Friday, October 3, 2014

Amazon to open physical store in Minnesota

By +Tina Cruris

Mail order megalith amazon.com is opening it's first US bricks and mortar outlet here in Minnesota. The giant store which will occupy the entire 3rd floor of the Mall of America in Bloomington is slated for opening in October 2015 just in time to generate mammoth sales in time for the Holidays.

amazon is coming to the MOA
amazon is coming to the MOA
The physical store will not be able to carry every single item that the original online version has, but following an established model used by British mail order retailer, Argos, they will be able to sell approximately 350,000 items from their vast virtual catalog. Using a local off-site warehouse and a series of private tunnels, conveyor belts, and a 1,000 strong crew of warehouse runners, amazon claims that 95% of customers will get their goods within 15 minutes of purchase.

Although the official announcement is yet to be made, an amazon executive told STP that he is "excited for a new concept in shopping  where the customer can go to a store and actually touch and feel a product before making a purchase decision, instead of trying to judge it's suitability from a picture and a description on a computer."

Mall of Amazon
Possible sponsorship agreement?
"The Bloomington location would be ideal," he continued, "since it is less than 10 minutes away from a major metropolitan area and less than 1 mile from a major airport. If we were looking to create the first physical amazon store and open a new regional distribution center then the Mall Of America would certainly be in the top 3 locations for consideration."

We contacted the Mall of America who declined to comment about any negotiations with amazon.com. They also declined to comment about the fact that rent for 3rd floor tenants had increased by almost 50% over the last 3 years.

One thing we know for sure, as of October 1st, is that amazon.com is taxing purchases made by Minnesota residents, which suggests that amazon.com will have some form of physical presence in the state of Minnesota before the end of the current tax year.

Would you drive to an amazon store to shop or would you continue to order online and wait for it to get delivered to your house? Share below.

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