[vhost-]

I wonder if this is their in for B&M stores. I can also see this as part of their plan to start shipping items before you even buy them. I click checkout and it tells me to just go pick up the item from Radio Shack on 6th and Weidler.

[chiph]

With their analytics, they could probably make a good guess as to what people living in a 5-mile radius of the store are likely to purchase.

Which could make for some interesting juxtapositions on the shelves. Kitty litter next to Blu-ray movies, etc. But if it sells, it sells.

[xur17]

I could also see it acting as a showroom for certain products that people want to be able to look at, handle, etc.

[VLM]

Locally malls have transitioned from "sells everything" in the 80s to about 95% womens clothing, the food court, and that radio shack that just wont die. Being in the mall MIGHT be useful if amazon wants to expand its sales of womens clothes.

I am not, as far as I know, a woman, but I could find it incredibly useful to go "somewhere" and get 3-D scanned / measured and then have a giant clustered database translate my exact physical measurements into this mfgrs idea of a "M" vs this mfgrs idea of a "L" or whatever. Not to mention shoes, where I'm about a 10.75 so 50/50 odds if a 11 fits me better than a 10.5, and some kind of "big data" might help. Money saved in return shipping alone might make it financially worthwhile for amazon to run a "scanning booth" store.

[jdhawk]

There was a German company that tried this using a webcam and a Compact Disc (for size reference).

http://site.upcload.com/

I still think the best solution is to measure the normal tailors measurements with a tape, upload them, and then have manufacturers upload the exact measurements of their clothing in corresponding areas.

Crowdsourcing would allow people to mention wash shrinkage, and tolerance delta's for items.

Be cool to say I'm X size, and this is my favorite shirt. Show me more that are of similar measurements.

brb, going to start coding.

[ahlatimer]

Some companies are already doing that. True Fit is the one I've seen when shopping for an Arc'teryx jacket. I think I've seen it elsewhere, but I couldn't tell you where.

It wasn't particularly accurate, in my experience. It told me to get a medium when a small actually fit better, but it also didn't have my favorite shirt in its database, so I had to go with something that had a decent but worse fit as a comparison.

[ozi]

Also, returns. How cool would it be if you could just run the product down the street to return it instead of having to ship it back?

[vhost-]

I actually get cat food and water fountain filters as a subscription through Amazon and they always offer me kitty litter on the home page. They just don't have the kind I use.

[hga]

On the other hand, I'm sure they've made you think a time or two about buying your brand of kitty litter from them....

[seanp2k2]

Have we learned nothing from pets.com and the expense of shipping heavy pet products? :)

[morgante]

> Have we learned nothing from pets.com and the expense of shipping heavy pet products? :)

It gets shipped even if you buy it in a retail store.

Pets.com was a great idea poorly executed about a decade too early.

[jessaustin]

There's a difference between shipping on a pallet in the same semi trailer as 51 other pallets and shipping in a cardboard box from a fulfillment center.

Who's doing pets.com's modern equivalent now?

[cenhyperion]

>I click checkout and it tells me to just go pick up the item from Radio Shack on 6th and Weidler.

I'd much prefer it showing up at my door in two days and would view this as a major UX detriment. It may not be a common feeling, but the opportunity cost of spending an hour or so running errands to various brick and mortar locations around town multiple times a week is a major reason I'm a prime member and do a huge amount of my shopping through Amazon.

[vhost-]

I definitely don't disagree. I'm a prime member as well and feel the 2 day shipping is the sweet spot for time waited for my stuff.

[pbreit]

That sounds new like a miserable experience. Does anyone actually like online ordering with instore pickup?

[mark-r]

When shipping costs add 50% to the price of a cheaper item, and the store is convenient, free instore pickup is a killer feature. I've bought lots of stuff that way from Walmart.

[VLM]

I have done that precisely once with a very large monitor where I inspected it before signing. No not want UPS box with rattle of broken glass.

I suppose you could do fresh food that way, get my avocados ready ahead of time, but show me them before I sign for them.