Online retailer Amazon’s UK Marketplace is being investigated by the competition regulator over concerns around anti-competitive practices. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation would consider whether Amazon has a dominant position in the UK and whether it was abusing that position.
The CMA said it would examine whether Amazon gives an unfair advantage to its own retail business and third parties that used its services over other sellers. It also said it would look at how Amazon collects and uses third-party seller data and whether this gives the firm an unfair advantage in relation to business decisions made by its retail arm which sells products on the platform.
Amazon’s Marketplace contains products supplied by the company’s own retail business, but a large proportion of the goods listed come from third-party sellers. The CMA said Amazon also provides services to these third-party sellers, including matching them with consumers, but also offers some optional extras such as its Fulfilment by Amazon service, which handles the storage, packaging and delivery of third-party goods.
