Amazon is once again shaking up the retail world. This time, it’s with a massive physical store: 230,000 square feet. Reporters note that this footprint is roughly equal to two Target locations and even larger than a typical Walmart. The new Amazon megastore is planned for an exurban area outside Chicago, IL. For nearly a decade, Amazon has been learning and experimenting in the brick-and-mortar arena, testing both grocery and non-grocery formats beyond its core online business. Not every one of these Amazon retail ventures – or adventures – has turned out to be a win. This article appears in Branding Strategy Insider’s newsletter. Join many of the world’s sharpest marketers and subscribe here to receive actionable insights straight to your inbox. The Chicago megastore, therefore, is not Amazon’s first foray into adding (or perhaps trialing?) physical stores within its retail mix. Amazon has operated bookstores and self-service grocery outlets in New York and Seattle, respectively, as well as the now-closed Amazon 4-Star in New York (which showcased products rated 4 stars and above), and Amazon Fresh grocery stores. Amazon Fresh appears to be gaining traction after a sluggish beginning with its Woodland Hills, CA, location. Positioned more for the mass market, Amazon Fresh tends to offer lower prices than its sister chain, Whole Foods. Amazon Go stores—where shoppers enter, pick up what they want, and leave without going through a traditional checkout—are fewer in number than they were three years ago. Even the Amazon Go next to Amazon’s striking biodome headquarters in Seattle, WA, does not seem to be overflowing with customers. There was considerable speculation about what Amazon’s 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods would…