Product Variety Puts the Super in Online Superstores

c. Online superstores are not reasonably interchangeable with other online stores that lack breadth and depth of product selection

148. Online superstores are also distinct from, and not reasonably interchangeable with, online stores with limited product selection, including online stores that offer products primarily from a single brand. Whether considered individually or collectively, online stores with limited selection are not reasonable substitutes to become a shopper's preferred destination for their online purchases for a broad swath of retail goods. Shopping at numerous limited-selection online stores increases shopping costs, both for individual shopping needs and in aggregate across a customer's total purchases. Consumers' overall shopping costs would increase dramatically if they tried to replace online superstores with shopping at multiple limited-selection online stores.

149. Some consumers may prefer to shop at limited-selection online stores for certain items. For example, a consumer may turn to such an online store because it specializes in unique or niche goods not available on an online superstore, because the shopper has particular brand loyalty, because the shopper finds the online store particularly trustworthy and reliable (because, for example, it screens for counterfeit goods or fake reviews), or because the non-superstore offers specialized or expert knowledge about the items it sells.

150. Limited-selection online stores do not provide an experience that is reasonably interchangeable with an online superstore because, individually and collectively, they cannot effectively compete to become a shopper’s preferred destination for online purchases given the increased shopping costs associated with shopping at online stores that lack the breadth and depth of online superstores.

151. Online stores with a limited product selection lack breadth. A shopper who must visit multiple online stores to compile a set of desired goods across different product categories faces higher shopping costs than a shopper who can search for and complete those cross-category purchases at a single online superstore.

152. RainOrShineGolf.com—a retailer of indoor golf simulator equipment—is an illustrative example of an online store that lacks the breadth of an online superstore. Golf simulator equipment such as golf ball launch monitors, mats, nets for hitting balls, and software to analyze performance collectively allow a customer to practice golf indoors. While Rain or Shine Golf and Amazon both sell indoor golf simulator equipment, they offer consumers different shopping experiences and a vastly different overall product due to the difference between the breadth of product selection at each online store. Shoppers may choose Rain or Shine Golf for occasional category-specific purchases, but due to its limited breadth it could not become a consumer’s preferred destination for a broad swath of other online purchases.

153. Unlike limited-selection online stores, an online superstore offers a single destination for a shopper to browse, buy, and return to for repeat purchases of a much wider array of goods. On an online superstore like Amazon, shopping for a golf simulator may also yield cross-category suggestions for accessories like golf gloves, golf clubs, or golf bag push carts. Moreover, if the need arises or mood strikes, a consumer shopping on an online superstore like Amazon could resupply the correct size of kitchen trash bags they previously purchased and add a new board game that the online superstore recommends based on their prior shopping behavior, all during a single shopping session. By contrast, a consumer who uses Rain or Shine Golf to buy a golf simulator but would also like to make a set of additional purchases would need to visit and do business with numerous other online stores. Those visits would incur the added shopping costs of finding those additional items, completing the various purchase processes with different logins and credentials (if the shopper can remember them), and arranging for multiple deliveries.

154. Many online stores that lack breadth of product selection also lack depth, especially online stores that primarily or exclusively feature their own brands. A shopper forced to visit multiple online stores to find the specific item that matches their needs faces higher shopping costs than a shopper who can compare across a depth of options for that item on an online superstore.

155. Tumi.com is another illustrative example. Shoppers can purchase a range of luggage, backpacks, and bags at Tumi.com, but the items sold at Tumi.com are primarily Tumi’s own brand, limiting the depth of options for any particular item. By contrast, a shopper looking for luggage on an online superstore like Amazon can browse across options from a wide variety of brands that may include Tumi as well as other brands. The shopper can peruse these options by filtering across features like brand, price point, size, and colors without incurring the additional search costs present in visiting all of the online stores operated by each brand.

156. Furthermore, the breadth and depth of product selection on online superstores increases access to valuable cross-category consumer data. This data amplifies the ability of online superstores to provide shoppers with tailored and personalized shopping experiences. As an online superstore, for example, Amazon recognizes in internal documents that (redacted)

157. These additional capabilities of online superstores influence consumers' shopping behavior. (Redacted)

158. Because limited-selection online stores do not have the same breadth and depth of selection offered by online superstores, they have access to less consumer data across categories and cannot replicate the personalization features of online superstores, reducing the ability of limited-selection online stores to compete with online superstores.

159. Online superstores treat rival online superstores differently than limited-selection stores. For example, Amazon does not allow other online superstores like Walmart.com to sell through Amazon. Yet Amazon encourages hundreds of thousands of sellers—including well-known brands that sell through their own online stores or limited-selection online stores—to do so. (Redacted)