Amazon Quietly Eliminating List Prices

In a major shift for e-commerce, Amazon.com is quietly changing how it entices people to buy. The retailer built a reputation and hit $100 billion in annual revenue by offering deals. The first thing a visitor saw was a bargain: how much an item was reduced from its list price. Now, in many cases, Amazon has dropped any mention of a list price. There's just one price. Take it or leave it.

Total Retail's Take: Pricing transparency has been a hot topic of late, with many lawsuits sprouting up over the value of stores’ (offline and online) so-called discounts. Amazon's solution: remove the list price altogether so consumers are blind to the fact of whether they're getting a good deal or not. The retailer has built such a massive audience — and continues to attract more shoppers with its Prime program — and is betting that those loyal customers have become conditioned to expect that they're getting a good deal when purchasing from Amazon, and therefore don't have to look elsewhere for the same or similar product. It's a risk, but likely to pay off — much like everything else Amazon seems to try.