Big news at the gates of 2020: on 7 January the EU legislation on e-Commercei.e. online commerce. This regulation defines the new framework of directives and aims to ensure greater protection for European consumers. The member states of the union will have 2 years to implement and update it. Italy included!

What are the most important points of the new European rules for eCommerce consumers? One above all, it concerns for sure increasing transparency by digital merchants towards customers. A hint of regulation on reviews and sponsorships, plus the precise indication of the price in case of discounts. In short: everything we need to make safer and clearer purchases, avoiding (to the extent) scams.

What changes in the EU for eCommerce?

The current state, anyone can open a selling profile on eBay, Amazon or Wish and sell under any name. With the new rules coming soon, all marketplace-style online businesses will have to declare to the consumer whether the seller is a private individual or a company. It should also be clear whether the seller is responsible for delivery or returns handling. In this way, all users will have clear ideas on who to contact in case of problems.

EU eCommerce rules: why do we display one sponsored and not the other?

The "New Deal" also provides for the inclusion of clarifications on the transparency of the ads, especially with regard to i comparators and aggregators of offers published on other eCommerce. In practice, from now on it should be clear why one offer is shown instead of another. In short, what are the ranking criteria for which I see one and not another?

Stop fake reviews (or try)

Among the new regulations, there is also the one to address the now difficult problem of fake reviews. In addition to being forbidden, it is also forbidden to pay someone to write bogus ones. The responsibility for the presence of these reviews will fall on the e-commerce, which will have to guarantee that 100% of its reviews are spontaneous and genuine. In case of fake, it will be possible to run into penalties.