The European Commission published a report which shows the results of 305 purchases in 28 countries. Delivery from abroad has turned out to be reliable overall, with 94% of orders delivered (up from 66% in 2003) and only 1% of the products found to be faulty. But shoppers had more problems when returning the goods (as part of the EU-wide cancellation rights), for example with getting the full costs reimbursed.

According to a report presented by the Commission, cross-border deliveries found reliable but few traders sell abroad in the EU. The report shows the findings done by 'Mystery shoppers' from the EU-supported European Consumer Centres' Network. Mystery shoppers in 17 European Consumer Centres made a total of 305 online purchases from foreign EU-based traders in 28 countries. Among the findings, mystery shoppers found that 94% of the products were delivered, up from 66% in 2003. This confirms the Commission's March 2011 findings suggesting that delivery for cross-border purchases within the EU is as reliable as for domestic ones or even more (with the product not arriving in 5% of cross-border cases compared with 6% of domestic orders). Moreover, only 1% of products were faulty (e.g. a book with a damaged cover) or different from what was ordered (e.g. wrong colour).

In addition, mystery shoppers also checked what happened with refunds and when they returned the products under the 'cooling-off' rules.  According to the research, the product cost was reimbursed in 90% cases. However, 57% of shoppers had problems getting reimbursed for the original delivery costs, as required under EU rules. Also, some traders placed illegal restrictions on returning the goods (e.g. by telling the shoppers that they had no such right). Under EU rules, consumers can cancel an online order for any reason within at least 7 days from receiving it (more in some countries), and send it back to the seller (though they may have to pay the cost of shipping the product back).

The report also stated that foreign websites were originally preselected based on a set of minimum criteria for 'cross-border friendliness' (such as the willingness to sell abroad as well as payment and language options). But in practice 60% of these sites presented difficulties which made them unsuitable for online shoppers from other countries (e.g. because the delivery to the consumer's country was not in fact possible). A 2009 EU Commission study also found that 60% of cross-border online orders were refused.

Following these results, the Commission will outline its vision and action plan on how to help EU consumers make the most of e-commerce opportunities before the end of 2011.