As to why Amazon is doing this:
1-
Quote:
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Wal-Mart generated about $13 billion in sales last year from shoppers using*the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP,*accounting for around 18% of the money spent through the program nationwide. Those customers also spend additional income while in Wal-Mart stores.
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Quote:
About 30% of the approximately 44 million SNAP recipients have access to Prime via a subscription, free trial or family member, according to Kantar.
Amazon also introduced "Amazon Cash" earlier this year, which lets customers add cash to their account balance at more than 10,000 physical locations around the country.
Food-stamp grocery purchases are set for an overhaul with a new test allowing online food stamp payment. Amazon and Wal-Mart are among 10 in a two-year pilot by the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to start next year.
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http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/...-shoppers.html
2- It wasn't that long ago that Amazon algorithms proved to be a wee bit too efficient at identifying Prime subscriber neighborhoods.
https://www.boston.com/news/business...very-exclusion
So there's both economic and political reasons at play.