FTC Case Against Amazon Hinges on ‘Online Superstore’ Label

The Federal Trade Commission’s case against Amazon.com Inc. hinges in part on putting the e-commerce giant in a class of its own: The Online Superstore. The 172-page case filed Tuesday seeks to differentiate the Seattle-based company from retail competitors that generate most of their sales at physical stores or from more niche-oriented websites. The FTC says these so-called online superstores are different because they offer convenience in their depth of inventory and round-the-clock accessibility. “Brick-and-mortar stores and online stores with a more limited selection are not reasonably interchangeable with online...