Amazon pickup store opens in State College

Amazon has opened its first store in Centre County.

The Amazon Pickup Point opened Tuesday at 134 S. Allen St., which was home to Halloween City and Abercrombie and Fitch. It is Amazon’s 22nd location.

The store’s opening foreshadows the return of tens of thousands of Penn State students. The location, near the heart of downtown State College, was no mistake. Amazon has targeted college towns for its pickup service.

Students can choose to have orders delivered to the counter to pick up or retrieve them from self-service lockers that can be opened using a security code.

“There locations are meant to be used by both students and non-students, but we’re happy to be available for students as they return to campus,” Amazon spokeswoman Carly Golden said. “Amazon@StateCollege can come in particularly handy for those items that you don’t want to pack and move with you to campus. Just order what you need on Amazon, pick up at the State College location and lighten your moving load.”

The service is available to subscribers of Amazon Prime, the company’s membership program. Amazon will send an email to subscribers when items are ready to pick up.

The store in Happy Valley will offer “the greater State College community a convenient location to pick up and return Amazon orders, including virtually everything one needs, from everyday essentials to technology.”

Golden said 9 to 15 people would be employed at the store.

This story was originally published August 8, 2017 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Amazon pickup store opens in State College."