Amazon Opens 2nd D.C.-Area Bookstore In Bethesda

Amazon is unveiling its 16th bookstore Tuesday and its second in the D.C. Metro area. 

The company opened Amazon Books in a 6K SF storefront in Bethesda Row, following the March opening of its first D.C. store in Georgetown. 

The store will feature 3,700 unique book titles. In addition to shelves for best-sellers, new releases and a variety of genres, the store will have some sections compiled using data from Amazon Kindle readers. It will have an "Unputdownable" shelf featuring books that Kindle customers read the fastest, and a "Highly Quotable" section with books that most often have readers highlighting quotes. It will also have localized sections, including "Read Around Washington, D.C." and "D.C. Books for Kids." 

Several Amazon products will also be on display, including its Echo and Smart Home devices. It will also include an Amazon Launchpad section with devices, toys and games created by startup companies. 

The Bethesda store is located at 7117 Arlington Road, in the space formerly occupied by Urban Country, which moved to another available Bethesda Row storefront. The Barnes & Noble at Bethesda Row closed in January, and its 37K SF space will be taken by women's retailer Anthropologie. The retail complex, owned by Federal Realty Investment Trust, also features a Landmark Cinema, an Apple Store, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Lululemon and several other retailers and restaurants. 

Amazon's Bethesda bookstore will be smaller than its Georgetown location. That store occupies 10K SF, in another building once home to Barnes & Noble, and features 5,600 book titles, one of Amazon's largest stores.