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AMO SR conducts sector inquiry into e-commerce

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E-commerce is an important and growing part of the economy of the European Union and the Slovak Republic. Consumers are buying and using an ever wider range of products and services through online channels. The share of people aged between 16 and 74 who have ordered goods or services online increases from year to year, namely from 30 % in 2007 to 57 % in 20171. With regard to this, for the efficient functioning of the markets in e-commerce in the favour of consumers is also necessary to ensure effective enforcement of competition law principles.

Sector inquiry is an investigation which the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (hereafter "the Office") conducts with the aim to obtain information on the state of competition in various sectors of economy in the territory of the Slovak Republic. The aim of this sector inquiry is to gather documentation and information on the functioning of e-commerce in specific markets and to identify potential competition problems with the impact on suppliers, sellers and consumers of products offered through online channels.

The sector inquiry is carried out in accordance with the Article 22 Paragraph 1 letter a) in conjunction with the Article 23 of the Act on Protection of Competition (hereafter "the Act") and is aimed at obtaining information on the state of competition in the field of e-commerce in the territory of the Slovak Republic by the form of requests for information (hereafter "questionnaires"). With the interest to objectively assess the development of markets in e-commerce by the Office it is necessary that the sector inquiry was based on information from the largest possible number of entities and reflected the views and experiences of all types of undertakings active in these markets. Thus, each answer to the questionnaire is important for the Office.

The Office has sent the questionnaires to selected retailers active in the online sales of products of various categories, such as consumer electronics - white goods, brown goods, mobile devices, baby transport, sports/outdoor and house/garden.

Any other retailers (e-shops) may also participate in this survey by filling out the questionnaire or a part of it and sending it by post to the address of the Office - the Division Abuse of Dominant Position and Vertical Agreements or by e-mail to ecommerce@antimon.gov.sk.
 
The Office would be grateful for this kind of cooperation.

 
Questionnaire (available in Slovak language):
 

1 See EUROSTAT, Community survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals from the year 2017, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/E-commerce_statistics_for_individuals#General_overview