Amazon’s New Type of Store -- “4-Star” -- Opening at Providence Place Mall

Amazon’s New Type of Store -- “4-Star” -- Opening at Providence Place Mall

It may be the ultimate irony. Amazon’s strategy of direct-to-home shipping from massive warehouses as quickly as 24 hours has crushed America’s malls and retailers.

Providence Place has been one of the many shopping centers that have been devastated, losing stores and trading down the quality of tenants.

Providence Place lost its flagship Nordstrom store in 2018 and it was replaced with mid-level retailer Boscov -- marking, de facto, the end of Providence's Renaissance.

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Over the past few years, Providence Place has been ravaged by shootings, looting, and mass fights.

 

Retail and Mall Closures

“According to a report from Coresight Research cited by CNBC last August, roughly one-quarter of American malls will close down in the next three-to-five years — Moody's Analytics expects roughly 135 million square feet of space at regional malls to become available during that time.

And while store closures may have slowed slightly, retail vacancy rates are still nearing a seven-year high and major brands announced more than 12,000 store closures in 2020 alone,” reports Business Insider.

 

Amazon 4-Star Stores

Amazon has been expanding more and more into retail -- first, buying Whole Foods in 2017 and then launching Amazon Go stores.

In January of 2020, retail trade magazine Chain Store Age reported, "The 4-star stores carry items from some of the most popular categories on Amazon.com, including devices, consumer electronics, kitchen, home, toys, books and games. Everything in the store is rated four stars and above, is a top seller or is new and trending on Amazon.com. Digital price tags alongside every item show the Prime price and list price, as well as Prime member savings, average star rating and the total number of reviews a product has received."

According to job postings on LinkedIn, the company is now hiring for the Providence Place location. Pay starts at $16.50 an hour.