Sweeping off competitors, in style!
After acquiring Whole Foods for a whooping $13.7 Billion, Amazon drops another bomb by patenting a new technology to restrict its customers from comparing rival’s products, while in amazon stores.
Reports suggest, as customers walk around in a store, they constantly keep a check on the prices offered by other retailers as well. Thereby hindering the growth of conventional stores who lack modern tech accessories and control.
To restrict such behaviour, amazon has implemented a technological strategy wherein the underlying algorithms obstruct user’s access to online stores if they are logged onto Amazon’s WiFi networks. So the moment a user connects his device to Amazon’s network, Amazon starts monitoring the internet traffic of the customer. It tracks the logs and search records to know if the customer is accessing certain websites to compare prices.
In case it encounters frequent visits to the competitor websites, it may:
- Block other e-commerce domains
- Interactive offers to lure customers:
- Real-time text messages for coupons
- Transfer gift cards or cashback to user’s Amazon’s account
- Store employees to announce offers based on internet activity
- Redirect user to Amazon’s website
The catch here is that the customer must be connected to Amazon’s WiFi and any activity on personal internet isn’t accessed or controlled by Amazon in any way.
As long as a customer stays off the free WiFi by Amazon, he’s good to go without compromising on his privacy.