AGI – The online sales controversy and in particular on Black Friday, which according to consumer associations will absorb the majority of Christmas sales. Confesercenti announces a complaint to the Antitrust and appeals to the Government to follow the French example and postpone the days of discounted sales to 4 December, when it is hoped that the restrictions for Covid will be relaxed.
Amazon Italia replied immediately: half of all annual sales come from SMEs. Netcomm also points out: e-commerce and big online shopping events they represent an opportunity for Italian SMEs and sellers; Black Friday will be a great opportunity for economic recovery.
Exposed to the Antitrust Authority
Confesercenti presents a complaint to the Antitrust on the unequal conditions that has arisen between shops and e-commerce operators. “We are facing a very serious distortion of competition, which we must correct as soon as possible”. “The problem is not to prevent web sales, but the no longer deferred need to guarantee a truly competitive market, in compliance with distribution pluralism. All the more so in the current situation, which sees neighborhood businesses closed by administrative choice, with a further alteration of conditions to the detriment of weaker and troubled businesses. Government and the Competition Authority must intervene “.
“The situation of suffering of commercial enterprises – writes Confesercenti in the complaint – is further aggravated by the inequality of the conditions that exist between ‘physical’ stores and online commerce: while the activity of the former is suspended tout court, the web sales channel, whose activity is not only allowed , but promoted by anti-covid regulatory interventions, in fact, acts and operates under monopoly conditions, also transferring an important part of the wealth generated by purchases made online abroad “.
Confesercenti asks to postpone Black Friday
Confesercenti launches an appeal to the government to postpone the black friday. “In France – writes Confesercenti in a letter to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte – we have already intervened on the issue. And after the government’s moral suasion, both large-scale distribution and Amazon have agreed to postpone the Black Friday date to December 4th, shortly after the planned reopening of independent stores. In our opinion, a suitable solution, which gives all forms of distribution a chance to compete for Black Friday, which has now become one of the most important commercial events of the year. And that, if it were also applied in Italy – he concludes – it would have great value for small businesses, even symbolic, allowing them to regain some confidence “.
Amazon Italy, half of sales are from SMEs
Black Friday – explains Amazon Italy – is an important sales event for small businesses, with over half of all annual Amazon sales coming from SMEs. In 2019, nearly 600 Italian small businesses exceeded one million dollars in sales on Amazon, while the total export sales of our Italian sales partners exceeded 500 million euros. “We have invested more than 5.8 billion euros in Italy since 2010 – explains the company – and we created over 1,600 jobs in 2020. We now have more than 8,500 employees in Italy”.
Netcomm, curbing e-commerce means hitting SMEs
“ECommerce and major online shopping events, such as Black Friday, are already an opportunity for Italian SMEs and sellers; putting a stop to it means further hitting Italian companies”, said Roberto Liscia, president of Netcomm. “In Italy there are about 100 platforms – of different sizes – that sell online, intermediating products that come from about 50,000 sellers, including SMEs and retailers. Online platforms therefore play an important role because facilitate the sale of small operators and next Black Friday will be a great opportunity for economic recovery. Netcomm is in fact working, together with the world of the most advanced digital companies, as part of the Digital Solidarity project launched by the Ministry for technological innovation and digitization, to favor local shops by transferring technological skills and abilities to face the next Christmas time”.
According to Liscia, e-commerce “is increasingly configured as a real digital district, a value chain that involves sellers, online platforms, logistics operators: if you hit a piece of the supply chain with restrictive measures, you can jeopardize the evolution of the digitization of SMEs and sellers. The real challenge, therefore, is not to limit platforms, but to invite them to increasingly make enabling services and training available to retailers so that they can take advantage of the e-commerce value chain “.
Codacons, 25 million Italians will take advantage of Black Friday
According to the Codacons, Black Friday 2020 is destined to break all records and will be facilitated by the Covid emergency which significantly changes the buying habits of Italians. According to the association’s estimates, the slice of the population willing to make purchases during the entire week of discounts is growing significantly: 25 million Italians will take advantage to make at least one purchase, an increase of 47% compared to last year.
The restrictions on the store front, the fear of contagion and the uncertainty about the future of traditional commerce are shifting purchases from physical stores to the web, prompting a substantial slice of consumers to resort to the week of discounts for shop not only for yourself, but also for friends and family. According to the association’s research, in fact, 35% of Christmas gifts, over 1 in 3, will be purchased this year during Black Friday.
The entire week of discounts will generate a turnover of over 2.5 billion euros in 2020, with a growth of + 27% compared to last year, according to the Codacons estimate. Also in terms of per capita expenditure and the type of products that will be purchased, Covid comes into play: if on the one hand the number of Italians who will take advantage of the offers will increase, on the other hand, the budget to be allocated to Black Friday is reduced, due to the economic difficulties caused by the health emergency and the greater propensity of citizens to contain spending in view of an uncertain future. Compared to past years, there will also be a surge in purchases of products related to smartworking (PCs, keyboards, tablets, etc.), sports and personal care items, and household products.
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