The Competition Bureau has reached a consent agreement with Kalibrate to address competition concerns related to one of its data analytics products, which collects and distributes detailed data from gas stations across Canada.
A Bureau review concluded that the Kalibrate Market Intelligence product allowed competitors to access confidential and competitively sensitive information, such as volume of fuel sold by individual retailers.
The Bureau concluded that sharing this type of data, which offers visibility into competitors' activities, can weaken competition between gas stations and constituted an abuse of Kalibrate's dominant position in the supply of retail gasoline sales data.
To resolve the Bureau's concerns, Kalibrate has agreed to change how it shares gasoline market data. The agreement requires Kalibrate to:
- stop sharing retailer-specific information that could reveal a competitor's sales or pricing practices;
- only share aggregated market data that does not identify individual retailers;
- only share market data after a time delay.
When retailers have access to detailed information about their competitors' operations and performance, it makes it easier for them to monitor their competitors'actions. This can make it more likely for retailers to compete less aggressively, or to coordinate market behaviour, which can lead to higher prices at the pump.
More details on the Bureau's investigation, findings and the consent agreement, are available in the position statement.
