The iPad is the store

I've written numerous posts showing how the iPad is, among many other things, most especialy the biggest storefront in the world. Ever. It is where you read, watch, review, compare, design, buy.

This is why Amazon, regardless of any other reasons, any other opportunities, *must* offer their own tablet. They are the world's largest online store. The (Amazon) tablet will become their storefront. Not having a tablet will (soon) diminish their overall business, regardless of any ebooks or digital movies.

Finally, others have picked up on this. Today, just ahead of the launch of an Amazon tablet, Xconomy says "it's not a computer it's a store."

But this isn’t really about the chunk of hardware that Amazon will be showing off. The reason Amazon’s entry into the tablet market is such a big deal has much more to do with all the merchandise and media that Amazon can put in your hands, without having to pay Apple some pretty hefty tolls for the privilege.

Amazon’s move into tablets, however, is the only effort so far to fundamentally copy the Apple playbook, bringing a unified software, hardware, and application experience to the user.

That’s hugely significant as a piece of business strategy, because it signals that one of the more innovative companies around is truly dumping the old Microsoft view of the world, where companies specialize in one area (like software, or retail) and get others to build around that brand. It’s another vote—a big one—for Apple’s approach, and if it catches on, you’re going to see more movement in that direction. That’s surely part of the reason why Google would pay billions for Motorola.

But something much more basic is going on here. Amazon isn’t putting out tablet computers because it wants to be a computer-maker. It’s doing so because Amazon is fundamentally a retailer, and the tablet is the new digital store.

Think I have readers at Asymco...

Same story at AllThingsD, which is shocked -- shocked! -- that tablets are proving so effective as virtual storefronts:

Retailers have found an interesting characteristic of consumers who browse their websites using tablets: They’re much more likely to pull the trigger on purchases than other online shoppers.

That discovery is making retailers focus on tablets ahead of the all-important holiday season, as the tough economic backdrop puts a premium on what the industry calls “conversion” — making sure the shoppers who show up actually buy something.

Tablets still account for only a small percentage of overall e-commerce, but they are punching above their weight. While the conversion rate — orders divided by total visits — is three percent for shoppers using a traditional PC, it is four or five percent for shoppers using tablets, says Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research.

My bad. I'm only a year ahead of AllThingsD.