Wal-Mart and Google Form Anti-Amazon Alliance

The world of retail is undergoing a paradigm shift, and while it can't all be blamed on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), the online juggernaut has certainly played a part. The company has changed consumer's expectations, pushing instant gratification as the new normal. Shoppers can find virtually anything on an e-commerce site, and many items arrive within two days or sooner for Amazon Prime members.

This new reality has other retailers scrambling in an attempt to find the right balance between market share and profitability and has also resulted in some unlikely alliances as companies fortify their positions to stave off the continuing encroachment by Amazon.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Google, a division of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), have partnered on a number of strategies designed to better compete with the e-commerce giant.

Source: Fool.com