Target, Amazon Pact Will End in 2011

Mark Ellis — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:26:57 +0000

Target and Amazon have been involved in a pact since 2001 that has led Target to outsource nearly all of its online retail capacity to Amazon, but with Target’s planned adoption of its own retail website in 2011, their agreement will be null and void. Target, who initiated the dissolution of the pact, has expressed a need to focus on declining sales and other hardships.

Currently, Amazon handles the majority of online retail for Target, managing the call centers and warehouses, providing customer service, and shipping the items directly to the customers. After ending the pact, Target will be responsible for all of these processes, a move that the company hopes will provide significant financial benefits.

Target remains the fourth-most popular online retailer in the United States, coming in after Amazon, Apple, and Wal-Mart, but it is the only retailer out of the top five to actually experience a drop in June traffic compared to last year. So far, online retail has remained relatively safe from the recession, experiencing little change from last year to this year.

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Target, Amazon Pact Will End in 2011