Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. 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 Senator Olympia Snowe.
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 brick-and-mortar retailers. The app, called Price Check, allows shoppers to look up Amazon’s prices by scanning physical 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,” Snowe, a Maine Republican, said in a statement yesterday. “Small businesses are fighting everyday 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 to 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.Mary Osako, a spokeswoman for Amazon, didn’t have an immediate comment.Customers who download the app and enable the location feature will see the 5 percent discount, or as much as $5 off, on as many as three qualifying products, including electronics, toys, music, sporting goods and DVDs, the company said in a statement Dec. 6.Amazon rose 0.9 percent to $192.23 at 11:44 a.m. in New York. The shares had gained 5.8 percent this year before today.--Editors: James Callan, Niamh Ring
To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Kucera in San Francisco at dkucera6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net
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