Dive Brief:

• Amazon will establish a pop-up shop in San Francisco’s downtown Westfield Centre mall and in Sacramento next week designed to showcase the e-retailer’s latest devices, including the Fire phone, Fire TV, Fire tablets, and Kindles.

• The e-retail giant has opened kiosks in the past, but only for the holiday shopping season. No word on whether the retailer will maintain its brick-and-mortar presence.

• Amazon has also begun giving its Prime members 30-minute head starts on daily flash-style sales events on its flagship site and on its flash-sale site MyHabit, a sign that Amazon is moving swiftly to capture some early holiday shopping.

Dive Insight:

It’s nothing new for Amazon to establish pop-up kiosks during the holidays. These locations in San Francisco and Sacramento will likely open before the e-retailer’s reported upcoming New York City location.

While there’s much speculation about whether these physical spots for Amazon could stay in place longer than the holiday season, it is a sign of how Amazon is working to combat the very real advantage brick-and-mortar stores have in selling goods to consumers, who like to see and handle things before they buy.