The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation on Wednesday 17 July into Amazon's use of sensitive data from independent retailers selling products on its platform, with the institution fearing that this behaviour may be contrary to EU competition law rules.
Amazon uses its platform in two ways. On the one hand, as a retailer, it sells items on its website. On the other hand, it offers independent sellers the possibility of using its marketplace to sell products to consumers. In the latter context, it collects sensitive competitive information concerning the activities carried out by these sellers, their products and their transactions.
The Commission will focus on two elements during its investigation. The first step will be to examine the standard agreements between the company and the sellers in the marketplace, which allow Amazon's retail business to analyse and use the data from these sellers. More specifically, the institution will seek to determine whether or not the use by the US giant's retail branch of data collected from sellers has a negative effect on competition.
In a second step, the Commission will focus on the role of this data in the selection of the winners of the so-called 'Buy Box' and the impact of Amazon's potential use of sensitive information on this selection. The 'Buy Box' is the mechanism for the customer to add an item to their shopping basket. As a large majority of Amazon's transactions take place via this feature, being part of it ("winning the Buy Box") ensures visibility and therefore, consistent sales for a merchant. Consequently the use of certain data in this context could reveal a distortion of competition.
The in-depth investigation will therefore enable the Commission to determine whether Amazon's practices constitute a breach of EU law or not.
The company has expressed a desire to be involved in the enquiry. "We will cooperate fully with the European Commission and continue working hard to support businesses of all sizes and help them grow.," said AFP Conor Sweeney, head of communication for Amazon Europe. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)