Amazon Price-Check App Is Attack on Small Stores, Snowe Says

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Amazon should end its price- checking promotion because it gives consumers an incentive to gather price data from small retailers and leave stores without spending money, said Sen Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

The world’s largest online retailer is offering a 5 percent discount to entice users to try a new mobile application that compares prices with physical retailers. The app, called Price Check, allows shoppers to look up Amazon’s prices by scanning products at a store using their phones. “Amazon’s promotion -- paying consumers to visit small businesses and leave empty-handed -- is an attack on Main Street businesses that employ workers in our communities,” Sen Snowe said. “Small businesses are fighting every day to compete with giant retailers, such as Amazon, and incentivizing consumers to spy on local shops is a bridge too far.” Amazon is aiming to draw more online purchases from the more than 95 percent of U.S. consumers who still shop in stores, ratcheting up rivalry with traditional retailers. The Seattle- based company estimates revenue will rise to $16.5 billion to $18.7 billion in the fourth quarter -- growth of 27 percent to 44 percent, respectively, compared with a year earlier.


Amazon Price-Check App Is Attack on Small Stores, Snowe Says Snowe rips Amazon for 'incentivizing consumers to spy on local shops' (The Hill)