Amazon opens a store in real life

Online marketing powerhouse Amazon has expanded beyond the virtual. The e-merchant has opened a store IRL—In Real Life.

Amazon opened a bookstore in New York City. It plans to open a second.

“When you’re shopping online you’re shopping on a screen,” explained Amazon Books Vice President Jennifer Cast. “Here you’re shopping in a three-dimensional space where you can be surrounded by books. And we can give you information in a different way. So it’s not better, and it’s not worse, it’s just different. And we knew that we could make a different, a different type of store with more information and integrate Amazon.com and a physical space in a way that would be great for customers.”

The stores will offer books which sell the best online. They will also stock e-readers. Customers will be able to check out via smartphone apps. Customers like the idea.

“I love the fact that you can see what other people think about the books and you get, you find things maybe you haven’t looked for either,” said shopper Kiki Holmquist. “Instead, you find new books that you didn’t know existed in that way.”

Amazon currently has seven book stores and plans six more.