Italian Regulator Fines Amazon $1.3B For Abuse Of Market Dominance

An Italian antitrust watchdog has imposed a $1.28 billion fine on Amazon for its alleged abuse of market dominance — one of the biggest penalties the eCommerce giant has faced in the European market.

According to the watchdog, Amazon is abusing its market position in the country by favoring its own logistics service, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), on Amazon.it. It also restricts the use of FBA to a set of benefits, such as the Prime label, which is key to boosting sales and increasing visibility on the marketplace.

“Amazon prevents third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA,” it said.

Accessing the prime label is vital for these sellers as it unlocks access to more than 7 million high-spending members that partake in Amazon’s Prime program.

The regulator plans to impose correction steps, which will be subject to review by a monitoring trustee, according to Reuters.

Amazon, in response, has said that it strongly disagrees with the decision, and it plans to appeal it. The company argued that FBA “is a completely optional service” and that the bulk of third-party sellers do not use it.

“When sellers choose FBA, they do so because it is efficient, convenient and competitive in terms of price,” Amazon said.

“The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate,” the company added.

The EU Commission supported the Italian regulator’s investigation and it followed the framework established by the European Competition Network, which ensured consistency with the EU’s investigations into Amazon’s business.

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Originally published at https://retailbum.com on December 9, 2021.