Dive Brief:
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Amazon Kindle readers, Fire tablets and Fire TV devices are back on sale on Target.com as of Thursday, Bloomberg reports, and Amazon products will return to 1,800 Target stores in October.
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Target, which stopped selling Amazon gadgets in 2012, was the first physical retailer to feature them in 2010. That year the Amazon Kindle was Target’s best-selling tablet on Black Friday, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
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The return to Target affords Amazon a brick-and-mortar opportunity for shoppers to touch and feel its devices.
Dive Insight:
When it comes to Amazon devices, outside retailers face a conundrum—lose sales of the popular products, or stock them and sell hardware that is aimed in part at boosting a competitor.
Target and then Wal-Mart four years ago decided the disadvantages outweighed the advantages and pulled the devices from shelves, while Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond and others continued to sell them. The return to Target shelves is based on customer feedback, according to Bloomberg.
“Target continually evaluates our assortment to deliver quality products at a great value,” the company said in a statement. “We know our guests love the many aspects of shopping at Target, and believe they will appreciate the convenience and savings of finding these items in our stores and on Target.com.”
Kantar Retail analyst Amy Koo told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that Target can’t fight the juggernaut that is Amazon’s Prime membership. Koo added that the overlap among Amazon and Target customers is a benefit to Target, especially in areas not served by Amazon’s same-day delivery network. In some ways, Target is a logical partner to Amazon, considering both companies enjoy a younger, wealthier customer base than does Wal-Mart, Kantar has found.
“At this point, it’s too late to hold back the tide,” Koo told the Star-Tribune. “When they discontinued them, it was ‘Oh my goodness, we need to pay attention to this competitor that is eating our lunch.’ Now it’s about the ease at which shoppers can switch, so there is no actual benefit in them not carrying it.”