In an investigation into how the e-commerce giant gains an advantage over competitors, regulators said third-party vendors paying for Fulfillment by Amazon received special perks.
Amazon on Thursday was fined nearly $1.3 billion by Italian regulators who accused the company of breaking antitrust laws by giving special perks to third-party merchants who use Amazon’s warehouse and delivery system. The decision by the Italian Competition Authority is one of the first instances of a regulator investigating how Amazon uses the combination of its vast logistics network and online marketplace to gain an advantage over competitors. The regulator said Amazon gave merchants who pay to use the system, called Fulfillment by Amazon, enticements like access to Amazon Prime customers, meaning their products can often be shipped within 24 hours without delivery fees. The vendors also can participate in promotions like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Prime Day that are not available to those who do not use Amazon’s fulfillment system. “The investigation found that these are functions of the Amazon.
