Walmart Kicks Kindle Out

The largest retailer in the U.S. Walmart said on Thursday that it would no longer carry the Kindle e-readers or tablets. The move was a sure sign how seriously the retailer views Amazon as a direct competitor in the market of consumer goods.

Kindles have already been taken out of all Target stores, though other retailers such as Staples, Best Buy and Office Depot have all said they are continuing to carry the Kindles.

Walmart did not announce its reason for discontinuing the sale of the Kindles nevertheless, retailers across the country have been worried about consumers who visit the stores to check on products and then purchase them online from their competitors. The latest generation Kindles are the most worrisome for many retailers because know they can be used now for movies, games, e-books and nearly everything else the online retailer sell because it has a Web browser built in.

One technology analyst said the by having the Kindles available in their stores Walmart was allowing its customers a reason to enter the world of Amazon. He said, each time a person picks up a Kindle, they are trying to entice that person to buy outdoor furniture on Amazon or other products.

Because of that, many analysts feel Walmart has taken the decision to not head in that direction to not help Amazon sell other products by allowing the Kindle to be sold at Walmart.

The removal of the Kindle from Walmart’s product line should not affect Walmart since it was not that profitable for the retailer.