It seems that massive online retailer Amazon is seeking to to open up stores on the high street in the UK. The Times
today reported that the American company, which has a market value of $59.1 billion (£35.6 billion), is on the look out for “Brick and Mortar” stores on the UK high street.
Amazon are looking to expand their online market and are attempting to get in on the reserve and collect procedure that has become very popular with Argos. According to some property retailers, they are said to be scouring the country for high profile sites just as the large book chain Borders is closing up shop.
It’s ironic that the company which was one of the main leaders in the dot com boom, which was feared to wipe out physical retail stores, is now looking to move into this market. The reserve and collect market is also proving very popular with Tesco and Argos shoppers. Consumers can order what they want online and don’t have to be stuck at home waiting for delivery, they can simply drop down to their local store and pick it up.
According to the Times, Argos said that 18% of its internet sales are items bought on the web and collected in-store. In the run-up to Christmas it predicts 50% of its television sales will be bought this way. And when Amazon originally started off, it sold small goods like CD’s and DVD’s which easily fitted into a postbox, but now they sell everything from books to Hoovers and frying pans! So this move to the physical retail market would dramatically reduce delivery costs for consumers and the work load for your local delivery man
When Amazon was just selling books and CDs that fitted easily through the letterbox it was fine to be a web-only business, but now it has branched out into everything from children’s bikes to electricals it believes it could boost sales by having stores that offer a collection point for shoppers. It will probably be an Argos-style operation.
This would lead us to believe that perhaps some stores may be located outside of major city’s to ensure that consumers have adequate parking when picking up larger items such as TV’s.
However, Amazon has denied the reports, telling Reuters it has no plans to open stores “anywhere in the world”. The conversation stopped there, with Amazon refusing to comment on whether it plans to tie in with current retailers, or any future plans altogether.
It certainly would be interesting to see Amazon going against the trend of moving from the high street to the Internet. What do you think of an Amazon store? Let us know in the comments
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