We all know Amazon as that wonderful online location to buy just about anything, including our lovely Kindles and ebooks. However, Amazon has been granted a patent for a brick and mortar store. What can this possibly mean?

I doubt Amazon will open up stores across the U.S. That goes against the model that made them so successful. It not only goes against the idea of selling things online, but against the model that has made the Kindle (and soon, the Kindle DX) so successful. They’ve created a device that you buy online, and then make further purchases with the device that delivers content wirelessly. I don’t see how a store could possibly fit into that equation.

I believe this is all a result of Amazon’s venture into the grocery delivery service they tried back a few years ago. When you compare the images included in their patent to the pickup stations they used for the grocery service, a resemblance is impossible to deny.

The patent in question was originally filed back in 2007. It’s possible that Amazon filed the patent when they were just getting the grocery service out the door. The grocery service never took off, but two years later the patent was granted. So it’s easy to become confused by the fact that a patent was granted for a new storefront when many of us have never seen the physical product of Amazon’s failed grocery service.