Amazon is the undisputed long-reigning giant of online sales, but that doesn’t mean it has no competitors. For instance, Walmart has reportedly made $67 billion in online sales this year, putting it at least in the ballpark with Amazon’s $386 billion.
Target, no slouch, sold $16 billion of goods online in 2020.
So when we think about or worry about Amazon’s dominance, we shouldn’t merely think of the retailer killing mom and pop businesses (the ones not killed by Walmart and Target), but as a competitor with megaretailers such as Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.
So it’s telling, when a bipartisan bill arises in the U.S. Senate to rein in Amazon, that the sponsors are the senators from Arkansas and Minnesota, the home states of Walmart and Target, respectively. It’s especially notable because the bill seems crafted to exempt Walmart and Target from its antitrust provisions.
Robby Soave at Reason explains it:
Note, however, the bill stipulates that it only covers firms that are over the $600 billion line ‘as of the date of enactment.’ In other words, if a company has a market cap under $600 billion on the day the bill becomes law, then that company is permanently exempt—even if it later crosses the threshold.
Two companies that are currently under the $600 billion line and thus exempt from the bill are mega-retailers Target and Walmart. These companies are both worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and their e-commerce platforms are growing at a faster rate than Amazon’s. But under the Klobuchar/Cotton law, it wouldn’t matter if Target and Walmart overtake Amazon—they would be immune from this new antitrust action, as long as they are small enough on the day the bill is signed.”
Whenever the government is increasing its power, always ask which well-connected special interest is getting rich.
