Amazon is being investigated by the UK’s competition watchdog over its treatment of third-party sellers that use its online marketplace.
The etail giant is the subject of a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which will examine whether Amazon has a “dominant position in the market” and whether that affords an unfair advantage, either to its own business or to sellers that pay for additional services.
The probe, first reported by The Times, comes as the European Commission nears the conclusion of its own investigation into the matter.
That inquiry was launched back in 2020 but does not cover UK sellers following Brexit. The probe could force Amazon to provide more data to third-party sellers, which would help them sell more, and make rival products more visible to customers visiting its website.
The CMA said it would work with the European Commission to take its findings into account and gather its own information on the UK market over the summer.
More than 65,000 small and medium-sized businesses currently sell on Amazon in the UK and account for around half of all products sold through the website. Amazon has admitted that sales from third parties “continue to grow faster than Amazon’s retail sales”.
Sellers can buy extra services, including Fulfilment by Amazon, which handles logistics such as storage and delivery on behalf of sellers.
The CMA will analyse how Amazon collects and uses data from its sellers; the criteria it uses to decide which products are listed highest on its website; and how sellers are listed under the ‘Prime’ label.
CMA general counsel Sarah Cardell said: “Millions of people across the UK rely on Amazon’s services for fast delivery of all types of products at the click of a button. This is an important area, so it’s right that we carefully investigate whether Amazon is using third-party data to give an unfair boost to its own retail business and whether it favours sellers who use its logistics and delivery services — both of which could weaken competition.
“Thousands of UK businesses use Amazon to sell their products and it is important they are able to operate in a competitive market. A formal investigation will allow us to consider this matter properly.”
An Amazon spokesman said: “We believe we’ve always worked hard to help small businesses selling on Amazon to succeed, which is in both their and our best interests. We remain proud of the continued support we provide to businesses of all sizes across the UK.”
- Never miss a story – sign up to Retail Week’s breaking news alerts
No comments yet