Amazon opening brick-and-mortar site, report says

New York--Citing “people familiar with the plans,” The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Amazon.com Inc. is opening a facility in Manhattan that will be a place for customers to return and exchange merchandise and pick up their orders.  

According to the story, the online giant’s brick-and-mortar site will be located at 7 W. 34th St., across from the Empire State Building in a building with Mango and Express stores at street level. 

In addition to serving as a hub for returns, exchanges and pickups, it also would be a “mini-warehouse” with some inventory for same-day delivery in New York City. 

Amazon also might consider using the space to showcase inventory one day, the report stated. The items listed that could be displayed there were Kindle e-readers, the company’s Fire smartphone and Fire TV set-top box. 

When asked about the report Thursday evening, an Amazon spokeswoman didn’t say the Journal story was inaccurate but simply stated, “We have made no announcements about a location in Manhattan.” 

In the story, the Journal noted that its sources cautioned that plans could change and that the brick-and-mortar site is an experiment that could be deemed unsuccessful and not duplicated.

There has been speculation that Amazon.com, which has experimented with pop-up shops and in-store selling via other retailers, could one day open a brick-and-mortar store, as the focus of retail competition shifts. It’s no longer about brick-and-mortar stores vs. pure-play online retailers but creating an omnichannel experience: offering customers the chance to buy, and return, online or in store and move seamlessly between the two. 

Seattle-based Blue Nile opened its first brick-and-mortar site at the end of 2013 in Seattle, giving it the chance to get feedback from customers in person, just as Amazon’s alleged new location would “mark an experiment by Amazon to connect with customers in the physical world,” the Journal stated.

Blue Nile’s in-store showcases display, but not sell, its engagement rings. The retailer added a second in-store display, this one in a mall store in Garden City, N.Y., in early 2014.