The Competition Commission has ordered e-tailer Takealot.com
The report is a culmination of almost two years of investigations into local and international business-to-consumer online platform markets and identifies features that adversely impact competition in these markets. The Takealot “Buy Box” for branded items with multiple sellers, selects the cheapest price of those in-stock in the warehouse, rather than the cheapest price regardless of lead time. As consumers mostly select the Buy Box item, this favours Takealot Retail as its own products are generally in the warehouse.
In its recommendation, the CompCom states: “To address these distortions arising from the conflict of interest, Takealot is required to segregate its retail division from its marketplace operations, and to prevent its retail services from accessing seller data and unilaterally stopping sellers from competing for certain brands.person