Banning the Kindle
Target’s decision to stop selling Kindle makes sense. The Kindle is much more than an e reader, it is a virtual store front. Sitting in my arm chair or by a fire at the campsite, I can use the Kindle to shop at Amazon for anything Target sells. Target selling Kindles makes no ,more sense than a Mercedes show room offering cars shoppers a Lexus to drive.
The Amazon challenge, however, goes deeper. Even if Target created its own device, Target lacks the software and distribution to compete with Amazon.
There is, however, a retail opening here for Apple. The iPAD is a closed environment where Steve Jobs Apple controls most purchases to encourages forces the user to make purchases via Apple’s own marketplaces, whether that is iTUNES or the APP Store. Try buying a Kindle book via Apple’s Kindle app!
Apple could offer Target and its competitors an online app competitive with Kindle:Amazon. The iMALL would be open only to licensed retailers. Target, WalMart, Sears, or even tour local book store could rent store fronts in the iMALL. Like Amazon, these storefronts would offer online pricing and evaluations, but they would also offer the shopper a choice … but online from the iMALL Target, or just go to the iMALL kiosk in the store, swipe your product through the iSCAN and you are done!
Of course, the iMALL would not allow AMAZON to have its own storefront!