The Italian Antitrust Authority said Wednesday that it has fined Amazon 10 million euros for unfair trade practices.
It said the case regards the fact that 'recurring purchase' option is pre-set for a wide range of products on the www.amazon.it website, rather than the one-time-purchase setting.
The authority said this was true both for items sold directly by Amazon and third parties who sell products via its marketplace platform.
"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".
The authority said two companies belonging to the group had been fined - the Luxembourg-based Amazon Services Europe and Amazon EU.
Amazon said in a statement:“We strongly disagree with the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) decision, and we plan to appeal. 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.”
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