Online purchases double

THE PERCENTAGE of Cypriots buying goods online from other European Union member states doubled last year, according to the spring Consumer Markets Scoreboard published by the European Commission.

However the percentage of Cypriots buying goods from EU states and local businesses combined is the lowest in the EU, the study also found.

“EU consumers are still not reaping the full benefits of the internal market due to barriers to cross-border commerce,” said the Commission in its study. “There is a growing gap between cross-border and domestic e-commerce,” it continued. “The national conditions for consumers – measured by consumer trust in consumer authorities and NGOs, and the effectiveness of handling disputes – have declined in many countries.”

The number and value of cross-border transactions is a measure of how integrated the EU retail market is, according to the study. Cross-border commerce showed limited growth in 2009, with only 29 percent of consumers purchasing goods in another EU country and only 25 percent of retailers selling products to another EU country.

The study also asserts that the gap between domestic and cross-border online purchases grew in 2009, with only 34 percent of EU consumers having bought goods or services online from national sellers and only 8 percent purchasing from elsewhere in the EU.

“Earlier Commission studies showed that shopping cross-border can offer genuine savings and a greater choice to consumers,” said the Commission. “But barriers remain, resulting in many traders refusing to deliver abroad.” Over 60 percent of cross-border orders fail to come to fruition according to the study.

“The Commission is determined to pursue a strategy of dismantling these barriers,” said the Commission in its study. “They include ending fragmentation of rules, boosting cross-border dispute resolution and simplifying regulations for retailers.”

The Commission also found that consumer ability to afford goods and services vary greatly among EU member states, and that life in the wealthier EU states is more affordable despite higher prices. “The Commission is working to tackle existing barriers, including simplifying rules for retailers,” it said.

Luxembourg tops the list of rich but affordable member states with the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Austria following closely behind.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.