Amazon planning to open UK shops for click-and-collect

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest online retailer, is planning to open high-street shops in Britain to complement its website.

The report said the group was seeking to cash in on the rising customer demand for so-called click and collect services, where customers buy goods online and then pick them up from a shop.

The Sunday Times report, which cited property landlords and a source familiar with the proposals, said the offer saved consumers from having to wait in for home deliveries. Some of the sites could be out of town, it said.

"When Amazon was just selling books and CDs that fitted easily through the letterbox it was fine to be a web-only business," the source said.

"But now that it has branched out into everything from children's bikes to electricals it believes it could boost sales by having stores that offer a collection point for shoppers."