A group of antitrust advocates has launched the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition targeting Amazon’s power in the eCommerce market.
The coalition represents both small and large businesses, as well as brands pushing for the U.S. government to react to Amazon's dominant position. The group aims to connect and strengthen the position of companies that are struggling due to Amazon’s positioning in the online shopping system.
The founders behind the coalition are Damien Geradin and Tom Smith of Geradin Partners and former staff member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Panel Amanda Lewis.
The group will focus on establishing competitive pricing for seller commissions, giving sellers the freedom to offer their products at a discount. They will also limit the number of counterfeit products and ensure that search results are fair.
The founders will be collecting fees from the involved companies based on their size, aiming for smaller fees from smaller companies.
However, the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition’s biggest challenge will be to come up against the big tech companies such as Amazon, which already have an established and expansive network of trade groups, as well as the possibility to invest millions in lobbying.
It is not yet publicly known which companies are part of the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition, but organizers have stated that among those involved are many small third-party sellers and a large publicly traded company. However, most fear reprisal from Amazon.
The creation of the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition comes at a time when Amazon is facing increasing backlash from governments around the world, increasingly investigating the eCommerce company’s anti-competitive behaviour and position as a gatekeeper on the online shopping market.
