The revolution in e-commerce shipping costs

Online shopping is a continuously growing market, although in Italy it is still relegated to a niche role.

And while e-commerce takes off all over the world, with almost record figures achieved during the Christmas period, Europe is starting to worry about competition.

The leader in the sector seems to have become China, with 315 billion dollars in transactions, and by 2015 it seems that purchases via the Internet could equal, if not exceed, those made physically in stores.

How, therefore, can we protect an economy that risks becoming the exclusive prerogative of Asia?

The European Union is responsible for answering this age-old question and, frightened by the fate of e-commerce in the Old Continent, has decided to take action to increase the scope of the virtual economy from the current paltry 3.4% to 15%.

A value of 200 billion euros, equal to almost 400 euros for a single EU citizen.

And what better way to encourage online shopping than by cutting costs?

The European Commissioners for the digital agenda, the internal market and consumers of the European Union are thinking of playing the cards of the ""Single European Payment Area"" and the reduction of shipping costs: reaching out to the buyer is the best way to encourage him to venture into a world of opportunities, where competition and openness make the market more performing and profitable.

By “Single European Payment Area” we mean the definition of a virtual financial area that can guarantee extreme security in transactions for European citizens, promising the right of withdrawal within 14 days of the purchase, the complete refund of the purchase within two weeks in the case of products that do not conform to expectations, detailed information on the peculiarities of the seller and his reliability, as well as a maximum limit of 30 days for shipments.

But that's not all: again to entice customers armed with credit cards, or it would be better to say debit cards given the excessive use of rechargeable payment cards online, sellers could be forced to bear the shipping costs if they exceed the minimum ceiling of 40 euros.

This is a strategy that, in all likelihood, will not make all operators in the sector happy, but has already been successfully implemented for some time by the most accredited fashion sites on the Web.