EU Citizens prefer to shop online in their own countries

Between 2006 and 2008 the percentage of European Union consumers buying at least one item over the Internet increased from 27% to 33%. The proportion of consumers buying online across borders remained stable at around seven percent.

 According to the "Report on
cross-border e-commerce in the E.U." published by the European
Commission, in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland
and Iceland) the proportion of Internet users who bought products and
services online was 91% last year – report said. The avarege share in
EU is 50%, in Hungary 41%

One commonly cited reason for not
shopping in another E.U. member state was a lack of confidence,
prompted by doubts about delivery, the payment mechanism, after-sales
service, or what happens in the event of a complaint. Consumer
affairs commissioner Meglana Kuneva is looking for ways to overcome
this lack of confidence.

"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. It makes it
possible to compare products, suppliers and prices on an
unprecedented scale," she said.

In September Kuneva will present the
results of further research to identify how and where consumers are
being prevented from shopping online across the E.U.