Cut out the middleman

A new Amazon service enables shoppers to buy books and other goods by sending text messages, reports The Associated Press.

The process isn't yet as simple as it could be, but it may present impulse buying opportunities for people whose laptops aren't immediately accessible; at a shopping mall, for instance.

On Amazon's TextBuyIt, shoppers text the name, description, UPC or ISBN code of an item to "AMAZON," then browse product results from the company's inventory. After selecting one and entering the email address associated with their Amazon account, a call is placed to their phones to walk them through the last steps of the purchasing process.

The service may one day present a challenge to brick-and-mortar retailers, especially as consumers increasingly seek low-price alternatives to retail costs.

With TextBuyIt, customers that normally hate waiting to trawl the 'net for less expensive rates can still entertain their impulses — and score discounts — without paying in-store prices.

To combat this and other potentially subversive behavior, some stores have grown receptive to price haggling.