As a customer I love Amazon, and I don't work there. Vast diversity of offerings, easy to reading online reviews and product pages, ready comparison with competing options and quick access to both star ratings and user reviews, all enjoyed from the comfort of a recliner at home with no time rush.
Compare and contrast with the retail experience - go get in the car, drive to the store, do it when it works in our schedule rather than when I want to explore the topic, hunt through the shore, stand there staring at the item (if they have it!) amongst few competitors (if any), get tired of standing around ambivalent about making a decision, finally get the thing and wonder whether I'm making the wise choice.
And because I've learned the Amazon way, if I'm at Walmart, I may whip out my iPhone and hit Walmart.com to see if what I want is in-stock and what aisle it's on, what the star rating and reviews look like, etc... If I don't like the price, I can check online to see other options.
The low inventory diversity, lack of detailed online information and higher prices related to inefficient business models (e.g.: lack of economy-of-scale) of a so-called 'Mom and Pop' operation aren't likely to compare.
As for the hate on Amazon, it seems odd we're on a Mac forum focused on Apple devices, which presumably all of you own. You do know Apple's been a big customer of FoxConn, which had complaints about worker conditions and even (seriously, you cannot make this stuff up) installed suicide nets. Suicide nets. You buy products from a big company who gets a lot of product from an allegedly exploitative company that installed suicide nets to stop employees from killing themselves. I imagine the situation has improved over the years since, but really?
If you don't shop at Amazon, welcome to big box retailers like Walmart. Oh, there are ethical complaints about them, too? Okay, go smaller - Dollar General, etc... But there are people complaining they drain money from rural areas. Now what? Inefficient business model Mom & Pop operations that charge too much for what fraction of your wants and needs they can meet? I imagine Mom & Pop shop at Walmart, by the way. And while you're driving around to various Mom & Pop stores trying to track down all the stuff on your shopping list (and you can't check online whether they have it, you have to go look), you're burning gas, churning out greenhouse gas emissions and wasting time. One stop shopping matters.
None of these businesses are perfect or free of all complaints. The ones that become household name big businesses are the ones customers vote for with their dollars as the best perceived direct value to customers. And that's why so many log onto Amazon.com and Walmart.com.
Richard.
