EU says cross-border e-commerce underdeveloped in Europe

The cross-border e-commerce is still an underdeveloped market in Europe, according to the 2015 edition of the Consumer Scoreboard released by European Commission on Monday.

The reports found that 61 percent of European consumers feel more confident buying online from their own country than from another country in the European Union (EU).

Consumers buying across borders within the EU still face many problems, the report said. The scoreboard which focuses on The Digital Single Market found that the lack of trust, territorial restrictions and price discrimination are still barriers to cross-border e-commerce.

Meanwhile, consumers' and retailers' awareness of some key consumer rights guaranteed by the EU legislation remains limited.

Only 9 percent of consumers were able to answer correctly when asked about their rights, with the lowest levels of knowledge found among young people. A quarter of all consumers encountering problems do not complain.

"The 2015 Consumer Scoreboard confirms that consumers do not yet fully trust cross-border e-commerce. One of the priorities of the Juncker Commission is to complete the Digital Single Market and unleash its full potential," Vera Jourova, European commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said.

Pledging to lift the remaining barriers to cross-border e-commerce, the commissioner said European Commission would propose new rules offering better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe by the end of the year.

It will include EU-wide rules on contracts and consumer protection for online purchases, the European Commission said.

The Consumer Scoreboard is a regular report that tracks the integration of the EU internal retail market from the consumer perspective and monitors the quality of the national consumer environment. Endit