The association for the defense of digital consumers Tec-Check, directed by Maximilian Murck, celebrated the announcement that the Mexican antitrust authority has launched an investigation into the retail e-commerce market for the possibility that one or more actors may impose barriers to the competition.
“For us as consumers, a concentration of power in electronic commerce entails great risks, in particular in terms of competition, variety of products, good prices, services, customer service and also in terms of protecting our privacy,” Murck said. .
The antitrust authority, the Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece), announced on Thursday, March 31, the initiation of an investigation in the retail electronic commerce market for “the possible existence of barriers to competition and free concurrence and/or essential inputs that could generate anti-competitive effects.
This is the second investigation of the authority in electronic commerce. Between 2018 and 2020, Cofece investigated the possibility that Mercado Libre, a company of Argentine origin, imposed tied purchases on those who use its platform to offer and sell products. In the conclusions of the investigation it was determined that there were no elements of sanction and the file was closed.
For Julio César Vega, general director of the MX Internet Association, “it is unknown if there are elements to start a new investigation” in the electronic commerce market.
In any case, said Vega, the Association of Internet MX (AI.MX), a digital industry lobby that integrates the largest players in the sector, will try to “attend to all requests from the authority in case we are required , as we did in the last investigation as third party interveners”.
This reporter unsuccessfully requested a position from the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO), which integrates the most powerful participants in the sector, such as Claro shop, Sanborns and Sears, from the Carlos Slim Helú family of companies; Elektra, from the family of companies owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Mercado Libre, Amazon and Liverpool.
Value of e-commerce and participants
According to data from Euromonitor International, a London-based market analysis company, the main players in e-commerce in Mexico are Mercado Libre, with a sales share of 15.4%; Amazon, with a 13.2% share, and Walmart, with a 9.6% share. In total, these three players have 38.2% of the market.
According to Inegi, Mexico’s public statistics office, the e-commerce sector participated with 5.8% of Mexico’s GDP in 2020. This is the most up-to-date official data.
In its Thursday announcement, the antitrust authority avoided the name of the actor or actors who will be part of the investigation for alleged monopolistic practices.
“I fail to see where the investigation is going or who are the investigated. We have to wait, because it has just been communicated. Possibly starting this Friday we can have more clues, with the first notifications or information requirements,” said Julio César Vega, from AI.MX.
Concentration affects consumers
Maximilian Murck, director of Tec-Check Online Consumer Organization AC, said “that a digital economy without barriers to competition or distortion of concurrence benefits the consumer population with good prices, a wide variety of products, better services and customer service. suitable client.
Murck, whose association has accompanied the filing of various collective complaints against providers of the digital economy, the most recent against Ticketmaster, celebrated the new investigation by Cofece. “It is not only timely in terms of competition, but also in terms of strengthening and protecting the thousands of (new) digital consumers in Mexico.”
The Investigative Authority of Cofece, the internal unit responsible for the investigations, under the command of José Manuel Haro Zepeda, has up to 120 business days to complete the investigation, a period that can be extended up to four times if necessary.
The results may lead to a proposal to close the file (that no sanction elements are found) or to a proposal to initiate a proceeding in the form of a trial with the possibility of sanctions.