Wal-Mart cans Kindle

Wal-Mart confirmed Thursday (Sept. 20) the retail giant will no longer sell Amazon products beyond the inventory and purchase commitments already made.

"Our customers trust us to provide a broad assortment of products at everyday low prices, and we approach every merchandising decision through this lens. We will continue to offer our customers a broad assortment of tablets, eReaders and accessories at a variety of great price points. This decision is consistent with our overall merchandising strategy," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sarah Spencer.

A website search of Walmart and Sam's Club showed the retailer continues to to sell products such as Apple Inc's iPad tablets and the Barnes & Noble Nook.

Searches for "Kindle" on Thursday brought up accessories used with the Kindle, as well as e-readers and tablets from other companies.

The decision to discontinue Kindle was made public Wednesday when store managers were notified by an internal memo.

Wal-Mart is the second large retailer to recently can Amazon products, following competitor Target's lead with a similar announcement last month. Analysts say it's not surprising to see big box competitors sever ties with the Kindle product as the product margins Amazon has to work with don't allow much discounting for the other retailers.

Amazon shares dropped about 1% on the news Thursday trading at $259.82 at during the late morning session. Aside from that, Amazon has recently raised the bar with Walmart.com by instituting more physical warehouses that allow for same day delivery of items purchased online.

Carol Spieckerman CEO of newmarketbuilders says Wal-Mart is keenly focused on expanding online sales and taking market share from online giant Amazon with the help of @walmartlabs and its ongoing innovation.

Wal-Mart continues to expand its line of Apple products and mini-Apple stores inside a select few Walmart Supercenters, such as store #5260 located at Pleasant Grove Road and Interstate 540 in Rogers.