Amazon Confirms Retail Kiosks

The online retailer is opening pop-up kiosks in California. 

Following earlier reports of a possible New York brick-and-mortar store, Amazon has confirmed to GeekWire that it will be launching retail kiosks in two California cities. The pop-up stores will open at shopping malls in San Francisco and Sacramento just in time for the holiday shopping season.

While it's unclear if these locations will offer online order pick-up or return options, customers will likely be able to demo and purchase Amazon branded gear and gadgets, including the Fire TV media player, Fire HDX tablets, Fire Phone, and Kindle e-reader. The San Francisco kiosk is scheduled to open on October 22 at the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall. A launch date and exact location for the Sacramento store have not been announced yet.

Meanwhile, Amazon has yet to confirm or deny previous reports from The Wall Street Journal about a Manhattan retail store. Whether that location becomes a reality or not, it appears as if these California kiosks will launch first.

Sources: GeekWire, CNET