Bulgaria's antitrust watchdog is opening a deep probe into the contracts that online platforms use to tie down the merchants who sell on them, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) says. It wants to find out whether certain clauses are blocking competition and stopping shoppers from finding better deals.
The probe follows an interim sector review of Bulgaria's e-commerce market for consumer goods and services, which the commission has already adopted. The case stays open, and the deeper review will also look at how online trade affects the sectors involved, including the different kinds of goods and services sold online and how they get delivered.
The CPC has already found that some contracts include so-called price-parity clauses. Under these, a platform demands the lowest prices and best terms compared with every other sales channel the merchant uses. Other contracts stop a merchant from taking orders directly from customers outside the platform — any such order has to be routed back through the platform for the sale to go through.
The commission says price-parity clauses limit competition, make it harder for smaller players to enter the market and grow, and leave shoppers less likely to find a better deal. Limits on sales outside a platform can restrict both a merchant's freedom to use other channels and competition between platforms themselves.
Having such clauses does not in itself mean a company has broken the rules, the CPC points out. The real effect depends on the specific market, the platform's position, whether other sales channels exist, and any economic benefits involved.
The interim review covers the goods and services people buy online most often: clothes, shoes and accessories, furniture and home goods, sports gear, and cosmetics and health products. It also covers tickets for cultural and other events, plus accommodation booking services. It looks at how the market works and what stands in the way of competition and new entrants. It also checks for risky practices, such as the use of customer data and algorithms to set prices and target ads. And it looks at whether platforms favour their own products, restrict sales, or impose unfair trading terms.
Total online sales of goods and services in Bulgaria for 2025 are forecast to top 2.69 billion euros, up around 15% on 2024. The figures come from the eighth edition of "2025 Passport to Bulgaria's E-commerce Industry," published by the Bulgarian E-commerce Association.
The commission also notes the upside e-commerce brings to competition: new players find it easier to enter the market, businesses reach more customers, and prices and terms are easier to compare. But as online sales grow, so does the weight platforms carry as middlemen — and the huge customer base, money and tech behind some of them can boost their market power even further.
The CPC is recommending that the Consumer Protection Commission and the National Revenue Agency step up checks and transparency in e-commerce, as far as their powers allow. It also wants closer coordination between the two agencies — sharing information, helping each other with checks and investigations, and other joint action. Both bodies must tell the CPC exactly what steps they plan to take and by when.
The commission says shoppers should be able to easily find out who a merchant is, how to contact them, their terms and conditions, and how to resolve a dispute.
The in-depth probe will decide whether these contract practices restrict competition and whether they comply with Bulgarian and EU rules.