Consumer Info
In EU consumer and marketing law, consumer information requirements are laid down in the Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), the Consumer Rights Directive and the Price Indication Directive (PID). There is the need to simplify information requirements, focusing on quality rather than quantity of the information to be provided; the possibility of referencing via digital links should be facilitated, without reducing the amount of information.
PID requires traders to indicate the selling price and the price per unit of measurement of products, both at market and pre-contractual stages. The Commission is currently studying if there is the need for modernizing the current information requirements and the ways of improving the accessibility and comprehension by consumers.
Digitalisation in industry is a key part of a broader transformation of the economy that includes robotisation, material sciences, and new production processes, referred to as Industry 4.0. This paradigm shift will radically change business and society. Digitalisation will have considerable consequences for the labour market and work organisation, such as greater income disparities and reduced access to social security systems, which can be prove negative if not properly countered. Consumers must be enabled to obtain appropriate information about products social and environmental effects that will facilitate an informed opinion about intended purchases.
The legal and commercial guarantees market study examines to what extent sellers are aware of, and comply with, the requirements of relevant EU and national legislation. It looks at the way in which legal and commercial guarantees are communicated to consumers, at how consumers perceive them, and at what impact this has on purchasing decisions. The study also assesses the extent to which consumers are aware and make use of their rights, and sheds light on the prevalence and nature of problems that consumers encounter when seeking redress.
The Online Dispute Resolution platform is good news for consumers who make purchases online and who end up with a complaint with the supplier. This platform was created in line with the framework of Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 (Regulation on consumer ODR). The online purchase can be made in the same member state of the consumer and trader or else the consumer and trader are in different member states. The platform will allow consumers and traders to settle their online disputes at the click of a mouse, both for domestic and cross-border purchases, without the need to go through lengthy and costly court proceedings.