Fastlane International supports European Commission’s call for cheaper delivery
New European Digital Strategy will enable e-tailers to compete with Amazon and reduce prices, says global courier
The new European Commission (EC) Digital Single Market strategy will revolutionise e-commerce and help drive down delivery costs in Europe, says global courier Fastlane International. The strategy is also designed to create European competition to US giants such as Amazon and Google.
Fastlane International spokesman David Jinks MILT says: ‘This new strategy should mean that UK and European customers will have access to competitive rates, wherever they are, Europe-wide.’
The EC argues that online barriers between member states have prevented the rapid online growth of a European online economy. According to EC reports, only 15% of consumers shop online from another European Union (EU) country, preventing Internet companies and start-ups taking full advantage of growth opportunities, with only 7% of SMEs selling cross-border.
The Strategy also says there should be more efficient and affordable parcel delivery across Europe. A new EU commissioned report, Eurobarometer on e-commerce, reveals that 62% of companies trying to sell online say that delivery costs are a barrier.
Fastlane’s David Jinks says: ‘Fastlane International is a tireless campaigner for driving down costs to customers and ensuring e-commerce growth reaches its true potential. In all 27% of Europe’s online businesses said delivery costs were a major problem for their company and a further 24% said they were a minor problem. This is clearly not good news for SMEs or consumers.’
Observes David: ‘It’s notable that companies in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are the most likely to say that high delivery costs are a problem. In all 73% of Polish internet retailers said delivery prices were a concern, with retailers in Hungary the loudest in saying they are a major problem (47%). Of all the western European countries, French delivery costs are most complained about. In all 41% of French internet retailers said high delivery costs are a major problem.’
Adds David: ‘Fastlane International champions business and consumer’s right to have fair and competitive delivery prices worldwide. European couriers across the Continent should match the best prices available in competitive markets such as England.’
Fastlane also notes that the Digital Single Market strategy has been launched within weeks of the EC sending a Statement of Objections to Google outlining the Commission's claim that that the company is abusing a dominant position, in breach of EU antitrust rules, by systematically favouring its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages in the European Economic Area (EEA). Says David: ‘Clearly the EC is developing an overall strategy towards e-commerce and fulfilment, which should be good news for European internet retailers; though perhaps less welcome for non-European companies such as Google and Amazon.’
For more information please contact David Jinks, Head of PR, on david@flci.co.uk or by phone on 0208 7584962 (07772 055748 out of office hours)
Leading online courier Fastlane International ® strategically partners with the world's leading, logistics companies, including DHL, UPS and DPD to provide a flexible, cost-effective range of parcel delivery services to over 220 countries worldwide. Huge bulk purchasing power allows Fastlane® to offer highly competitive pricing with no compromise in service quality.
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