Report: Analyst Says Amazon May Acquire Target, Amazon Prime Discounts Could Carry Over

We're not even that far into 2018 yet, and we're already hearing about a possible big-name acquisition that could move the world's biggest online retailer into stores.

A report from Bloomberg indicates that, according to Loup Venture co-foudner and analyst Gene Munster, Amazon could be looking into acquiring Target Corp. and its thousands of stores across the United States. This is already following its tremendous purchase of Whole Foods Market Inc. last year for $13.7 billion.

"Target is the ideal offline partner for two reasons, shared demographic and manageable but comprehensive store count," Munster explained. "Getting the timing on this is difficult, but seeing the value of the combination is easy."

It would also put Amazon into the retail store business, although it's unknown if it would keep the Target name or label the stores with their own.

Munster also mentioned during a Bloomberg Radio interview, "Investors would view this as Amazon taking over the world and that's a good thing."

Neither Target nor Amazon commented on the rumor, but it would certainly do the online giant a world of good – especially when it comes to the video game industry.

Amazon Prime/Twitch Prime members that pay for a monthly membership currently get a great deal on games, with 20 percent off most game purchases. If that could somehow carry over into the Target retail front, it would probably usher in big sales at their stores nationwide. Not to mention sales on other items, including PlayStation 4 and Xbox One bundles.

Again, nothing is official yet, so don't go rushing to Target expecting to use your Amazon Prime discount. But if this year pans out the way that Munster sees it, we could see a huge retail giant in the making.