New book store, grocery pickup locations open

SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. continues to dabble with physical stores to complement its extensive online retailing presence.

The company on Thursday opened two Seattle grocery pickup sites — previously being “beta tested” and available for use only to Amazon employees — to members of the public. Amazon Prime members can now buy groceries online and opt to pick them up at drive-in facilities located in the Seattle neighborhoods of Ballard or Sodo. Dubbed AmazonFresh Pickup, the test concept is the latest example of the e-commerce giant’s attempt to make inroads in the sale of groceries.

Amazon also on Thursday opened its seventh brick-and-mortar book store, which is located in New York.  The Amazon Books outlet, located at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, joins previous outlets that have opened in Chicago, Dedham and Lynfield, Mass., Portland, Ore., San Diego and Seattle. Amazon plans to open six more book stores this year.

Amazon’s book stores take a tech-oriented approach, with scanners and apps that let shoppers find out more about the books that interest them, and pay for their purchases with the Amazon app on their smart phones.