Traders have legal obligation to treat EU customers equally


For years, online shoppers – Europeans in particular – had run into problems preventing them from making purchases. Right before they could make a purchase, customers were redirected to a new page telling them that the order was unavailable in their country. This wasn’t limited to online shopping -- it happened with online services and subscriptions, too.
 In the European Union, only 37% of purchases in another Member State are fulfilled, according to data from the European Commission. To create a more fair ecommerce environment, The European Union passed a new regulation to end discrimination against such customers. Europe Put End To Geo Blocking For E Commerce blog post image Starting December 3, 2018 no trader in Europe is allowed to impose specific conditions or restrictions on the sale of its goods and services according to customer or market size. What exactly does that mean? Merchants are no longer permitted to prohibit a buyer from discrimination based on nationality, country of residence, or place of establishment. Erply asked
Andrus Ansip,
Vice President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Digital Single Market, what this means and how it will affect European merchants and shoppers.
How does this regulation concern merchants?
Similar to GDPR, the Regulation applies to all traders offering their goods or services to consumers in the EU, regardless of whether they are established in the EU or in a non-EU country. All merchants established in non-EU countries that operate in the EU are subject to this Regulation. Traders operating in the EU, i.e. in one or more Member State, may need to adapt their online stores if their interface:
End of geo-blocking
The end of geo-blocking will bring changes to a wide range of industries and ecommerce shops. Consumers can expect to see changes in:2020 will bring additional regulations that will benefit EU consumers. Cultural products, such as music, e-books, online games, and software will be prohibited from geo-blocking customers.
How should businesses prepare for geo-blocking?
Merchants that implement geo-blocking techniques will need to lift all demographic-based restrictions by the deadline, December 3, 2018. If a merchant reroutes a specific IP address based on a shopper’s nationality, they will need to request consent from the consumer before the reroute can legally take place.  Merchants are also responsible for making online purchases simple for all consumers. This means that webshop interfaces may not be designed in a way that would prevent customers from other Member States to easily complete their orders. On the other hand, the Regulation does not impose an obligation on traders to adapt their online interfaces to all different formats and coordinates applicable across the EU, nor to specifically set-up websites or sections of it in certain languages.
In other words...
The Regulation does not affect the right of traders to freely design their prices and websites across the EU, nor does it affect their marketing strategies. In summary, the geo-blocking regulation  obliges traders to treat all EU customers the same, regardless of their nationality, place of residence or place of establishment. This includes webshop access, ease of use, and delivery options offered on a website or point of sale.
No justification for restricting access
The Regulation defines certain situations where there can be no justified reason for geo- blocking or other forms of discrimination based on nationality, residence or establishment. In these situations, customers from another Member State have the same access and possibility to acquire goods and services as local customers. Geo-blocking cannot be justified in the following scenarios:Merchants must be granted customer consent before they block access to their website or reroute the customer based on their IP address. The Regulation prevents merchants from providing a different shopping experience based on a customer's:These situations do not justify a merchant to restrict access to a customer.
Delivery options
Merchants are free to define the geographical area where he or she provides delivery services. Similarly, the Regulation does not impose an obligation on traders to set-up pick-up points for their goods in other countries. However, in areas where a merchant offers delivery or pick up options, customers from other Member States must be permitted to access those pick up options regardless of their nationality, residence or establishment.
Price formation
The Regulation does not regulate nor or impose obligations on merchant prices. Merchants that offer cross-border delivery in some or all Member States remains the trader’s free marketing choice. However, all related information must be clearly spelled out in the applicable general terms and conditions. The total price must be communicated in a clear and comprehensible manner to consumers before the conclusion of the contract.
Sale of services
The Regulation defines situations where client changes do not justify reason for geo-blocking or other forms of discrimination based on nationality, residence or establishment.