This week, the European Parliament has been discussing problems related to e-commerce and the mass ordering of goods from third-country online stores. The move is an expected response to a growing amount of criticism from European e-commerce players regarding a level playing field.

This is what’s going on: We as consumers are attracted to the convenience of shopping online – and often at low prices. Today, we have a wide selection of e-commerce platforms that give us an unprecedented selection and the ability to get  products directly to your door with only a few clicks. 

It’s easy to understand why online ordering was growing every year already before Covid-19, and why it’s still going strong after the pandemic.

In this week’s debate, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) focused on highlighting the dangers of major non-EU e-commerce platforms in terms of product safety and quality and also in relation to sustainability and competition. Solutions were seen in stronger enforcement of EU consumer protection and digital market legislation. They also advocated for customs rule reforms and increased resources for market surveillance authorities.

“The enormous impact they (non-EU global platforms) have on local businesses in our communities, as these platforms are suffocating our European SMEs with unfair competition.”

– MEP Laura Ballarín Cereza (S&D Group)

We think it’s good that the Commission is now looking into how the EU can ensure fair rules between companies and bring clarity to the situation and that MEPs have recognised the impact on local businesses.

Yet, there’s one important voice missing from the conversations that touch upon online ordering: the small local businesses that are struggling to compete with e-commerce giants.

What happens to our cities and local shops – already squeezed by the pandemic and rising costs – if less and less people actually buy locally? Ultimately, a city without brick-and-mortar stores would mean there is no place to go when you need service, no place to go if you are interested in seeing the products without needing to ship them back and worth – often across borders or even oceans.

As Europe looks to regain its competitiveness, policymakers should heed the words of local business owners like Stine of Hunni, a dog store in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before partnering with Wolt, Stine dealt with unreliable delivery services. “Products often disappeared or arrived in poor condition. Delivery accounts for 40% of our business, so finding a reliable partner was crucial,” she says. “Wolt has expanded our reach and sales, enabling us to move inventory quickly without needing large storage spaces,” Stina notes.

“We can offer the same level of convenience as a billion-dollar company, without requiring the same resources.” 

This is what Wolt as a local commerce platform unlocks for shops across Europe. We are already present in 18 Member States with Luxembourg as the latest addition.

And in a survey commissioned by Wolt, 86,1% said they’d hope for more support from the EU (or their local government in non-EU countries), while 90,5% agreed there should be a concrete strategy to support small and medium-sized businesses. In the same survey, partners were split on the burden of regulations, yet unified on the need for more support.

As the EU is tackling issues with cross-border e-commerce, it should also proactively support local commerce as asked by the merchants themselves. We at Wolt have put forward three recommendations on how to do so in our Manifesto ‘ Local Commerce for Europe:

1. Adopt a Local Commerce Strategy to ensure EU rules make it as easy as possible for food & retail brick-and-mortar businesses to benefit from digitalisation.
   
2. Unlock all categories of retail also for online sales and local delivery with appropriate safeguards to be implemented with the help of EU Digital Identity Wallet.
   
3. Make the EU target of a 25% reduction in the reporting burden on businesses finally a reality by working more closely together with businesses and stakeholders, and report on the progress made.