A report from the Amsterdam-based Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)

 

A report from the Amsterdam-based Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) reveals that Amazon's income from independent seller fees tripled from 2017 to 2022 and that this growth significantly exceeds the number of sales made by independent sellers in Europe.  SOMO alleges that the e-commerce giant is leveraging its monopoly at the expense of independent European sellers.  SOMO found that Amazon's fees doubled in several categories, based on an analysis of delivery and storage costs for sellers in Germany, France, the U.K., Spain, and Italy.  Margarida Silva, a researcher at SOMO, stated that Amazon is "so dominant that independent retailers who wish to sell online cannot avoid it" and that the company is essentially profiting off of "captive clientele."  Amazon's income generated by sellers' fees reportedly increased by 6%, to $25.7B, while retail sales dropped by 1%, according to SOMO, citing data from Amazon E.U.