Amazon is expanding its presence in the physical retail market in the U.K. The first non-product store from the online giant will open soon and will be located in the Bluewater shopping and entertainment center near Dartford in the county of Kent in southern England.
The store, dubbed Amazon 4-star, will feature only products that have received at least four stars from customers in the online store – books, small appliances, toys, and home goods. Amazon, which already operates more than 30 such outlets in the United States, will open across the Atlantic.
According to the BBC, Amazon’s annual sales in the U.K. are now estimated at £20.6 billion. The company is opening its first 4-Star to get closer to customers, but specific plans for the new format in the United Kingdom have not yet been revealed.
The new retail space uses electronic price tags that reflect the exact price of items presented online. It is not necessary to have an Amazon account to make purchases. The retailer offers self-checkout for items ordered online and allows customers to return items without packaging or tags.
Experts consider the opening of a physical Amazon store in the U.K. as an experiment and a step aimed at encouraging new online purchases, attracting new customers to the ecosystem. Earlier, the Internet giant opened Amazon Go cashless grocery stores in the country and the first outside the United States.
