Amazon is closing shop and giving up on it’s physical book locations. I know not many people will be that sad to hear this news but this came as a surprise to me.
Overall, Amazon Bookstores offer great book selections and finding any bookstore in the city is an escape from the numerous clothing and fast food outlets.
Amazon Books is Closing Shop
According to Reuters, Amazon is closing all 68 of its book locations in the near future. So they will still be around for a couple of more months as their is no official plan of when to close them. Instead, Amazon will focus on its other ventures such as Whole Foods, its experimental “Amazon Style” clothing store, and their futuristic cashier-less stores.
A big reason for this is that Amazon was not making much money with its bookstores. That was to be expected. Barnes and Nobles is already well established in this department and they have a loyal following. Amazon, on the other hand, does not. In fact, the negative perception that Amazon has most likely hurt it’s book stores.
My Thoughts on Amazon Books
As someone who has visited a few of the Amazon bookstores, I will say that they were not bad. The customer service was good, the book selections were and the layout was simple. My favorite part was the Amazon reviews under certain novels that gave a summary as to why the reader enjoyed the novel.
I discovered a bunch of new books like that and I always like it when staff (or customers) recommend novels. Even if you aren’t a big Amazon fan or prefer smaller book stores, losing these bookstores is still a lose. But it shouldn’t effect Amazon too much.
Conclusion
As you may have speculated, Amazon makes most of its money in online sales. They have their own e-reader, Kindle app, deals on books, and etc. They aren’t hurting and will just look at this as a minor failure. Like many of us, they knew that this was a gamble but went out and still tried to pull it up. But some things weren’t meant to be
Are you shocked by Amazon Books closing ? Is this news that you are happy or sad about.
I published my book with Amazon kindle. It was a tedious process. However, Amazon ebooks maybe inexpensive but it takes s toll on the eyes. Purchasing online maybe convenient but the experience of going to a bookstore cannot be paralleled. I think whether or not Amazon being closed is a good or bad decision needs to be decided through the votes of the public.