Amazon.com Inc is plans to expand its brick-and-mortar presence in the US by opening large physical shops that will operate like department stores.

To span over 30,000 sq ft, some of Amazon's first department stores will open in Ohio and California. They will offer products from well-known consumer brands.

Amazon, which dominates the online shopping space, made its biggest bet in the brick-and-mortar format with its acquisition of upscale grocer Whole Foods in 2017.

Amazon also experimented with small physical stores for books and groceries in at least 13 U.S. states including California, Colorado, and Washington.

The e-commerce giant has benefited from a surge in online purchases from homebound shoppers as COVID-19 forced millions to stay indoors over the past year. Traditional retailers also saw online sales surge, though total sales fell as they were forced to shut stores, which make up the bulk of their revenue.

Steady vaccine rollouts are now encouraging more Americans to return to brick-and-mortar stores to buy clothes, footwear, and electronics.

Department store chains Macy's Inc and Kohl's Corp beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter sales, and also raised their forecasts on full-year revenue and profit as buyers came back to stores and spent on perfumes, shoes, and apparel.