MEMO/08/426 Brussels, 20 June 2008 Frequently Asked Questions on E-commerce in the European Union – Eurobarometer results How did these Eurobarometers address e-commerce? The Special Eurobarometer 298 aims to measure consumer attitudes and experiences on cross-border transactions across Europe as well as consumer views on specific measures aimed at protecting their rights. The Flash Eurobarometer 224 aims to assess cross-border trade from a retail perspective by interviewing managers of retail enterprises on their experiences in cross-border transactions, as well as on their views on certain consumer policy measures. This memo details the results of the sections of both surveys which deal, either directly or indirectly, with e-commerce. While parts of the surveys deal specifically with e-commerce, most cover cross-border transactions and distance selling/purchasing as a whole. Some of these have significant implications for e- commerce. As e-commerce is the most common distance selling channel, it is possible to make inferences about the state of and potential for e-commerce in Europe, on the basis of information about cross-border transactions and distance sales channels. The 2008 surveys were done with the 27 current member states, whilst the 2006 surveys were done for the 25 Member states at the time. This has to be taken into account when assessing the result. Sample sizes in both surveys do only allow approximate values to be given. This means that small changes of a few percent should be handled very cautiously.1 The respondents of the survey of retailer's attitudes (hereafter named the retailers) were defined as companies employing 10 or more people operating in one of the 27 member states, selling directly to consumers. Certain business activities have not been included in this survey as they are not relevant to cross border issues and/or business to consumer trade. This means that the sample does not represent "all" retailers as it excludes markets not particularly relevant to cross border issues - for example "Central Banking" and "National Post Activities". 1 Due to the low sample sizes on national level in the surveys of retailers, we warn the reader that member state level results are only approximate, with a maximum sampling error ranging from about ± 12% (in countries with a sample size of 75) to approximately 4,7% (where the national sample size is 400), with the sampling error being approximately ± 8,2%.The subsetting of the samples in various “filtered” questions further increase this range. Sampling errors for the EU-level data are, however, much smaller; for the total EU sample it is about ±1,5% (both or EU27 and EU25) and ±2% for the euro area. Whilst the same point is true for the survey of the consumers attitudes, the sample sizes are larger. However small differences of a few percent should be taken cautiously as the confidence levels ranges from 2 to 3 %. How many European consumers buy online? And how many retailers sell online in the EU? According to EB 298, 33% of consumers in the EU27 have purchased goods or services via the internet in the last 12 months, either in their home country or elsewhere (up from 27% in 2006, EU25). There is a significant variation in this figure at country level: 68% of individuals in the Netherlands have made an online purchase in the past 12 months, while this is true for just 4% of Bulgarians. 30% of EU consumers have made such a purchase from a retailer in their own country, while 7% have made an online purchase from a seller or provider in another EU country. Percentage of individuals having purchased goods or services via the internet in the last 12 months, in their own country or elsewhere, and from a seller/provider located in another EU country. 80 70 68 66 63 60 54 49 50 45 43 40 38 % 40 36 33 32 31 30 30 27 27 26 26 23 23 21 19 20 20 16 17 16 17 16 16 14 13 13 12 12 11 9 99 10 7 7 8 7 6 5 6 5 3 4 3 4 2 2 1 2 11 0 7 I K FI IE S IT U O NL SE DK U FR LU DE CZ AT BE MT LV EE PL ES CY SK H EL LT PT R BG EU2 Own country or elsewhere Another EU country 2 Amongst persons with an internet connection at home, 56% have made an online purchase in the last 12 months. In the UK, 77% of people with an internet connection have done so, while in Bulgaria 14% have. 13% of EU27 consumers with an internet connection have made a cross-border purchase via the internet. E-commerce is the most popular distance selling channel in the EU. While 33% of European consumers have made an online purchase in the past 12 months, 16% have made a purchase over the phone (15% in 2006, EU25), 28% by post (27% in 2006, EU25) and 9% through a sales representative at home or at work (8% in 2006, EU25). Similarly, amongst retailers, according to EB 224, the internet is the most popular distance selling channel. 51% of EU27 retailers sell via the internet (as compared to 57% in the EU25 in 2006), while just 30% sell by mail order, 21% through sales representatives and 17% via telesales. 79% of EU retailers sell their goods and services in shops. Selling via the internet is most common in the Czech Republic, where 69% of retailers use the internet for retail. It is least common in Italy, where the corresponding figure is 19%. 3 Percentage of retailers using e-commerce for retail, EU27 80 70 60 50 % 40 30 20 10 0 IE E SI E S E FI K T IT CZ UK NL DE B AT MT S DK PL LU EL E FR E CY HU S P LT RO BG LV EU27 Retailers estimate that 17% of their e-commerce revenue comes from cross-border online sales. The corresponding figure in 2006 for EU25 was 16%. EU consumers who have made a cross-border purchase in the past year have spent an average of €797. On average, EU27 retailers currently make cross-border sales to final consumers in 1.3 countries, compared with 1.7 in the EU25 in 2006. This figure is highest in Malta, at 3.5, and lowest in Romania at 0.1. Thus many retailers are choosing not to sell their products in countries other than their own. This suggests that the same is true for cross-border e-commerce, as well as distance sales channels as a whole. What are the main barriers to e-commerce in the EU? Refusal to sell cross-border 8% of individuals who have made a cross-border purchase in the last 12 months have experienced being unable to buy an item because they lived in a different country. Language 33% of EU consumers say they are willing to purchase goods and services in another language, while 59% of retailers are prepared to carry out transactions in more than one language. Internet access 31% of EU consumers are not interested in cross-border shopping because they have no internet access. This suggests that as levels of internet access in the EU increase, so will the interest in cross-border shopping, in particular, e-commerce. 4 Do European consumers have confidence in cross-border e- commerce? When asked about their levels of confidence in making cross-border purchases online, 37% of respondents said that they would be more confident making online purchases from sellers/providers located in their own country, which could prove to be a significant barrier to cross-border e-commerce. However, 34% said they are equally confident making purchases online from sellers in their own country than in another EU country. 6% said that they would be more confident buying online from sellers/providers in another EU country. Consumers in Sweden, Finland and Denmark are most confident shopping online in their own country. The least confident are Romanian and Bulgarian consumers. Contact: Helen Kearns +32 2 2987638 Emer Traynor +32 2 2921548 5 Annex Table 1. Internet purchases QC1.1. Please tell me if you have purchased any goods or services in the last 12 months, in (OUR COUNTRY) or elsewhere in any of the following ways (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)? Via the internet (website, email, etc.) Yes, from a Yes, from Yes, from No DK Yes seller\ a seller\ a seller\ provider provider provider located in located in located (OUR another outside COUNTRY) EU the EU TOTAL country EU27 26746 30% 7% 4% 66% 1% 33% BE 1012 23% 13% 4% 70% 0% 30% BG 1000 4% 1% 0% 94% 2% 4% CZ 1070 34% 3% 1% 64% 0% 36% DK 1032 56% 23% 11% 37% 0% 63% D-W 1036 40% 7% 3% 58% 0% 41% DE 1562 39% 6% 3% 59% 0% 40% 35% 4% 2% 64% 1% 36% D-E 526 22% 7% 3% 74% - 26% EE 1000 6% 5% 3% 89% - 11% EL 1000 14% 8% 3% 79% 1% 20% ES 1004 42% 9% 6% 55% 0% 45% FR 1054 20% 16% 9% 69% 1% 31% IE 1000 12% 4% 2% 83% 1% 16% IT 1036 4% 13% 2% 82% 0% 17% CY 506 24% 5% 2% 73% 0% 27% LV 1004 7% 3% 1% 90% 0% 9% LT 1009 11% 38% 5% 57% - 43% LU 513 11% 1% - 87% 1% 12% HU 1000 3% 23% 11% 72% 0% 27% MT 500 62% 16% 10% 32% 0% 68% NL 1023 25% 19% 4% 67% 1% 32% AT 1008 25% 2% 1% 73% 0% 26% PL 1000 7% 2% 1% 91% 1% 9% PT 1000 6% 1% 0% 91% 2% 7% RO 1024 17% 6% 3% 79% 0% 21% SI 1026 15% 2% 1% 82% 1% 16% SK 1049 42% 14% 6% 51% 0% 49% FI 1001 61% 17% 11% 34% - 66% SE 1007 52% 12% 11% 45% 1% 54% UK 1306 6 Table 2a.