News

Justin Palmer’s blog is good recommended reading because as an e-commerce manager of a fashion shop he puts his tips to practice every day. His credo is that often, online shops concentrate on technological aspects, such as an SEO optimisation, but in doing so they fall into four traps.

These are four things you will want to make a note of.

According to an investigation initiated and coordinated by the EU Commission, half of online ticketing websites analysed by national regulators in a EU-wide review appear to have breached consumer laws and some UK website operators are flagged for further investigation. Read more…

The European Commission announced that it has referred the UK to the European Court of Justice for an inadequate implementation of EU data protection rules. Last year and earlier this year, the EU Commission had claimed that the UK Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and the Data Protection Act do not fully implement EU’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive and the Data Protection Directive.

Read more on the deficiencies of UK law

It goes without saying that online retailers prefer to see positive customer opinions than criticism and customer frustration. But mistakes cannot always be avoided. Online retailers who react to negative customer feedback in the proper way can turn a would-be loss into a victory.

A new consumer protection law recently came into effect in Belgium which reformed the existing legal regulations regarding retail practices, the information companies are obliged to provide to consumers and consumer protection (GHP). This also includes the extension of the cancellation period from 7 days to 14 days. Read more about the important new regulations here.

The online store cuckooclocks provides original cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest in Germany. The store offers a variety of different designs and models of 1 day or 3 day running time, with and without music as well as quartz. In an interview with Trusted Shops retailer Claus-Stefan Duffner explains which measures he uses to increase consumer’s confidence.

Read more in the interview!

In one or at the latest two generations, internet users will be involved in the marketing, quality control and product development activities of companies as a matter of course. The importance of customer opinions as a trust-creating method is increasing rapidly in online retail. Which various approaches can online retailers take in dealing with customer opinions?

Once again cookies are in the focus of legislation – a current consultation concerns the Government’s plans for implementing a set of five EU Directives, the European Electronic Communications Framework. The EU e-Privacy Directive was amended in November 2009 to include, among other aspects, cookies consent provisions. What does the modification mean for website operators?

Read more on the proposal and your possibility to have a say…

Four o’clock in the morning: the last snippets of code are integrated in the new landing page. Testing various versions of the start page will show which site will generate better sales. The one with the red button and the white text? Or the original, more streamlined version? The results of the test will show which theory is correct. An uplift of 30 or even 60 percent? Doubled conversion rate? The result is uncertain…

The question of whether to direct a shop towards foreign consumers is of extreme importance for online retailers. If a shop is actively directed towards foreign consumers, a consumer then has the right to press charges against a retailer in their own country – according to the laws of the consumer’s country. Until now it was unclear as to what constituted a shop being directed towards a foreign market, but the ECJ has now published clear criteria.

Read more about this ruling.