Sellers on Amazon, MercadoLibre face competitive barriers, Mexico watchdog rules

By Diego Oré

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - An investigation into Mexico's e-commerce market found that sellers on Amazon and MercadoLibre faced barriers to competition, the nation's antitrust watchdog Cofece said on Friday.

However, the Cofece commission was unable to reach a consensus to order corrective measures against the firms, it added in a statement.

According to Cofece, Amazon and MercadoLibre do not provide sufficient information to sellers on how featured products are determined, while they also grant greater visibility to the products of sellers who contract logistics services with the platforms.

They could have faced sanctions from the watchdog, though Cofece said no measures were ordered given a lack of certainty regarding benefits entailed for consumers and small businesses.

After a preliminary ruling from Cofece in February, MercadoLibre said it would cooperate with the investigation, while Amazon said its practices did not hinder competition.

"We are pleased with Cofece's decision not to impose corrective measures, which underscores the competitiveness of the retail sector in Mexico and the absence of barriers to competition," Fernanda Ramo, deputy general counsel and director of legal affairs at Amazon Mexico told Reuters.

MercadoLibre did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The local units of Seattle-based Amazon and MercadoLibre, the dominant e-commerce player throughout Latin America, account for more than 85% of online sales in Mexico.

More Mexican consumers have turned to online platforms for goods and services since the pandemic, and small and medium-sized businesses have used e-commerce to reach more shoppers.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Diego Ore; Writing by Benjamin Mejias Valencia and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Rod Nickel)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Bank of America data shows retail spending rose in June
• New York sues 3M, DuPont and other chemical companies over PFAS pollution
• Citi cuts PepsiCo rating as North America weakness shows no signs of abating