E-Commerce in the EU: an insider’s view - Hoofdinhoud

(The fourth of our “guest” blog posts, written by Alexandros Mylopoulos, owner and e-commerce manager of online bookstore bBooks.gr).

Running an e-commerce business in the European Union is not easy. I’ve learned this the hard way over the last two years, while launching and managing a startup in Greece selling books online. My website, bBooks.gr, is an e-shop focusing on art, architecture, photography and other “books for creative minds”. In this post, I will share my experience and thoughts on what the difficulties are of conducting e-business in the EU, and perhaps try to move forward the discussion on how the Commission can facilitate the efforts of young entrepreneurs.

To begin with, it is self-evident that the common currency is a great asset for those of us doing business in the euro zone. However, a lot remains to be done in the areas of invoicing and payment. The Commission’s policy work on SEPA and e-invoicing is a great place to start; hopefully, it will promote cross-border transactions.

Another important issue that affects e-commerce businesses is trust and security. Consumer trust is hard to gain when you own a not-yet-established brand; having detailed contact information and some sort of SSL certificate displayed on the website can be very helpful. Better yet, a marking scheme like the trustmarks framework that is currently being developed would be very beneficial, especially for small businesses; I imagine this as a seal prominently displayed on the site, informing visitors that “this vendor is approved by the EU”. Another field where there is room for improvement is the adoption of .eu domains. Potential customers visiting a company’s website would know immediately, from the URL, that it is hosted in the EU; this would, in turn, indicate that any transaction made would be according to the Single Market’s regulations on customs, VAT, consumer rights, etc. - thus enhancing consumer confidence in the company.

There are several other areas that are equally important for an e-commerce business, such as how to minimize shipping costs (especially when trading in heavy products), or how to make it to the top results on search engines. Clearly, it would be very challenging for policy-makers to intervene in such markets, against well-established market players. Moving from retail-specific to more general thoughts, I strongly believe that the Commission can drive more widespread adoption of online purchases. Establishing ubiquitous broadband access, fostering digital skills, taking a lead in mobile payments, are only some examples of actions that would facilitate the work on young web entrepreneurs. Last but not least, funding is equally important to e-commerce startups as it is to other e-businesses. Even though the traditional business model can bring in revenue from day one, it is paramount to be able to survive until a solid customer base is built.

My final thought is a piece of advice to prospective entrepreneurs: Don’t wait for policies to solve all your problems; take a leap of faith, go out there and compete!