Amazon bookstore opens in Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Amazon opened a bricks-and-mortar bookstore Tuesday in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.

The store is located near North Southport and West Cornelia avenues on the North Side.

Chicago is the fifth city in the U.S. where the company has opened a store.

The 6,000-square-foot store is the first in the Midwest and features a coffee shop.

The store only sells books that have a 4.5-or-above customer rating.

The store offers many features that are an extension of the website, including an a barcode on books that can be scanned with the Amazon app to give more information about the book.

"We're agnostic. If you want to buy it for your Kindle, if you want to buy it for your Audible, if you want to buy it and have it shipped home, we're fine with that," said Jennifer Cast, an Amazon vice president.

Smaller, traditional bookstores have taken notice of the new bookstore and plan to meet to discuss how it might impact them.

But some book lovers are excited about the new store.

"I love my Kindle, but there is something special about being able to touch a book," said customer Liz Mitha.

Amazon is a major player in the e-commerce industry, however, online sales still only represent about 8 percent of all retail sales in the U.S. Amazon plans to expand the brick-and-mortar concept slowly over the next couple years.