The US city of New York has been chosen as the latest venue for e-commerce giant Amazon’s expanding network of real world outlets, with a brand new bookshop opening its doors for the first time there this week.

BBC News reports that many of the first customers were simply curious about what the bricks and mortar experience would be like given that Amazon is better known for offering safe shopping online and dominating the market in North America and the UK.

It has been two years since the first of Amazon’s physical stores was introduced and so far it has limited the rollout to the US, with six more planned to open up over the coming months.

The purpose of these stores is not to allow Amazon to compete directly with high street retailers, but rather to help boost the profile of its brand outside of the world of safe shopping online and also offer more perks to Prime subscribers.

Visitors to the store are able to pay for the books on offer using the Amazon smartphone app, scanning QR codes to complete transactions. This should ideally make the checkout process more streamlined as there will be no need to queue or use a payment card.

The firm is also expanding its reach in other parts of the bricks and mortar marketplace, with grocery outlets popping up in various locations in America.

Some have raised concerns that Amazon may ultimately be stealing customers from smaller, independent booksellers as a result of its actions. But others argue that it is catering to a very different target audience and is unlikely to cause too much disruption in this segment.

If these stores prove to be a success then it is only a matter of time before one pops up in London.