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Chris Stevens, Head of Industry Distance Selling - Global Sales Management, Swiss Post International Management AG & Sonja van Dorslaer, General manager van Swiss Post International BelgiumThanks to the impressive development of e-commerce, recent years have proven successful for distance sellers, despite challenging economic conditions. In Europe, online sales have doubled since 2005. Growth rates in most European e-retail markets exceeded 20% in 2011, an d the majority of consumers are now buying online as internet sales nudge closer to the 10% of all retail sales mark. However, there are major differences across European countries; payment insecurity, privacy concerns, and lack of trust barriers still exist. Cross-border sales represent a small percentage of online transactions, where concerns about international shipping and the lack of cost transparency still hold back sales. In responding to customer needs and those of merchants and online sellers, the need for a competitively-priced, reliable European packet and parcel network, coupled with visibility of the actual landed cost of shipping has never been greater. Swiss Post will highlight various distribution options and customer-driven service features that are available to help Belgium-based merchants achieve greater online sales within and beyond Europe.In depth appreciation of the key trends driving cross-border e-commerce. Assessment of the barriers that still exist, and how merchants (SMEs and larger sellers) can benefit from an effective high-quality parcels network. Visitors will also be given an overview of the total landed cost model being developed by Swiss Post to help boost cross-border sales through transparent shipping costs and total visibility.