With overall product prices 10% lower, Amazon firmly sits on the throne of the “cheapest e-commerce” in Europe and the United States!

Recently, Profitero, a global e-commerce analysis company, studied the product prices on mainstream e-commerce platforms in the UK and found that Amazon is the " cheapest " e-commerce platform in the UK.

The report analyzed the prices of 5,330 products in 13 categories on major UK e-commerce platforms (including Amazon, Argos, Asda and Currys) in the 12 weeks from July 12 to October 3. The final results showed that the prices of products on the Amazon platform were 13 % lower than those on other e-commerce platforms.

This year, Amazon's prices fell by double digits in all categories except fashion and home furniture . This was particularly strong in beauty products , health and personal care products . Compared with other e-commerce platforms, these products are priced at least 20% lower on Amazon . Last year, Amazon also won the title of the "cheapest" e-commerce platform in the UK. This year, the price gap between Amazon and its main competitors has widened in 10 of the 13 categories studied.

As for other e-commerce platforms, the prices of products on Asda's platform are 16% higher than Amazon this year , an increase of 1 percentage point from last year. Asda 's household goods prices have dropped by 13 percentage points this year compared to last year , but are still 10% higher than Amazon . In addition, Asda 's office equipment and supplies prices have increased by 10 % this year, and the price difference with Amazon has jumped from 3% last year to 13% this year .

Meanwhile , Argos ’ price gap with Amazon has widened by two percentage points this year , to 14%. The platform performs well in fashion and home furnishings, with prices within 7% of Amazon, but prices in both categories are still one percentage point higher compared to last year .

Currys was the only platform where the overall price gap with Amazon did not increase compared to 2020. While it may be the most competitive retailer with Amazon, Currys still charges 10% more for its products than Amazon.

In addition to investigating the situation in the UK, Profitero also studied product prices on US e-commerce platforms and found that Amazon has the cheapest prices among mainstream US e-commerce platforms.

The report analyzed the prices of 15,530 products in 15 categories on 12 leading U.S. e-commerce platforms (including Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, and Walmart) over a 12-week period from July 12 to October 3, 2021. The final results showed that the prices of products on the Amazon platform were 14% lower on average than those on the other 11 e-commerce platforms.

Amazon’s most price-competitive categories compared to other platforms include electronics, where prices are 13% cheaper than Best Buy, Target and Walmart on average; video games, where prices are 15% cheaper than Target and Walmart; and toys and games, where prices are 11% cheaper than Home Depot, Macy’s, Target and Walmart.

Amazon has a relatively large market share in Europe and the United States, and its prices are so cheap. Although this makes it easier to attract people to consume, its pricing policy is often criticized, and sellers have suffered a lot.

Amazon said it regularly monitors the prices of goods on the mall (including shipping costs) and compares them with other prices offered to buyers. If Amazon finds that the seller's pricing behavior on the mall undermines buyer trust, it may remove the buy button, delete the offer, and suspend the delivery option. If the situation is serious or recurring, Amazon will suspend or terminate the seller's sales privileges.

These actions are all violations of the pricing policy : setting a reference price for a product or service that is misleading to buyers; setting a price that is too high for a product or service, making it significantly higher than the current price provided inside or outside Amazon; selling multiple items of the same product at a higher price than a single item; setting shipping costs that are too high for a product.

Although the policy does not stipulate clear pricing standards, it has forced some sellers to slash prices to stay within Amazon's volatile price range.

In fact, Amazon has already attracted the attention of US officials. In May this year , Amazon was sued for antitrust violations for requiring third-party sellers to prohibit selling on other platforms at prices lower than Amazon's. The lawsuit pointed out that Amazon stifled the competitiveness of rival platforms by strictly controlling prices.

E-commerce

Europe and America