Washington, D.C. (06/23/2022) – A recent column in Forbes by respected economist Professor Rajshree Agarwal details why the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) will harm not only consumers who enjoy digital products like Amazon Prime, but also hurt merchants who rely on those products for their businesses.
…The Justice Department-backed bipartisan bill is being hailed as a modernization of antitrust…But a deeper dive into the Amazon Prime business model reveals why the Act will stifle the benefits of innovation, decrease competitiveness, and increase costs for consumers and merchants…
…The AICO Act would artificially prop up the few merchants who lose sales because consumers prefer lower prices at the expense of countless consumers hurt by the removal of cheaper options…The faster, better, cheaper matrix consumers rely on to make their purchases would be broken…The AICO act will throw consumers back to the bad old days of long waits, high shipping costs, and complicated return policies…
…It will also hurt third-party merchants…Prohibiting Amazon from using retail practices that are otherwise common in the industry will create a fundamental shift in its business model…The AICO Act will result in small and specialized merchants losing access to online customers…threatening their ability to survive…
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