Empowering and Protecting Consumers in the Internet Economy

This report is part of a series of papers in the follow-up work to the 2008 Seoul Ministerial Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy. It shows that over the past five years, despite the financial crisis, business-to-consumer e-commerce has grown steadily across the OECD and beyond, spurred by increased Internet and broadband penetration, competition and innovation, which have in turn led to consumer access to a wider range of products at lower prices. The spread of mobile devices, easy-to-use payment mechanisms, as well as participative web tools such as price and product comparisons and consumer ratings and reviews has further provided consumers with a more convenient e-commerce experience. Trust in e-commerce, however, remains challenged by a number of problems requiring further attention. These include complex information disclosures, legislative gaps, fraudulent and misleading practices and privacy threats as well as inadequate redress mechanisms.