Amazon Opens ‘Experience Centers’ to Display Home Products

Amazon.com has partnered with home builder Lennar to use its model homes as a showroom to demo and help sell its smart home devices, Amazon Dash buttons, and other consumer electronics services such as streaming Prime Content with Fire TV. TechCrunch reports the model homes will be fully connected as Alexa-enabled smart homes, with customers able to walk through and see the full effect of being able to use Alexa to control all electronic and connected kit, from TVs and lights to thermostat and window blinds.

Total Retail's Take: Amazon has been slowly growing its offline business over the last fews years, including opening bookstores and an Amazon Go store with a cashier-less checkout process, acquiring Whole Foods, and now partnering with Lennar in an effort to grow sales of its smart home products. In addition to Alexa home services, Amazon recently acquired home company Ring, and is piloting Amazon Key services, where a delivery person can enter your home to deliver a package. (My feelings on this have remained the same.)