Final answer:
Amazon, an electronic commerce multinational company, has historically sold products online without physical stores, benefiting from economies of scale with automated warehouses. Recently, it has expanded into physical retail locations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Amazon is a well-known multinational company and a dominant player in the field of electronic commerce. By leveraging economies of scale and operating without brick and mortar retail stores for a considerable part of its history, Amazon has been able to offer a vast selection of books and other products at low prices due to their highly computerized and efficient warehouses. While it initially avoided physical retail locations to keep costs down, Amazon has begun opening retail stores in various states, which signifies a shift in their direct-to-consumer model.