For the second time since its introduction, the Kindle will sell in an off line retail environment. The company has announced that the Kindle will be sold at Staples.
By selling its flagship product in real stores, Amazon is expanding its reach. This is a smart move. It takes Amazon into an environment where small business owners and retail customers are doing business. If those customers are not already buying books from Amazon online then they will be once they purchase a Kindle. I think Amazon is looking long term here.
If you consider the price of Kindle books and how many of those that Amazon can expect to sell over the life of a single Kindle then the company stands to make more long-term profits from the sell of its books if it makes the Kindle more available and in more places. That’s why the company started selling Kindle in Target last June and now has gone into Staples. It wouldn’t surprise me to see more retail locations in the works.
In light of this real world move by Amazon, will the Kindle become a staple of small business productivity? Will small business owners buy their business books from Amazon to read on their Kindle? Will small business owners use their Kindle for connecting to the Internet, and do all the other wonderful things the Kindle will allow them to do?
I don’t know what the future has in store for Kindle and business applications, but I do know that making the Kindle available to small business owners at Staples is a smart move.
