Purdue University Becomes Home To First Amazon Store

It’s no secret that Amazon has been mulling the idea of launching its own retail stores for quite some time, but I’m sure few would have guessed that its first one would be found at a university campus.

That lucky campus is Purdue University’s, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. To call this Amazon store a “brick-and-mortar”, as CNN Money has, is being a little generous – this location is unlike brick-and-mortars we’re used to. For starters, there are no products on display – at least, none that I can see. So, what’s the point? The convenience of picking parcels up right on campus, and one-day free shipping.

Students registered to Amazon’s Student service already benefit from free shipping, but like the free shipping for us non-students / non-Prime members, shipments can take up to a week to arrive. So here, students don’t just gain the advantage of even quicker shipping, but also the convenience of being able to pick their order up as they pass through the campus.

This first campus store isn’t going to be Amazon’s last; the company already has plans to begin rolling out more nationwide, although it’s not clear what its targets are at this point. Interestingly, the love for Purdue doesn’t end with this single store. If you can believe it, Amazon will be opening a second location there in the spring.

Beyond campuses, we could see Amazon launch normal retail stores in the near future, as it’s been considering snatching up a bunch of RadioShack locations if they’re shuttered, and by all appearances, that’s their fate. Sprint is also in the chase for a couple thousand of these stores, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.