Amazon opens its first 4-star store outside the US

Amazon has opened a 4-star store in Bluewater, a mall located just southeast of central London. And it's not just the first 4-star store outside the US, it's also the company's first shop in the UK that sells non-food and non-perishable items. Similar to Amazon's 4-star stores in New York and other parts of the US, the shop in Bluewater will sell products rated 4 stars and above, are top sellers or are trending on the e-commerce giant's UK website.

Since the shop can't carry all the highly rated products Amazon sells online, the selection in-store will be curated, though they will include goods across top categories like consumer electronics, toys, games, books, kitchen and home. It will sell products from small businesses across the UK, as well as the company's own devices, including Kindle e-Readers, Fire tablets and Echo speakers.

The shop will have sections that correspond to specific sections of the website, as well, such as Most Wished For, which will feature products from Wish Lists. "Trending in Bluewater" will showcase items local customers have been buying, while "Most Gifted" will feature the top items ordered as gifts. Amazon says it will switch out products regularly based on customer feedback and to keep up with the latest trends.

Products in the store will be marked with digital tags containing the item's price, average star rating and the number of customer reviews. In addition, customers don't have to be Prime members to be able to shop there. That said, the store won't feature Amazon's Just Walk Out technology like the company's Fresh grocery store in London. Just Walk Out allows shoppers to grab what they need from the shelves and, well, walk out without having to pay at a manned or a self-checkout counter. They can make their purchase from Amazon's UK website, however, and simply pick up their order from the store the next day.