Standards breakthrough gives hope for more European e-commerce
Increased levels of e-commerce and particularly online shopping by consumers can be expected following a new breakthrough agreement on good online business practice drawn up by consumer and business representatives on 10 December. European Commissioner for Consumer protection and Food safety, David Byrne, welcomed the move, saying that the agreement changes the environment for consumers buying online. 'By establishing a common European standard for good practice in dealing with consumers online, we will create an easy and user-friendly way for consumers to identify websites that they can buy from with confidence,' he said. The agreement, which provides a further boost to the creation of the information society in Europe, is especially significant due to the collaboration between both consumer and business organisations. '[This] opens up new possibilities for industry and consumer collaboration in the future for appropriate topics,' said Eric Jonnaert, chairman of UNICE's (Union of industrial and employers confederation of Europe) consumer/marketing group. Jim Murray, director of the European consumers association BEUC, said that the agreement would lead to easier identification of websites that could be trusted. The contents of the agreement include setting standards for data protection, pre-contractual information, commercial communications and payment and security. The effect on e-confidence is expected to be reflected in higher online purchases, as presently just two per cent of total retail sales are made online. Many stakeholders, including the Commission, had identified a lack of e-confidence as key in restricting the level of e-commerce in Europe. A recent study by the JRC (Joint Research Centre) highlighted the mechanisms used to provide the verification of websites dealing with e-commerce. These found that the average time taken to provide certification was one to four person days and the cost was between 2500 and 3500 euro. The most thorough elements that were checked were advertising and security, the offerer's identity and order procedure. The new agreement should make standardisation of a website classification easier and possibly cheaper.