Amazon fined 10 million euros by AGCM

Ecommerce giant Amazon has received a fine of 10 million euros for unfair trade practices from Italian antitrust authority AGCM. The fine applies to two of the Group’s subsidiaries: Amazon Services Europe and Amazon EU.

It is not the first time that the online marketplace has been criticized in Europe. German antitrust watchdog FCO has investigated Amazon’s activities in Germany. In 2021, the marketplace was fined 746 million euros by the European Union.

In that same year, the AGCM also fined Amazon with a record penalty of 1.13 billion euros. That fine was related to Fulfilment by Amazon, which had abused its market dominance and disadvantaged competitors, according to the regulator.

Recurring purchase as a pre-set

The current fine is in regards to the fact that ‘recurring purchase’ is a pre-set for a wide range of products on the Amazon Italy website. According to the AGCM, this happens with products sold directly by Amazon as well as with third party sellers.

‘Pre-ticking of the recurring purchase icon limits a customer’s choice.’

“The pre-ticking of the recurring purchase icon induces one to periodically buy a product – even without an actual need – thus limiting choice,” the authority said. “Furthermore, the conduct implemented by the group was deemed to be in conflict with professional diligence standards because an operator of Amazon’s importance is required to build online interfaces for purchasing processes that allow consumers to make free, conscious commercial choices”.

Amazon wants to appeal

Amazon has stated that it is planning to appeal the fine. “Every day customers benefit from the Subscribe and Save program by saving money and time on regular deliveries of items they routinely use. Since its launch in Italy, customers on Amazon.it have saved more than 40 million euro thanks to Subscribe and Save orders. Our priority has always been on earning and maintaining customer trust and we will continue to work hard to provide customers with a great shopping experience with low prices, great selection and fast delivery”, the company said.