Main Street Reacts To Amazon's Price Check App

MEDIA, Pa. - A new app would seem to be a great tool for holiday shoppers, but is it making it impossible for small businesses to compete?

As if the economy wasn't challenging enough for small businesses already, now a new way to shop this holiday season is making it harder for mom and pops to stay competitive, FOX 29's Chris O'Connell reported.

You don't see many stores like Deal's 5 and 10 anymore. That's because these kinds of businesses are getting squeezed out.

"There's like four WalMarts within 10 miles. There's at least four Targets," said Don Naismith, of Deal's.

The fight for small businesses is about to get harder.

With Amazon's new price check application, you can go into a store, scan an item, instantly find the lowest price available online and have that item shipped home. Amazon even offered another 5-percent discount.

Using the app, we found an $18 toy in a store. Amazon's Price Check found it online for $13.50.

And a running suit for $100 retail we found $27 cheaper.

But some call the app a slap in the face to main street businesses.

"I'm sure it will change the game a lot for small business," said Kate Lillicrapp, of Bryn Mawr Running Co.

At that store, the focus isn't always price. They say they pride their business on personalized attention and customer services online stores can't.

"You know, that $10 or that $20 in the long run, most of our customers are more than happy to come and give us that business rather than hit a button on Amazon and wait at their house for a package," Lillicrapp said.

Amazon says its application is only intended to help save consumers money.

But even some in Congress are raising red flags calling the promotion anti-competitive.