In any case, the Bundeskartellamt's initial findings and concerns are likely to likewise contribute in the EC's examination. Amazon's conduct as explained in the EC's RFI raises numerous competition issues. If the EC finds its suspicions confirmed, this could total up to a violation of Articles 101 and/or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU").
Short article 102 TFEU restricts the abuse of a dominant market position. In case of a violation, the EC could impose a fine of as much as 10% of Amazon's total turnover in the preceding business year. Unlike other RFIs, the EC has exposed whether it is pursuing the case under Short article 101 and/or 102 TFEU, and what the appropriate theory of harm would be.
The double position allows Amazon to adjust its own offerings on the retail level to the success or failure of other companies selling similar or equivalent products via the Amazon Marketplace. The danger of a commercial failure regarding the recoupment of an investment is close to absolutely no when Amazon has actually learned from its Marketplace information that a specific item sells well.
It is likewise possible that the EC examines Amazon's collection and usage of the marketplace information gathered through its Market as an "exchange of info" amongst completing merchants, setting off issues under Article 101 TFEU. For that, Amazon's practice would have to total up to an "contract in between undertakings" or a "concerted practice" with the item or effect of limiting competition in between Amazon and the merchants in retail sales.
Relevant to competitors are business information a rival can consider for its own strategic market behavior, in specific sales figures, market shares, prices/discounts/bonuses, customer names and expenses. With regards to Amazon, 2 different competitive relationships must be identified. In its capability as a merchant platform, Amazon takes part in a vertical relationship with merchants.
Any product-specific data enables Amazon to continuously enhance its search and ranking algorithms. The need to improve and innovate the service might therefore justify the gathering of such merchants' data that is required for the matching of merchants with consumers. Find More Details On This Page of the marketplace revenue from more appropriate product search results.