Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares edged higher in pre-market trading on Friday after it took a hard-line stance against rivals Google (LON:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), as the online retail giant continues to push its video streaming service.
Devices such as Google’s Chromecast and Apple TV, which enable streamed video to be played via television sets, won’t be sold by Amazon after October 29.
Amazon won’t stock systems that don’t “interact well” with its own Prime Video and FireTV products, according to reports.
Devices that offer streaming and are compatible with Amazon’s offerings – such as Microsoft’s Xbox or Roku’s set-top box – are not affected by the new policy.
Coming just before the start of the peak season it potentially sets the tone for what could be a particularly competitive and prickly run-up to the holidays.
Experts say Amazon’s move could have more impact on Google than Apple, as the latter has more direct sales routes – though it has also been described as a high risk strategy for Amazon as the Google product is in itself popular.
In pre-market trade, Amazon was up US$3.53 or 0.68% at US$520.72 whereas Google and Apple were also slightly higher.