In recent weeks, Amazon has aggressively pushed into the digital retail market, adding Cloud-based streaming movies and music to a growing list of digital products. Sales at the Kindle store are already booming, though the latest, highly-ranked Nook from Barnes & Noble is threatening the Kindle's supremacy. Now Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is dropping hints about a tablet computer in the works, one that would compete with Apple's iPad. Yet another new Amazon business will focus on pets, according to reports.
Wal-Mart, meanwhile, continues to break new ground in a literal sense, last week opening Wal-Mart Express, a chain of boutique outlets to compete with convenience and dollar stores. The first location opened in Gentry, Arkansas, and hundreds more are due to roll out across the country. Each will be roughly 15,000-square-feet in size "small" only in comparison to typical Wal-Mart supercenters, which average 185,000 square feet.
Click to Enlarge.
