Amazon Brings Bookstore To Nashville, 4-Star Store To Boston

Amazon has announced that it is set to open an Amazon Books location in Nashville, as well as an Amazon 4-star store in Boston.

Geek Wire reported that the announcement came on the same day the eCommerce giant launched its fourth 4-star store in Seattle. The first location opened in New York City last September. Located in SoHo, on Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette streets, every product is rated 4 stars and above, is a top seller or is new and trending on Amazon’s website.

“We created Amazon 4-star to be a place where customers can discover products they will love. Amazon 4-star’s selection is a direct reflection of our customers — what they’re buying and what they’re loving,” the company wrote in a blog post at the time.

A second location — this time in Lone Tree, Colorado — opened in November.

In the stores, customers will be able to test out Amazon devices, along with smart home accessories that work with Alexa. Customers can even comparison shop: Digital price tags alongside every product show the Prime price and list price. Prime members pay the Amazon website price in stores, but customers who aren’t already members can sign up for a free 30-day trial and receive the Amazon website price in store.

Amazon Books debuted at Seattle’s University Village mall in 2015, and has since grown to 19 stores. The stores offer digital experience alongside the analog texts, using the physical stores as a way to test out Echo and Kindle devices.

“We think the bookstores, for instance, are a really great way for customers to engage with our devices and see them, touch them, play with them and become fans. So we see a lot of value in that as well,” said Amazon Chief Finacial Officer Brian Olsavsky back in 2017.

In the most recent quarter, Amazon’s Physical Stores division accounted for $4.3 billion in revenue, even though sales grew by only about $18 million over the previous year or less than 1 percent.