Months after announcing that it would be opening a brick-and-mortar store in Chicago, Amazon Books is set to launch its new Lakeview location on Tuesday. The 6,000-square-foot store, located at 3441 N Southport Ave, is only the fifth Amazon Books in the country and the first in the Midwest.
Described as a "physical extension of Amazon.com," Amazon Books is designed to combine the benefits of online and offline shopping. Deborah Bass, a spokeswoman for the company, said the store will give customers another way to discover Amazon books and devices. "The books in our store are selected based on Amazon.com customer ratings, pre-orders, sales, popularity on Goodreads and our curators’ assessments," she said. "And because we know customers like to test-drive Amazon’s devices, products across our Kindle, Echo, Fire TV and Fire tablet lines are available to explore."
To integrate the online and offline experiences, books will be placed face-out and include a review and rating card from Amazon.com customers. Bass added that most of the books sold at the brick-and-mortar stores have received a rating of four or more stars.
In addition to devices and books, the Lakeview store will also be just the second Amazon Books with a coffee shop. Portland-based Stumptown Coffee Roasters will supply the Chicago location.
Amazon Books will make its Chicago debut at 8am on Tuesday. It will be open Monday through Saturday from 8am to 9pm and Sunday from 9am to 6pm.
Of course, if you prefer to purchase your books from a locally owned and operated shop, you can always visit some of the best bookstores in Chicago.
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