The European Commission has published the spring Consumer Markets Scoreboard, which reveals that EU consumers are still not reaping the full benefits of the internal market due to barriers to cross-border commerce. It also underlines the variation in the ability of consumers to afford goods and services from one country to another.

The European Consumer Markets Scoreboard provides evidence and alerts about how the internal market is performing for consumers in terms of choice, competitive prices and satisfaction. From 2010, the Spring Scoreboard will examine the integration of the retail market and national conditions for consumers. The Autumn Scoreboard will be adopted in October and will screen 50 specific market sectors to identify those which may be malfunctioning for consumers.

Barriers to cross-border trade

The number and value of cross-border transactions is a measure of how integrated the EU retail market is. Cross-border commerce shows limited growth: in 2009, only 29% consumers made any purchase in another EU country (25% in 2008) and only 25% of retailers sold to any other EU country (20% in 2008). The gap between domestic and cross-border online purchases is growing: in 2009, 34% of EU consumers bought goods or services online from national sellers (28% in 2008), but only 8% ordered from elsewhere in the EU (6% in 2008).

Earlier Commission studies showed that shopping cross-border can offer genuine savings and a greater choice to consumers. The report published last year already stressed this aspect and the upward trend of electronic commerce, hampered by various barriers.

These barriers still remain, resulting in many traders refusing to deliver abroad. Earlier reports show that over 60% of cross-border orders fail. The Commission is determined to pursue a strategy of dismantling these barriers, based on a catalogue of measures identified in October 2009.

A decline in national consumer environments

The consumer environment is defined by a number of factors e.g. by the quality of regulation concerning consumers and businesses, the effectiveness of resolving disputes and handling complaints... The economic crisis has had an adverse impact on these conditions for consumers, with most countries experiencing a decline. But eight Member States (Portugal, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, Austria, France, Slovakia and the United Kingdom) have improved their scores compared with 2008.

The Scoreboard found large differences between EU countries in the consumers' ability to afford goods and services, taking into account both the average incomes and the price levels. Strikingly, life for consumers is more affordable in the richer EU countries, despite higher price levels: Luxembourg is by far the most affordable country, followed by the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Austria.