Target plans to stop selling Amazon Kindle e-readers and tablets, and has already removed the products from its website.
"This is evidence that Target is getting more serious about Amazon as an enemy rather than a partner," said analyst Matt Nemer of Wells Fargo. "That's probably something Target now regrets. It put them behind in the world of multi-channel retail and let a serious competitor learn a lot about their business."
The New York Times reported that as retailers like Target address the challenge of "showrooming," carrying Amazon's Kindle is, as Michael Norris of Simba Information put it, "like Starbucks selling Dunkin' Donuts gift certificates."
Showrooming is the term used to describe a shopper who visits a store to check out a product but then purchases the product online from a different retailer - booksellers report that they often see customers buying online while still standing in their store holding the book they are purchasing elsewhere!
"This is evidence that Target is getting more serious about Amazon as an enemy rather than a partner," said analyst Matt Nemer of Wells Fargo. "That's probably something Target now regrets. It put them behind in the world of multi-channel retail and let a serious competitor learn a lot about their business."
The New York Times reported that as retailers like Target address the challenge of "showrooming," carrying Amazon's Kindle is, as Michael Norris of Simba Information put it, "like Starbucks selling Dunkin' Donuts gift certificates."
Showrooming is the term used to describe a shopper who visits a store to check out a product but then purchases the product online from a different retailer - booksellers report that they often see customers buying online while still standing in their store holding the book they are purchasing elsewhere!