Amazon.com is reportedly beginning to shift its focus from online retail towards the traditional alternative of physical stores.
Two sources familiar with the e-commerce giant's activities say the company has been discussing the possibility of buying some of RadioShack's stores to use as brick-and-mortar locations after the electronics chain files for bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg. One of the sources said Amazon could use the stores to show off its hardware, and that they could also serve as places for online customers to pick up and drop off their orders.
RadioShack currently has over 4,000 stores throughout the U.S. and plans on selling some locations and closing the rest, people familiar with the situation said.
Amazon is the latest big company to show interest in RadioShack's stores, as sources say Sprint has discussed the possibility of buying 1,300 to 2,000 locations, Bloomberg reported.
If the report is true, Amazon would be making a huge change in the way it runs its business, as the online retailer has been avoiding physical stores since day one in order to avoid collecting sales taxes in some states and reduce costs for providing its services, SiliconBeat reported.
However, pressure from state governments and local retailers pushed Amazon to agree in recent years to collect sales taxes in California and other states, which could be a sign of changes to be made in how the company operates. Amazon could also use physical stores to improve sales for electronic devices like its Fire tablets, which were recently reported to have taken a huge hit.
