Amazon is facing growing scrutiny from independent retailers who claim the eCommerce giant has listed and sold their products without consent.
The news comes even as the online marketplace pursues legal action against AI startup Perplexity for shopping on its platform without permission.
Several small business owners told the Financial Times that Amazon had added their full inventories to its site without authorisation, allowing customers to place orders through Amazon rather than buying directly from the retailers themselves.听
Two sellers said this resulted in orders for items that were out of stock, incorrectly priced or mislabelled, leading to customer complaints and operational strain.
The concerns centre on Amazon鈥檚 ‘Buy for Me’ feature, launched in April last year, which allows some customers to purchase items not sold directly by the company but available on other retailers鈥� websites.听
Retailers say the US firm did not seek permission before sending through these orders and that they receive little or no customer information.
The controversy comes amid a broader industry push toward agentic commerce, where AI systems autonomously carry out shopping tasks on behalf of users.听
JD Sports has announced that it is making a concerted push into this market by allowing generative AI giants such as Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT to complete JD transactions without leaving the platforms.听
Amazon, however, has blocked AI agents from companies including Anthropic, Google and OpenAI from accessing its site, and in November sued AI startup Perplexity over its Comet browser, which made purchases on Amazon for users.
In its complaint, Amazon said Perplexity had acted 鈥渨ithout prior notice to Amazon and without authorisation鈥� and that this behaviour undermined a customer experience it had invested in over decades.听
Perplexity responded by calling the lawsuit a 鈥渂ully tactic鈥� aimed at discouraging 鈥渄isruptive companies like Perplexity鈥�.
Chris Jones, managing director at PSE Consulting, said the situation highlights a fundamental risk in the rapid adoption of agentic commerce.听
鈥淎gentic commerce will have a bumpy road if it weakens the basic link between buyers and sellers,鈥� he explained.
鈥淲hen something goes wrong in eCommerce, consumers need to know who they鈥檝e bought from and who is responsible for fixing the problem.听
鈥淭hat clarity isn鈥檛 optional – it鈥檚 foundational to trust.鈥�
Amazon said retailers can opt out of ‘Buy for Me’ by contacting the company via a dedicated email address.听
In a statement, the company said: 鈥淪hop Direct and Buy for Me are programmes we鈥檙e testing that help customers discover brands and products not currently sold in Amazon鈥檚 store, while helping businesses reach new customers and drive incremental sales.听
鈥淲e have received positive feedback on these programmes. 老九品茶es can opt out at any time.鈥�