Amazon is reportedly planning to open department stores


Amazon is reportedly eying an expansion into a new department: department stores.
Amazon is planning to "open several large physical retail locations in the U.S. that will operate akin to department stores," The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Among the first of these stores will reportedly be opened in Ohio and California. According to the report, while department stores are typically about 100,000 square feet, Amazon's stores will be smaller at about 30,000 square feet.
While the Journal says it isn't clear what brands Amazon plans to offer, the stores are expected to include the company's own private-label goods. This would come after Amazon previously opened physical locations including book stores and grocery stores, and it purchased Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon may particularly be looking to allow customers to try items, including apparel, before purchasing them, the Journal writes, and it reportedly approached apparel brands about the idea of opening "large-scale stores" two years ago.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kohl's and Macy's on Thursday both reported "upbeat" earnings reports, according to CNBC, though the Journal notes that foot traffic at U.S. retail stores hasn't returned to 2019 levels. The report on Amazon's plans for department stores "sent a shudder through retail stocks," Bloomberg writes, offering "a signal that new challenges await in the beleaguered sector."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Crossword: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement