Remember the time Amazon told us that they were going to open a store on New York’s 34th Street? Well, it never materialised did it. Masters of phantom stores no more, Amazon has finally set up physical shop. Not in New York, not in London, certainly not anywhere expected – but Indiana. On the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, to be exact.
What is the state of Indiana known for?
- The Great Lakes
- David Letterman was born in Indianapolis
- Explorers Lewis and Clark set out from Fort Vincennes to discover the Northwest Territory from Indiana
- Now Amazon!
Why Purdue University, Indiana?
Amazon have called this move onto Purdue campus a “customer order pickup and drop-off location” which means that the university students will be able to order books, stationery and other goods straight onto campus.
Paul Ryder, vice-president of student programmes at Amazon recently commented: “The opening of the Amazon@Purdue location adds convenience to the mix.” What mix?
I’m guessing that Amazon intend to provide Purdue’s students with books and other student-related supplies, but with the emphasis on them being affordable.
It has also been suggested that this is a way of promoting Amazon Student, an initiative that gives money-conscious students the benefits of (things like) Amazon Prime for half the price.
Why Purdue University was chosen as the first location hasn’t yet come to light but it seems Amazon are looking towards rolling out the same idea across other US universities.
The pearly gates: How will the Amazon store fare?
Video killed the Radio(Shack) star
The Purdue store accompanies even more Amazon-related news this week! If opening a store wasn’t big enough news, Bloomberg announced that the eCommerce giant are also buying hundreds of old retail stores in the US to start showcasing their products – probably ones like the Kindle tablet and Fire smartphone.
In the same Bloomberg Report, it was revealed that Amazon propose to buy over 4,000 old RadioShack stores. While both Amazon and RadioShack have declined to comment on this rumor, it does spark a few questions:
Is this Amazon’s big push into traditional, bricks-and-mortar retailing?
Will they actually become real-life stores or glorified delivery points?
Reports show that the Fire’s sales plummeted in 2014 – could these stores be Amazon’s attempt to push the Fire (and related products) in a different way? Maybe to compete against Apple a bit more.
What’s next for Amazon?
While the e-retailer is certainly keeping us all guessing with these new stores, they do have other developments that look even more fun. Take Amazon Prime Air which aims to deliver packages within 30 minutes:
Will Indiana be the first place to receive drone drop offs? Look to the skies…