Amazon class action alleges algorithms favor retailer, affiliate products

Amazon algorithms class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Jeffrey Taylor and Robert Selway filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. 
• Why: Taylor and Selway claim Amazon uses a biased algorithm that favors what items are shown to consumers in its Buy Box on a products page on Amazon Marketplace. 
• Where: The Amazon class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court. 

A new Amazon class action alleges the company uses a biased algorithm to determine which offers consumers see on Amazon Marketplace in an effort to boost its profits and keep prices high for consumers.

Plaintiff Jeffrey Taylor and Robert Selway’s class action lawsuit claims Amazon algorithms will select a single item to appear in the “Buy Box” of a given product page, and that 98% of the time shoppers will select it for purchase. 

Taylor and Selway argue the Buy Box algorithm is biased in favor of Amazon first-party retail offers or offers originating from third-party sellers who participate in Amazon’s logistics service, Fulfillment By Amazon. 

The Amazon algorithms class action states: “Consumers reasonably believe that the Buy Box price is the best price available in the marketplace for a given item. But they are often wrong.”

Taylor and Selway want to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased from the Amazon Buy Box on or after Jan. 1, 2016.

Consumers overpay for items as a result of biased Amazon algorithms, class action claims

Taylor and Selway argue that as a result of Amazon’s alleged deception, consumers routinely overpay for items that are available from other sellers at lower prices on Amazon Marketplace.

The lawsuit notes that antitrust enforcement officials in the United States and Europe have launched investigations into Amazon’s Buy Box practices. The Italian Competition Authority fined Amazon €1.1 billion in 2021 after finding the Amazon algorithm had favored Amazon first-party and Fulfillment by Amazon products since 2016.

“Since at least 2016, Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm has been rigged in favor of offers for which Amazon fulfills and delivers the product, either because Amazon itself is the seller, or the seller is a third party that participates in FBA,” the Amazon class action says. “The result is that the Buy Box frequently features offers that are more expensive than other offers for the same product on Amazon’s marketplace. Because consumers make frequent purchases from Amazon through the Buy Box, the chances that any Class member was unharmed by one or more purchases is virtually non-existent.”

Taylor and Selway claim Amazon is guilty of violating the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with an award of actual and treble damages. 

In a separate case, Amazon asked a Washington federal judge in November to remove some claims from a class action lawsuit accusing it of re-charging consumers for items that had been returned in the allowed refund time. 

Have you purchased an item listed for sale in an Amazon Buy Box? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Steve W. Berman, Barbara Mahoney and Meredith S. Simons of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. 

The Amazon algorithms class action lawsuit is Taylor, et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-00169, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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