Amazon plans to extend its e-commerce business and open large physical retail stores in the United States.
The plan is to open up a few department stores to help sell clothes, household items, electronics, and other areas, sources told The Wall Street Journal in a report published on Thursday.
Some of the first department stores may be located in Ohio and California and will carry some of the top brands. The stores will be around 30,000 square feet which are smaller than traditional department stores.
It is expected that Amazon’s own private-label products will be featured, the sources said, though the plans are not final.
This is a big move for the retail giant which so far relied on its online dominance to disrupt physical stores and put them out of business.
Ariel Ben Solomon is the Growth and Strategy manager at Ecomhunt. He is the host of the Ecomhunt Podcast. Can be followed on Twitter at @ArielBenSolomon
