Here's What Amazon Actually Plans for Physical Stores
Amazon Stores continues to focus on innovative marketing programs that will enhance the experience for both their buyers and seller. This is the reason we feel that having your own Amazon Store is one of the best decisions you can make to be successful online.
Fox Business | By Daniel B. Kline Published February 08, 2017
As Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has dipped its toes into the water of building physical retail locations, rumors of its eventual plans have included all sorts of things that the company has not actually done. When a retail chain struggles, there are speculative stories about the online retailer buying it. In addition, there have been stories like a recent one in The New York Post Opens a New Window. that claimed Amazon had plans for an automated, two-story grocery store that required as few as three workers to operate.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos took to Twitter to vehemently deny that any such plan existed. He tweeted Opens a New Window. in part "whoever your anonymous sources are on this story ... they've mixed up their meds!" The CEO followed that up with another tweet rebutting the idea that his company had figured out how to use robot-run stores to dramatically improve typical grocery store margins: "... if anybody knows how to get 20% margins in groceries, call me! :)"
It was a very strong denial by Bezos, but just because this story is not true (or at least the company claims it isn't) does not mean Amazon does not have brick-and-mortar plans. The retailer does, and CFOBrian Olsavsky laid them out during the company's Q4 earnings call on Feb. 2, which was transcribed by Seeking Alpha Opens a New Window. (registration required).
Amazon may not be prepping robot-run stores, but it does use them in its warehouses. Image source: Amazon.