costly

By leveraging the threat of costly and unpredictable litigation, dominant firms burden their competitors financially and create uncertainty that undermines customer confidence in those rivals—ultimately steering business and market share toward themselves.

But the commission has warned that those options would prove more costly for member states at a time when many are struggling with stretched national budgets.

"The question is whether this escort strategy, which is extremely costly in terms of resources, is viable in the long term," the source added.

While food prices have generally stabilized since then, some staples like beef, coffee and chocolate keep getting costlier.

In the latest quarter, JD.com’s profit slumped 55%, partly due to its costly push into food delivery.