• Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, October 6, 2010 10:31 AM

Dozens of U.S. retailers will offer free, unlimited two-day shipping to their customers, Geoffrey A. Fowler reports, as well as free returns for a $79 annual fee. Participating chains include Babies 'R' Us, Rockport, Wilson's Leather, RadioShack, Barnes & Noble and Borders. The loyalty program, called ShopRunner, clearly has Amazon in its sights.

"It's amazing what people will do when they recognize there is a bigger threat to their model of retail than just competing with each other," says Fiona Dias, executive vice p of strategy and marketing for GSI Commerce, which owns the service. ShopRunner will manage logistics and bookkeeping for the retailers.

Amazon controls 8% of the U.S. e-commerce market, and its $79 Amazon Prime shipping program is generally credited with fueling its continuing growth. Some retailers that have joined ShopRunner also sell products on Amazon through Prime. Amazon did not immediately respond to news about the new service.

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