Consumer Watchdog Urges Regulators to Block Amazon’s Whole Foods Buy

Consumer Watchdog wants federal regulators to block Amazon’s $13.7 billion Whole Foods buy (see 1706160020) until “the online retailing giant” ends the “deceptive pricing practices that falsely lead consumers to believe they are getting deals with discounted prices,” the nonprofit told the FTC and DOJ in a Thursday letter. Amazon frequently displays a “reference price” for comparison with a “current sale price,” giving buyers the false impression they're saving money, said Consumer Watchdog. “Our research shows that these reference prices often have no basis in reality. Amazon is not competing on the basis of price in a way that would benefit consumers. Rather, it is competing deceptively by claiming a discount from an entirely bogus price.” Amazon representatives didn’t comment Friday.