Amazon is opening a new store that sells only its best products (AMZN)

Amazon 4-star

Amazon is opening a new store concept called Amazon 4-Star on Thursday, the company announced in a blog post.
The store is in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, a hotbed of shopping.
The store will feature only items that customers have rated four stars and above, as well as products that the website's data shows are trending and on customers' wishlists.
It opens just in time for the holidays, but the store is meant to be a permanent fixture.

Amazon is letting its customer ratings do the talking at its new store.

Called Amazon 4-Star, the new concept will stock items that customers have rated four stars or above, on average, according to a blog post announcing the store. That means it will include only the best of the best; Amazon says the current assortment averages 4.4 stars.

It opens Thursday in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

The product assortment will vary widely, from Amazon's own devices and other consumer electronics to kitchen and home products, and from toys and games to books, Amazon's original focus. It will also include items that are popular locally.

Amazon says it will use data from sales and customer wishlists to display trending or most-wished-for items.

Though it opens just in time for the holiday season, the store is not a holiday pop-up — it's meant to be a permanent fixture in the neighborhood, which has seen plenty of other online-only brands open stores in recent years.

The newest store takes a page from the company's Amazon Books stores, which charges customers the full suggested retail price unless they are a Prime member. In that case, they receive the Amazon.com price, which is often at least a little bit lower.

At Amazon 4-Star, digital price tags will show both the full price and the Amazon.com price, which can frequently change based on Amazon's pricing algorithm.

Amazon 4-Star is just the latest foray into physical retail by Amazon, which has been expanding its Amazon Books stores and opening seasonal pop-ups in malls and other locations. It's also said to be greatly expanding its automated Amazon Go stores.

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