Flash Eurobarometer 332 (Consumers´ Attitudes Towards Cross-border Trade and Consumer Protection, wave 2)

Attitudes towards cross-border shopping and consumer protection. Product safety.

Topics: 1. Attitudes towards cross-border shopping and consumer protection: purchase of goods or services in the past twelve months via the internet, or by phone, or by post from sellers or providers located in the own country, in another EU country, or outside the EU; total value of goods or services purchased at a distance in the last twelve months from sellers located: in the own country, in another EU country, outside the EU; problems when purchasing at a distance: delay in delivery or no delivery at all when buying from a seller located in the own country or in another EU country, refusal of a seller in another EU country to deliver to the respondent’s country; purchase of products in another EU country while on holiday or on business or shopping trip; attitudes towards cross-border shopping within the EU: prepared to purchase goods or services using another European language, knowledge where to find information on cross-border shopping, intention to increase the expenses on purchases made by cross-border shopping compared to last year, not interested in making cross-border transactions in the next twelve months; more confidence in purchases via the internet or by phone and by post from sellers located in another EU country, in the own country, or equally in both; experiences with advertisements in the past twelve months: noticed unsolicited commercial advertisements, noticed misleading or deceptive advertisements, responded to an advertisement which has been found to be misleading or deceptive, noticed fraudulent advertisements, responded to an advertisement which has been found to be fraudulent, noticed exaggerated or misleading statements about beneficial environmental effects of products; knowledge of the right to return a good ordered by post, by phone, or on the internet four days after delivery without giving any reason and get money back; knowledge of the right to have a defective durable good repaired or replaced for free bought 18 months ago; obligation to pay invoice for not ordered deliveries: no obligation to pay and no obligation to return good, no obligation to pay provided that the good is returned, obligation to pay; experienced problems when buying in the own country and reaction to the problem; satisfaction with the handling of the complaint; reasons for not complaining; further steps in case of dissatisfaction; approval of the following statements: easy to resolve disputes with sellers through arbitration, mediation, or conciliation, easy to resolve disputes through the courts, trust in independent consumer organizations and in public authorities, feeling of being protected by existing measures of consumer protection, sellers and providers in the own country respect consumer rights, change in consumption behaviour as a result of media stories, regularly following TV or radio programmes on consumer issues.

2. Product safety: assessment of the non-food and food products currently on the market in the own country as safe; personal affection by a product recall of: a non-food product, a food product, both; influence of environmental factors on product choice in the last week.

Demography: age; sex; nationality; age at end of education; occupation; professional position; internet connection at home; region; type of community; own a mobile phone and fixed (landline) phone; household composition and household size.

Additionally coded was: respondent ID; type of phone line; language of the interview; country; date of interview; time of the beginning of the interview; duration of the interview; weighting factor.