Some of the stated objections are that Amazon, who doesn't always collect sales tax, is taking business from local stores.
Why is this complaint even taken seriously? If your business model is superseded by someone else who can deliver a product in a manner that customers prefer (in this case, cheaper and delivered to their doorstep) then you either compete or you die. Because that's what competition is.
Maybe Amazon's plan is to drive these stores out of business and then open its own display stores where people can go to inspect merchandise before ordering it online.
The store makes it free to see the items and so forth because they believe the customers are more likely to buy then.
Nobody is free-riding anything here. The offer is to view the merc for free. The offer is taken. That is the end of it.
If the stores don't make money this way they will have to change. Maybe they should charge for shoppers who don't buy anything, mayby they should charge for people coming in the door (like a museum or a zoo or a gallary of modern art).
There is no free-riding here.
And please in the future don't use such loaded terms. It does generally not lead to an improved debate and will make some here (me at least) suspect you of astro-turfing.
Or, as I've encountered myself doing, you're price checking because sometimes you run across an interesting item but want to make sure you're not getting ripped off. For a $5 discount, I'm unlikely to change my purchase action on anything - however I've been in situation where the price at the mall is 100% more than Amazon's.
"Maybe Amazon's plan is to drive these stores out of business and then open its own display stores where people can go to inspect merchandise before ordering it online."
This cannot be a serious conjecture. Opening up quasi-retail locations with all the expenses of retail but no ability to actually making a sale? Didn't Gateway do this in the late 90s?
Pretty unlikely, although maybe it would make sense in a less-developed community (third world countries, outer space) that does not already have modern brick and mortar stores.