Amazon is not restraining trade, which was the Supreme Court's justification for ordering Standard Oil to be broken up. There are thousands of large and small retailers and tech companies operating today, with new entrants entering the market on a continuous basis. However, imagine the outcry if Amazon comes close to controlling 50% of all retail sales.Īmazon also can't be declared a monopoly because it doesn't exhibit monopolistic behavior, defined as 'when one provider is the dominant provider in the market and that provider is able to prevent others from offering competing products and services.' In other words, even though Amazon is growing its market share, it doesn't justify referring to Amazon as a monopoly. According to the United States Department of Justice, 'as a practical matter, a market share of greater than 50% has been necessary for courts to find the existence of monopoly power.' will set off alarm bells, correct? False. Obviously, Amazon's controlling 10% of retail sales in the U.S. By 2020, the number is estimated to increase to 10% of all retail sales in the U.S. and only 1% globally, according to Jodi Seth, head of policy communications for Amazon. Amazon is big, but it controls only 5% of all retail sales in the U.S.

Is amazon a monopoly