Implications of E-commerce for Competition Policy

E-commerce – broadly, buying and selling online – is an expanding distribution mechanism across OECD countries. Although e-commerce is effectively a question of retail competition, the dynamics at play differ significantly from more traditional brickand-mortar retail markets. Notable features include the emergence of leading online platform operators which conduct business across multiple product segments, greater transparency, the increasing importance of data collection and exploitation, and the use of algorithmic competition mechanisms. The growth of e-commerce has the potential to increase competition within retail markets, to greatly enhance consumer choice, and to prompt and facilitate innovation in product distribution. Yet certain dynamics may also prompt or facilitate anticompetitive coordinated and unilateral conduct by economic operators, which is reflected in the increasing levels of antitrust enforcement in ecommerce markets within OECD countries. This background paper provides a wideranging consideration of potential competition law concerns within e-commerce markets. It focuses, in particular, on vertical restraints and abusive dominant conduct, with brief consideration of horizontal collusion and merger control issues. The paper concludes with an examination of possible regulatory solutions beyond the realm of competition law, encompassing sector-specific, consumer protection and data privacy oriented