Amazon is changing the retail environment with a patent

It has been big news recently in California that Amazon has purchased Whole Foods. What may not have been such breaking news is the new patent the retail giant has secured. This patent is a game changer, which is not surprising since Amazon has been working hard to change the retail environment for years. However, this is going to change the in-store shopping experience and maybe not in a way that shoppers will be happy with.

According to Fortune, this move by Amazon is to stop comparison shopping when a person is in an Amazon-owned store. This is interesting because comparison shopping is what has led to the company becoming large and important in the world of retail. However, it is also a contributing factor to the demise of the brick and mortar store, which is a sector the company is rapidly working to move into. Obviously, the company is no fool when it comes to doing business, so the patent it secured is designed to make its move to physical stores more secure.

Trusted Reviews reports the patent is for a technology that prevents people in a store from reaching websites where they can comparison shop. However, the biggest challenge is the technology relies on consumers using the store’s Wi-Fi connection. When they connect to it, the store can then block certain websites from being visited. However, if a person is using their mobile data and not the store’s Wi-Fi, then the technology will not be able to prevent comparison shopping.