Amazon’s Treasure Truck travels around Seattle with a single product for sale

Following sightings of a mysterious branded truck in Seattle earlier this week, Amazon has lifted the lid on what the so-called “Treasure Truck” is all about.

The Amazon Treasure Truck is, well, a truck that travels through Seattle neighborhoods laden with a single product for sale. Or, as Amazon puts it, it’s “loaded to the gills with one amazing item you won’t want to miss.” The new service is available through the main Amazon Mobile Shopping app, but it will only be visible to those in the Seattle area. If that’s you, simply click on “Treasure Truck” to see what’s on offer, and then select a place to meet the truck.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1757705,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,","session":"D"}']

So what will you find on the truck, exactly? According to Amazon, this isn’t about sticky notes and pencils — it’s “highly desirable, limited-quantity products” that may include “consumer products, hard-to-find and exclusive gourmet foods, items from local producers with a unique story” and more.

This is the latest in a long line of initiatives from Amazon as it looks to bridge its online roots with the physical world. It has offered lockers within third-party locations for a while, and it offers Kindle vending machines in some places. While the Internet giant has long been rumored to be opening a brick-and-mortar store, this has never quite come to fruition. In February this year, it did open its first staffed premises though, on the campus of Purdue University in Indiana.

The latest move feels more like a marketing gimmick than anything else, but if nothing else it’s recognition that Amazon still sees value in having a real-world presence.