California officials allege Amazon may have quietly driven up prices across the internet by pressuring retailers and brands not to undercut its listings, according to newly unsealed court evidence.
The allegations, revealed Monday as part of the state’s antitrust lawsuit, claim Amazon worked behind the scenes with companies like Levi Strauss and others to influence pricing at competitors including Walmart, Home Depot and Chewy.
In one example cited by the state, Levi’s allegedly pushed Walmart to raise the price of khaki pants after Amazon raised concerns about a lower listing. In another, Amazon encouraged suppliers to coordinate price increases on products like pet treats – moves California says helped Amazon avoid having to match lower prices.
“As we are not a party to this litigation, we have no comment on the subject allegations,” a Levi Strauss spokesperson said.
FOX Business reached out to Walmart, Home Depot and Chewy.
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State officials argue the conduct was not isolated, but part of a broader strategy used across product categories over several years. The filing outlines three alleged tactics: encouraging competitors to raise prices, temporarily breaking price matches, so higher prices stick, and in some cases removing lower-priced products from rival sites altogether.
In certain instances, vendors allegedly pulled products from competing retailers entirely – eliminating cheaper options before prices rose on Amazon and elsewhere.
The filing also claims Amazon enforced compliance by leveraging its market power, including threatening to suppress product listings, limit promotions or impose financial penalties on vendors that allowed lower prices on other platforms.
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Officials say vendors often had little choice but to comply, given Amazon’s scale and importance to their business.
“Amazon is illegally working to rake in profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
Amazon denied the claims, saying its agreements with sellers are legal and help ensure competitive pricing and product availability. The company said it is “consistently identified as America’s lowest-priced online retailer” and called the lawsuit an attempt to distract from a weak case.
The filing also alleges Amazon discouraged employees from documenting sensitive pricing discussions in writing, instead encouraging the use of phone calls.
The case comes as Amazon’s scale continues to grow – the company recently surpassed Walmart in annual revenue – intensifying scrutiny over its influence on online pricing.
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California is seeking to block the alleged practices and recover profits, with a hearing scheduled for July and trial set for January 2027.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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