Amazon had a secret team called Big River that pretended to be a regular company. They sold things online and collected information about what other websites and businesses did. This helped Amazon learn how to do better than its competitors, like Walmart. Read from source...

1. The title is misleading and sensationalized. It implies that Amazon was secretly spying on its competitors for nearly a decade, which may not be accurate or fair representation of the situation. A more appropriate title could be "Amazon's Covert Operation 'Big River': Gathering Market Intelligence Through E-Commerce Sales".
2. The article does not provide clear evidence or sources to support the claim that Big River was generating around $1 million in annual sales. This number seems arbitrary and may have been exaggerated or based on insufficient data. A more transparent account would include specific examples of products, prices, and sales volumes that contributed to this figure.
3. The article relies heavily on anonymous sources and unverified information from The Wall Street Journal. It does not mention any attempts to contact Amazon for comment or clarification on the allegations. This creates a one-sided narrative that may be influenced by personal agendas or biases against Amazon.
4. The article portrays Big River as a covert arm of Amazon, but fails to explain how this operation was kept hidden from the public and other stakeholders. It also does not address any potential legal or ethical implications of such an activity, nor how it aligns with Amazon's corporate values and policies.
5. The article focuses on the negative aspects of Big River's activities, such as gathering intelligence on rivals and attending their conferences under false pretenses. It does not acknowledge any possible benefits or positive outcomes of this operation, such as improving Amazon's products, services, or customer experience.
6. The article mentions that Big River uses its sales data to guide Amazon's business decisions, but does not provide any examples or details on how this is done. It also does not evaluate the effectiveness or impact of these decisions on Amazon's performance and competitiveness in the market.