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Ridgewood NJ, get ready for a legal showdown. Amazon is currently in a federal courtroom in Seattle to defend its multi-billion-dollar Prime membership program. The lawsuit, filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleges that the tech giant “tricked and trapped” customers into signing up for Prime and then made it confusing and difficult for them to cancel.
Amazon’s Growing Power In The U.S. Economy
Laura Heller ,
CONTRIBUTOR
I write about mass-market retail, how and why we spend
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Amazon has a growing role in the U.S. economy that extends far beyond its retail business,according to a new report.
“Behind the packages on the doorstep, and behind the inviting interface and seamless service that has consistently put the company at the top of corporate reputation rankings, Amazon has quietly positioned itself at the center of a growing share of our daily activities and transactions , extending its tentacles across our economy, and with it, our lives,” says the report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
According to ISLR:
Today, half of all U.S. households are subscribed to the membership program Amazon Prime, half of all online shopping searches start directly on Amazon, and Amazon captures nearly one in every two dollars that Americans spend online. Amazon sells more books, toys, and by next year, apparel and consumer electronics than any retailer online or off, and is investing heavily in its grocery business.
As a retailer, its market power now rivals or exceeds that of Walmart, and it stands only to grow: Within five years, one-fifth of the U.S.’s $3.6 trillion retail market will have shifted online, and Amazon is on track to capture two-thirds of that share.
And the numbers grow with every new product and sales event.
Black Friday weekend was Amazon’s best-ever, according to the company.
