Consumer protection in the digital market and trader compliance: information provision and redress - final report

The Digital Agenda is one of seven initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy, which sets objectives for smart, sustained and inclusive economic growth of the European Union by 2020. One of its main objectives is the completion of the Digital Single Market, including promoting better online access to goods, services and digital content across Europe; and ensuring that the European economy and industry takes full advantage of the digital economy as a potential driver for growth. Despite the recent financial and economic crisis, consumer engagement with the online market has grown steadily, year on year. For example, in 2003, in the first major survey of its kind on B2C ecommerce, only 16% of EU15 citizens had ever bought anything on the Internet. Within just over a decade, by 2014, purchases via the Internet had increased to 65% of EU28 citizens. However, within this figure is a rather modest 19% cross-border sales; with the vast majority of online sales being home-based. The latest figures for 2017, show that 68% of internet users in the EU shopped online in the last 12 months but cross-border e-commerce remains stubbornly low at 22% (a 1% increased on the year before).