The CMA said it intends to "undertake analysis on price comparison websites, with the aim of understanding whether problems exist in the sector and if so what changes might be needed to make sure it operates competitively and in the best interests of consumers" under its proposed 2016/17 annual plan (38-page / 391KB PDF) which will be operational from the beginning of April next year.
The CMA said that "online choice tools can play a central role in addressing competition concerns in UK markets" and that the issue of "price transparency" and the ease with which different products and services can be compared by consumers has been a feature of previous investigations it has undertaken as well as its ongoing look at competition in the energy and retail banking markets.
The CMA said that areas of existing focus, including online and digital markets as well as technology and emerging sectors will "remain significant for the CMA into 2016/17". It suggested that it will look at other issues relating to digital markets in 2016/17 in addition to its planned scrutiny of price comparison websites.
"Our work in the digital sphere continues to develop as almost all markets move towards a greater degree of online activity," it said. "As such, we will identify key specific digital behaviours and practices that we can usefully address, and will prioritise these accordingly. We will follow up our projects on online reviews and on the commercial use of consumer data with work on price comparison websites and in other areas."