Amazon to bring brick-and-mortar store to OKC (https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=730-Amazon-to-bring-brick-and-mortar-store-to-OKC)

Amazon is planning to open its first 4-Star store in Oklahoma at Classen Curve.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/amazon4a.jpg


From the Amazon website:

“Amazon 4-star is a store designed to help customers discover products they will love. It’s a physical store that carries a highly curated selection of products from the top categories across amazon.com including devices, consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen, home, and more. Every product in the store is rated 4 stars and above by our customers, a top seller, or new and trending on amazon.com.

Our team of curators looks at pre-orders, sales trends, customer reviews and ratings, customer wish lists, and what amazon.com editorial teams have curated online to select only the most-loved amazon.com products for our store. Our assortment will also change as our curators respond to customer feedback, keep up with emerging trends, and experiment with new categories.”

The stores also allow for pickup and returns for items purchased through the Amazon website.

There are currently 32 Amazon 4-Star locations; the closest is in Frisco, Tx.

The Oklahoma City store at Classen Curve will take the space formerly occupied by On a Whim near Upper Crust restaurant.

Since Columbus, Ohio-based Washington Prime purchased Classen Curve from Chesapeake Energy in 2014, they have added a host of new tenants including Sur la Table, Tecovas, Warby Parker, Bonobos, B.C. Clark, The Boardroom, Athelta, Evereve, Soft Surroundings, Restore, Drybar, Lovesac, Kendra Scott, Rye 51, Mizzen & Main, Clean Juice, and Bassett Furniture.


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/amazon4c.jpg


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Who is the target demographic for this? People without Amazon accounts? People without internet? People who hate home delivery? I'm sure it will do great, just seems like brick and mortar makes more sense for stores without a massive online monopoly.

I will likely use this store a lot when I’m in town. As I’ve said before, I can definitely see the appeal of online shopping especially for items you are familiar with or speciality items, but I like shopping in store and seeing what I’m actually buying.

I think this store will be fascinating.

Will be fun to see a wide variety of interesting items. I'm sure they do a great job of picking out new and cool things to display.

The stores are very popular in their current markets.


By the way, we need to finally dispel the "Tulsa gets everything first" myth. OKC has landed a ton of retailers recently, before Tulsa and many are exclusive to the state. Here is a running list:

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=37659&p=780943#post780943

I can't wait to see what this store has because it'll be a glimpse into what Okies are buying online. Lol. Might be some interesting stuff in there that everyone in the room will wonder "who is buying THAT around here?"

I think this store will be fascinating.

Will be fun to see a wide variety of interesting items. I'm sure they do a great job of picking out new and cool things to display.

The stores are very popular in their current markets.


By the way, we need to finally dispel the "Tulsa gets everything first" myth. OKC has landed a ton of retailers recently, before Tulsa and many are exclusive to the state. Here is a running list:

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=37659&p=780943#post780943 The store in Frisco located in Stonebriar Mall is fun to go in and look at what items are popular. I am sure Amazon has the brick and mortar thing down quite well. This is a good catch for OKC!

How is parking availability at Classen Curve? I have a feeling that the new Amazon brick and mortar will be super popular and people will have to walk a good distance to the new store.

How is parking availability at Classen Curve? I have a feeling that the new Amazon brick and mortar will be super popular and people will have to walk a good distance to the new store.

The horror! The horror!

I have been to the Amazon 4Star in Scottsdale, and it was awesome. They had some cool package deals on items in there, that was not available online.

So kind of a modern day "Sharper Image" except probably more affordable

i love these stores, because i am in the amazon ecosystem for home automation, and it's so nice to be able to go in and see products first hand that i know support that system. i am so happy and excited for this

This seems like a really cool retail experience.

So kind of a modern day "Sharper Image" except probably more affordable

I worked at The Sharper Image for about a year. It was a cool retail experience, but the products were WAAAY overpriced. Especially anything store-brand.

Their top seller is the Wikipedia printed edition.

We've now come full circle.... "I can't wait to go to the Amazon brick and mortar store. You can actually go in and see and touch the products and take them home immediately!" lol We humans are a funny species.

We've now come full circle.... "I can't wait to go to the Amazon brick and mortar store. You can actually go in and see and touch the products and take them home immediately!" lol We humans are a funny species.

I'll definitely stop by and check it out, but I'm not sure it will be an improvement over their online shop enough for me to visit regularly. I can also already return pretty much anything to the UPS store without boxing it up or anything, so I'm not entirely sure what this store will have to offer me. If there are better prices in the B&M store, that might be an incentive for me, personally. We'll see.

Well, if their analytics and data are correct and this is done properly, the store will have mostly things that are most often bought by people here in OKC. So, by definition it should have stuff you would be buying anyway. We'll see how it is executed.

Also, FYI, you can do Amazon returns at Whole Foods as well since they are essentially an Amazon grocery store. I like it because you get instant refunds on the returns.

Well, if their analytics and data are correct and this is done properly, the store will have mostly things that are most often bought by people here in OKC. So, by definition it should have stuff you would be buying anyway. We'll see how it is executed.

Also, FYI, you can do Amazon returns at Whole Foods as well since they are essentially an Amazon grocery store. I like it because you get instant refunds on the returns.

I'm certainly going to check it out, don't get me wrong. The returns I do at UPS I get refunds pretty quickly. Not instantly, though. I should check that out next time I have a return.

I'm certainly going to check it out, don't get me wrong. The returns I do at UPS I get refunds pretty quickly. Not instantly, though. I should check that out next time I have a return.

Last return I did, the refund was pending in my account before I had returned to my car in the parking lot. lol. I assume it's because since Whole Foods is owned by Amazon you are returning it directly back to them. They have a separate counter area just for returns and Amazon customer service.

I'll definitely stop by and check it out, but I'm not sure it will be an improvement over their online shop enough for me to visit regularly. I can also already return pretty much anything to the UPS store without boxing it up or anything, so I'm not entirely sure what this store will have to offer me. If there are better prices in the B&M store, that might be an incentive for me, personally. We'll see.
One improvement is not having your order swiped from your porch.

One improvement is not having your order swiped from your porch.

You can also have your orders delivered to the Amazon lockers at Whole Foods (and I'm sure others).

Amazon is going to open it's first Denver area Amazon Fresh Grocery store near where l live. It will differ from Whole Foods in that along with WF brand organic products, it will carry name-brand national product like most grocer's. It will also feature automated checkout using their app and tie in with Alexa. They also offer free same-day delivery for Prime members.

I only bring this up because l am fortunate to live in an area literally overrun with diverse grocery companies......something like 15 stores within a 3 mile radius.

OKC has a shortage of decent grocers, perhaps they could petition Amazon for an expanding company and fill some of those empty storefronts?

You can also have your orders delivered to the Amazon lockers at Whole Foods (and I'm sure others).

Amazon lockers at Trader Joe's, also convenient. And you can sign up for Amazon to put packages in your garage if theft has been an issue. They will pretty much place a package in your fridge if you ask nicely enough.

I'm certainly going to check it out, don't get me wrong. The returns I do at UPS I get refunds pretty quickly. Not instantly, though. I should check that out next time I have a return.

The UPS near me does instant refunds with a QR code, and you don't even have to package it, they do it all. I would have never survived in previous generations of having to physically go to the post office for mail, shipping, etc.

The UPS near me does instant refunds with a QR code, and you don't even have to package it, they do it all. I would have never survived in previous generations of having to physically go to the post office for mail, shipping, etc.

Yeah, that's the way I do returns, too. The refund does happen quickly, not sure about instant, but definitely within a few hours. Sometimes longer/shorter. I don't shop much at Classen Curve or that area, really, so it won't replace the UPS store for returns, I don't think. I do a lot of Amazon shopping, though, so I'm curious to see how this turns out.

I had one issue with the UPS return for Amazon. I returned 4 items, in the original shipping box but not taped up or labeled (couldn’t find my tape gun). Amazon processed refund instantly, then several days later revoked one of the refunds saying they were still waiting for the item. I don’t believe they ever got the item, but after a few conversations with Amazon they hesitantly manually refunded me. It was. $70 item, or otherwise I may not have pursued it any further.

You can return Amazon items at Kohls. No worry about shipping yourself.

I went to return a small item at the Edmond Kohls and they told me I had to go to UPS store to return to Amazon. Sorry I don't remember the reason. There was a UPS store in the same shopping plaza so no big deal.

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How is parking availability at Classen Curve? I have a feeling that the new Amazon brick and mortar will be super popular and people will have to walk a good distance to the new store.

When Red Coyote has Pint Night runs. The parking lot can get full or have other fun things going on.

The plans are out to bid for this project. The expected finish date provided appears to be mid to late November.

Work has started on the interior of this store.

The name really bothers me for some reason. Like “almost good but not great”.

The name really bothers me for some reason. Like “almost good but not great”.

And it's a pretty ridiculous concept when people can leave 5-star reviews like this - "Bought it for my childrens' Christmas presents and they haven't used it yet". Their team of curators is going to be busy sorting through the chaff......

They now have a "coming soon" page on their website. I know they have been working away inside; my best guess is they are about 6-8 weeks out.

Amazon 4-Star OKC (https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_A4SFYS_md2_w?node=23631151011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-8&pf_rd_r=N0W27R8QHFRCKZAS4ZXQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=8fbc44ff-735b-482b-aa48-4dd20e6cace0&pf_rd_i=17608448011)

Are they going to have checkouts or are they going checkout-less?

I remember some of Amazon's first stores did not have checkouts. It would automatically charge your prime account when you walked out the door.

I'm about done with Amazon. Rumor is Prime is going up to $149 a year now. Even though I buy things from them it's not becoming worth it. Walmart might be a better option

I'm about done with Amazon. Rumor is Prime is going up to $149 a year now. Even though I buy things from them it's not becoming worth it. Walmart might be a better option

It's going to be $139/year, up from $119.

I'm about done with Amazon. Rumor is Prime is going up to $149 a year now. Even though I buy things from them it's not becoming worth it. Walmart might be a better option

good luck with walmart. i did 6 months of walmart plus and it made me realize how much Prime is worth it... even at $139 a year...

Getting close:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/amazon022722a.jpg

Nice! Thanks for the pics. I’ll frequent this store when I’m in town.

welp... this stinks...

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/exclusive-amazon-close-all-its-physical-bookstores-4-star-shops-2022-03-02/


March 2 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday told Reuters it plans to close all 68 of its physical book stores, pop up shops and "4-star" stores in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running experiments in physical retail.

no surprise there... i'm not sure how anybody at amazon thought that this would be a good idea.

Timing sucks, and it likely would have done well. But this terminates their lease, and Classen Curve has plenty of interest from exclusive and upscale stores, I'm sure. Pete will be able to verify that, and I don't think this will mire in ambiguity for too long.

Timing sucks, and it likely would have done well. But this terminates their lease, and Classen Curve has plenty of interest from exclusive and upscale stores, I'm sure. Pete will be able to verify that, and I don't think this will mire in ambiguity for too long.

I mean, it's not the end of the world the fancy shopping center won't have an ugly Amazon logo hanging around down there, but it was a store I'd probably swing by when I'm in the area. Oh, well. Hope they get something unique.

welp... this stinks...

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/exclusive-amazon-close-all-its-physical-bookstores-4-star-shops-2022-03-02/
They closed the Amazon books store in the Palisades. I wasn’t too shocked they couldn’t make the bookstores work but I am a little surprised they didn’t make the 4 star stores work. Maybe they should’ve made them more exclusive and only sold five star products.

So it's closed before it opened?

^

Sounds like it.

The timing seems odd but they always had stores in various stages of opening so it's just the luck of the draw that they actually started work and installed a sign at Classen Curve, then completely pulled the plug.

Given the prowess Washington Prime has demonstrated in finding great, national tenants for CC, I would expect them to fill that spot pretty quickly.


Personally, I'm disappointed because I think it would have been fun to go in and see a bunch of their popular products. But above all, Amazon is incredibly shrewd and although this all seemed like a good idea, with the on-going pandemic I'm sure they realized resources were better spent on their massive home delivery apparatus.

I always thought it was odd that a company who built and conquered online shopping would want to spend money on brick and mortar stores.

I always thought it was odd that a company who built and conquered online shopping would want to spend money on brick and mortar stores.

It's all about instant gratification. Today's generation wants things now. They aren't willing to wait. I remember was a kid when we would order something from TV they would say, "please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery" and that was a standard. You had to pay extra for Saturday delivery. Just last Sunday, I had a FedEx delivery arrive from New York that was sent on Saturday. That was unheard of just a few years ago.

It's all about instant gratification. Today's generation wants things now. They aren't willing to wait. I remember was a kid when we would order something from TV they would say, "please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery" and that was a standard.

Wait — standard brick and mortar stores, the foundation of commerce for most cities — are now the product of those whippersnappers who lack the attention spans of the (insert complimentary adjective here) older generations? That is a wild take.

It's all about instant gratification. Today's generation wants things now. They aren't willing to wait. I remember was a kid when we would order something from TV they would say, "please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery" and that was a standard. You had to pay extra for Saturday delivery. Just last Sunday, I had a FedEx delivery arrive from New York that was sent on Saturday. That was unheard of just a few years ago.

i don't believe you could take home anything from this store .. i think if you ordered there it was shipped to you

Wait — standard brick and mortar stores, the foundation of commerce for most cities — are now the product of those whippersnappers who lack the attention spans of the (insert complimentary adjective here) older generations? That is a wild take.
It's got to be sarcasm... right?

i don't believe you could take home anything from this store .. i think if you ordered there it was shipped to you

No, the Amazon stores were literally traditional stores where you pick product off shelf and go to a checkout counter.

No, the Amazon stores were literally traditional stores where you pick product off shelf and go to a checkout counter.

thank you for the correction

I always thought it was odd that a company who built and conquered online shopping would want to spend money on brick and mortar stores.

While they have a an advantage online in some areas, there are still others that purchasing/selling locally makes sense. No doubt they have plenty of data on where this might be.

Nevermind just read back a few posts and saw that it was canceled