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Contact: Timothy White | Published On: Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Amazon’s first brick-and-mortar ‘4-star’ store in N.J. is opening Tuesday


Amazon already has conquered the online shopping world, and now it will open its first “4-star” store in New Jersey.

The brick-and-mortar store officially opens Tuesday at 11 a.m. inside the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, coinciding with the company’s annual Prime Day shopping event. It’s replacing a shuttered Microsoft store on the mall’s first level in the Macy’s wing, near Sephora, Pink, Lush and Abercrombie.

Amazon will sell its most-popular and best-rated items at the store. Everything in stock is either an Amazon top-seller or rated at least four stars by shoppers.

“It’s a physical store we created, really to help to help customers find a product they’ll love,” Drew Sheriff, Director of Amazon Physical Stores, said. “It’s a really highly curated selection of products from the top categories across Amazon.com."

The store will have in stock everything from electronics like Apple AirPods to popular home goods like Roomba vacuumsNinja products and Instant Pots. And, of course, Amazon’s devices, such as Fire Tablets and smart home products.

For Prime members visiting the store, prices are the same as they are online. Non-Prime members have to pay list price. Price tags inside the store are updated digitally in real time, accompanied by star ratings.

The shop has an open layout design and is organized by category — just like Amazon’s website. There are dedicated tables for “Most Wished For” items and “Deals,” which are the centerpiece of the store.
 
Something unique inside the Wayne store, though, is a “Trending Around New Jersey” table.

“It’s very specific to the people in the community of the store, which is kind of fun," Sheriff said. "We find it often reflects what’s going on in the world or seasonally.”

An example, Sheriff said, is in West Coast stores, there have been a lot of air purifier sales recently due to ongoing forest fires.

There are 25 other “4-star” stores throughout the U.S. A New York shop in Soho was the first to open in 2018.

This is Amazon’s second brick-and-mortar store in New Jersey. An Amazon Books store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus opened in 2017. Amazon also operates Amazon Go, Amazon Pop-Up shops and Whole Foods.
 

Another “4-star” store is also planned for New Jersey, at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, although Amazon has not yet said when it’s opening.

 If you don’t want to venture out to the brick-and-mortar store just yet, Prime Day 2020 deals are live online.