Amazon Pantry’s complaint to the Antitrust Authority drew mixed reactions on our Facebook page. Between the best-price-at-home loyalists, and those who instead consider Amazon’s impact on society (tax evasion, worker exploitation, winning competition over traditional distribution). It is therefore worth clarifying the significance of our report to the Competition Authority.
Amazon Pantry, how the service works
Amazon, a leading U.S. e-commerce group, operates in Italy through a company based in Milan and its European headquarters in Luxembourg.
Amazon Pantry is a platform for the purchase and home delivery of groceries and household products, activated about a year ago for the benefit of premium customers (those enrolled in the Amazon Prime service).
The Pantry system allows consumers to select and purchase a wide range of products-food and non-food-through the specific dedicated section on the Amazon.co.uk website. Provided access to some information about the products on offer.
As a result of the choice, the consumer is found to fill a virtual box where they place each product, to which Amazon assigns a ‘percentage fill (of the box), due to the space/weight occupied.
After completing the shopping, the consumer proceeds to pay for the purchased goods, which are then placed in one or more boxes and shipped by Amazon to the chosen address. With a fixed shipping cost per virtual box of €3.99.
Amazon Pantry, what products and what information?
Amazon Pantry currently offers just over 1300 products, divided into 3 macro-categories (food, beverages, children and babies). For a total of 16 product categories and subcategories.
The news available, following the selection of a product:
– a generic indication of the trade name of the reference, accompanied by the weight or number of servings contained in each package,
– two links, to products of the same brand and consumer reviews on the individual reference,
– the price, sometimes accompanied by the cost with respect to the unit of measurement (kg/l) or portion,
– The space occupied by the product, as a percentage of the virtual box,
– availability (which can be immediate or require a wait, usually 2-3 days),
– miscellaneous news, taken from product labeling, in what would appear to be a random assemblage,
– one or more images, which can sometimes be enlarged to access details of certain parts of the package,
– ‘Product details,‘ in a format that varies with no apparent criteria. As appropriate, the name or brand name, weight or volume of the item, name of the manufacturer, country of origin, nutritional information. However, compliance with the criteria set by EU Regulation 1169/11 for consumer information on food is rare,
– ‘More information’. ASIN code, average rating from reviews, Amazon Bestseller ranking, shipping weight (which does not correspond to the net quantity of the product), shipping restrictions, date of listing on Amazon.co.uk,
– ‘Important Information’. Miscellaneous items, set forth without any apparent logical system criteria, all accompanied by notice of uncertainty and variability (‘Manufacturers can change the composition of their products. Therefore, the product packaging may contain different information than what is shown on our website. Please always read the label, warnings and instructions provided on the product before using or consuming it‘).
– ‘Product description,‘ usually followed by the trade name and portion weight or number, with the occasional addition of disparate information.
Amazon Pantry, early considerations
To tap into the information provided as mandatory on food products, the Amazon Prime user must untangle a maze of web pages that rarely offer complete communication consistent with the rules that have been in place in Europe for six years now. Game Over!
Dario Dongo
Note
Cf. reg. EU 1169/11, Articles 9, 10, 14. See also Chapter II of the relevant sanctions decree, at https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/sanzioni-reg-ue-116911-analisi-del-decreto
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
