Two in three Belgian online stores are in violation

Nearly two in three online stores that are based in Belgium were in violation, one way or another. Although the situation has improved when compared to 2011, it’s still a pretty significant figure. The results are from the annual report of the FPS Economy, a federal public service of Belgium.

FPS Economy revealed the results of a study on ecommerce in Belgium and those are not very positive. Although, they are better than in 2012 when 81% of the audited online stores where in violation, in one or more areas. Now the situation has improved, but there’s still a majority (64%) of the 451 monitored, Belgium-based online stores that are in violation.

After a first check, FPS Economy noticed 47,45% of the online stores didn’t publish at least one of the required identification data: stating the name (8,2% violated this rule), specifying an address (8,2%), specifying a company number (34,62%) or publishing an email address (13,89%). It also seemed that one in five online stores didn’t mention the total price of a product properly or didn’t mention it at all. One in ten online stores was being vague about taxes and 18,2% didn’t mention the shipping costs very clear.

Although we think these are altogether pretty alarming figures, FPS Economy stays positive and focuses on the fact the number of online stores that are in violation dropped.