Cross-border E-commerce Failing To Keep Pace

摘要

Even though e-commerce is taking off at national level, the share of EU consumers that have shopped across borders has remained stable since 2006 (at around a quarter of the population), according reports published by the European Commission, on 2 October (Eurobarometer surveys on businesses and on consumer attitudes to cross-border shopping). Currently, 75% of retailers sell only to consumers domestically, but the reports show that if rules were harmonised almost half of them (ie 34% more) would be interested in selling cross-border. "The potential for further internal market integration in this field is considerable - so it is clearly a priority to ensure that legal and practical barriers do not prevent consumers and businesses from trading cross-border - whilst ensuring a consistently high level of consumer protection," said the EU s Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva.