Kindle e-readers and the Kindle Fire tablet will disappear from Target's store shelves by the end of this month, Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder . The retailer said in a statement that it will continue to sell other e-readers and tablets, and specifically named Barnes & Noble's Nook.

Target didn't explain its decision, but The Verge who blamed a "conflict of interest."

Naturally, speculation on Target's motives has run wild. Slashgear's Chris Burns if Microsoft's with Barnes & Noble played a role, considering that Target sells Windows PCs and Microsoft is "responsible for a whole lot of tech sitting in Target retail stores right this minute." Fortune's Dan Mitchell , noting that the company is , and may have pressured Target to drop competing products.

I favor a simpler explanation: Amazon and Target are competitors. Amazon sells many of the things that Target sells--not just digital media, but clothing, sporting goods, home appliances, and other electronics. If you buy a Kindle, you might subscribe to Amazon Prime, which means you get free two-day shipping on Amazon purchases. Every Kindle Fire that Target sells means potentially less business for the brick-and-mortar store. That's a pretty clear conflict of interest.

Target isn't the only retailer that sells Amazon's Kindle products. Best Buy, Radio Shack, Staples, OfficeMax, and Office Depot sell them as well. Walmart--another store that competes with Amazon across many product categories--does not sell Kindle products.