After the reignited hoopla about the Amazon retail store rumors yesterday, I got an e-mail from a smart Slog reader who sent along this video of a Samsung store in Seoul. I agree with his assertion that if there is an Amazon store on the way, it will look a lot like this:

The important thing to take away here is that it's got a lot of wide-open spaces and plenty of interactivity. I was especially interested in the front of the Samsung store, when the narrator says they host events in that hall. I could see the front of an Amazon store being used for readings and lectures, to give the impression of a place where people want to linger, a hands-on hangout that serves as a sort of museum for the merchandise, with books out at the periphery to class the joint up. And to eliminate one of the biggest costs of a retail store—care and maintenance of overstock—customers can buy smaller items onsite, but bigger items would be delivered to the customers' doors the next day, or even before they get home. It's an Apple store crossed with a community center. If Amazon doesn't build a retail chain like this in America in the next few years, somebody's going to.