Product subscriptions favored

Amazon has to pay antitrust fine in Italy

The US online retailer Amazon has been fined 10 million euros by the Italian antitrust authority for unfair business practices. On the website www.amazon.it, the option "regular purchase" instead of "one-time purchase" is preset for a large selection of products, which restricts consumers' freedom of choice, the authority stated on Wednesday.

The antitrust authority's sanction was imposed on two companies in the Amazon Group, Luxembourg-based Amazon Services Europe and Amazon EU. As part of the investigation, the antitrust authority found that on the Amazon website, where the characteristics of the selected goods are described, the option "Regular purchase" is preset instead of "One-time purchase" for both products sold by Amazon itself and those sold by third parties.

"In this way, consumers' freedom of choice is significantly restricted", criticized the Italian antitrust authority. The graphic ticking of the recurring purchase option encourages the regular purchase of a product - even without an actual need - and thus restricts the customer's freedom of choice.

Amazon reacted critically to the antitrust authority's decision and announced that it would appeal. "Every day, customers benefit from the Subscribe and Save program by saving money and time on regular deliveries of items they use regularly. Since the program was launched in Italy, Amazon.it customers have saved more than 40 million euros thanks to Subscribe-and-Save orders," explained a spokesperson for the US giant.