EPIC's petition accuses Ask of secretly tracking users' search histories--a trail that could be used to violate their privacy--even though the company asserts that its search enginestores no data on user behavior.
The international division clearly is Wal-Mart's growth engine, now that sales at U.S. stores open at least a year have fallen for five consecutive quarters.
Then, in many cases, they will go home, enter the product into a search engine and find some online-only merchant -- a merchant who has no real-life stores -- who is selling the item for less money.