Amazon is opening a bookshop in Seattle in a move it described as a "physical extension" of its business, BBC News reports.

It will stock the most popular books from Amazon.com, and the prices will be the same as those offered on the website. Customers will also be able to try out Amazon's devices, including the Kindle and its Fire TV.

One expert questioned how much impact such a shop would have.

Amazon Books vice-president Jennifer Cast announced the online giant would open its "real, wooden doors" at the Seattle University Village on 3 November.

"Amazon Books is a physical extension of Amazon.com. We've applied 20 years of online bookselling experience to build a store that integrates the benefits of offline and online book shopping," she said.

The shop will stock 5,000 books in the 5,500-sq-ft (510-sq-m) space, with the majority chosen on the basis of customer ratings, pre-orders, sales, popularity on reader recommendation site Goodreads, and the shop's curators' assessments.