settlement and what the EU already accepted from Amazon is a requirement that it appoints an independent trustee who will monitor its compliance with commitments. One aspect that’s shared between the (proposed) U.K. Whereas it’s not clear how long Amazon is proposing to maintain the U.K. The commitments Amazon offered the EU also apply for seven years (for Prime and Buy Box) and five years (for all other commitments). Whereas the settlement proposed to the CMA makes no mention of displaying a second Buy Box. Not least because the EU pushed back on a first offer from Amazon after criticism it was weak.įor example, under the EU settlement Amazon not only agreed to treat all sellers equally for the Buy Box ranking but also to display a second competing offer from a different seller if one exists that is sufficiently differentiated from the first one on price and/or delivery. regulator look similar to those already accepted by the EU - although there does appear to be some differences and/or nuance. The commitments Amazon is offering to the U.K. In December, Amazon reached a settlement with the European Union over similar antitrust probes also focused on its use of marketplace seller data, the Buy Box and Prime. The CMA took this action after it heard concerns that Amazon was using its strength in the market to gain an advantage over thousands of businesses which use Amazon Marketplace to reach customers. In a statement, Ann Pope, senior director for enforcement at the regulator, added:Īmazon’s commitments to the CMA will help ensure that third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace can compete on a level-playing field against Amazon’s own retail business and, ultimately, mean that customers in the UK get a better deal. (The consultation runs until September 1.) But it said its “preliminary view” is the offer from Amazon addresses its competition concerns. The CMA has now opened a consulting on Amazon’s proposed commitments, ahead of taking a decision on whether to accept them. Hence, again, its promise of equal treatment to resolve the concern. While Amazon’s control of the Buy Box - which is of course prime (ha!) real estate for sellers on the marketplace, given its prominent featuring of selected sellers into product listings - has triggered concerned products offered by third-party sellers are less likely to appear than similar offers from either Amazon’s own retail business or third-party sellers that use its delivery services. On marketplace seller data, the CMA’s concern is that Amazon’s access to commercially sensitive data relating to third-party sellers could give its retail business an unfair advantage by helping it decide which products to sell how to manage stock levels set prices and make other important commercial decisions.Ī blanket commitment by Amazon not to use third party data to gain an unfair advantage is intended to resolve that worry. regulator has been looking into how Amazon sets the eligibility criteria for selling under the Prime label loyalty program - and it suggests the changes proposed by Amazon now will enable customers to benefit from lower delivery costs where better rates are negotiated. It’s not taken the step of issuing a formal statement of objections - so, if accepted, Amazon’s commitments could avoid the company being subject to a longer and deeper probe. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into aspects of Amazon’s U.K. The ecommerce giant has also offered to allow third-party businesses using its marketplace to sell physical goods to negotiate their own rates directly with independent providers of Prime delivery services. In a move seeking to settle an open antitrust investigation in the U.K., Amazon has offered to limit its use of data on marketplace sellers so its retail business cannot gain an unfair advantage over other sellers and provide a guarantee of equal treatment for all products displayed in the ‘Buy Box’ that appears on listings on its ecommerce marketplace, the national competition watchdog said today.
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