CMA: Amazon Commits to Fair Competition in UK Marketplace

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Amazon has committed to ensure fair competition in its marketplace.

To level the playing field, the online retail giant has agreed to refrain from using seller data to provide itself with an unfair advantage, the CMA said in a Wednesday (July 26) press release. Amazon has also committed to treating all seller offers equally when deciding which ones to feature in the “Buy Box.”

Reached for comment by PYMNTS, an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “While we disagree with the CMA’s preliminary concerns, we have engaged constructively with them to address the matters they have raised and to preserve our ability to serve U.K. customers and the more than 100,000 U.K.-based small and medium-sized businesses selling through our U.K. store. We are extremely proud of the work we’ve done to support our sellers’ success over the past two decades.”

CMA Senior Director for Enforcement Ann Pope said in the release, “Amazon’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 U.K. get a better deal.” 

In addition to these commitments, Amazon also promised to allow third-party businesses using Marketplace to negotiate their own delivery fees with independent providers of Prime delivery services, according to the release. The online retailer also agreed to appoint an independent trustee to monitor compliance with these commitments.

The CMA’s decision follows its investigation of Amazon’s market power, launched in July 2022, as there had been concern that the company was using its strength to gain an advantage over thousands of businesses that use its marketplace to reach customers, according to the release.

At this stage, the CMA is consulting on Amazon’s proposed commitments, and if accepted, will avoid a lengthy investigation and benefit both businesses and consumers.

“We are now consulting on these commitments which we believe, at this stage, will address our concerns,” Pope said in the release.

When launching its antitrust probe last year, the CMA said it was looking into whether Amazon “has a dominant position in the U.K. and whether it is abusing that position and distorting competition by giving an unfair advantage to its own retail business or sellers that use its services.”

An Amazon spokesperson told PYMNTS at the time: “We will work closely with the CMA during their investigation, although we believe we’ve always worked hard to help small businesses selling on Amazon to succeed, which is in both their and our best interests.”