The first Amazon Books store opened on November 2, 2015, located at the University shopping center in Seattle, Washington.

[8] On February 2, 2016, a CEO of a shopping center owner claimed that Amazon planned to open as many as 400 bookstores;[9][10][11] the statement was retracted by the company the following day.

[13] It was followed by openings at Washington Square near Portland, Oregon,[14] Legacy Place in Dedham, Massachusetts,[15] Chicago, New York City, and Paramus, New Jersey.

Other stores in New York City, Bellevue, Washington, Atlanta, Georgia, Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles) were expected to open between 2017 and 2019.

"[22] After the announcement of a third store in Portland, Oregon, CEO Miriam Sontz of local bookstore Powell's Books stated that Amazon's move to open physical stores was an acknowledgement that "something special occurs in a physical bookstore that is not replicable online" and that Portland was "filled with book lovers and book buyers", quoting bank robber Willie Sutton's quip that he targeted banks "because that's where the money is.