apparel and footwear. In addition, Department store chains such as Macy’s and Kohl’s have raised their sales forecasts, seeing a surge in consumers returning to shopping in stores.

It is worth noting that department stores have had a rough go over the last 18 months, even though they have also seen an uptick in online sales. The bulk of the department stores have been reliant on their brick and mortar footprint for driving sales, but the closure of stores during lockdown significantly stunted their sales, leading players such as Sears, Neiman Marcus, and J.C. Penney to file for bankruptcy.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on August 19, 2021.