News scoop from Good eReader, via The Stranger:

Amazon sources close to the situation have told us that the company is planning on rolling out a retail store in Seattle within the next few months. This project is a test to gauge the market and see if a chain of stores would be profitable. They intend on going with the small boutique route with the main emphasis on books from their growing line of Amazon Exclusives and selling their e-readers and tablets.

I disagree with The Stranger’s take that these stores need to be stocked like a book superstore. All the stores have to do is provide some in-store service that’s not available online. Drive to a store and they don’t have your book? “No problem, sir. Have you considered an e-reader? If not, then we’ll give you one-time Prime and have that book on your doorstep in two days.”

And of course, if Amazon includes a print-on-demand service, then all bets are off.