Sellers on Amazon, MercadoLibre face competitive barriers, Mexico watchdog rules

An investigation into Mexico's ecommerce market found that sellers on Amazon and MercadoLibre faced barriers to competition, the nation's anti-trust watchdog Cofece said on Friday.

However, the Cofece commission was unable to reach a consensus to order corrective measures against the firms, it added in a statement.

According to Cofece, Amazon and MercadoLibre do not provide sufficient information to sellers on how featured products are determined, while they also grant greater visibility to the products of sellers who contract logistics services with the platforms.


They could have faced a fine from the watchdog, though Cofece said no measures were ordered given a lack of certainty regarding benefits entailed for consumers and small businesses.

After a preliminary ruling from Cofece in February, MercadoLibre said it would cooperate with the investigation, while Amazon said its practices did not hinder competition.

The firms did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The local units of Seattle-based giant Amazon and MercadoLibre, the dominant ecommerce player throughout Latin America, account for more than 85% of online sales in Mexico.

More Mexican consumers have turned to online platforms for goods and services since the pandemic, and small and medium-sized businesses have used e-commerce to reach more shoppers.