Photo courtesy of Amazon
The company that has been a disrupter in the bookstore space just opened its newest standalone store at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus yesterday.
Amazon started opening bookstores in 2015 and this is the company’s first Jersey location, as well as the eighth in the country. The company already has stores in Oregon, Washington, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York City. The store’s opening will bring 2,500 full-time jobs to NJ. Amazon also has pop-up stores at the Deptford Mall and Freehold Raceway Mall.
Despite the digital revolution, Amazon is likely responding to positive trends in physical book sales, which have gone up steadily over the last four years (ebook sales have gone down by 13 percent since last year).
But just because the store may inspire tangible books sales, it has plenty of modern perks. There are no prices on the books, so shoppers must scan the cover with their Amazon phone app or use the store scanner. The bookstore also mimics the Amazon website by displaying each read face out; this way, guests can see every cover as they’re shopping as they would online. Of course, this means less shelf room, but Amazon doesn’t mind: the store only carries roughly 3,000 books, exclusively Amazon.com bestsellers, Goodreads faves and 4- to 5-star rated titles. You can also purchase Amazon gadgets like the Kindle, Echo and Fire TV.
When you make your way there to buy some beach reads, please note that they don’t take cash. You can only pay with a credit card or with the Amazon app (Amazon Prime members get discounts!).
The store is open 10 am-9 pm Monday through Saturday. It’s on the second floor of the mall tucked between Neiman Marcus and Macy’s.
