The EU Consumer Protection Cooperation, a European Commission agency, has secured an agreement with Canadian ecommerce service Shopify that will improve safety for EU customers of web stores on its platform and bring it more in line with EU consumer protection rules.

Following 18 months of negotiations, the agreement will see Shopify implement various measures aimed at reducing the potential for scams and counterfeit goods.

This came as a result of a spate of complaints received following an increase in online shopping as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of the main points of contention for the CPC was the number of online retailers who failed to provide contact details attached to their webshop. 

As a result of the agreement, Shopify has agreed to:

In Association with

• Make contact details, terms and conditions, privacy policies and refund policies mandatory on their website following a template redesign.
• Provide clear guidance to web traders on EU consumer law applicable to their e-commerce trade operations within the EU and EEA.
• Supply the registered company details of any EU trader on request by any national consumer authority in the EU Member States.
• Remove web shops reported by national consumer authorities and supply their details for further investigation. 

Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice and Consumers, said: “Almost 75% of internet users in the EU are shopping online. This is a huge market for scammers and rogue traders to exploit, and they will continue to do so unless we act.

“We welcome Shopify's commitment to ensure that traders operating on its platform are aware of their responsibilities under EU law, and are taken down if they break the rules.”

The European Consumer Centre Ireland said that it is “optimistic that the result of the EU dialogue and the commitments made by Shopify will preempt a lot of relevant complaints and make online shopping safer and transparent in the EU going forward”. 

Although a Canadian company, Shopify’s European headquarters are located in Dublin and the ‘Shopify Contracting Party’ in the B2B relationship will be ‘Shopify International Limited’, which is incorporated in Ireland and subject to the jurisdiction of Irish courts.