Cameron Miranda
Amazon Prime's Don't Break Our Prime ad campaign has been criticised for its cynical attempt to manipulate consumers into supporting the company's anti-competitive behaviour. With over 150 million members in the US, Amazon Prime is incredibly popular, largely due to its free two-day shipping. However, as antitrust legislation makes its way through Congress, Amazon is fighting back with a message that now is not the time to lose their convenient shipping services, especially given the current concerns about inflation, supply chains, and the pandemic.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Free two-day shipping | Millions of members |
| Affordable prices | 150 million members in the U.S. |
| Anti-competitive behaviour |
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What You'll Learn
Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping
Amazon has responded with an ad campaign, 'Don't Break Our Prime', which aims to emotionally manipulate consumers into believing that now is a terrible time to lose Amazon Prime's free shipping, given concerns about inflation, supply chains, and the pandemic. The ads are running in key swing states in the 2022 midterm elections, such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin, as well as in the DC area.
Despite the popularity of Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping, it is important to recognise that this service may not be in the best interests of small businesses or the economy as a whole. Amazon's anti-competitive behaviour can make it difficult for small businesses to compete, and the company's dominance in the market may ultimately harm consumers.
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Amazon's cynical ad campaign
The campaign is running in key swing states in the 2022 midterm elections, such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin, as well as in the D.C. area. It is designed to hit consumers in an emotional spot, with the message that now is a terrible time to lose Amazon Prime's free shipping due to concerns about inflation, supply chains, and the pandemic.
However, advocates of the antitrust legislation say that it would improve the economy by levelling the playing field for small businesses that have little choice but to use dominant tech platforms like Amazon to sell their products. They argue that Amazon is using the popularity of Prime to delay reasonable efforts at reform.
Amazon's ad campaign is a classic example of a company trying to protect its market power by appealing to consumers' emotions rather than addressing the substance of the bill.
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Amazon's anti-competitive behaviour
Amazon has been criticised for its anti-competitive behaviour, which has been the subject of several investigations. In 2012, the OFT launched an investigation into suspected anti-competitive arrangements by Amazon relating to online retail. This investigation was conducted under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Amazon ended its Marketplace price parity policy on Amazon.co.uk and in the European Union, and the OFT closed its investigation.
In 2021, the law firm Hagens Berman filed a lawsuit in the New York district court, saying that Amazon colluded with leading publishers to keep e-book prices artificially high. Connecticut also announced that it was investigating Amazon for potential anti-competitive behaviour in its marketing of e-books. Amazon has also been criticised for its alleged use of patents as a competitive hindrance, such as its "1-Click patent" against competitor Barnes & Noble's website, which led the Free Software Foundation to announce a boycott of Amazon from 1999 to 2002.
Amazon has also been accused of using its dominance in one market to give itself an advantage in another. Most of the claims concerning anti-competitive behaviour and FBA come down to disproportionate representation of FBA product in the buy-box. Amazon argues this is simply a consequence of quality of service, and that its logistics prices are competitive. Amazon also denies its search results favoured items it delivers, although it acknowledges that products offered by merchants using its logistics services tend to get more prominent listings.
Amazon has also been criticised for its 'Don't Break Our Prime' ad campaign, which some see as an attempt to beat back or delay reasonable efforts at reform. The ads claim that proposed antitrust legislation could break Prime's guaranteed two-day free delivery and threaten the fragile economic recovery. However, advocates say the antitrust legislation would improve the economy by levelling the playing field for small businesses that have little choice but to use the dominant tech platforms to sell their products.
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Amazon's popularity
Amazon Prime is incredibly popular with Americans, with more than 150 million members in the US. Amazon Prime's free two-day shipping is a key reason for its popularity. Amazon is betting that its members will do almost anything to keep this free shipping, including abandoning any pretense that they prefer to live in a free country that supports capitalism and free-market principles.
Amazon has launched a cynical ad campaign, 'Don't Break Our Prime', to try and maintain its anti-competitive behaviour. The ads are running in the D.C. area, as well as in key swing states in the 2022 midterm elections like Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Wisconsin. The ads claim that, with broken supply chains and lives disrupted, Amazon Prime has helped hundreds of thousands of small businesses gain access to millions of online shoppers. They also claim that antitrust legislation could break Prime's guaranteed two-day free delivery and threaten the fragile economic recovery.
However, advocates say that antitrust legislation would improve the economy by levelling the playing field for small businesses that have little choice but to use the dominant tech platforms to sell their products. It is clear that this isn't just about two-day shipping. Amazon is hoping that the popularity of Prime gives it enough clout to beat back, or at least delay, reasonable efforts at reform.
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Amazon's impact on small businesses
On the other hand, Amazon has also been credited with empowering the growth of small businesses and brands. Amazon's infrastructure benefits other businesses, especially small businesses that could not otherwise access such logistics. Listing their products on Amazon helps small businesses increase their customer reach, and the delivery essentially becomes Amazon's responsibility. In addition, Amazon's tools and services have helped small businesses create an estimated 1.6 million jobs worldwide. Developers have built more than 90,000 Alexa skills, and hundreds of thousands of authors from around the world have self-published millions of books through KDP, with many building successful writing careers as a result.
The "Don't Break Prime" law refers to Amazon's ad campaign against antitrust legislation that could impact its free two-day shipping for Amazon Prime members. While Amazon argues that this legislation would disrupt its shipping program and threaten the economic recovery, advocates say that it would improve the economy by levelling the playing field for small businesses that rely on dominant tech platforms to sell their products.
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Frequently asked questions
'Don't Break Our Prime' is an ad campaign by Amazon to prevent the passing of a bill that could threaten its Prime service's guaranteed two-day free delivery.
The bill could raise costs for families and businesses and threaten the fragile economic recovery.
Amazon argues that given the concerns about inflation, supply chains, and the pandemic, now is not the time to lose Amazon Prime's free shipping.
Advocates say that the antitrust legislation would improve the economy by levelling the playing field for small businesses that have little choice but to use the dominant tech platforms to sell their products.
The bill is currently being voted on by Congress.
