On Thursday 15 September, the European Commission announced the preliminary conclusions of its investigation into electronic commerce. It states that it has concerns about certain practices which may restrict competition in the sector, particularly as regards certain contractual restrictions on sales.
The Commission's report confirms the growing importance of e-commerce. More than half of European adults ordered consumer goods or services online in 2015. In certain member states, in fact, this figure rises to eight out of every ten. Online commerce is a major driving force for price transparency and competition on price.
Competition-limiting practices. Even so, the Commission's investigation revealed certain commercial practices that may limit this online competition. The European institution explains that manufacturers have reacted to the development of the sector by adopting a number of practices that allow them to better control the distribution of their products and the positioning of their brands. Manufacturers increasingly use selective distribution systems, which can be used to ensure that products can only be sold by pre-selected accredited vendors.
Contractual restrictions. Manufacturers also increasingly use contractual sales restrictions in their distribution agreements. The Commission observes that more than two out of every five retailers are set a certain form of price recommendation or price limiting by manufacturers, almost one in five retailers is contractually prevented from selling on online markets, nearly one in ten is contractually prevented from uploading offers to price comparison websites and more than one out of every ten states that their suppliers impose contractual restrictions on cross-border sales. The Commission takes the view that contractual restrictions of this kind may, under certain circumstances, complicate cross-border purchasing or online shopping in general.
Geographical blocking. The Commission also explains that copyright licensing agreements are complicated and very often exclusive. These agreements lay down the territories, technologies and availability limits that suppliers of digital content may use. In March 2016, the Commission concluded that geographical blocking was more widespread in the e-commerce sector, particularly in matters pertaining to digital content.
The European Commission has opened up its report to a public consultation to run for two months. It will publish its final report in the first quarter of 2017. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)