Amazon investigated by CMA over concerns listing practices give 'unfair advantage'

The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Amazon over concerns that customers may miss out on deals due to how the online giant displays items for sale. 

The CMA said it is looking into whether Amazon is abusing its position and distorting competition by giving “an unfair advantage to its own retail business or sellers that use its services, compared to other third-party sellers on the Amazon UK Marketplace”. 

The investigation will focus on three main areas, looking into how Amazon collects and uses third-party seller data, including whether this gives Amazon an unfair advantage in relation to business decisions made by its retail arm, how Amazon sets criteria for allocation of suppliers to be the preferred or first choice in the "Buy Box" and how Amazon sets the eligibility criteria for selling under the Prime label, which are eligible for certain benefits such as free and fast delivery.  

Sarah Cardell, general counsel at the CMA, 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. Any loss of competition is a loss to consumers and could lead to them paying more for products, being offered lower quality items or having less choice. 

“A formal investigation will allow us to consider this matter properly.” 

The European Commission has previously opened two investigations covering the same areas.  

A spokesperson for Amazon said: “We have always worked to offer leading choice, price and convenience for customers. More than 65,000 small and medium-sized business in the UK sell on Amazon, which support more than 175,000 jobs across the country and provide a great experience and choice for customers. We will work closely with the CMA to show that we, above all else, continue to earn the trust of our customers.”