FTC Case Against Amazon Hinges on ‘Online Superstore’ Label

In the lawsuit’s section on online superstores, the FTC says Amazon has an 82% market share of the value of goods sold online.

Photographer: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

The Federal Trade Commission’s case against Amazon.com Inc. hinges in part on putting the e-commerce giant in a class of its own: The Online Superstore.

The 172-page case filed Tuesday seeks to differentiate the Seattle-based company from retail competitors that generate most of their sales at physical stores or from more niche-oriented websites. The FTC says these so-called online superstores are different because they offer convenience in their depth of inventory and round-the-clock accessibility.