E-commerce on the up in Europe
E-commerce
06 May 2009
E-commerce shopping is rising in popularity among consumers throughout the European Union (EU).
This is according to the Barriers to E-commerce report from the European commission (EC), which revealed that while 27 per cent of consumers bought a product online in 2006, this figure rose to 33 per cent two years later.
Growth has been particularly rapid in the UK, Germany and France, each of which saw more than half of consumers turn to e-commerce websites for their shopping needs last year, the research showed.
The EC said that more could be done to encourage cross-border e-commerce, however. About seven per cent of EU consumers currently buy online from sites elsewhere in the EU, with this low figure being blamed on barriers such as language.
Meglena Kuneva, EU consumer commissioner, remarked: "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."
The EC recently launched the eYouGuide, which offers information on consumers' rights when conducting e-commerce and other online activities within the EU.
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