Book chains better watch out: Amazon is coming to town

Bethesda, United States: Bookstores are a go-to for the procrastinating gift-getter, a one-stop shop that has a little something for everyone.

But there´s a new kid on the block this holiday season as online giant Amazon creeps into the physical realm, with 13 brick-and-mortar stores across the United States and counting.

In the upscale Washington suburb of Bethesda, the sector´s transformation is playing out in full view: traditional bookstore Barnes & Noble is closing up shop and Amazon is coming to town -- with a gleaming new store soon to open not two minutes´ walk away. "I think the elephant in the room is Amazon," said Donna Paz Kaufman, a Florida-based industry consultant. "Anybody in publishing is concerned about the tremendous market share that Amazon has garnered." Since it began soaring to e-commerce domination in 1995, Amazon has been a thorn in the side of independent bookstores and big-box chains alike, with Borders shuttered in 2011.

Barnes & Noble´s numbers, meanwhile, are dwindling. The regal, three-level Barnes & Noble in Bethesda feels like more than just a store: coffee drinkers overlook passers-by, while children gather around a storytelling stage, decorated with woodland creatures.

But Barnes & Noble says it was unable to agree on a lease extension, and the shop will close in January after two decades.