A PYMNTS Company

Austria: Retailers file antitrust complaint against Amazon

By  |  December 10, 2018

Austrian retailers have filed a complaint against Amazon with their national competition authority over the US e-commerce giant’s dual role as a retailer and a marketplace.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The European Commission and Germany’s antitrust authority are also looking into Amazon’s role in the market.

    A spokesman for Amazon declined to comment.

    “We have received a complaint. We are examining it,” a spokeswoman for Austria’s Federal Competition Authority (BWB) said on Monday, December 10, confirming a statement by the Austrian Retail Association.

    The main grounds for the complaint laid out by Austria’s biggest retailers’ association is Amazon’s role as both a retailer in its own right and as a marketplace where other retailers’ products are sold.

    Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported that it had documents showing that the BWB would open an investigation into Amazon. The spokeswoman, however, said that at this stage the BWB was only examining the complaint.

    “Those documents are not ours,” she said.

    In a statement outlining its complaint, the Retail Association stated the “main problem” was Amazon’s dual role as retailer and marketplace.

    “Amazon can in theory see the prices of the listed retailers (on its platform), undercut their prices and in the long run attract all that business,” it stated, adding that 93% of all Austrian online shoppers have made at least once purchase on Amazon.

    Full Content: Media Player

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.