Brussels, 29/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - Improving parcel deliveries between member states and enhancing consumer confidence in online purchases is the objective of the Green Paper presented by the Commission on 29 November, which kicks off a public consultation that will be open until the 15 February. This is expected to help identify measures to take to make life easier for European companies and customers. This consultation on the parcel delivery sector forms part of the work currently being undertaken by the Commission on the development of e-commerce, which was the subject of a communication last January.
On Thursday, the Commission explained that the Green Paper on parcel delivery services would focus on three aspects: improving convenience of delivery services for consumers and SMEs across the EU; ensuring more cost-effective delivery solutions and better prices for consumers and SMEs (the cost of a delivery between EU countries is on average more than twice as much as a domestic delivery); and promoting improved interoperability of delivery services between operators (better partnerships and cooperation), and between operators and e-retailers, notably SMEs.
According to some estimates, the EU parcel delivery services market was worth €42.4 billion in 2008. The corporate deliveries segment of the market stood at 15%. The Commission explains in its document that the B2C (Business to Consumers) segment has experienced rapid growth over the past five years due to the knock-on effect of e-commerce, which accounted for between 20% and 40% of total e-commerce in mature markets such as those in countries like the United Kingdom. Eurostat (the statistical office of the EU) also estimated that more than a quarter of companies made online orders in other countries of the EU.
To develop a genuinely integrated parcel delivery market in the long-term, it will be necessary to get rid of all the barriers, beginning with those impacting on prices, as well as reducing damages that occurred during deliveries. The Commission also explained that 57% of e-retailers consider cross-border delivery to be an obstacle to trading, while 47% of consumers worry about delivery in cross-border transactions. Studies show that only 9% of EU consumers buy goods online from other countries. (SP/trans/fl)