Commissioner Kuneva said "Consumers have everything to gain from the Internet. It expands the size of the market they operate in and gives them access to more providers and more choice. It makes it possible to compare products, suppliers and prices on an unprecedented scale. Internet use for retail shopping is destined to become pervasive. Already 150 million consumers shop online, although only 30 million shop online cross border. We must see to it that adoption of the internet platform will not be unnecessarily slowed down by a failure to remove important regulatory barriers or to address important trust issues for consumers."
The main findings:
1. E-commerce is doing well
Consumers are generally satisfied with online shopping. For particularly frequently bought groups of products such as IT product as well as entertainment and leisure goods, consumer satisfaction with internet shopping is on average higher than for retailing in general.
- Consumes are particularly satisfied when it comes to comparing prices, the wider range of offers, the affordability of products and the choice of suppliers.
- Consumers are less enthusiastic about issues such as clear product information, advertising, the protection of privacy, issues of trust and the possibility of returning goods.
2. There is a strong potential for cross border trade in online commerce
- One third of EU citizens would consider buying a product or a service from another Member State via the internet because it is cheaper or better.
- One third of EU consumers say they are willing to purchase goods and services in another language. In a multicultural Europe, there is a demand for more choice and a wider variety of offers than local stores or global brands can supply.
3. The potential of cross border trade is failing to materialise
From 2006 to 2008, the share of online shoppers in the EU has increased from 27% to 33% of consumers while cross-border e-commerce remained stable. Only 7% of consumers currently buy cross-border online. And the gap is widening not narrowing.
The main barriers:
- Geographical segmentation: Most traders now have a website that is visible to consumers everywhere. And yet most retailers still seem to operate on the assumption that the internal market is partitioned along national lines. The range of possibilities is enormous, yet in practice, consumers end up being refused sales or redirected back to their country of origin.
Practical and regulatory obstacles, include
- Language barriers, these remain an issue for most traders and consumers, although we should be careful not to overstate their importance. For example, 60% of retailers are already prepared to carry out transactions in more than one language.
- Problems in terms of the logistics relating to the inter-operability of postal and payment systems, and access issues such as broadband penetration
- There are regulatory barriers that appear increasingly unjustified to consumers and business; these include for example consumer law, VAT rules, selective distribution law, intellectual property protection, the national transposition of EU legislation on waste disposal for example.
- Barriers undermining consumer confidence – in particular reluctance linked to issues of payments, delivery, complaints, application of guarantees, requests for refunds (after sales support), as well as privacy issues. Difficulties are perceived to be aggravated in cross border transactions.
