The internet has revolutionised the way we shop. With one click
you can find an unimaginable choice of items, compare prices to get
the best deal and organise for that 'must have' item via
next day delivery. Yet how willing would you be to purchase from a
website from outside the UK subject to different regulations,
uncertainty as to reliability and even potential language
barriers.
This is an issue which is being addressed by the EU Consumer
Commissioner's report "Barriers to
E-Commerce" published this month. The Commission have
analysed patterns of online commerce in both a domestic and an EU
setting and have found that there are barriers which are inhibiting
the growth of cross-border e-commerce. Statistics show that in the
EU as a whole, the percentage of people buying at least one item
over the internet increased from 27% to 33% between 2006 and 2008,
representing a steady increase. In terms of total online sales,
cross-border e-commerce is only at a level of
