Amazon Books marks the entrance to University Village, a luxury outdoor shopping mall in Seattle, Washington.
A line ran out the door for hours.
http://instagram.com/p/9obJATi-v6/embed/
Width: 658px
But upon closer inspection, some things are off. The books face outwards, rather than being stacked so just the spine peeps out.
http://instagram.com/p/9rwV7apy3R/embed/
Width: 658px
New Republic's Dustin Kurtz suggests this layout is meant to mimic how books appear on Amazon.com.
Source: New Republic
Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books, says the company wanted to better showcase authors' work. "We realized that we felt sorry for the books that were spine out," Cast told The Seattle Times.
Small placards give a book's average star rating along with short reviews, credited to Amazon account screen names.
Even Jeff Bezos gets in on the action. "A page-turner written by an award-winning novelist, who happens to be my wife," he says of "Traps" by MacKenzie Bezos.
Customers can use the Amazon Shopping app on their phones to scan the placard's bar code, revealing price and other information about the book.
Prices in store match prices online. According to New Republic, the books sell for up to 30% cheaper than what competing bookstores can offer.
Source: New Republic
Amazon digs through its treasure trove of data in order to figure out what titles are most likely to fly off shelves in Seattle.
Categories of books include highest rated and "most wished-for" by Amazon.com customers.
http://instagram.com/p/9pWTeZHZ5y/embed/
Width: 658px
Source: The Seattle Times
It's data with heart," Cast tells The Seattle Times. "We're taking the data we have and we're creating physical places with it.
http://instagram.com/p/9o5rowEwSC/embed/
Width: 658px
Source: The Seattle Times
To see a book's cost, you have to carry it to a price-checking station or an Amazon employee with a scanner in hand.
http://instagram.com/p/9phrTrucK3/embed/
Width: 658px
Some customers are complaining about the extra steps to find out a book's price. It's as if Amazon is forcing you to embrace tech.
Source: Quartz
Of course, customers also check out using a tablet, though it's unclear from photos whether it's an Amazon Fire.
Cast hints there may be more Amazon Books stores in the future, saying, "We hope this is not our only one."
Source: The Seattle Times
