Online shopping giant Amazon is to open a chain of pop-up shops selling everything from food and drink to electronics, beauty products and homewares in the UK.
The first Clicks and Mortar shop will open in St Mary’s Gate in central Manchester on Monday and will also offer Amazon Lockers for customers to collect Amazon orders.
Amazon plans to open 10 shops in total. It has not revealed the locations of the other stores but said there would be openings in Wales, Scotland, the Midlands, Yorkshire and the south-east.
Part of a year-long pilot, launched in conjunction with the small business support organisation Enterprise Nation, Amazon said it will give 100 small online businesses their first taste of a bricks and mortar presence.
Online-only sellers that will feature in-store for the first time include the adult kick-scooter maker Swifty Scooters, the leather electronic device case seller Torro Cases, and the men’s skincare brand Altr for Men.
The move from Amazon follows its fellow online retailer eBay, which last month opened a pop-up store in Wolverhampton, in which 40 small businesses displayed and sold their products.
In October, Amazon opened its first British fashion store, in the form of a pop-up in Baker Street, central London, to seek shoppers’ views on its clothing ranges, prices and store experience.
RPA Perspective There remains speculation about whether Amazon Go, a checkout-free grocery store concept, will be rolled out internationally. The first opened in Seattle, Washington, last January and there are now 11 Amazon Go stores in the US.
Doug Gurr, Amazon UK’s country manager, said: “Amazon is committed to supporting the growth of small businesses, helping them boost the economy and create jobs across the UK. Small businesses are one of our most important customer groups.”
Amazon said it was also helping to create more than 150 full-time apprenticeships at small online businesses through a new £1m apprenticeship fund “to help increase their productivity and boost online sales”.
Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, said: “UK shoppers like to shop both online and in high street stores [and this will] enable customers to discover new brands on their local high streets.
“Our intention is to help small businesses succeed by combining the best elements of online and high street retail. This new concept will provide small businesses with the space, technology and support to experience physical retail for the first time.”
In the US Amazon is apparently moving back into the mall. The company has quietly started promoting "Presented by Amazon" kiosks in four malls around the country. They're a place to browse "a themed selection of top brands, frequently updated and presented to you by Amazon.”
There are currently four locations, all of which are in premier, high-traffic malls: Century City Mall in Los Angeles; San Francisco Centre Mall in San Francisco; Old Orchard Mall in Skokie, Illinois; and Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.
