amazon effect

Noun phrase. 1) The result of a search engine featuring listings from one Website more than any other for a specific query because that site is highly trusted and few competitive sites are either relevant enough or trusted enough to be shown in the same query. So-named for a time when Amazon listings dominated many Altavista searches Circa. 1999-2000. 2) The impact that online retail giant Amazon has had on traditional retail sales, by which consumers now shop online enough to force store closings among many companies.