Small Sellers Undermine Congressional Claims of Amazon Monopoly and Market Power

Oct. 26, 2021, WASHINGTON: The Connected Commerce Council (3C) today, in partnership with Data Catalyst Institute, released Super Selling, a new report refuting many policymakers’ assertion that small business sellers (SMB Sellers)  are effectively locked into the Amazon Marketplace to reach customers. SuperSellers documents the fluidity and competitiveness of modern retail, particularly the diverse online marketplace choices available to even the smallest sellers. 

“For more than two years, Congress has investigated the world’s most successful digital platforms. Many Members assert that platforms’ size demonstrates that drastic changes to our antitrust laws are needed to restore fair competition,” said 3C Executive Director Rob Retzlaff. “But their assumptions and underlying facts are incorrect. Platforms have demonstrably less market power, and there is fierce competition between online retailers for small sellers’ business.”

Based on a survey of owners and senior leaders of 2,000 American small and medium-sized product sellers (SMB Sellers), the report found that despite the rapid growth of e-commerce, traditional offline sales are still the most popular method for SMB sellers. “Brick and Mortar” physical retail stores (79%) and wholesaling (78%) beat out third-party online marketplaces (68%) and sellers’ owned and operated web stores (68%). 

The report also found that within sales methods, SMB Sellers frequently use more than one competitive vendor. For example, roughly 90% of SMB Sellers on the top five online marketplaces (Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Target, and Etsy) also sell their products on other marketplaces. And 83% of SMB Sellers on Amazon Marketplace use at least five sales methods.

A surprising 87% of SMB sellers on Amazon’s online marketplaces also sell on at least one other online marketplace, including 54% also selling on Walmart’s marketplace and 50% also selling on eBay. 

“Facts matter, and these data points undermine the assertion that Amazon is a powerful monopolist and that SMB Sellers have no options,” added Retzlaff. “Congress has to take this all into account before upending America’s small business digital economy based on anecdotal evidence and misconceptions about choices and competition.”  

To view the full report, click here.