CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU · 2017-11-30 · CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU SPECIAL REPORT 193 -...

EUROPEAN OPINION RESEARCH GROUP – 59.2 – SUMMER

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CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU

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Fieldwork: May-June 2003

Publication: November 2003

This survey was requested by Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection and coordinated by Directorate General Press and Communication

This document does not represent the point oThe interpretations and opinions contained in it ar

r
Standard Eurobaf view of the European Commission. e solely those of the authors. romete
2003 1

Special Eurobarometer
European
ommission

CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU SPECIAL REPORT 193 - NOVEMBER 2003

This survey, together with other Eurobarometer surveys, can be found on the website of the

Public Opinion sector of the Directorate-General Press and Communication of the European

Commission at http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index.htm.

The website of the Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection of the European

Commission can be reached at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm.

The Consumer affairs website of the European Commission can be found on the Internet at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/index_en.htm.

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is also available on the

Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).

EUROPEAN OPINION RESEARCH GROUP – 59.2 – 2003

2

http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/index_en.htm


Table of Contents

Table of Contents.................................................................................................................. 3

Summary................................................................................................................................ 5

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 9

Consumer Protection and Confidence ............................................................................. 10

HIGH LEVEL OF CONSUMER PROTECTION................................................................................ 10

SAFETY OF NON-FOOD PRODUCTS.......................................................................................... 13

SAFETY OF SERVICES............................................................................................................. 16

ENFORCEMENT OF LEGISLATION ON CONSUMER PROTECTION................................................. 18

INTERNET PROTECTION........................................................................................................... 20

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES............................................................................................. 24 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 24 High Level of Consumer Protection .................................................................................. 25 Safety of Non-Food Products............................................................................................ 28 Consumer Confidence: Overall Socio-Demographic Trends ............................................ 32

CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................... 33

Consumer Knowledge ........................................................................................................ 36

ACCESS TO MEANS OF DISPUTE SETTLEMENT......................................................................... 36

KNOWLEDGE OF RIGHTS AS CONSUMERS ............................................................................... 39

INVOLVEMENT OF CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS.......................................................................... 41

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES............................................................................................. 46

Consumers and the Single European Market .................................................................. 52

OPINIONS ON THE IMPACT OF SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET ON PRODUCTS AND SERVICES........ 52 Choice of Food Products .................................................................................................. 53 Choice of Non-Food Products........................................................................................... 54 Choice of Services ............................................................................................................ 56 Price of Food Products...................................................................................................... 57 Price of Non-food Products............................................................................................... 58 Quality of Non-food Products............................................................................................ 60 Price of Services ............................................................................................................... 61 Quality of Services ............................................................................................................ 62 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 63


3


Socio-demographic profiles............................................................................................... 65

PURCHASES MADE: COMPARISON WITH 2002 ......................................................................... 67 Socio-demographic profiles............................................................................................... 68

SHOPPING: BY WHAT MEANS? ............................................................................................... 70

AMOUNT OF SPENDING ........................................................................................................... 73

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES............................................................................................. 76 Means of Shopping ........................................................................................................... 76 Profile of Shoppers Abroad: Total Amount Spent ............................................................. 77 Comparison to 2002.......................................................................................................... 79

ADVERTISING OF GOODS AND SERVICES AND PURCHASES MADE ............................................ 80

ADVERTISING OF GOODS AND SERVICES AND PURCHASES MADE ............................................ 81 Prevalence of Advertising from other EU Countries and Purchases Made in other EU Countries........................................................................................................................... 81 Types of Advertising Seen: 2002 and 2003 ...................................................................... 83 Advertising: Largely Unsolicited........................................................................................ 85

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES............................................................................................. 85 The Reach of Advertising.................................................................................................. 85 Requested Advertising...................................................................................................... 91

IMPACT OF INTRODUCTION OF EURO IN NOTES AND COINS ...................................................... 92 Socio-Demographic Profiles.............................................................................................. 95

FINANCIAL SERVICES.............................................................................................................. 98

ANNEXES............................................................................................................................. 99

QUESTIONNAIRE .............................................................................................................. 100

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ........................................................................................ 106


4


Summary Consumer protection and confidence • Nearly half (48.5%) of all Europeans are satisfied that they have a high level of

consumer protection in their own countries, but just on-fifth (20.3%) believe the same

applies for them in other European (EU 15) countries.

• Northern Europeans have the consistently highest percentage of satisfaction in

consumer protection in their own countries, although they do not with respect to the

other EU countries. Indeed, Sweden has one of the lowest percentages in Europe of

respondents agreeing with these statements.

• Education, age, income and place of residence (rural, mid-size town, large town) are

strong predictors for different aspects of consumer confidence and satisfaction: more

education, higher income, lower age and living in a large town all serve to increase

confidence.

• Just 12.4% of Europeans have bought goods or services from shops or sellers located

in other European countries in the past year, with Luxembourgers having done so at the

highest rate, at 48.5%, and Spain the lowest, at 2.6 per cent.

• In 2002, 13.3% of Europeans bought goods or services from other EU 15 countries.

Denmark, at 38.9%, did so at the highest rate, while Greece, at 4.4 %, did so at the

lowest.

• Over half (54.2%) of the purchases made in other EU 15 countries in 2003 were made

while the purchasers were on a holiday or business trip, while over a third (37.5%) were

made on a trip made primarily for shopping purposes. Just under a quarter (23.0%)

were made via Internet. There are some considerable national variations, but no

identifiable regional distinctions.

• In 2002, 56.9% of purchases made in other EU 15 countries were made while on a

holiday or business trip, while purchases made on a shopping trip accounted for 33.8

per cent. Sales via the Internet were at 17.9 per cent.


5



6

• In terms of socio-demographic categories and shopping, there are also considerable

variations, with education playing a role in Internet shopping (more education more

shopping via Internet) and income playing a role for shopping on holiday or business

trips and for shopping via Internet (higher income more shopping).

• In nearly all cases of consumer confidence, there is at least a two-fold difference

between confidence in the relevant national market vis-à-vis other countries in the EU.

• Confidence in consumer protection and safety in one’s own country ranges from 55 per

cent of Europeans believing that the safety of non-food products is guaranteed to 22 per

cent saying that they believe there is a high level protection when they buy something

on the Internet.

• Consumer confidence in other EU 15 countries ranges from 28.4% of Europeans who

say that the safety of non-food products is guaranteed in other EU 15 countries to 9.6%

who believe they have a high level of protection when they purchase something on the

Internet.

• National differences in consumer confidence are present, with north-south distinctions

often playing a role in addition to socio-demographic factors. The Southern European

countries are more often less confident.

• Nearly half (46.8%) of all Europeans believe that legislation on consumer protection is

applied in their own countries, with Northern Europeans being more confident than

Southern Europeans. Just about one-fifth (19.9%) believes the same with respect to

legislation in other EU countries, with Southern Europeans more confident than

Northern Europeans.

Consumer knowledge

• Europeans do not overwhelmingly believe that they know enough about their rights as

consumers.1 Somewhat under one-third (29.1%) of Europeans believe that they know

enough about their rights as consumers under their own country’s laws. Northern

Europeans feel they have the strongest knowledge of their own rights, with Finland

1 Q39a


(46.8%), Sweden (43.7%) and Denmark (39.3%) topping the list. Southern Europeans

countries are the lowest.

• In terms of knowing about their rights as consumers under European laws, Europeans

are far less confident, with just 7.1% saying they know enough about their rights. The

Northern Europeans and the Germans are the least confident.

• Northern Europeans (Finland 43.3%, Denmark 34.8%) are much more confident than

the EU 15 average (22.4%) about having a high level of protection for purchases made

on the Internet in one’s own country, but are considerably less so for purchases made

on the Internet in other EU countries (Finland 9.6%, Denmark 12.3%). The EU average

is 9.7 per cent. Southern European countries are less confident for purchases in their

own countries, but more confident for Internet purchases made in other EU countries.

• Just under fifteen per cent (14.6%) of Europeans believe that their consumer rights are

taken into account with respect to EU policies other than consumer protection. The

Dutch believe so the most strongly, at 29.4%, while the Swedes believe so the least, at

9.0 per cent.

• Education and age both play a role in believing that one’s rights are taken into account

in other EU 15 policies (more education and lower age predict higher confidence). The

highest overall is the group of those still studying, at 21.7 per cent.

• Just under one-quarter of Europeans (22.1%) feel that consumer associations are

involved enough in formulating consumer protection policy in their own countries while

56.8% feel they should be more involved. 10.1% of Europeans feel that consumer

associations are involved enough in formulating consumer protection policy in other EU

countries.

Consumers and the Single European Market

• Europeans, overall, feel that the Single European Market has positively affected the

choice of both food and non-food products. Considerably more Europeans feel that the

impact has been positive than has been negative. The most positive opinions concern

choice; the least positive the price of food products and of services. Depending on


7


questions, a proportion of 25.6% to 38.7% of EU consumers has no opinions or believes

the Single European Market had no effect.

• The Netherlands, Finland and Luxembourg believe that the Single European Market has

had the most positive impact while Italy, France and the United Kingdom least believe it

has had a positive impact.

• Education and income play an important role in terms of evaluating the impact of the

Single European Market: higher education and higher income lead to increased belief in

the positive impact of the Single European Market.

• As to whether the introduction of Euro notes and coins have made consumers more

interested in purchasing goods or services, overall, nearly 15 per cent (14.8%) of

Europeans are more interested, with the three most interested being Austria,

Netherlands and Luxembourg and the least interested France, Spain and the UK.

• In 2002, 12.3% of Europeans said the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins made

them more interested in purchasing goods or services from other EU 15 countries, with

the Netherlands, Austria and Luxembourg the most interested.


8


Introduction

This report, based upon the Eurobarometer 59.2 survey, with comparisons to the

Eurobarometer 57.2 survey2, was carried out in the EU 15.3 This report will address three

broad questions: first, European4 consumers opinions on consumer protection and

consumer confidence issues, second, consumer knowledge and, third, EU consumers and

the Single European Market. In its first part, this report looks at different aspects of

consumer protection and confidence, excluding food safety, across the EU 15, on the

national, European and socio-demographic levels. Overall, a significant gap remains

between confidence in European consumers’ own countries and the rest of the European

Union (15). While slightly under half (48.5%) of Europeans (EU 15) say that they have a high

level of consumer protection (excluding food safety) in their own countries, just one-fifth

(20.3%) of European consumers feel this is the case for them in the rest of the European

Union.5 Other aspects of consumer confidence show similar results, with European figures

nearly universally below national figures (with the exception of Greece, where confidence in

consumer protection in other countries of the EU 15 is above confidence in Greece).

The second section of this report looks at the knowledge consumers have about their rights

and on their opinions on the involvement of consumer association in formulating consumer

protection policy. There is a considerable gap between consumer knowledge among

Europeans in their own countries and in other EU countries.

The third section of the report is devoted to consumers’ opinions on the impact of the Single

European Market on price, quality and choice of products and services, excluding food

safety.6 This analysis is carried out on the national and European level, as well as on the

basis of socio-demographic categories. Overall, a plurality of Europeans feel that the Single

European Market has had a “fairly positive” impact upon these aspects. The report also

looks at the purchasing behaviour of European consumers in other EU 15 countries and their

exposure to advertising.

2 Details on eurobarometer 57.2 are available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/fair_bus_pract/green_pap_comm/studies/index_en.htm 3 The EU 15 is composed of Belgium (B), Denmark (DK), Western Germany (D WEST), Germany (D TOTAL), Eastern Germany (D OST), Greece (GR), Spain (E), France (F), Ireland (IRL), Italy (I), Luxembourg (L), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (A), Portugal (P), Finland (FIN), Sweden (S) and the United Kingdom (UK). 4 All references to “Europeans,” unless otherwise specified, mean respondents of the survey in the EU 15. Likewise, references to “EU”, “Europe” or use of the adjective “European” refer to the EU 15. 5 See Q 27. 6 See Question Q 28 in the questionnaire of EB 59.2 in the Annex. Future references to the annex will be in the format of “See Q 28”.


9

http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/fair_bus_pract/green_pap_comm/studies/index_en.htm


Consumer Protection and Confidence

A series of five different questions on consumer safety, protection and rights shows

quite a range across the EU 15 of consumer confidence. All five of these aspects are shown

in the figure below. Europeans show most confidence in the safety of non-food products and

the least in consumer protection for purchases made on the Internet. For all aspects,

European consumers show more confidence in consumer protection in their own countries

than in other countries of the European Union.

Q 27, Q33-36: Europeans' Opinions on Consumer Safety and Protection, 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

safety ofnon-food products

safety ofservices

high level ofconsumerprotection

legislation onconsumer protectionapplied in practice

high level ofconsumer

internet protectionYes Yes, in other EU countries

High Level of Consumer Protection7

When asked generally as to whether they believe they have a high level of protection

as consumers (not taking food safety into account) in their own countries,8 nearly half

(48.5%) of Europeans answer positively (see figures above and below). Northern

Europeans9 have a stronger level of consumer confidence than the EU 15 average, with

83.6% of Finns saying they believe they have a high level of consumer protection along with

72.4% of Swedes and 71.6% of Danes. At the other end of the scale, just 19.9% of Greeks,

21.9% of Italians and

7 Q 27. 8 Q 27 a. 9 « Northern Europeans », in this report, covers Denmark, Finland and Sweden


10


Q 27a: High Level of Consumer Protection in Own Country, 2003

19.9

21.9

29.7

43.8

44.2

44.5

48.5

51.2

52.5

53.8

54.7

56.2

57.5

63.6

66.6

71.6

72.4

83.6

66.2

52.9

52.2

35.2

27.9

30.3

29.4

25.7

20.5

17.8

18.6

23.7

22.4

16.3

9.9

17.1

13.3

6.2

8.7

16.7

5.6

9.3

16

13.6

13.5

14.6

16.9

18.9

17.1

10.5

14.9

14.1

14.5

2.9

9.4

5.6

5.3

8.4

12.4

11.6

11.9

11.6

8.6

8.5

10.1

9.5

9.6

9.6

5.2

6

9

8.5

4.8

4.6

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

GR

I

P

E

D OST

IRL

EU 15

B

D TOTAL

L

D WEST

UK TOTAL

F

NL

A

DK

S

FIN

Yes No It depends DK

29.7% of Portuguese believe so (the Spanish are the fourth-lowest, at 43.8%), showing a

clear regional differentiation.

It appears there is a slight correspondence between lack of confidence in one’s own

country and increased confidence in other EU 15 countries.10 About one-fifth (20.5%) of

Europeans overall say that they believe they have a high level of protection in other EU

countries, with Greece (30.5%), Spain (30.2%) and Belgium (27.9%) the highest. While, as

noted, Greece has the lowest belief in consumer protection for its own country (19.9%), it

has the highest for other EU countries (30.5%). Italy has the lowest overall confidence,

10 Q 27 b.


11


Q 27b: High level of Consumer Protection in Other EU Countries, 2003

11.5

13

14.7

16.9

17.7

18.1

18.2

20.3

20.9

22.7

23.5

25.3

25.7

26.8

27.9

28

30.2

30.5

31.3

31.4

25.2

25.4

36.9

36.6

36.5

28

25.1

25.7

19

19

28.6

22.8

29.3

27.2

18

21.9

7.8

11.7

5

10

12.8

12.5

12.4

12

11.1

18.4

13.8

11.8

6.2

22.7

14.7

17.4

6.2

7.7

49.4

43.9

55.1

47.8

32.6

32.8

32.9

39.7

42.9

33.2

43.7

44

39.5

27.7

28

45.6

39.9

27.4

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

I

DK

UK TOTAL

D OST

D TOTAL

D WEST

EU 15

FIN

F

NL

IRL

P

L

B

A

E

GR


ranking second-lowest both for “own country” and with respect to other EU countries, at

21.9% and 13.0%, respectively. Sweden has the lowest confidence in other EU countries,

ranking 11.5%, and Denmark is the third-lowest, with 14.7 per cent. There is a significantly

higher response rate for “don’t know” for this question on the EU 15 level, at 39.7%, than on

the national level, of 8.6 per cent. The “don’t know” responses are quite significant – higher,

in fact, than any other response – and are, for this aspect, generally (although by no means

always) lower for those with higher “yes” responses. The highest “don’t know” responses

come from Denmark (55.1%), Sweden (49.4%) and the United Kingdom (47.8%) – the three

EU countries not in the Euro zone. The lowest come from Belgium (28.0%), Luxembourg

(27.7%) and Austria (27.4%).


12


Safety of non-Food Products11 European consumers place their strongest confidence12 in a guarantee of the safety

of non-food products in their own countries,13 with 55.1 per cent of Europeans agreeing.

Q 33a: Europeans' Opinions on the Guarantee of the Safety of Non-Food Products in their own Countries, 2003

26.4

39.2

41

47.4

52.4

54.3

55.1

55.2

55.5

57.7

60.7

61.3

61.5

61.5

62

63

67.5

68.4

53.1

28

38.6

21.8

20.2

23.7

21.2

24.9

18.4

17.5

18

17.6

21.8

13.9

15.8

14.5

12.2

13.4

9.1

17.3

6.2

11.7

14.1

9.7

11

8.9

9

8.2

9.3

8.9

3.1

13.6

12

14.4

6.8

12.2

11.4

15.6

14.2

19.1

13.3

12.3

12.7

11.1

17.1

16.6

12.1

12.1

13.7

11.1

10.3

8.1

13.6

6

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

GR

I

P

D OST

IRL

UK TOTAL

EU 15

S

D TOTAL

D WEST

NL

E

DK

A

B

L

FIN

F


There is somewhat of a regional trend, with Greece (26.4%), Italy (39.3%) and Portugal

(41.0%) at the bottom of the scale (while Spain is toward the top, with 61.0%). France

(68.4%), Finland (67.5%) and Luxembourg (63.0%) are the three most confident countries.

11 Q33a and Q33b 12 This survey does not cover food safety issues. 13 Q33a


13


There is a 10-point difference (47.4% to 57.7%) between Eastern Germany14 and

Western Germany. “Don’t know” responses are relatively low, with Germany having the

highest responses – with Eastern Germany (19.1%) higher than Western Germany (16.6%).

In terms of believing in a guarantee of the safety of non-food products in other EU 15

countries,15 just over a quarter (28.4%) of Europeans agree. For the most part, confidence

levels are lower on the European level than on the national level. Germans (22.4%), the

British (20.7%) and the Swedes (12.7%) are the least confident. Spain (39.8%), Belgium

(39.1%) and Portugal (35.9%) are the most confident. While both Belgium and Spain were

among the most confident for their own countries, Portugal was among the least confident.

(see graph next page)

14 Eurobarometer provides data for “D OST”, which consists of the five new federal states which made up East Germany, and for “D WEST”, which is consists of the nine old federal states which made up West Germany. “D TOTAL” combines the two. This report will refer to “Eastern Germany,” “Western Germany”, “East Germans” and “West Germans” for ease of reading. 15 Q33b


14


Q 33b: Europeans' Opinions on the Guarantee of the Safety of Non-Food Products in other EU Countries, 2003

12.7

20.2

20.7

22.4

23

24

26.5

27.4

27.9

28.4

31.7

32.7

33.3

33.6

35.7

35.9

39.1

42.8

36.2

28.5

27.3

29.7

30

24.7

22.4

20.9

18.2

22.5

16.2

20.7

19.4

15.4

20.4

19.1

19.3

11.9

8.9

14.3

8.9

12.7

12.3

11.3

10.6

10.1

11.4

8.3

17.7

25.6

13.5

17.5

5.8

14.6

6

42.2

37

43.1

35.2

34.7

47.2

39.8

41.1

43.8

37.6

43.8

28.9

21.7

37.5

26.4

39.2

27

39.3

4.2

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

D OST

UK TOTAL

D TOTAL

D WEST

DK

FIN

NL

I

EU 15

GR

F

L

IRL

A

P

B

E


Interestingly, while Germany, the UK and Sweden were not on the low end of the scale for

confidence in one’s own country, neither were they at the high end, suggesting that

confidence in one’s own country and in other European countries is not necessarily linked,

but may be the result of two distinct decision processes.

The “don’t know” responses are considerably higher for data for other EU countries

than for one’s own country, with Denmark (47.2%), Greece (43.8%) and Italy (43.8%) being

the most unsure, in contrast with Luxembourg (21.7%), Austria (26.4%) and Belgium

(27.0%).


15


Safety of Services

With respect to a guarantee of the safety of services, slightly over half (50.4%) of

Europeans believe that these are guaranteed in their own country.16 There is a regional

Q 34a: Europeans' Opinions on the Guarantee of Safety of Services in their own countries, 2003

22.2

31.4

35.8

46.7

47.1

48.6

50.4

50.4

52

53.3

54.3

54.4

56.3

56.6

62.7

64.4

58.7

31.9

40.3

23.3

22.3

26.1

24.3

23.6

22.2

22.1

22.1

15

19.9

18.6

15.5

15.9

8.5

8.6

9.9

18.2

4.8

14.3

11

10.9

9.8

11.4

8.9

8.3

10

17.4

9.8

13.9

13.2

13.3

5.2

9.3

18.5

19.1

15.7

19.5

14.4

15.5

14.6

16.9

16.2

13.7

13.2

13.9

21.5

13.6

8.2

13.8

7.379

573.3

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

GR

I

P

IRL

D OST

S

UK TOTAL

EU 15

D TOTAL

D WEST

NL

L

E

DK

B

F

A

FIN


distinction, with Southern Europeans, for the most part, having less confidence in this

guarantee. The Finns, with 79.0%, have the highest confidence in the guarantee of the

safety of services in their own country, followed by the Austrians with 64.4% and the French

with 62.7 per cent. As noted, Southern Europeans tend to have less confidence, with 35.8%

of the Portuguese agreeing that the safety of services is guaranteed, 31.4% of Italians doing

so, and 22.2% of Greeks. The Spanish are, however, above the EU 15 average with 56.3

per cent. “It depends” and “don’t know” responses show little remarkable variation across

countries. 16 Q 34a


16


European consumers’ confidence in the guarantee of the safety of services in other EU 15

countries17 is about half of what it is for confidence in their own countries (24.3% for other

EU countries, 50.4% for own countries). Again, as above, the countries whose respondents

have more confidence in other EU 15 countries are not necessarily those with more

confidence in their own countries. Spain (39.5%), Portugal (32.6%) and Belgium (32.5%) are

those with the highest confidence in a guarantee of the safety of services in other EU

countries. The United Kingdom (17.0%), Denmark (16.1%) and Sweden (9.1%) are those

with the least confidence. Denmark has by far the highest rate of “don’t know” responses

(59.2%), followed by Sweden with 48.7%, while Luxembourg has a relatively high level of “it

depends” responses (25.7%).


17 Q34b


17


Q 34b: Europeans' Opinions on the Guarantee of Safety of Services in other EU Countries, 2003

9.1

15.8

16.1

17

18

18.6

21.9

24

24.1

24.3

24.6

27.9

29.2

31.8

31.9

32.5

32.6

39.5

34.1

29.1

20.8

24.4

30.4

30.8

21.2

17.1

19.7

21.8

21

20.9

13.8

17.2

15.4

18.1

17.6

11.5

8

11.2

3.9

8.5

11.6

11.7

10.6

11.4

12.1

11.5

25.7

18.5

12.9

19.3

8.6

16

4.4

5.9

48.7

44

59.2

50

40

38.9

46.3

47.4

44.1

42.5

28.8

32.7

44.1

31.6

44.1

33.5

45.3

43.1

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

D OST

DK

UK TOTAL

D TOTAL

D WEST

NL

I

FIN

EU 15

L

F

IRL

A

GR

B

P

E


Enforcement of Legislation on Consumer Protection

When asked as to whether they think legislation on consumer protection is applied in

practice in their own countries,18 slightly under half of Europeans (46.8%) respond positively

(see figure below). There is a clear geographical distribution, with Portugal (28.7%), Italy

(19.1%) and Greece (15.2%) the countries with the lowest positive responses. Spain is the

fourth-lowest with 41.8 per cent. The highest are the Nordic countries, with 76.8% of Finns

agreeing and 76.2% of Danes and 62.7% of Swedes doing so. One interesting point is the

nearly 12-percentage point gap between Eastern and Western Germany (44.7% to 56.5%) in

thinking that legislation is applied in practice. By far the highest negative response is from

Greece, with a staggering 64.6% of respondents saying that legislation on consumer 18 Q35a


18


protection is not applied in Greece. The EU average is 25.2 per cent. “Don’t know”

responses tend to increase as positive responses decrease, although this does not hold true

for Greece.

Q 35 a: Legislation on Consumer Protection Applied in Own Country, 2003

15.2

19.1

28.7

41.8

43.8

44.7

46.8

51.3

52

54

54.1

54.4

55.6

56.5

62.7

66.5

76.2

76.8

64.6

44.9

46.3

27.4

23.4

19.6

25.2

16.7

19.9

16.6

17.4

15.7

23.5

15.8

15.1

7.8

8.5

7.8

8.4

13.7

5.3

8.8

11

15.9

11.3

11.9

13.9

13.9

7.5

10.3

12.6

13.4

9.8

13.3

7.8

11.9

22.3

19.6

22

21.9

19.8

16.8

20.1

14.2

15.5

21.1

19.5

8.3

14.3

12.4

12.5

12.6

7.62.7

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

GR

I

P

E

IRL

D OST

EU 15

L

B

D TOTAL

UK TOTAL

NL

F

D WEST

S

A

DK

FIN


With respect to legislation applied to them in other EU 15 countries,19 Southern

Europeans tend to be more optimistic than Northern Europeans. While just 19.9% of all

Europeans believe such legislation is applied, 32.9% of Greeks believe so, as do 31.2% of

Spaniards and 27.0% of Portuguese. Greece – the most negative of all EU countries for

legislation applied in one’s own country – is the most positive of all EU countries for

legislation applied in other EU countries. While there thus does appear to be a geographical

dimension in that Southern Europeans are more positive, Italy has the second-lowest “yes”

rate in the EU 15. Sweden has the lowest, at 8.7% and Germany the third-lowest, at 17.0%

(Eastern Germany is at 15.7%).

19 Q35b


19


Q35b: Legislation on Consumer Protection Applied in other EU Countries, 2003

8.7

15.3

15.8

16.6

16.8

17

19

19.8

19.9

19.9

20.3

20.5

24.3

24.9

26.6

27

31.2

32.9

24.2

22.7

20.9

25.2

18.1

25.9

17.2

15.9

22

20

12

16.1

13.8

20.1

11.6

19.5

13.3

13.4

5.5

13.5

9.1

12.9

5.9

12.8

19.5

11.5

18.4

10.7

4.1

9.1

16.3

16.2

10

4.6

5.8

6.6

61.6

48.5

54.2

45.2

59.1

44.4

44.3

52.8

39.7

49.4

63.5

54.4

45.6

38.8

51.8

48.9

49.7

47

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

D OST

I

D TOTAL

UK TOTAL

D WEST

L

FIN

F

EU 15

DK

NL

A

B

IRL

P

E

GR


The “don’t know” responses for this question are quite high, with an average 49.4 per

cent. Indeed, this figure is the highest “don’t know” response for any of the five consumer

safety and protection questions posed here, indicating quite strongly that this is the issue

about which most Europeans are insecure. They do not necessarily feel negatively about the

issue, but nearly half are unsure enough to not be able to give an opinion. Denmark (63.5%)

and Sweden (61.6%) have the highest “don’t know” responses.

Internet Protection The point on which European consumers have the lowest confidence in their own

countries is consumer protection for Internet purchases, although it must be noted that an

average 9.5% of Europeans say that this point is not applicable to them.20 Just 22.4% of all

20 Q 36a.


20


Europeans believe they have a high level of protection when they buy something via the

Internet from a seller or shop located in their own countries (see figure below). The Southern

European countries are again the most sceptical respondents, with 17.7% of the

Portuguese, 10.6% of Italians and 7.8% of Greeks believing they have a high level of

protection. The Spaniards are the fourth-lowest, with 18.5 per cent. The Finns are the most

confident, with 43.3% believing they have a high level of protection for Internet purchases,

followed by 34.8% of the Danes and 31.6% of the British. “Don’t know” responses are

highest in Spain, with 41.0% of Spaniards giving this response.

Q36 a: High Level of Protection for Internet Purchases in Own Country, 2003

7.8

10.6

17.7

18.5

18.5

18.9

20.5

22.2

22.4

23.2

24.5

25.2

27

27

31.6

32.3

34.8

43.3

41.5

38.9

29.5

30.2

27.9

36.4

21.6

34.9

31.7

31.8

32.3

31.4

22.8

30.3

27.1

23.9

27.1

19.3

5

7.8

2.7

13.7

4.9

6.4

12.2

6

8.9

12

11.5

9.7

10.4

7.9

10.4

12.6

4

5.9

12.7

16.3

15.4

6.6

7.6

14.6

24.2

8.5

9.5

4.3

3.7

14.8

6.7

10.4

3.3

9.8

4.4

10.3

33

26.4

34.8

31

41

23.7

21.5

28.4

27.7

28.6

28

18.9

33

24.4

27.6

21.5

29.7

21.2

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

GR

I

P

D OST

E

B

L

NL

EU 15

D TOTAL

D WEST

F

IRL

S

UK TOTAL

A

DK

FIN

Yes No It depends Not applicable DK

Europeans are considerably more sceptical of protection of Internet purchases made

in another country, with just 9.7% of Europeans believing that there is a high level of

protection for Internet purchases made from sellers or shops located in another EU country

and an equal percentage saying that this question is not applicable. Those who were most


21


confident with respect to other EU countries were neither particularly confident nor

particularly sceptical with respect to their own countries: the Austrians are the most

confident, at 18.7%, followed by the Irish at 17.6% and the Luxembourgers at 14.5 per cent.

The least confident are the Germans, at 6.1% (East Germans are very slightly more

confident, at 6.2%) and the Italians and Swedes, both at 6.6 per cent. Luxembourg has a

particularly low “don’t know” response rate, but a particularly high “not applicable” rate.

Portugal (52.3%), Spain (54.0%) and Greece (48.3%) all have quite high “don’t know” rates,

as does the UK (51.0%), although Italy (40.2%) is below the EU average for “don’t know”. A

clear regional differentiation is thus not present.

Q 36 b: High Level of Protection for Internet Purchases in other EU Countries, 2003

6.1

6.1

6.2

6.6

6.6

9.6

9.6

9.7

10

10.8

11.1

11.2

12.3

13.9

14.5

14.7

17.6

18.7

38.6

37.1

31.5

30.7

37

33.5

31.1

30

36

24.7

32.2

24

30.3

21.7

22.6

16.1

17.6

27.2

10.4

10.5

10.9

6.9

6.6

7.4

6.1

8.4

7.1

3.9

10.8

9.3

3.6

4.1

15.2

3.1

10.1

14.5

4.6

5.3

8.1

15.7

11.4

7.8

11.6

9.7

15.6

12.3

15.2

4.5

4.8

6.3

22

13.9

7.8

8.9

40.3

40.9

43.4

40.2

38.4

41.8

41.6

42.2

31.3

48.3

30.8

51

49

54

25.7

52.3

46.9

30.6

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

D WEST

D TOTAL

D OST

I

S

NL

FIN

EU 15

B

GR

F

UK TOTAL

DK

E

L

P

IRL

A

Yes No It depends Not applicable DK


22

Q 27, Q33-36: Consumer Confidence, 2003

B DK D WEST D TOTAL D OST GR E F IRL I L NL A P FIN S UK TOTAL EU 15High level of consumerprotection in our country 51.2 71.6 54.7 52.5 44.2 19.9 43.8 57.5 44.5 21.9 53.8 63.6 66.6 29.7 83.6 72.4 56.2 48.5

High level of consumerprotection in other EU countries 27.9 14.7 18.2 18.1 17.7 30.5 30.2 22.7 25.3 13.0 26.8 23.5 28.0 25.7 20.9 11.5 16.9 20.3

Safety of non-food productsguaranteed in our country 62.0 61.5 57.7 55.5 47.4 26.4 61.3 68.4 52.4 39.2 63.0 60.7 61.5 41.0 67.5 55.2 54.3 55.1

Safety of non-food productsguaranteed in other EU countries 39.1 24.0 23.0 22.4 20.2 31.7 42.8 32.7 33.6 27.9 33.3 27.4 35.7 35.9 26.5 12.7 20.7 28.4

Safety of services guaranteedin our country 57.0 56.6 53.3 52.0 47.1 22.2 56.3 62.7 46.7 31.4 54.4 54.3 64.4 35.8 79.0 48.6 50.4 50.4

Safety of services guaranteedin other EU countries 32.5 16.1 18.6 18.0 15.8 31.9 39.5 27.9 29.2 24.0 24.6 21.9 31.8 32.6 24.1 9.1 17.0 24.3Legislation on consumerprotection applied in practice in our country 52.0 76.2 56.5 54.0 44.7 15.2 41.8 55.6 43.8 19.1 51.3 54.4 66.5 28.7 76.8 62.7 54.1 46.8

Legislation on consumer protection applied in practice in other EU countries 24.9 20.3 17.0 16.6 15.3 32.9 31.2 19.9 26.6 15.8 19.0 20.5 24.3 27.0 19.8 8.7 16.8 19.9

High level of protectionwhen buy via Internet from company located in our country 18.9 34.8 24.5 23.2 18.5 7.8 18.5 25.2 27.0 10.6 20.5 22.2 32.3 17.7 43.3 27.0 31.6 22.4High level of protectionwhen buy via Internet from company located in other EU country 10.0 12.3 6.1 6.1 6.2 10.8 13.9 11.1 17.6 6.6 14.5 9.6 18.7 14.7 9.6 6.6 11.2 9.7

EUROPEAN OPINION RESEARCH GROUP – 59.2 – SUMMER 2003 23

EUROPEAN OPINION RESEARCH GROUP

Increasing

DK

+

E

+ - - s

l

r

C S

Left

R

H O

M

M

S 16-

20+ y

to 15 y

51.8 27.0 48.5 21.9 25.0 11.649.0 21.9 45.1 18.0 19.9 8.052.2 30.3 45.9 22.5 26.8 12.851.8 26.0 47.2 21.4 27.6 12.350.7 24.0 47.5 20.1 22.5 9.348.1 20.5 46.2 17.3 15.8 6.545.0 21.8 40.5 18.8 14.8 6.651.3 22.3 49.3 18.6 23.7 9.354.8 28.2 50.4 21.9 26.8 12.251.4 30.9 45.9 23.8 27.8 14.247.4 26.6 41.6 22.3 24.8 11.458.3 29.4 57.0 22.5 30.8 15.649.8 24.3 44.4 20.0 25.6 10.353.0 24.8 49.9 20.3 24.1 9.347.7 22.7 42.6 17.3 18.8 8.446.5 19.7 44.9 17.7 19.6 8.847.8 20.0 45.8 17.4 15.1 5.751.7 31.2 45.4 24.3 27.7 14.451.1 26.1 46.9 22.4 23.4 10.953.6 26.0 51.6 21.6 23.5 9.952.9 24.2 50.2 19.7 24.0 10.850.1 23.5 45.7 19.0 19.9 8.051.0 24.5 47.9 19.7 21.9 9.349.2 24.9 46.0 21.2 26.1 12.248.7 21.0 43.9 17.5 18.3 8.054.3 27.6 51.4 23.9 25.5 11.053.3 26.2 51.3 20.9 25.0 10.155.8 28.3 52.3 22.3 28.1 12.950.3 26.2 44.5 20.8 20.3 9.550.7 16.0 56.7 16.1 31.3 10.750.4 24.3 46.8 19.9 22.4 9.7

high levelof

consumer Internet

protection in EU

high levelof

consumer Internet

protectionsafetyervices

safetyof services

in EU

leg onconsumer protection

applied

leg onconsumer protection applied in

EU

Q34ab, Q35ab, Q36ab: Socio-Demographic Breakdown of Five Aspects of Consumer Confidence, 2003

Male 49.9 22.3 57.3 30.6Female 47.2 18.5 53.1 26.415-24 50.9 24.1 55.4 31.525-39 48.7 21.9 57.3 31.040-54 48.1 19.6 55.2 29.255 + 47.5 17.9 53.1 24.4rs 43.5 17.6 49.4 25.0

19 yrs 49.6 19.6 56.1 26.9rs 50.1 22.5 59.5 33.3

till studying 53.8 26.1 56.8 33.7Self-employed 44.2 20.7 52.7 32.3

anagers 55.9 25.2 63.2 34.2ther white collars 47.9 21.2 56.7 29.5anual workers 49.0 19.1 56.2 27.7ousepersons 43.2 19.6 51.5 28.4

Unemployed 42.7 15.9 49.8 23.2etired 48.7 18.1 53.4 23.9tudents 53.2 25.9 56.6 34.1

47.3 21.4 56.9 31.3entre 52.9 21.4 57.3 28.9

Right 54.8 21.2 58.5 30.4ural area or village 47.2 19.5 55.1 27.9mall or mid-sized t 49.4 20.0 56.0 28.8arge town 48.1 21.5 53.6 28.5

47.8 18.5 52.3 22.9- 50.9 22.1 58.0 31.5

49.9 21.4 59.2 31.7+ 54.5 24.0 62.0 34.1uro zone 46.0 21.3 55.1 30.4

, S, UK 59.3 16.1 55.0 20.0EU 15 48.5 20.3 55.1 28.4

of s

High levelof

consumer protection

High levelof

consumer protection

in EU

safety of non-food products

safety of non-food

products in EU

– 59.2 – SUMMER 2003

Socio-demographic profiles

Introduction With respect to socio-demographic variables, there is also a considerable amount of

variation in consumer confidence. Broadly speaking, gender, age, education, income and

place of residence all play a role. In general, the younger the person, the more likely he or

she is to have confidence in aspects of consumer protection and safety, both for his/her own

country and for other EU countries. In some cases, there is a direct progression from

younger age groups to older age groups. In other cases, the higher confidence will be one of

the younger age groups, and the lower confidence one of the older age groups. This trend

holds for questions on both one’s own country and on other EU 15 countries.

24


Increasing education also increases the rate of positive response, as does increasing

income, living in a large town and being male.

“Don’t know” responses are fairly consistently linked to positive responses – where

positive responses are lower, “don’t know” responses are higher. Age, income, education,

occupation and gender are, thus, also linked to “don’t know” responses: lower income,

higher age, lower education and being female all result in higher “don’t know” responses.

These groups are not necessarily more negative than those younger, better educated, with

more income, etc., (in fact, their negative responses are often lower) but they appear to be

more hesitant to express an opinion.

Political orientation (right, left, centre) appears to play only a slight role here,

although those who are right-leaning often have slightly stronger consumer confidence in

their own countries, whereas those who are left-leaning do so for other EU countries. In

terms of occupation, managers and students are consistently the most positive, while the

most negative responses are divided among the unemployed (overwhelmingly so), the

retired and house persons. In the table above, the highest figures for each broad category

(age, education, occupation, political orientation, region of origin, income level and Euro-

zone/non-Euro zone) are highlighted, showing trends across all aspects of consumer

confidence for first, in one’s own country and, second, in other EU countries. In this section,

two questions (Q27: high level of consumer protection; Q33: safety of non-food products) will

be discussed in full detail, and, as the same trends persist across all questions, the other

data for “yes” responses are noted in the table above.

High Level of Consumer Protection The range of “yes” responses to the question of whether one has a high level of consumer

protection in one’s own country21 reaches from 42.7% of the unemployed, 43.2% of house

persons and 43.5% of those with up to 15 years of education to 59.3% of those in Denmark,

Sweden and the UK (the non-Euro zone), 55.9% of managers and 54.8% of those with a

right-leaning political orientation.

21 Q 27a


25


Q27 a: Socio-demographic Breakdown: High Level of Consumer Protection in Own Country, 2003

Within each socio-demographic category (gender, age, education, occupation,

political orientation, residence, income), there are often distinct progressions: 50.9% of 15-

24-year olds answered positively, as did 48.7% of 25-39-year-olds, 48.1% of 40-54-year-olds

and 47.5% of over 55-year-olds. A similar pattern holds true for education level, with 43.5%

of those with under 15 years of education answering positively with respect to their own

countries, but 53.8% of those still studying doing so. With respect to income, 54.5% of those

in the highest income category believed they had a high level of consumer protection,

compared to 47.8% of those in the lowest category. Managers were, at 55.9%, the most

confident, while the unemployed, at 42.7%, were the least confident. Political orientation

49.9 47.2

50.9 48.7 48.1 47.5

43.5 49.6 50.1

53.8

44.2 55.9

47.9 49

43.2 42.7

48.7 53.2

47.3 52.9 54.8

47.2 49.4 48.1 47.8

50.9 49.9

54.5

46 59.3

48.5

29.8

29.1

25.9

28.9

30.9

30.4

34

28.2

28.8

23.7

34.4

26.8

30.9

28.1

32.3

30.2

29.9

24.2

32.1

26.9

27.7

30.1

29.6

28.7

29.8

26.7

28.3

27.9

31.1

22

29.4

12.8 14.1

11.2 15.1 14.1

12.8 10.7

14.6 15.8

11.7 16.4

13.5 15

14.2 13.6

15.7 11.4

11.4 13.5 12.6

11.4 12.7

13.7 14.3

10.8 13.8

14.9 13.2

14.3 9.8

13.5

7.5

9.6 12

7.3

7 9.4

11.8 7.6

5.3

10.8 4.9

3.9

6.1

8.7 10.9 11.5

10 11.1

7.1

7.5

6.1

10 7.3

8.8 11.5

8.6 6.9

4.4

8.5 8.9 8.6

0% It depends 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Male

Female

15-24 yrs 25-39 yrs 40-54 yrs

55+ yrs to 15 yrs educ

16-19 yrs educ 20+ yrs educ still studying

self-employed managers

other white collars manual workers

house person unemployed

retired students

Left Centre

Right Rural area/vlg

small or mid-size town Large town

(--) (-) (+)

(++) Euro zone DK, S, UK

EU 15

Yes No DK


26


plays somewhat of a role, with 54.8% of those right-leaning agreeing that they have a high

level of consumer protection in their own countries, and 47.3% of those left-leaning saying

so. Gender plays a role, with 49.9% of men responding positively, but just 47.2% of women

doing so. “Don’t know” responses do not show great variation, although there is generally a

progression across different categories: lower income results in higher uncertainty (range

from 4.4% for the highest income bracket to 11.5% for the lowest), as does less education

(5.3% for those with more than 20 years of education to 11.8% for those with 15 years or

less), although the same does not hold true for age (see table above). The overall highest

“don’t know” response was for those aged 15-24, while the overall lowest was for managers

(3.9%).

For the same question, applied to other EU countries,22 the highest positive

responses came from those still studying (26.1%), students (25.9%) and managers (25.2%).

The lowest positive responses came from those with up to 15 years of education (17.6%),

the non-Euro zone (16.1%) and the unemployed (15.9%). Within each category, there are,

again, progressions: increasing age leads to decreasing positive responses (those aged 15-

24: 24.1%; 25-39: 21.9%; 40-54: 19.6%; 55+: 17.9%). Higher education leads to higher

positive responses, as does, for the most part, increasing income (see figure below).

Occupational groups already have the highest and lowest positive response rates overall,

with students (25.9%), managers (25.2%) and the unemployed (15.9%). Political orientation

plays little role, while the non-Euro zone is less confident here than the Euro zone.

The overall three highest “don’t know” responses are the non-Euro zone (48.5%),

those with up to 15 years of education (45.5%) and the retired (45.3%) – in other words,

those which have the lowest positive responses. The overall three lowest “don’t responses”

are managers (31.7%), the self-employed (33.0%) and those in the highest income category

(33.6%). It should be noted, however, that the “don’t know” responses are, in every case,

higher than the positive responses.

(See graph next page)

22 Q27b


27


Q27b: Socio-Demographic Breakdown: Level of High Consumer Protection in Other EU Countries, 2003

22,3

18,5

24,1

21,9

19,6

17,9

17,6

19,6

22,5

26,1

20,7

25,2

21,2

19,1

19,6

15,9

18,1

25,9

21,4

21,4

21,2

19,5

20

21,5

18,5

22,1

21,4

24

21,3

16,1

20,3

29

27

24,3

29,3

29,9

27,1

28,1

28,7

28,5

23,6

33

28,2

29

29,7

26,5

29,4

26,5

23,2

28,2

28,1

30,9

28,9

28,4

26,8

27,7

29,4

28,4

29,3

28,4

26,1

28

12,4

11,6

11,1

13,1

12,7

11

8,8

13,2

14,4

10,5

13,2

14,8

12,9

13,3

10,8

11,5

10,1

10,5

11,4

12,8

11,8

9,8

12,3

13,8

10,1

10,7

13,1

13,1

12,6

9,3

12

36,3

42,8

40,5

35,8

37,8

44

45,5

38,5

34,6

39,8

33

31,7

36,9

38

43,1

43,2

45,3

40,4

39

37,7

36,1

41,8

39,3

37,9

43,6

37,8

37,1

33,6

37,7

48,5

39,7

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Male

Female

15-24 yrs

25-39 yrs

40-54 yrs

55+ yrs

to 15 yrs educ

16-19 yrs educ

20+ yrs educ

still studying

self-employed

managers

other w hite collars

manual w orkers

house person

unemployed

retired

students

Left

Centre

Right

Rural area/vlg

small or mid-size tow n

Large tow n

(--)

(-)

(+)

(++)

Euro zone

DK, S, UK

EU 15


Safety of Non-Food Products On the issue of whether the safety of non-food products is guaranteed in one’s own

country,23 there are again differences on the basis of socio-demographic groups. The three

groups with the most positive responses are managers (63.2%), those in the highest income

category (62.0%), and in the second-highest income category (59.2%). The three lowest are 23 Q33a


28


those with up to 15 years of education (49.4%), the unemployed (49.8%), and house

persons (51.5%). Education and income once again play a predictive role, with higher

education (up to 15 years: 49.4%, 16-19 years: 56.1%; 20+ years: 59.5%) and income

(lowest income: 52.3%, next-to-lowest: 59.2%, second-highest: 59.2%, highest: 62.0%)

Q33a: Socio-Demographic Breakdown: Guarantee of Safety of non-Food Products in Own Country, 2003

57.3

53.1

55.4

57.3

55.2

53.1

49.4

56.1

59.5

56.8

52.7

63.2

56.7

56.2

51.5

49.8

53.4

56.6

56.9

57.3

58.5

55.1

56

53.6

52.3

58

59.2

62

55.1

55

55.1

22.1

20.4

19.5

20.8

23.2

20.8

24.6

20.4

20.1

18

25.4

18.2

19.8

22

22.5

22.9

21.1

18.3

23.1

20.4

20.5

21.6

20.2

22.3

22.8

21.7

20.9

20.1

20.6

23.7

21.2

10.4

11.4

10.3

10.6

11.3

11.3

10.5

11.3

11.3

10

11.9

9.5

11.8

10.9

9.9

14

11

9.9

10.5

10.3

10.1

9.8

12.3

10.5

10.6

8.7

9.9

10

11.4

9.1

11

10.2

15.1

14.8

11.4

10.3

14.8

15.5

12.2

9.1

15.2

10

9.1

11.7

11

16

13.2

14.5

15.1

9.4

12.1

10.9

13.5

11.5

13.7

14.4

11.5

10

7.8

12.8

12.2

12.7

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Male

Female

15-24 yrs

25-39 yrs

40-54 yrs

55+ yrs

to 15 yrs educ

16-19 yrs educ

20+ yrs educ

still studying

self-employed

managers


manual w orkers

house person

unemployed

retired

students

Left

Centre

Right

Rural area/vlg


Large tow n

(--)

(-)

(+)

(++)

Euro zone

DK, S, UK

EU 15


predicting higher positive response. Within the other socio-demographic categories, males

are more positive than females (57.3% to 53.1%), while those aged 25-39 are the most

positive of all age groups. Different occupations once again include the overall highest and

the overall lowest positive results.


29


“Don’t know” responses once again vary with positive results, with those who

answered most positively also having the lowest “don’t know” responses. The highest “don’t

know” responses come from those with up to 15 years of education (15.5%), those still

studying (15.2%), females (15.1%) and students (15.1%). The lowest come from those in the

highest income category (7.8%), managers (9.1%), those with more than 20 years of

education (9.1%) and those with a left-leaning political orientation.

For the same question referring to other EU countries,24 a similar pattern holds: those

with the lowest positive response concerning the guarantee of the safety of non-food

products in other EU countries are: those in the non-Euro zone (20.0%), the unemployed

(23.2%) and the retired (23.9%). The three highest are managers (34.2%), students (34.1%)

and those in the highest income category (34.1%). Within each socio-demographic category,

there are again progressions: education (up to 15 years: 25.0%; 16-19 years: 26.9%; 20+

years: 33.3%; still studying: 33/7%), income (lowest category: 22.9%; next-to-lowest: 31.5%;

second-highest: 31.7%; highest: 34.1%) and, to a certain extent (excluding 15-24-year-olds),

age (15-24: 31.5%; 25-39: 31.0%; 40-54: 29.2%; 55+: 24.4%). Within occupations, the

overall highest (managers: 34.2%) and overall second-lowest (unemployed: 23.2%) are

included. Men are more positive than women (30.6% to 26.4%) and the left-leaning are

slightly more positive than the right- or centre-leaning. The Euro zone is considerably more

positive than the non-Euro zone (30.4% to 20.0%). With respect to “don’t know” responses,

higher “don’t know” responses correspond once again to lower positive responses. The

lowest “don’t know” responses are from managers (29.4%), those in the highest income

category (30.8%) and those with more than 20 years of education (32.4%). The highest are

from those with up to 15 years of education (43.9%), those aged over 55 years (43.7%) and

the retired (43.3%). For this question, “don’t know” responses are not always higher than

positive responses (this is the case for managers, those with more than 20 years of

education and those in the highest income category).


24 Q27b


30


Q 33b: Socio-Demographic Breakdown: Guarantee of Safety of non-Food Products in other EU Countries, 2003

30.6

26.4

31.5

31

29.2

24.4

25

26.9

33.3

33.7

32.3

34.2

29.5

27.7

28.4

23.2

23.9

34.1

31.3

28.9

30.4

27.9

28.8

28.5

22.9

31.5

31.7

34.1

30.4

20

28.4

23.8

21.4

19.3

23.2

24

22.3

23.2

23.6

21.7

18.5

22.8

20.9

22.3

25.3

20.2

23.7

23.2

18

22.8

24

24.6

22.8

22.1

22.9

24.2

23.7

23.5

23.6

21.2

28.2

22.5

11.7

11.1

12.1

12.2

12.5

9.6

8

13.1

12.7

11

11

15.5

11.7

12.4

8.6

15.1

9.6

10.9

11

11.2

11.3

8.6

12.3

13

11

10.8

11.1

11.5

12

8.6

11.4

33.9

41.1

37.1

33.6

34.3

43.7

43.9

36.5

32.4

36.8

33.8

29.4

36.6

34.6

42.8

38

43.3

37.1

34.9

35.9

33.8

40.7

36.8

35.7

41.9

34

33.7

30.8

36.4

43.2

37.6

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Male

Female

15-24 yrs

25-39 yrs

40-54 yrs

55+ yrs

to 15 yrs educ

16-19 yrs educ

20+ yrs educ

still studying

self-employed

managers


manual w orkers

house person

unemployed

retired

students

Left

Centre

Right

Rural area/vlg


Large tow n

(--)

(-)

(+)

(++)

Euro zone

DK, S, UK

EU 15



31


Consumer Confidence: Overall Socio-Demographic Trends

Responses for the other consumer confidence questions – guarantee of safety of

services (Q34ab), whether legislation on consumer protection is applied in practice (Q35ab)

and whether there is a high level of protection for purchases made on the Internet (Q36ab) –

are similar. These three questions will thus, to avoid undue repetition, be discussed

generally with reference to the “yes” positive responses to each of these questions;

remarkable points of each will be discussed. For the ease of comparison, all five questions

(including Q27: high level of consumer confidence and Q33: guarantee of the safety of non-

food products) will be discussed here.

For all questions, both with relevance to one’s own country and to other EU

countries, men respond more positively than women. For the most part, younger

respondents respond more positively than older, although with respect to the question of

whether legislation on consumer protection is applied, those aged 40-54 responded most

positively. For every question, more education translates into higher consumer confidence

(i.e. those who had more than 20 years of education were more confident than those with

16-19 years of education, who were more confident than those with up to 15 years of

education). In a majority of cases, those still studying expressed even more confidence than

those who had studied more than 20 years.

In terms of occupation, managers and students were consistently the two most

confident groups. The unemployed, for the most part, were the least confident, except for the

question on legislation and on protection for internet purchases. With respect to the

application of legislation on consumer protection in one’s own country, the self-employed

were least confident and for other EU countries, house persons were least confident. On the

question of consumer protection for purchases made on the Internet both in one’s own

country and in other EU countries, the retired were the least confident. Political orientation

appears to have little significance. With respect to residence, confidence was evenly divided

between those from small or mid-sized towns and those from large towns. Income is again a

clear predictor of opinion: in nine cases out of ten, those in the highest income group were

the most confident. Only for the question of whether legislation on consumer protection was

applied in other EU countries were those in the next-to-lowest income group the most

confident. The Euro zone and non-Euro zone (Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom) were

evenly divided in terms of confidence, with the non-Euro zone more confident in their own

countries (in four cases out of the five) and the Euro zone more confident about protection in


32


the EU (four out of five cases). Overall, across the EU 15, and across all aspects of

consumer confidence, the socio-demographic profile of the more confident respondent is of

a younger, more highly educated, higher income city dweller.

Conclusion

These data clearly show that there are also significant differences both among

European countries and, as discussed above, within them, on the basis of socio-

demographic criteria. For all the different consumer confidence aspects discussed,25 only

Greece has higher confidence in other EU countries than in its own country in every single

case. As seen in the table below, Greece is the overall least positive for every single issue

with respect to Greece, but is above the EU 15 average in confidence for every issue with

respect to other EU countries. Portugal also has a similar pattern, with confidence levels

below the EU average with respect to Portugal, but above the EU average for other EU

countries. Italy is below the EU average for every aspect both with respect to Italy and to the

EU, while Spain tends to be somewhat more positive. Ireland is similar, with responses

below the EU average for Ireland, but above the EU average for other EU countries – with

the exception of a high level of protection for the Internet in Ireland, where the Irish are more

confident than the EU 15 average.

Germany and (with the exception of safety of services) Sweden have precisely the opposite

pattern, with confidence levels above the EU 15 average for their own countries and below

the EU average for other EU countries. Eastern Germany is less confident than the EU

average for every aspect. Finland and Denmark are consistently on the high end of the scale

for agreeing with statements referring to one’s own country but are, for the most part, neither

the highest nor the lowest with reference to other EU 15 countries. Belgians are more

confident than the EU average for every aspect, both for Belgium and for the EU, except for

the question of a high level of protection for purchases on the Internet, where they are less

confident about Belgium and slightly more confident for other EU countries. France is above

the EU average for every aspect except for the question of whether consumer protection

legislation is applied in practice in other EU countries. Austria is more confident than the EU

average for every aspect. Other EU countries do not appear to have identifiable trends or

patterns in terms of their responses to these consumer confidence issues.

25 Q27: high level of protection, Q33: safety of non-food products, Q34: safety of services, Q35: legislation on consumer protection applied; Q36: high level of protection for Internet purchases.


33


Q 27, Q33-36: Consumer Safety and Confidence: National Trends, 2003

legislati n high level oon high le el v

of of legislation

high le el consumer vof

safety of protection on high le el safety of protection protection v

of non-food for Internet safety of consumer

protectio non-food applied in for Internet nin EU

products

purchases

products in safety of purchases services in protection protection EU EU services in EUEU applied

most positive FIN GR F GR FIN E FIN E FIN AFIN DK S E E IRLDKB A P

DK A L P A P F B A PA B B IRL UK TOTAL A B GR S L

NL L A B S IRL DK D WESTA EDK IRL F P A DKIRLL E F

UK TOTAL IRL NL E F UK TOTALNLF L FD WEST NL NL DK D WEST GR NL L UK TOTAL F

D WEST EU 15 D TOTAL L F EU 15 D WEST EU 15 D TOTAL GRD TOTAL FIN D TOTAL F EU 15 I D TOTAL FIN B B

EU 15 FIN NL B S NL EU 15 EU 15I LEU 15 D WEST EU 15 L L FIN UK TOTAL NL EU 15 FIN

IRL D TOTAL UK TOTAL D WEST B DK D WEST D OST NLSD OST D OST IRL UK TOTAL E D WEST D OST D TOTAL IRL S

UK TOTAL D OST D TOTAL D OST E D TOTAL IRL UK TOTAL E IDK P P I P UK TOTAL DK D OSTP P

I D OST I I I D OST D OST D TOTALI Ileast positive GR S GR S GR D WESTS GR S GR

Overall, the survey highlights the fact that Europeans still have considerably more

confidence in consumer protection in their own countries than in other EU countries,

however, this is clearly more strongly the case in Northern than in Southern Europe. The

higher the trust one has in one’s own country, the more sceptical the attitude toward

consumer protection in other EU countries (especially among the Northern Europeans).

Conversely, those Europeans (in particular Southern Europeans) who are less certain of

consumer protection in their own countries tend to have higher trust in other EU 15

countries. This phenomenon is most striking in the Greek case.


34


Q27, Q 33-36: EU 15 Opinions on Consumer Safety and

Protection, 2003

9.7

19.9

20.3

22.4

24.3

28.4

46.8

48.5

50.4

55.1

30

20

28

31.7

21.8

22.5

25.2

29.4

23.6

21.2

8.4

10.7

12

8.9

11.5

11.4

11.3

13.5

11.4

11

42.2

49.4

39.7

27.7

42.5

37.6

16.8

8.6

14.6

12.7

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

High level of protection forInternet purchases

in EU?

Legislation on consumerprotection

enforced in EU?

High level of consumerprotection in EU

High level of protection forInternet purchasesin ow n country?

Guarantee of safetyof services in EU

Guarantee of safety ofnon-

food products in EU

Legislation on consumerprotection

enforced in ow n country?

High level of consumerprotection

in ow n country

Guarantee of safetyof services in ow n

country

Guarantee of safety ofnon-food

products in ow n country


In general, however, as can be seen in the figure above, which is organized by decreasing

positive response, those issues on which Europeans have the most confidence in their own

countries are generally also the issues on which they have the most confidence in Europe. In

nearly all cases (except that of Greece), Europeans have more confidence in their own

countries than in other EU countries.


35


Consumer Knowledge

Access to Means of Dispute Settlement Just over half (51.6%) of Europeans say that they think they have access to ways to

settle disputes when they buy products in their own country (see figure below).26 For this

question, there is quite a wide range, with the high end of the scale at 78.6% and the low

Q37a: Access to Means of Dispute Settlement When Products or Services are Bought in Own Country, 2003

25.8

27

30.8

43.7

48.4

50.5

51.6

54.5

55.7

58.4

58.7

58.9

60

61.1

66.9

74.4

77.8

78.6

33.4

46

40.9

18.3

20.2

16.3

18.6

17.5

12.5

9.4

13.8

16.9

11.5

11.2

11.1

10.7

4.3

8.3

10.2

9.8

3.9

6.9

9

10.9

8.7

11.3

8.7

17.4

6.2

12.5

7.8

7.6

6.9

6.3

6.2

30.6

17.3

24.4

31.1

22.5

22.3

21.1

16.7

23

14.8

21.3

11.7

20.8

20.2

15.1

13.2

11.7

6.9

1.7

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

I

GR

P

E

B

IRL

EU 15

L

D OST

A

UK TOTAL

F

D TOTAL

D WEST

NL

DK

FIN

S


end at 25.8 per cent. There is a distinct regional bias, with the Northern Europeans at the

high end of the scale, with Sweden (78.6%), Finland (77.8%) and Denmark (74.4%) the


3626 Q37a


highest. Southern Europe is at the lower end of the scale, with Portugal (30.8%), Greece

(27.0%) and Italy (25.8%) the lowest. Spain is the fourth-lowest with 43.7 per cent.

Interestingly, the highest negative responses are not linked to the very lowest positive

responses, but instead to the second- and third-lowest positive responses. The Portuguese

and the Greeks (second- and third-lowest) have lower “it depends” and “don’t know”

responses than do the Italians. “Don’t know” responses increase, for the most part, as

positive responses decrease. France, Austria, Luxembourg and Greece are, however,

exceptions to this general rule, with lower “don’t know” responses.

When asked as to whether they believe they have access to means of dispute

settlement in other EU countries when one buys products or services,27 just under one-fifth

Q37b: Access to Means of Dispute Settlement When Products or Services are Bought in other EU Countries, 2003

10.6

12.4

13.8

15.9

17.2

17.4

17.4

17.5

17.8

18.5

18.5

18.9

20.9

23.2

23.6

24

27.4

27.9

29.8

25

20.4

25.4

16.2

24.2

19.6

19.1

23

27.9

30.2

27.2

26.1

14.5

22.1

21.9

15.5

16.8

10

7.4

5.9

11.9

7.3

12.5

9.8

3.9

9.4

15.8

7.7

11.9

18.5

10.5

18.4

3.3

3.1

6.7

49.7

55.2

60

46.8

59.3

46

53.1

59.5

49.8

37.7

43.7

42

34.4

51.7

36

50.8

54

48.6

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

D OST

I

UK TOTAL

D TOTAL

NL

D WEST

FIN

DK

EU 15

F

S

B

L

IRL

A

P

E

GR



3727 Q37b


(17.8%) of Europeans respond positively. Nearly half (49.8%) say that they don’t know. As

seen above, “don’t know” responses are, in general, quite high for questions relating to other

EU 15 countries. Here, Austria (36.0%), Luxembourg (34.4%) and Belgium (42.0%) have the

lowest “don’t know” responses, while the United Kingdom (60.0%), Denmark (59.5%) and

the Netherlands (59.3%) have the highest. Germany (15.9%), the United Kingdom (13.8%)

and Italy (12.4%) expressed the lowest positive opinion, while Greeks (27.9%), Spaniards

(27.4%) and Portuguese (24.0%) are the Europeans with the strongest belief that they have

access to means of dispute settlement in other EU countries. The Northern Europeans, while

not holding the lowest positions are, nonetheless, not noticeably impressed about their

options of dispute settlement outside their own countries (18.5% of Swedes believe they

have access to such means, while 17.5% of Danes and 17.4% of Finns do so).

Overall, when Europeans are asked as to whether they actually know of these means

of dispute settlement other than going to court (i.e., mediation, conciliation, arbitration), over

one-third (37.2%) of Europeans respond positively.28 The countries with the lowest positive

response rates are: Spain (20.3%), Portugal (24.3%) and Italy (30.8%). Sweden (54.5%),

Q37/Q38: Access to and Awareness of Means of Dispute Settlement, 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

E P I B

D OST

GR

D TOTAL

D WEST

L

EU 15 F

IRL

FIN

UK TOTAL A S

DK NL

Have access to dispute settlement in ow n countryHave access to dispute settlement in EU countriesAw are of w ays to settle disputes

Denmark (55.6%) and the Netherlands (72.1%) are the countries with the respondents who

are most aware of the means of dispute settlement. Interestingly, the positive response rate

to this question is, in almost all cases (except that of the Netherlands, Italy and Greece),


3828 Q38


below the rate of European consumers who say that they think they can have access to

means of dispute settlement in their own country. The response is even, in the case of

Spain, lower than the percentage of those who say that they think they can have access to

such means in other EU countries (see figure above). This finding suggests that there is

strong confidence across the EU 15 – on the national level – that dispute settlement options

are available, even if specific knowledge about such options is not widespread.

There is some correspondence between a high percentage of respondents saying

they think they have access to means of dispute settlement and those saying they know

which means exist. The Dutch (72.1%), Danes (55.6%) and the Swedes (54.5%) have the

most knowledge of the existence of means of dispute settlement, while the Danes, Swedes

and Finns believe most strongly that they have access to means of dispute settlement in

their own countries. The Italians (30.8%), Portuguese (24.3%) and the Spanish (20.3%)

have the lowest awareness of means of dispute settlement, again showing that a regional

bias does exist, to some extent (the Greeks, at 33.1%, are also below the EU average of

37.2%).

Knowledge of Rights as Consumers

Europeans do not overwhelmingly believe that they know enough about their rights

as consumers.29 Somewhat under one-third (29.1%) of Europeans believe that they know

enough about their rights as consumers under their own country’s laws. The Northern

Europeans are again the countries where respondents feel that they have the strongest

knowledge of their own rights, with Finland (46.8%), Sweden (43.7%) and Denmark (39.3%)

topping the list. Portugal (20.9%), Spain (20.5%) and Belgium (20.0%) are the lowest

countries on the list, showing regional differentiation (with Eastern Germany and Belgium at

the very bottom) once again. For this question, there are very low levels of “don’t know”

responses, with the highest being just 15.3%, from Austria, and the lowest 2.2%, from

Sweden.


3929 Q39a


Q39a: Know Enough About Rights as a Consumer in Own Country, 2003

19

20

20.5

20.9

23.7

26.1

27.7

29.1

29.1

29.2

30

30.6

32.1

36

37

39.3

43.7

46.8

72.9

73.8

68.1

66.4

71

63.1

63.7

66.8

63.2

65.8

61.3

61.9

52.6

56.2

57.9

56.6

54

50.3

8.1

6.2

11.5

12.6

5.4

10.8

8.6

4.1

7.8

5

8.7

7.5

15.3

7.7

5.1

4.2

2.2

2.9

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

D OST

B

E

P

GR

I

D TOTAL

F

EU 15

L

D WEST

IRL

A

NL

UK TOTAL

DK

S

FIN

Yes No DK

Eastern Germany, however, is the lowest overall, at 19.0%, contrasting to the 30.0% of

Western Germany.

In terms of knowing about their rights under European laws,30 Europeans are far less

confident (7.1% EU 15 average), with a high of 17.5% of Austrians saying they know enough

about their rights, followed by 13.4% of the Irish and 11.8% of the Luxembourgers. The least

confident are the Swedes, with 3.0%, the Germans with 3.1%, and the Finns with 4.6 per

cent. The Southern Europeans, with the exception of Italy, are above the EU average in

knowing enough about their rights, as consumers, under European laws. In the case of

Greece and Portugal, they are substantially above the average (11.4% and 10.5%,

respectively, compared to 7.1%).


4030 Q39b


Q39b: Know Enough about Rights as a Consumer under European Laws, 2003

3

3.1

3.1

3.3

4.6

5.6

6.3

6.6

7.1

7.2

8.8

9.4

10.5

10.9

11.4

11.8

13.4

17.5

79.9

82.6

83.1

84.9

80.8

77.4

73.5

67.7

75.5

84

81.8

69.4

64

69.3

73.8

78.1

69.4

62.6

17

14.3

13.8

11.8

14.6

17

20.2

25.7

17.4

8.9

9.4

21.2

25.5

19.8

14.8

10.1

17.2

19.9

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

S

D WEST

D TOTAL

D OST

FIN

DK

UK TOTAL

I

EU 15

B

F

E

P

NL

GR

L

IRL

A

Yes No DK

Involvement of Consumer Associations

When asked as to whether consumer associations are involved enough in

formulating consumer protection policy in their own countries, just under one-quarter (22.1%)

feel that they are involved enough while 56.8% feel that they should be more involved.31

Some 21.0% do not know. Portugal, with 38.2%, the Netherlands with 33.1% and Denmark

with 30.9% are those countries in which the largest percentage of respondents state that

consumer associations are enough involved in formulating policy. Southern European

countries are, in this case, at both ends of the range. Greece, with 3.7%, Spain with 14.3%

and Ireland with 18.4% are the three countries in which respondents least feel that consumer

associations are involved enough. Greece is clearly the country which feels most strongly


4131 Q40a


about the issue: some 83.7% note that consumer associations should be more involved, and

just 12.6% do not know. There is, again, a difference between Eastern and Western

Germany, with 16.1% and 22.8%, respectively.

IR

E

Q40a: Involvement of Consumer Associations in Formulating Consumer Protection Policy in Own Country, 2003

3.7

14.3

16.1

18.2

19.3

20.8

21.3

21.4

22.1

22.8

24.3

24.6

26.3

26.5

27.2

30.9

33.1

38.2

83.7

61.4

62.1

61.8

62.9

57.8

61.6

58.6

56.8

57.6

56.7

47.7

46.5

55.7

44.3

45.2

50.9

37.7

12.6

24.3

21.8

20

17.7

21.4

17.1

20

21

19.6

19

27.7

27.2

17.7

28.5

23.9

16.1

24.1

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

GR

D OST

L

I

L

B

D TOTAL

EU 15

D WEST

F

UK TOTAL

A

S

FIN

DK

NL

P

Enough involved Should be more involved DK

Considerably more Europeans – some 42.1% – gave “don’t know” responses to the

same question applied to other EU 15 countries.32 Just 10.1% of Europeans feel that

consumer associations are involved enough in formulating policy in other European

countries while 47.8% believe they should be more involved. Here again there are wide

differences; Portugal believes quite strongly that consumer associations are enough involved

– some 30.4% of Portuguese agree, along with 15.3% of Austrians and 13.9% of

Luxembourgers. On the bottom end of the scale are the Swedes, with 4.6%, the Finns with

6.2% and the Germans with 6.6 per cent. The East Germans are also quite low at 5.3 per

cent. Portugal has an unusually high percentage agreeing that consumer associations are


42

32 Q40b


involved – nearly twice as high as the second highest (Austria). Portugal also has the lowest

percentage of respondents believing that consumer associations should be more involved, at

21.6 per cent, and is slightly above average for “don’t know” responses.

Q40b: Involvement of Consumer Associations in Formulating Consumer Protection Policy in other EU Countries, 2003

4.6

5.3

6.2

6.6

6.9

8.2

8.9

10

10.1

10.1

10.7

11.5

11.5

12.1

12.4

13.9

15.3

30.4

45

58.5

33.5

56.8

56.4

34.6

52.3

45.6

46.8

47.8

48.9

61.8

58.7

38.1

40.8

50.5

40.2

21.6

50.5

36.2

60.3

36.6

36.7

57.2

38.9

44.4

43

42.1

40.4

26.7

29.8

49.8

46.7

35.6

44.5

48

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

D OST

FIN

D TOTAL

D WEST

DK

F

E

I

EU 15

IRL

B

GR

UK TOTAL

NL

L

A

P

Enough involved Should be more involved DK


43


One final question involves the consideration or “integration” of consumer rights in

EU policies other than consumer protection, such as agricultural policy, transport, energy,

telecommunication and competition policy.33 14.6% of EU consumers think that consumer

rights are sufficiently taken into account in other EU policies; 44.6% think they are not; 12%

say that “it depends” and 28.8% do not know. The Dutch (29.4%), Danes (24.8%), Irish

(21.8%) and Finns (20.9%) believe most strongly that their rights as consumers are

sufficiently taken into account in these other EU policies. The Spanish (12.1%), East

Germans (11.9%, compared to Western Germany’s 15.4%), Luxembourgers (11.8%),

Greeks (11.1%) and Swedes (9.0%) believe so least strongly. The countries which believe

most strongly that their rights are not taken into account are the Greeks (58.4%), Spanish

(56.2%), Portuguese (56.1%) and French (52.7%). The “don’t know” and “it depends”

responses account for the discrepancy in these two rankings.

(See graph next page)


4433 Q41


Q41: Are Rights as a Consumer Sufficiently Taken into Account in other European Policies such as Agricultural, Energy,

Telecommunication, Competition? 2003

9

11.1

11.8

11.9

12.1

12.2

13.4

13.9

14.2

14.6

14.6

15.2

15.4

18.2

20.9

21.8

24.8

29.4

43.5

58.4

46.4

43.3

56.2

40

52.7

56.1

51.8

40.6

44.6

39.7

39.9

31.2

40.2

35.1

33

33.4

6.5

9.9

38.8

12.5

8.8

16.2

16.3

9

12.9

12.3

12

6

12.3

22.6

11.2

12.9

5.6

8.8

41

20.5

2.9

32.4

22.8

31.6

17.6

21

21.1

32.4

28.8

39.2

32.5

27.9

27.7

30.2

36.6

28.4

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

S

GR

L

D OST

E

I

F

P

B

D TOTAL

EU 15

UK TOTAL

D WEST

A

FIN

IRL

DK

NL


In terms of national trends for this set of issues, several are clear. As noted above,

Greece, is more positive than the EU 15 average for all issues relating to the EU (and, as

before, considerably more negative than the EU 15 average for the issues relating to

Greece). However, Greece is near the bottom (just above Sweden) when the question is

posed as to whether rights as a consumer are taken into account in other EU policy areas.

The significance of this finding is not, however, clear. The same pattern, somewhat less


45


Q37-41: Consumer Knowledge: National Trends

Access toMeans of Dispute

Settlement

Access toMeans of Dispute

Settlement in EU

Aware ofMeans of Dispute

Settlement

Know enough about rights as a

consumer

Know enough about rights as a consumer in EU

Consumer assoc enough

involved in formulating consumer

protection policy

Consumer assoc enough

involved in formulating consumer

protection policy in EU

Rights as a consumer

sufficiently taken into account in other EU policy

areas?

most positive S GR NL FIN A P P NL FIN E DK S IRL NL A DK DK P S DK L DK L IRL NL A A UK TOTAL GR FIN NL FIN

D WEST IRL UK TOTAL NL NL S UK TOTAL A D TOTAL L FIN A P A B D WEST

F B IRL IRL E UK TOTAL GR UK TOTALUK TOTAL F F D WEST F F IRL D TOTAL

A S EU 15 L B D WEST I EU 15D OST EU 15 L F EU 15 EU 15 EU 15 B

L DK D WEST EU 15 I D TOTAL E P EU 15 D WEST D TOTAL D TOTAL UK TOTAL B F F

IRL FIN GR I DK L DK I B NL D OST GR FIN I D WEST E E D TOTAL B P D OST IRL D TOTAL D OST P UK TOTAL I E D WEST D OST FIN L

GR I P B D TOTAL E D OST GR least positive I D OST E D OST S GR S S

extremely, applies to Belgium and Spain, with confidence in policies relating to the EU above

average (except for consumer association involvement) but, for the final question, below

average. Sweden is also distinctive with positive responses well above the EU average for

questions relating to Sweden, but generally at the bottom for issues relating to the EU – with

the exception of being aware of means of dispute settlement in the EU.

Socio-demographic Profiles The same overall socio-demographic trends hold for this set of questions. As the

“don’t know” responses for these issues follow the same pattern which has been discussed

above34 this discussion will instead focus upon the “yes” or positive responses.

With respect to the question of whether they have access to means of dispute

settlement in their own countries,35 those with up to 15 years of education (43.0%), house

persons (46.8%) and the retired (47.0%) are the least confident. The EU 15 average is 51.6

per cent. Those in the highest income category (60.1%), those in the non-Euro zone (62.3%)

and managers (63.7%) are the most confident. For the same question applied to other EU

countries,36 the retired (12.8%), those aged over 55 years (13.8%) and those with up to 15

34 The lowest "don't know" responses come from those with more than 20 years of education (14.0%), managers (14.6%), and those in the highest income category (14.9%). The highest “don’t know” responses come from those in the lowest income category (25.3%), house persons (26.6%) and those with up to 15 years of education (26.8%). 35 Q37a


4636 Q37b


years of education (14.6%) are the least confident. The EU 15 average is 17.8 per cent. In

terms of awareness of dispute settlement options, 37 the average is in between the average

Q37/Q38:Access to and Awareness of Means of Dispute Settlement, 2003

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

hous

e pe

rson

retir

ed (--)

55+

yrs

Euro

zon

e

Fem

ale

unem

ploy

ed

15-2

4 yr

s

stud

ents

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

still

stud

ying

self-

empl

oyed

smal

l or m

id-s

ize

tow

n

EU 1

5

Left

25-3

9 yr

s

Larg

e to

wn

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

man

ual w

orke

rs

Mal

e

40-5

4 yr

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

Rig

ht

Cen

tre (-)

(+)

20+

yrs

educ

(++)

DK,

S, U

K

man

ager

s

Have access to dispute settlement in ow n country Have access to dispute settlement in EU countriesAw are of w ays to settle disputes

for own country (51.6%) and other EU countries (17.8%), at 37.2 per cent. The least

knowledgeable are those aged 15-24 (28.5%), those in the lowest income category (29.3%)

and students (29.5%). Those most knowledgeable are those with more than 20 years of

education (48.6%), those in the highest income category (49.3%) and managers (54.2%).

There is also a progression within education and income – increasing education and income

translate into increased belief of access to dispute settlement, and increased awareness of

possibilities. As with the same question broken down by nationality, there is a

correspondence between believing that one has access to means of dispute settlement and

being aware of such means.

When Europeans are asked, overall, whether they know enough about their rights as

consumers under the laws of their own country38 and under European laws,39 there is a

significant difference between the two average responses, with 29.1% responding positively

to the first question and 7.1% to the second. In terms of knowing their rights in their own

countries, those with up to 15 years of education (22.6%), the unemployed (22.7%) and

37 Q38 38 Q39a


4739 Q39b


those in the lowest income category (22.7%) are the least knowledgeable. Those with more

than 20 years of education (36.3%), those in the non-Euro zone (38.0%) and managers

(38.4%) are the most knowledgeable. There is a correspondence between education and

Q39: Socio-Demographic Breakdown of Knowledge of Consumer Rights, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Mal

e

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stud

ying

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ize

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-)

(+)

(++)

Euro

zon

e

DK,

S, U

K

EU 1

5

Yes under country law s Yes under Europeans law s income, with increasing education and income leading to increasing knowledge of consumer

rights in one’s own country.

For those who say they “don't know”, the EU average is 17.4%. The lowest is for the

non-Euro zone at 4.7%, the self-employed with 4.8% and the highest income category

(4.8%). Surprisingly, the unemployed are the fourth-lowest at 5.1 – but it must be noted that

the unemployed have the highest "no" response (72.2%), showing that they are quite clear

that they do not know enough about their rights. House persons (9.2%), students (9.2%) and

those with up to 15 years of education (10.0%) have the highest rate of "don't know"

responses.

With respect to consumer rights under European laws, Europeans are, as noted, less

secure, with just 7.1% saying that they feel they know enough about their rights as

consumers under European laws.40 Those who are least sure that they know their rights are

the unemployed (4.0%), women (5.5%) and those in the lowest income category (5.5%). The

most knowledgeable are students (9.8%), those still studying (9.5%) and the self-employed

(9.4%).


4840 Q39b


Those who say they “don’t know” range from those in the highest income category

(13.6%), the unemployed (13.9%) and those in the next-to-lowest income category (14.2%).

The EU average is 17.4 per cent. The unemployed are once again, at 82.1% those with the

highest "no" response, again explaining their unusually low "don't know" response. Those in

the next-to-lowest income category are also quite high (77.1% - EU average is 75.5%) on

this response. The highest "don't know" responses come from those with up to 15 years of

education (19.9%), the retired (19.8%) and those over 55 years old (19.8%). For knowledge

of one’s rights as a consumer under European laws, income does not have the same

predictive impact as for one’s own country, but age and education do.

When Europeans are asked as to whether consumer associations have enough

involvement in formulating consumer protection policy in their own country,41 some 22.1%

say they are enough involved, 56.8% say they should be more involved and 21.0% do not

Q40: Consumer Association Involvement in Formulating Consumer Protection Policy, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Mal

e

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stud

ying

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ize

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-)

(+)

(++)

Euro

zon

e

DK,

S, U

K

EU 1

5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Enough involved in ow n country Enough involved in other countries of the EU

know. Those who least feel that consumer associations are enough involved are the

unemployed (16.6%), those with up to 15 years of education (17.8%) and those in the lowest

income category (19.2%). Those who believe most strongly that the consumer associations

are enough involved are those with right-leaning political orientation (26.6%), those in the

highest income category (26.7%) and managers (30.6%). Income, age and education all

have a predictive value: increasing education, income and age (excluding over 55) all lead to

increased belief that consumer associations are enough involved. The groups who had the


4941 Q40a


strongest “don’t know” responses were the non-Euro zone with 26.2%, house persons with

25.7% and students at 25.6 per cent. The groups with the lowest “don’t know” responses

were managers, with 13.8%, those in the highest income category with 14.2% and those

with more than 20 years of education at 15.5 per cent.

The socio-demographic breakdown of confidence in the involvement of consumer

associations in formulating consumer protection policy on the European level42 follows the

same trend, with correspondences seen between the two questions. The EU average for

believing that consumer associations are enough involved is 10.1% and for believing they

should be more involved 47.8 per cent. The EU 15 average for “don’t know” responses is

42.1 per cent, indicating a high degree of uncertainty for this point. Those groups which least

believe that consumer associations are enough involved the unemployed (5.9%), women

(8.7%), the lowest income bracket (8.8%) and the retired (8.8%). The high end of the scale is

held by men (11.5%), students (11.9%), the self-employed (12.0%), those still studying

(12.0%) and the second to lowest income bracket (12.1%). While education plays a role in

terms of predicting response, neither age nor income has any impact. Those who are most

uncertain, as expressed through a “don’t know” response are women (45.7%), those with up

to 15 years of education (46.3%), house persons (46.7%) and those in the non-Euro zone

(50.4%). The range of “don’t know” responses is not particularly wide: the lowest “don’t

know” responses come from those in the next-to-highest income group (36.9%), the self-

employed (38.1%) and men (38.4%). The difference between men and women – with men

more confident than women – is once again clear.


5042 Q40b


The same groups are again sceptical as to whether consumer rights are sufficiently

taken into account in other EU policy areas, such as agricultural policy, transport, energy,

telecommunication and competition policy.43 The most sceptical groups are the unemployed

Q41: Consumer Rights are Sufficiently Taken into Account in other EU Policy Areas, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

Mal

e

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stud

ying

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ize

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-)

(+)

(++)

Euro

zon

e

DK,

S, U

K

EU 1

5

(10.0%), those with up to 15 years of education (11.2%), house persons (12.0%), women

(12.2%) and the retired (12.6%). The most optimistic are men (17.2%), those aged 15-24

years (18.7%), managers (19.7%), students (21.5%) and those still studying (21.7%). In

terms of “don’t know” responses, managers (22.5%), those with more than 20 years of

education (23.0%) and the self-employed (23.2%) had the lowest “don’t know” responses,

while women (32.9%), the retired (33.6%) and the non-Euro zone (39.2%) had the highest.

Education, age, and income again all have predictive value: decreasing age and increasing

education and income lead to increasing belief that one’s rights as a consumer are being

taken sufficiently into account in other EU policy areas.


5143 Q41


Consumers and the Single European Market

Opinions on the Impact of Single European Market on Products and Services

For the most part, European consumers have neither overwhelmingly strong negative

nor strong positive feelings about the impact of the Single European Market upon the choice,

Q28: EU 15 Attitudes Towards Impact of Single European Market on... 2003

6.4

6.5

7.1

7.2

7.9

8.5

10.8

13.1

36.1

30.4

38.8

37.3

35.4

38.4

41.4

43.5

14.9

21.9

16.0

19.2

22.5

11.9

11.9

10.9

3.9

7.4

4.2

7.1

8.6

3.3

3.4

3.4

15.9

12.4

14.4

11.6

10.2

14.6

13.0

12.2

22.8

21.4

19.4

17.7

15.4

23.3

19.6

17.0

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

quality of services

price of services

quality of non-food products

price of non-food products

price of food products

choice of services

choice of non-food products

choice of food products

Very positive (5.0) Fairly positive (4.0) Fairly negative (2.0) Very negative (1.0) No effect (3.0) Don't know

quality or prices of goods and services. Considerably more European consumers feel that

the impact has been positive than feel that it has been negative, however, and the plurality

feel that the Single European Market has had a “fairly positive” impact across the board (see

figure above). Question 28 asked Europeans to rate the impact of the Single European

Market on eight different aspects, noting, for each, whether there has been a “very positive”,

a “fairly positive”, “very negative” or “fairly negative” impact, whether the Single European

Market has had “no effect” or whether they don’t know.44 Of all the aspects, Europeans feel

that the choice of food products has been the one to have been most positively affected by

the Single European Market, with 13.1% of Europeans saying that it has had a “very

positive” effect upon the choice of food products and 43.5% saying it has had a “fairly

positive” effect. The Single European Market’s impact upon choice of non-food products is

the next most positively affected category according to Europeans. Some 10.8% say that the


5244 See Q 28.


Single European Market has had a very positive effect, while 41.4% say it has had a fairly

positive effect. At the other end of the scale are the price of services and quality of services,

which have been, according to Europeans, least positively impacted by the Single European

Market, with 6.5% and 6.4%, respectively, saying that these have been “very positively”

affected, and 30.4% and 36.1% saying they have been “fairly positively” affected. For all

categories except one (choice of food products), the percentage of Europeans saying there

has been no effect is higher than the percentage saying the impact has been “very positive”.

The question of price seems to be the overall category about which Europeans feel

most strongly, one way or another. The price of food products inspires the most responses

of “very negative” (8.6%), yet also has quite a large percentage (fourth largest) saying “very

positive” (7.9%). Likewise, price of non-food products has approximately the same

percentage of responses in both categories (7.2% “very positive” and 7.1% “very negative”).

For the price of services, slightly more Europeans (7.4%) feel the impact has been “very

negative” than “very positive” (6.5%). The categories of choice and quality do not evoke such

strong responses; the “fairly positive” responses are much stronger.

Choice of Food Products Going into more detail on choice of products, it is clear that this is the issue which

most Europeans feel has been positively affected; some 13.1% of Europeans state that the

Single European Market has had a very positive effect upon the choice of food products,

while 3.4% say it has had a very negative effect. Some 17.0% of Europeans say that they do

not know. Some 43.5% of Europeans say there has been a “fairly positive” effect, while

10.9% say there has been a “fairly negative” one.

Overall, however, by far the most Europeans say that there has been a “fairly

positive” impact upon the choice of food products (43.5%). Taking “very positive” and “fairly

positive” responses together, the Dutch, Luxembourgers, Swedes and Belgians are the most

convinced of the positive impact of the Single European Market on choice of food products.

The most negative responses come from the Greeks, the Portuguese, French and Italians.


53


Q28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Choice of Food Products, 2003

20.6

20.0

19.6

18.6

18.1

16.5

16.2

14.9

14.2

13.4

13.1

12.6

12.4

12.0

9.4

8.7

7.9

7.9

39.1

43.7

44.0

48.8

45.2

48.9

56.1

44.8

50.5

48.5

43.5

38.6

36.5

48.9

63.3

44.9

42.7

42.5

8.9

7.2

7.1

7.1

6.6

7.3

7.3

10.5

5.8

5.2

10.9

16.2

11.6

8.5

5.6

17.4

15.1

13.3

3.4

6.9

3.8

5.8

5.8

4.4

4.9

11.7

9.4

10.3

8.1

13.7

14.8

8.2

12.0

11.4

12.8

12.2

7.4

10.5

13.2

9.5

7.4

18.9

12.1

17.3

17.6

17.0

14.5

14.8

10.0

11.5

15.5

16.6

18.7

17.0

18.2

25.2

11.6

11.6

15.7

11.0

19.2

0.6

1.3

1.6

2.3

0.8

2.5

1.6

2.8

2.0

2.1

2.3

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

A

D WEST

D TOTAL

S

D OST

B

L

E

FIN

DK

EU 15

GR

UK TOTAL

IRL

NL

P

F

I


For those respondents who are less positive, the response “don’t know” seems more likely to

be selected, rather than a negative response. In terms of “don’t know” responses for this

question, there is little variation, except in the case of the UK, where slightly over one-

quarter of the respondents chose this response. The United Kingdom is also the country with

the lowest response for “fairly positive”.

Choice of Non-Food Products

For the choice of non-food products, the issue for which Europeans feel the Single

European Market has had the second-most positive impact, the picture remains much the

same, with 10.8% of Europeans saying that the Single European Market has had a very


54


Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Choice of Non-Food Products, 2003

16.5

14.8

14.7

14.3

14.3

13.7

13.3

11.9

11.1

11.0

11.0

10.8

10.3

10.1

9.3

9.3

7.8

7.0

38.5

55.7

48.5

46.9

46.0

40.1

40.3

41.0

43.8

39.1

49.2

41.4

31.3

57.4

47.9

44.8

42.1

41.3

8.6

8.0

7.0

8.2

10.5

10.4

10.3

9.9

11.1

15.7

7.2

11.9

14.0

6.1

5.6

15.4

14.6

13.0

6.3

6.2

3.4

4.4

6.2

4.6

4.0

14.0

8.7

10.1

16.2

12.0

10.5

11.4

14.6

14.7

7.9

11.7

13.0

12.7

10.8

14.6

7.7

18.1

12.8

20.3

12.0

17.5

11.6

15.2

23.0

22.5

20.8

12.9

20.2

20.0

19.6

27.3

14.6

21.3

16.6

12.8

21.8

0.8

1.0

1.3

2.0

0.8

2.1

2.7

2.0

2.3

2.2

1.8

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

A

L

S

B

E

D WEST

D TOTAL

D OST

IRL

GR

FIN

EU 15

UK TOTAL

NL

DK

P

F

I


positive impact upon the choice of non-food products, and another 41.4% saying that it has

had a fairly positive impact. Nearly one-fifth (19.6%) do not know, while just 3.4% feel it has

had a very negative impact and 11.9% say it has had a fairly negative impact. While the

Swedes, Luxembourgers and Austrians believe most strongly that the Single European

Market has had a very positive impact, the Luxembourgers, Dutch, Swedes and Belgians

rank top for “very positive” and “fairly positive” response together. The least optimistic are

the Greeks, Portuguese, French and the Irish. Indeed, the highest “very negative” response

comes from the Portuguese, and the lowest from the Dutch. The largest “don’t know”

response again comes from the United Kingdom, which again has the lowest “fairly positive”

responses.


55


Choice of Services According to Europeans, the choice of services is the issue third-most positively

affected by the Single European Market. Indeed, some 8.5% of Europeans believe there has

been a “very positive” impact and 38.4% a “fairly positive” impact upon the choice of

services. While nearly the same percentage of Europeans view this aspect as having been

“fairly negatively” or “very negatively” affected by the Single European Market as they do for

Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on the Choice of Services, 2003

14.2

12.5

12.2

12.0

11.4

9.9

9.9

9.2

8.9

8.7

8.5

8.3

7.9

7.5

7.5

6.8

6.1

4.1

54.7

45.7

34.7

45.0

37.4

40.3

41.6

46.3

37.0

36.2

38.4

44.3

43.1

39.1

29.5

54.3

36.9

30.4

8.5

9.8

8.2

8.4

15.8

8.5

7.3

6.6

10.4

10.9

11.9

15.2

8.8

11.7

14.6

6.5

15.9

6.1

6.9

5.1

5.7

4.2

4.2

4.0

7.9

13.6

16.5

18.0

8.2

16.6

14.0

16.5

14.2

13.6

14.6

8.0

19.2

12.1

14.0

11.6

20.5

17.1

13.8

16.4

26.2

13.7

20.4

22.5

24.8

20.7

27.1

28.3

23.3

19.0

15.4

25.5

30.2

19.9

16.6

41.3

0.8

0.9

0.9

3.3

2.3

2.3

2.3

2.2

2.8

2.2

1.9

0.9

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

L

E

A

B

GR

D OST

S

FIN

D TOTAL

D WEST

EU 15

P

IRL

I

UK TOTAL

NL

F

DK


the choice of non-food products (11.9% and 2.2%, respectively), some 14.6% feel there has

been no effect. Among the eight aspects of the impact of the Single European Market,

choice of services elicits the highest “don’t know” response (23.3%). The Austrians, Spanish

and Luxembourgers are the most enthusiastically positive, while the Luxembourgers, Dutch,

Spaniards and Belgians are the overall most positive. The United Kingdom holds steady with


56


the lowest percentage of “fairly positive”, but Denmark has considerably less confidence as

to the positive impact of the Single European Market on the choice of services than on other

aspects: just 30.4% of Danes say that there has been a “fairly positive”, and only 4.1% a

“very positive” impact, while a staggering 41.3% say they do not know. The Danes are above

the EU 15 average for the previous two points discussed, while they are well below the EU

15 average here. The Greeks feel most strongly that there has been a “very negative” effect

upon the choice of services, with 6.9% saying so. However, Greece is also among the top

countries who feel most positively about the Single European Market’s impact, with 11.4%

giving a “very positive” response.

Price of Food Products

With respect to the impact of the Single European Market on the price of food

products, as noted above, this is one point where Europeans, overall, feel particularly

strongly: both the “very positive” (7.9%) and “very negative” (8.6%) responses are relatively

high. The price of food products is also the aspect which Europeans feel has been most

negatively affected by the impact of the Single European Market, with 31.1% of Europeans

saying that it has either been very negatively or fairly negatively affected. The “fairly positive”

responses are also lower (35.4% for EU 15), while the “fairly negative” responses are higher

(22.5%). The “don’t know” responses (15.4%) are the lowest for price of food products of all

eight aspects of the impact of the Single European Market, as are the “no effect” responses

(10.2%), clearly indicating a high interest among respondents on this aspect.

The Luxembourgers, Spanish and Austrians are the most strongly positive, with the

highest “very positive” responses, while the Luxembourgers, Finns and the Dutch are the

most positive overall, taking both “very positive” and “fairly positive” responses into account.

It is worth mentioning that there is a noticeable difference between Eastern Germany and

Western Germany for “very positive” responses, although this difference does not carry over

into other response categories.


57


Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Price of Food Products, 2003

12.4

11.4

10.8

10.2

9.8

9.5

9.3

9.2

9.1

8.0

7.9

7.6

7.4

6.9

6.7

5.9

5.6

5.1

37.6

33.4

50.7

39.4

28.6

39.5

39.7

45.1

48.0

43.1

35.4

41.5

31.5

39.7

30.2

46.7

32.4

31.2

18.9

24.9

19.5

16.5

26.7

17.1

22.7

14.1

14.6

13.9

22.5

23.0

19.7

19.4

19.9

21.5

28.6

27.4

4.1

14.3

2.9

5.8

18.1

5.4

9.2

5.1

8.6

9.3

5.7

4.0

19.9

3.0

8.7

13.2

11.1

5.3

5.8

10.0

4.6

10.8

10.0

12.0

11.0

13.6

10.2

6.1

10.7

14.0

12.2

9.5

15.4

7.7

15.9

10.7

10.4

18.1

12.1

17.7

9.2

14.4

15.4

19.0

15.4

12.4

25.1

16.1

11.0

13.4

9.5

15.4

2.4

2.0

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

A

E

L

D WEST

GR

D TOTAL

B

S

FIN

DK

EU 15

P

UK TOTAL

D OST

IRL

NL

F

I


The Irish and the Greeks have the strongest negative feelings, with 19.9% and

18.1%, respectively, saying the Single European Market has had a “very negative” impact

upon prices of food products. The Irish (30.2%), Italians (31.2%) and the British (31.5%)

have the lowest rates for “fairly positive”, while the United Kingdom once again has, by far,

the most “don’t know” responses, with 25.1 per cent.

Price of Non-food Products The price of non-food products is seen slightly more ambivalently, with 11.6% of

Europeans saying there has been no effect and 17.7% saying they don’t know.

Approximately the same percentages of Europeans respond that the Single European

Market has had a “very positive” (7.2%) or “very negative” (7.1%) impact upon the price of


58


non-food products. Just under half as many Europeans think there has been a “fairly

negative” (19.2%) impact as think there has been a “fairly positive” impact (37.3%).

Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Price of Non-Food Products, 2003

12.2

11.3

10.6

10.1

8.4

8.3

7.9

7.6

7.2

7.1

7.0

7.0

6.5

6.2

6.1

5.9

5.3

5.1

49.8

34.3

30.5

35.1

42.5

45.4

41.9

49.6

37.3

47.5

39.7

40.9

34.6

39.5

30.3

43.7

34.3

37.1

17.4

23.5

24.6

16.9

10.8

11.5

11.6

14.6

19.2

10.2

23.0

22.6

18.0

14.6

18.3

11.2

25.4

23.4

3.9

12.8

13.4

4.8

4.4

7.1

7.4

8.4

14.1

6.0

9.8

7.6

6.2

5.9

5.9

14.8

11.4

14.5

12.4

10.3

11.6

14.2

11.6

7.0

13.6

16.1

12.6

15.1

10.0

15.5

10.6

12.2

15.1

20.6

22.2

17.9

21.9

16.4

17.7

20.0

11.3

14.0

13.3

20.9

26.6

22.0

15.2

11.3

2.7

1.4

2.4

2.4

1.2

2.1

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

L

E

GR

A

D WEST

S

D TOTAL

NL

EU 15

FIN

B

P

IRL

D OST

UK TOTAL

DK

I

F


The Greeks, Spaniards and Luxembourgers are the three strongest (10.6%, 11.3%

and 12.2%) respondents for “very positive”, while the Luxembourgers, Dutch and Finns are

the most positive overall. Spain, in addition to having the second-highest percentage of “very

positive” responses, also has the second-highest percentage of “very negative” responses,

along with the lowest “no effect” (5.9%) response and one of the lowest “don’t know”

responses. Spaniards apparently feel strongly about this issue. The United Kingdom once

again has the highest response rate of “don’t know” and again the lowest for “fairly positive”

(30.3%). A difference between Eastern and Western Germany is once again to be seen on

“very positive” responses (6.2% and 8.4%, respectively).


59


Quality of Non-food Products On the question of the quality of non-food products 45.9% of Europeans feel either

“very” or “fairly” positive about the impact of the Single European Market, 20.2% feel either

“very” or “fairly” negative and 33.8% say either that there was “no effect” or that they don’t

know.

Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Quality of Non-Food Products, 2003

12.2

11.0

10.3

9.3

8.0

7.9

7.1

6.7

6.7

6.6

6.6

6.5

6.5

5.9

5.4

5.4

4.9

4.6

44.9

36.8

52.2

29.1

40.0

41.4

38.8

46.2

36.5

42.6

31.7

36.5

41.5

36.2

37.7

48.6

40.4

40.5

12.9

19.5

12.2

16.3

12.9

19.9

16.0

13.8

16.7

15.2

15.7

16.7

14.1

16.8

18.7

13.4

10.7

16.2

3.1

6.8

3.7

7.1

8.6

4.2

2.9

3.2

5.1

4.9

3.2

4.0

2.8

5.1

13.8

8.1

11.9

20.5

17.8

6.9

14.4

17.6

13.0

11.2

13.2

13.8

14.7

17.1

20.1

14.5

16.9

16.6

13.1

17.9

11.9

21.1

14.1

15.3

19.4

12.8

23.9

19.3

27.8

23.3

19.2

21.2

13.0

16.9

25.5

20.9

1.5

1.2

1.6

1.1

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

E

GR

L

A

IRL

P

EU 15

B

D WEST

I

UK TOTAL

D TOTAL

S

D OST

F

NL

DK

FIN


Luxembourgers, Greeks and Spaniards feel most strongly about the positive impact of the

Single European Market, with 10.3%, 11.0% and 12.2% saying they believe there has been

a “very positive” impact. With “very positive” and “fairly positive” taken together, the

Luxembourgers, Spanish and Dutch are the three most positive groups of respondents. The

United Kingdom has the highest “don’t know” responses (27.8%) and second-lowest “fairly

positive”, with 31.7 per cent. The “very negative” responses are quite low for this category,

with Portugal (8.6%), Ireland (7.1%) and Greece (6.8%) having the highest response rates.


60


Price of Services Europeans’ attitudes toward the impact of the Single European Market on the price of

services, overall, are considerably less positive than toward other aspects. Some 6.5% of

Europeans overall say that there has been a “very positive” impact on the price of services,

while 34.7% say the impact has been “fairly positive”. More Europeans feel “very negative”,

Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on

Price of Services, 2003

11.2

10.7

10.2

8.4

8.1

6.8

6.7

6.5

6.4

6.0

5.6

5.6

5.5

5.4

5.4

5.2

5.1

2.6

31.8

28.7

29.4

47.0

36.2

41.6

36.5

30.4

34.7

25.0

31.1

29.4

30.5

30.4

42.8

29.1

28.7

30.0

25.7

25.8

17.8

19.1

22.9

16.0

22.7

21.9

14.9

19.9

18.7

25.3

17.8

17.5

18.3

26.8

19.3

10.5

11.4

14.2

3.4

3.6

9.3

7.6

7.4

4.2

6.0

6.9

7.1

6.0

5.8

2.9

9.3

19.1

6.9

5.6

14.4

7.8

7.0

15.7

12.8

12.4

16.3

14.1

16.0

16.7

14.1

13.6

10.9

8.2

14.4

17.9

12.9

15.0

24.8

14.2

16.5

18.0

13.7

21.4

23.5

29.0

21.6

15.9

26.1

27.3

19.6

21.3

13.4

37.0

2.0

2.1

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

E

GR

A

L

P

FIN

B

EU 15

S

UK TOTAL

D OST

F

D TOTAL

D WEST

NL

I

IRL

DK


at 7.4%, than feel “very positive” (6.5%), and slightly over one-fifth (21.9%) feel that the

impact has been “fairly negative”. About as many (21.4%) don’t know and 12.4% say there

was “no effect”.


61

The Austrians, Greeks and Spanish believe most strongly that the impact of the

Single European Market on the price of services has been “very positive”, with 10.2%, 10.7%

and 11.2%, respectively, saying so. The overall most positive respondents are from

Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland. The Greeks, Irish and Spanish are, overall, the


most negative (having the highest “fairly negative” and “very negative” responses) although,

at the same time, as noted above, Spain and Greece have, respectively, the highest and

second-highest percentage of respondents saying there has been a “very positive” impact on

the price of services.

Quality of Services

Although quality of services gets the lowest “very positive” ranking from Europeans,

with just 6.4% saying so, some 36.1% of Europeans say that quality of services has been

Q 28: Europeans' Attitudes Toward Impact of Single European Market on Quality of Services, 2003

12.2

12.2

10.4

8.3

7.7

6.4

6.4

6.3

5.9

5.9

5.5

5.3

5.2

5.0

5.0

4.5

4.4

2.7

35.7

45.7

48.2

26.9

40.7

40.3

36.1

43.5

32.9

28.8

41.2

45.8

37.5

34.4

43.1

32.5

32.0

29.2

19.8

12.1

13.4

13.9

18.9

11.8

14.9

12.4

18.2

15.0

14.4

11.4

12.3

15.9

12.1

15.2

15.0

8.2

6.5

8.2

6.5

3.9

4.1

4.9

3.7

3.4

4.0

4.1

9.1

13.6

10.8

21.5

7.8

20.1

15.9

19.9

22.2

14.8

12.6

16.0

16.4

17.1

18.8

15.8

15.4

19.0

16.7

14.2

15.1

26.7

16.6

14.8

22.8

15.2

16.7

30.5

22.6

19.9

26.1

24.2

19.6

28.1

29.1

39.6

2.5

1.6

2.1

2.0

2.8

2.7

1.4

1.3

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

GR

E

L

A

P

IRL

EU 15

B

F

UK TOTAL

I

NL

S

D OST

FIN

D TOTAL

D WEST

DK


“fairly positively” affected (total of 42.5%) while 3.9% say there has been a “very negative”

impact and 14.9% a “fairly negative” (total of 18.8%). The responses for “no effect” are the

highest of all aspects, at 15.9 per cent, while the “don’t know” responses are second-


62

highest of all aspects, at 22.8 per cent. Luxembourg, Spain and Greece hold the three top

spots for responses of “very positive”, with 10.4%, 12.2% and 12.2%, respectively. For “very

positive” and “fairly positive” responses taken together, Luxembourg, Spain and the


Netherlands hold the three top positions. Portugal has the largest percentage of “very

negative” responses at 8.2%, followed by Ireland and Greece, each with 6.5 per cent. This

case again indicates that one distinction that should be noted is, in addition to the negative

or positive responses, the presence of a strong opinion. Greece and Portugal fall into this

category. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, has a very large portion of “don’t know”

responses (30.5%) and, indeed, never has less than one-quarter “don’t know” responses for

all of the aspects discussed here.

Conclusion

Overall, when those countries with the highest “very positive” responses on the

different issues are brought together, as in the table below,45 it is clear that there are certain

trends on the basis of country. Austria, Luxembourg and Spain consistently believe that the

Single European Market has had a stronger positive impact upon the various aspects than

Q 28: Impact of Single European Market: National Trendschoice of

food products

choice ofnon-food products

choice ofservices

price offood

products

price ofnon-food products

quality ofnon-food products

price ofservices

quality ofservices

most positive A A L A L E E GRDWEST L E E E GR GR EDTOTAL S A L GR L A L

S B B DWEST A A L ADOST E GR GR DWEST IRL P P

B DWEST DOST DTOTAL S P FIN IRLL DTOTAL S B DTOTAL EU15 B EU15E DOST FIN S NL B EU15 B

FIN IRL DTOTAL FIN EU15 DWEST S FDK GR DWEST DK FIN I UKTOTAL UKTOTAL

EU15 FIN EU15 EU15 B UKTOTAL DOST IGR EU15 P P P DTOTAL F NL

UKTOTAL UKTOTAL IRL UKTOTAL IRL S DTOTAL SIRL NL I DOST DOST DOST DWEST DOSTNL DK UKTOTAL IRL UKTOTAL F NL FINP P NL NL DK NL I DTOTALF F F F I DK IRL DWE

least positive I I DK I F FIN DK DKST

do Europeans overall. Respondents in the United Kingdom, Italy and France, on the other

hand, feel less strongly than the European average that there has been a positive impact as

a result of the Single European Market.


63

45 This table lists the rank order for each aspect, following the figures above. The ranking in the figures above was based on the percentage of those saying the Single European Market has had a “very positive” effect.


For the remaining nine EU Member States, none is consistently above or below the

EU 15 average. Germany, for instance, believes more strongly that the Single European

Market has had a positive impact in five of the eight aspects discussed here, as does

Sweden. Greece is more positive on seven of the eight aspects, falling slightly below the EU

15 average only on the issue of choice of food products. For Germany, in two cases (price of

food products, price of non-food products), Western Germany believes more strongly than

the European average that the Single European Market has had a positive impact upon

prices, while East Germans believe more strongly than the European average that there has

been a negative impact.

When “very positive” and “fairly positive” responses are tallied together, as in the

table below, a slightly different picture emerges, with Luxembourg, the Netherlands and

Finland at the top, and Italy, France and the UK still at the bottom of the ranking. For the

most part, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland are the top three for this ranking, but in

the case of choice of food and of non-food products, Sweden replaces Finland; for choice of

services, quality of non-food products and quality of services, Spain does so.

(see table next page)


64


Q28: Impact of Single European Market on...choice of

food products

choice ofnon-food products

choice of services

price offood

products

price ofnon-food products

quality of non-food products

price of services

quality ofservices

L 72.3 70.5 68.9 61.5 62.0 62.5 55.4 58.6NL 72.7 67.5 61.1 52.6 57.2 54.0 48.2 51.1FIN 64.7 60.2 55.5 57.1 54.6 45.1 48.4 48.1E 59.7 60.3 58.2 44.8 45.6 57.1 43.0 57.9B 65.4 61.2 57.0 49.0 46.7 52.9 43.2 49.8S 67.4 63.2 51.5 54.3 53.7 48.0 41.1 42.7P 53.6 54.1 52.6 49.1 47.9 49.3 44.3 48.4

D WEST 63.7 53.8 44.9 49.6 50.9 43.2 35.8 36.4D TOTAL 63.6 53.6 45.9 49.0 49.8 43.0 36.0 37.0

D OST 63.3 52.9 50.2 46.6 45.7 42.1 36.7 39.4IRL 60.9 54.9 51.0 36.9 41.1 48.0 33.8 46.7A 59.7 55.0 46.9 50.0 45.2 38.4 39.6 35.2

EU 15 56.6 52.2 46.9 43.8 44.5 45.9 36.9 42.5GR 51.2 50.1 48.8 38.4 41.1 47.8 39.4 47.9DK 61.9 57.2 34.5 51.1 49.6 45.3 32.6 31.9I 50.4 48.3 46.6 36.3 39.6 49.2 34.3 46.7F 50.6 49.9 43.0 38.0 42.2 43.1 35.0 38.8

UK TOTAL 48.9 41.6 37.0 38.9 36.4 38.3 31.0 34.7percentage of those saying "very positive" or "fairly positive"


Education and income both have a direct correspondence with to increased belief in

the positive impact of the Single European Market. Higher income and higher education are

both directly related to increasing belief in positive effects, when “very positive” and “fairly

positive” results are taken together. The same does not appear to be the case for “very

positive” results alone. When “don’t know” results for income groups are studied, a tendency

for lower income groups to answer “don’t know” more often is seen. This tendency is not a

clear progression, but is nonetheless present, with a variation of, at most, six per cent,

between lowest and highest income groups, from about 25% as the highest overall to about

14 per cent. When respondents from different educational levels are studied, “don’t know”

levels appear to have approximately the same results, with respondents of lower educational

levels having higher “don’t know” responses, of about 25 per cent.


65


Q 28: "Very Positive" and "Fairly Positive" Responses on Impact of Single European Market by Income

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

price ofservices

quality ofservices

price offood

products

price ofnon-foodproducts

quality ofnon-foodproducts

choice ofservices

choice ofnon-foodproducts

choice offood

products

(--) (-) (+) (++)

Q 28: "Very Positive" and "Fairly Positive" Responses on Impact of Single European Market by Education Level

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

price ofservices

price offood

products

price ofnon-foodproducts

quality ofservices

choice ofservices

quality ofnon-foodproducts

choice ofnon-foodproducts

choice offood

products

to 15 yrs educ 16-19 yrs educ 20+ yrs educ still studying

Overall, the impact of education and income is clear: higher education and higher income

lead to more confidence in the impact of the Single European Market.

With respect to occupation, in every case, students, for the most part, have the most

positive impression of the Single European Market, followed by managers and “other white

collars.”46 For the question of quality of non-food products, the self-employed believe there

has been the most positive impact by the Single European Market, followed by managers


66

46 “Other white collars” is used in the Eurobarometer survey to designate office workers not in mangerial positions.


and students. The groups with the least positive impressions are the unemployed

(overwhelmingly so) and house persons, followed by the retired. “Don’t know” responses are

consistently highest among these groups, as well as, somewhat surprisingly, students.

Respondents in large towns have a slightly stronger tendency to say that the Single

European Market has been either “very positive” or “fairly positive” than do persons from

small or mid-sized towns or rural areas. “Don’t know” responses are the same – about 22

per cent – across all three categories. Political orientation plays no role in respondents’

noting the impact of the Single European Market.

Purchases Made: Comparison with 2002

Over the twelve months prior to the survey (May/June 2003), just 12.4% of

Europeans bought goods or services from sellers or shops located in other EU 15

countries.47 Luxembourg (48.5%), the Netherlands (31.0%) and Denmark (28.1%) are those

countries in which respondents shopped abroad the most often, while Greece (6.7%),

Portugal (6.2%), Italy (4.9%) and Spain (2.6%) had the lowest percentage of shoppers who

shopped abroad in other EU 15 countries, demonstrating a clear regional distinction.

Significant differences are also present on the basis of socio-demographic characteristics

and are discussed below.

When these data are compared to the results of the same question posed in April-

June 2002 for the previous twelve months,48 a slight overall decrease is seen from 13.3% to

12.4 per cent (see figure below). The most significant decrease has been in Denmark, with a

decline of more than 10 per cent (38.9% of Danes said in 2002 that they had purchased

goods or services from a seller or shop located in another EU 15 country in the last twelve

months, but just 28.1% said so in 2003). Luxembourg has seen the most significant

increase, from 38.0% in 2002 to 48.5% in 2003. The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (both

Eastern and Western), the United Kingdom, Greece and Portugal also all demonstrate slight

increases.

In 2002, the countries in which respondents had bought the most goods or services

were Denmark (38.9%), Luxembourg (38.0%) and the Netherlands (29.3%), the same as in

2003. The four countries which bought the least abroad were again Italy (6.0%), Spain

47 See Q 29.


6748 Q 16 of Eurobarometer 57.2


(6.0%), Portugal (5.7%) and Greece (4.4%), indicating that the regional distinction was

present in both 2002 and in 2003.

Q 29/Q 16: Comparison of 2002 and 2003 Purchases of Products or Services from other EU Countries

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

L NL DK S A B

D WEST

D TOTAL

D OST

UK TOTAL

IRL

EU 15 FIN F GR P I E

2002 2003


When purchases made in other EU 15 countries49 are studied on the basis of socio-

demographic profiles, similar significant differences are also present (see figure below). For

2003, the three socio-demographic groups which had most often purchased products or

services in another EU 15 country in the previous year were managers (21.3%), the top

income group (20.3%) and those with more than 20 years of education (20.0%). Those who

had purchased the least were those with up to 15 years of education (5.7%), retired (7.9%)

and house persons (8.9%). The data for 200250 have nearly the same highest and lowest

points, with managers at 23.3%, the highest income group at 22.7% and those with more

than 20 years of education at 21.6 per cent. The lowest were those with up to 15 years of

education, at 6.4%, retired (7.0%) and those aged over 55, at 7.9 per cent. House persons

were fourth lowest, with 8.3 per cent.

Overall, there have been decreases from 2002 to 2003, with students showing the

largest drop of five per cent (20.4% to 15.3%). Slight increases are apparent in those aged


68

49 Q 29 50 Q 16 of EB 57.2


Q 29 and Q 16: Socio-Demographic Breakdown of Purchases of Goods

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Mal

e

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stud

ying

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-)

(+)

(++)

Euro

zon

e

DK,

S, U

K

EU 1

5

Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2002 Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2003

over 55, house persons, the unemployed, retired, those living in large towns and those in the

second-highest income group. Political orientation and location of residence (rural, small

town, large town) appear to have little or no impact upon purchases made in other EU 15

countries. More purchases were made in the three EU 15 countries not in the Euro zone

than in those in the Euro zone.

Age, income and education do appear to have a strong predictive value for

purchases made, with higher education and income and lower age leading to more

purchases (see three figures below). In terms of change since 2002 by income, there have

been slight increases for those in the lowest and in the second-highest income categories,

Q 29/Q 16: Purchases of Goods or Services in other EU Countries by Income

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

(--) (-) (+) (++)Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2002

Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2003


69


and decreases in the other two. For education, there have been decreases in all categories,

especially strongly for those still studying, while for age, purchases made have decreased in

each age group, except for those over 55, where there has been a slight increase.

Q 29/Q 16: Purchases of Goods or Services in other EU Countries by Education

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

to 15 yrs educ 16-19 yrs educ 20+ yrs educ still studyingHave purchased goods in other EU countries 2002Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2003

Q 29/Q 16: Purchases of Goods or Services in other EU Countries by Age

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

15-24 yrs 25-39 yrs 40-54 yrs 55+ yrsHave purchased goods in other EU countries 2002Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2003

Shopping: By What Means?

For the 12.4% of Europeans who have shopped abroad, the most common means of

shopping in another EU 15 country was while on a holiday or business trip, with 54.2% of

those who shopped having done so.51 It must be clearly noted here that the categories of

means of shopping refer only to a very small percentage of Europeans which are sub-

categories of only 12.4% of Europeans. The second-most common means of shopping was

a trip taken primarily for shopping purposes (37.5%) and the third was by Internet shopping,

with 23.0 per cent. Mail order, catalogue and telephone sales accounted for 10.4%, while

purchases from a sales representative from a seller in another EU 15 country in one’s home

or place of work accounted for just 3.5 per cent.


7051 Q 30 a


In 2002,52 patterns of shopping were very much the same. Of the overall 13.3% of

Europeans who had shopped abroad, the most significant means by which the shopping was

carried out was while on a holiday or business trip. In 2002, slightly more Europeans

shopped this way, 56.9%, than in 2003, leading to a decrease of 2.7 per cent to 2003. In all

other categories, there has been a slight increase to 2003: purchases made from a sales

Q17a/Q30a: Comparison of Means of Shopping in other EU Countries, 2002 and 2003

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

Sales rep Mail order, catalogue,telephone

Internet Shopping trip Holiday/business trip

2002 2003

representative were at 2.9% in 2002, mail order, catalogue or telephone sales at 9.3%,

Internet purchases at 17.9% and purchases made while on a shopping trip 33.8 per cent.

The largest increase from 2002 to 2003 is for that of Internet purchases, with a 5.1%

increase.

On the level of respondents in individual EU countries, there are some interesting

points to be noted. While, indeed, well over half of all shopping in both 2002 and 2003 took

place on a holiday or business trip, respondents in some countries were more likely to shop

on a trip taken primarily for the purpose of shopping: in 2003, some 48.1% of purchases

made by the French were made on a shopping trip, as were 52.7% of purchases made by

Luxembourgers and 32.2% of purchases by the Portuguese (see table below). In 2002, the

countries where most purchasing was done while on a shopping trip were Austria (55.7%),

France (54.4%) and Luxembourg (52.8%). The percentage of Austrians shopping via a

shopping trip has decreased significantly, while Spain, the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland


71

52 Q 17a of EB 57.2


have experienced significant increases. The East Germans shopped considerably less on

shopping trips than did West Germans; when data for shopping trips are compared, there is

a thirteen point difference between East and West Germans who made purchases while on

a shopping trip. Again, it must be noted that the percentages discussed here are

percentages of the 12.4% (13.3% for 2002) Europeans who have shopped abroad.

Q17 EB 57.2 and Q30a EB 59.2: Changes in Means of Shopping Since 2002

L F B E A NL DKD

WEST EU 15D

TOTALUK

TOTAL GR P ID

OST IRL S FINShopping trip

2002 52.8 54.4 47.6 29.0 55.7 16.8 47.1 31.3 33.8 30.1 28.1 23.4 28.8 30.5 24.5 15.9 22.0 20.0Shopping trip

2003 52.7 48.1 45.9 43.3 40.8 40.6 40.5 38.6 37.5 36.3 35.5 33.7 32.2 31.5 25.6 23.4 20.7 20.0holiday/business

trip 2002 34.0 36.0 54.9 39.9 52.2 81.5 48.6 64.2 56.9 64.5 59.5 44.1 54.5 49.0 66.0 68.9 68.9 56.4holiday/business

trip 2003 49.8 44.1 51.8 50.1 57.5 58.5 51.1 55.0 54.2 55.6 58.4 17.7 31.0 60.1 58.2 65.0 59.3 39.5Internet 2002 21.8 19.7 5.3 22.0 22.2 12.7 17.4 16.5 17.9 15.3 22.0 17.3 7.2 18.3 10.2 24.8 24.3 20.1Internet 2003 29.5 28.1 14.0 7.3 27.7 22.3 39.0 16.4 23.0 15.5 32.8 16.9 12.8 20.4 11.6 25.1 30.2 36.7

Mail order/catalogue/tel sales 2002 24.6 11.9 11.7 4.4 22.7 1.4 4.4 6.5 9.3 7.2 14.0 8.2 5.5 6.1 10.4 19.7 8.6 10.9

Mail order/catalogue/tel sales 2003 27.5 12.1 8.4 4.1 29.9 7.3 5.7 5.8 10.4 7.9 8.9 19.0 11.5 19.1 17.4 18.6 6.8 26.9Sales rep 2002 6.2 2.0 5.6 8.1 2.4 0.6 2.1 1.8 2.9 1.6 4.4 9.5 8.4 3.2 0.8 0.6 2.3 2.6Sales rep 2003 6.8 5.5 3.4 3.4 3.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 3.5 2.3 5.2 14.5 10.9 0.0 1.7 8.8 1.6 3.7

The majority of Europeans who have shopped abroad in other EU countries have

done so while on a holiday or business trip, with Ireland, Italy and Sweden having the

highest percentages (65.0%, 60.1%, 59.2%). Since 2002, there have been some strong

changes, with the Netherlands dropping from 81.5% of shoppers having done so on a

holiday or business trip to 56.5%, and Greece, Portugal and Finland also having significant

decreases. Luxembourg, Spain and Italy, on the other hand, shopped more in 2003 while on

holiday or business trips than in 2002. Internet purchases have increased since 2002, with,

as noted, 23.0% of Europeans making purchases this way in 2003 over 17.9% in 2002.

There have been some significant increases (Belgium: 5.3% to 14.0%, Denmark: 17.4% to

39.0%, United Kingdom: 22.0% to 32.8% and Finland 20.1% to 36.7%), yet there has also

been a strong decrease in Spain for Internet shopping, with a decrease from 22.0% to 7.3

per cent. The Danes, Finns and British shop most often via the Internet.

Shopping via mail order, catalogue or telephone sales has increased only slightly

overall (9.3% to 10.4%), but there have been significant increases for several countries: the

Netherlands has increased from 1.4% to 7.3%, while Greece, Portugal and Italy have also

increased strongly (Spain has had a slight decrease). Purchasing from a sales

representative is the least most common means of shopping, yet the Greeks (14.5%),

Portuguese (10.9%) and the Irish (8.8%) purchase considerably more often from sales


72


representatives than do other Europeans. The Greeks, Irish, Dutch and French had strong

increases in percentages of shopping via sales representatives, with Greece, Portugal and

Luxembourg holding the top spots in 2002.

Purchasing via the Internet, the third most frequent method of shopping, is

nonetheless a relatively new method of shopping. It is apparently not a means of shopping

with which all consumers feel confident, although they are becoming increasingly more so, to

judge from the five per cent increase from 2002 to 2003 (representing an increase of nearly

one-third).

Amount of Spending

While relatively evenly distributed, the amount of money spent does appear to

depend upon the means by which the shopping was carried out.53 The EU average for

purchases made in another EU country from a sales representative tends to be the highest

(30.3% over 200 Euro) although only 3.5% of all sales are made via sales representatives;54

the fewest purchases over 200 Euro were made via Internet. The fewest purchases (16.5%)

made in the under 50 Euro range were made via mail order, while the most (22.4%) were

made via Internet. The most 50-99 Euro purchases (29.3%) were made on shopping trips,

while the most 100-199 Euro purchases (28.0%) were made via mail order. The two most

common price ranges for goods or services purchased are the range from 50 to 99 Euros

and that over 200 Euros.


53 See Q 30 b.


7354 Again, please note that this 3.5% is 3.5% of the 12.4% of Europeans who made purchases.


Q 30 b: EU Average for Amount of Purchases and Method of Purchase in Other EU Countries, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

on a holiday orbusiness trip

on a shoppingtrip

internet mail order,catalogue,

telephone sales

sales rep inanother EU

countryless than 50EUR

50-99 EUR 100-199 EUR 200 EUR+

For purchases made in the twelve months prior to the survey carried out in 2002,55

again, purchases made appear to be about evenly distributed across price categories, with

two exceptions, where contrasts are quite striking: over half (51.7%) of all purchases from a

sales representative were for over 200 Euros and nearly half (44.0%) of all mail order sales

were for between 50 and 99 Euros.

Q 17 b: Average for Amount of Purchases and Means of Purchases in other EU Countries, 2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

holiday or businesstrip 2002

shopping trip 2002 internet 2002 mail order, cat, telsales 2002

sales rep 2002

less than 50EUR

50-99 EUR 100-199 EUR 200 EUR+

On the level of individual countries, the amount of spending varies as well. On trips

made primarily for the purpose of shopping in 2003, most purchases were made in the 50-99


74

55 See Q 17 b, EB 57.2


EUR category, but Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg, Finland and Sweden stand out as

having the most purchases made in the over 200 Euro category on shopping trips.

Spaniards and the Dutch, on the other hand, made the highest percentages of purchases in

the under 50 Euro range. On business trips or holidays, while the largest percentage of

purchases were, for the most part, made in the over 200 Euro category, in Belgium, Eastern

Germany,56 Spain and France, they were made in the 50 to 99 Euro category. Internet

purchases are fairly evenly divided among the four price categories, with the 50 to 99 Euro

purchases just about nine percentage points above the other three. On purchases made

from a sales representative, France, Austria and Belgium are unusual in that the most

purchases were made for the amount of under 50 Euro, while in the rest of the EU 15, the

largest percentage of purchases were made for over 200 Euro.

In 2002, for holiday or business trips, Greece stands out with 73.2% having made

purchases for over 200 Euros, compared to the EU 15 average of 27.5 per cent. For

shopping trips, Eastern Germany has a considerably higher percentage of shoppers in the

50-99 Euro range, with 41.3% having done so, compared to the 28.7% EU 15 average. For

100-199 Euros, some 39.4% of Spaniards purchased products or services (EU 15 average

22.6%) while in the over 200 Euro category 49.4% of Luxembourgers did so (28.1% EU 15

average). Purchases on the Internet are particularly low in Greece in the category of under

50 Euros – not a single purchase was made among the respondents (0.0%). Eastern

Germany, on the other hand, is much higher than the EU 15 average for purchases made in

the 50-99 Euro category, at 42.8% (EU 15 average 27.8%). Mail order, catalogue and

telephone sales also have some strong deviations from the normal range, with 44.5% of

Belgians having made purchases in the under 50 Euro category (EU 15 average 15.5%), no

Greeks, Portuguese or Spaniards having made any purchases in the 50-99 Euro range, but

75.1% of Greeks and 70.1% of Italians having done so in the 200 Euro and over category.

For purchases made from sales representatives, there are no particularly striking exceptions.

In the table below, the three countries which shopped the most via any particular

means of shopping are presented, along with the distribution of money spent. For the most

part, there is little duplication among the top three shopping countries in each category: only

Luxembourg, Finland and Ireland are represented in two categories each.

In the majority of cases, the countries which had the highest percentage of

respondents shopping in this manner also spent over 200 Euro. In the case of Belgium and


75

56 Some 32.8% of east Germans made purchases from 50-99 Euro, while the west Germans did so at the rate of 21.9 per cent. Only 18.8% of east Germans made purchases for over 200 Euros, while 31.9% of west Germans did so.


France, with respect to shopping trips, however, the plurality spent between 50 and 99 Euros

(36.7% and 44.0%, respectively), suggesting that, while many more French and Belgians

may make trips primarily for the purpose of shopping, these tend to be smaller purchases.

Shopping trip Belgium France LuxHoliday or business trip Ireland Italy Sweden

<50 EUR 22.2 24.5 6.4 <50 EUR 14.5 24.7 17.250-99 36.7 44.0 15.1 50-99 25.9 28.7 21.3

100-199 18.8 5.4 19.9 100-199 25.1 37.8 24.7>200 17.2 20.5 42.8 >200 29.4 0.0 30.1

Internet Denmark Finland UK

mail order catalogue, telephone sales Lux Austria Finland

<50 EUR 21.8 15.0 21.3 <50 EUR 15.1 11.2 24.250-99 29.3 32.0 24.6 50-99 14.3 26.1 22.1

100-199 12.9 20.4 18.8 100-199 17.2 46.9 33.9>200 35.1 28.7 33.4 >200 41.9 11.8 10.3

sales rep Greece Ireland Portugal<50 EUR 21.2 0.0 0.0

50-99 30.7 7.2 0.0100-199 9.9 15.1 20.1

>200 38.2 40.2 68.1

Q 30b: Top Three Countries for Each Means of Shopping, 2003


Means of Shopping57

Not surprisingly, there are differences in shopping patterns on the basis of socio-

demographic variables as well as along national lines. Income, again not surprisingly, plays

a significant role in predicting both whether purchases have been made, and in what amount

purchases have been made (for the highest income group, 20.6% made purchases in the

past year, while 15.3% of the next-to-highest income group did so. Just 9.0% of the next-to-

lowest income group made purchases abroad in the EU, while 9.6% of the lowest income

group did so). Age is also a clear predictor, with 14.7% of 15-24-year olds having shopped

abroad in the EU, along with 13.8% of 25-39-year olds, 13.7% of 40-54-year olds and 9.1%

of those over 55 years old. With respect to occupation, managers shopped most often, at


76

57 Q 30a.


21.3% and the retired did so least, at 7.9 per cent. Those respondents living in a large town

shopped more often (13.7%) than those living in a small or mid-sized town (12.9%) or in a

rural area or village (10.4%). Education also plays a role, with 20.0% of those with over 20

years of education having bought goods or services, compared to 11.9% of those with 16-19

years and 5.7% of those with education up to 15 years.

Profile of Shoppers Abroad: Total Amount Spent

While the group of those aged 15-24 made the most purchases abroad (EU), it is the

25-39 year olds who are best represented in different means of shopping58 while abroad.

Age, occupation and education play essentially no role in predicting by what means

purchases were made. Income does play a role in the case of shopping while on holiday or

on a business trip, with the higher income categories consistently shopping more often than

the lower in these categories. Interestingly, political orientation appears to play a role, with

the left and centre purchasing less often.

The top three socio-demographic groups which did their shopping on a trip primarily

intended for shopping are manual workers, those with education up to 15 years, and those

aged 40-54 years old (see table below). The amount of money most often spent was

between 50 and 99 Euros, the same as for Belgium and France, the two countries which

shop the most on shopping trips. The top groups of shoppers on holiday or business trips

are those in the highest income category, those with more than 20 years of education and

those over 55 years old. In each case, the majority of purchases were made for over 200

Euros.

Purchases via the Internet were most often made by those EU 15 respondents not in the

Euro-zone, by those 25-39 years old and those in a large town. As noted above, 25-39-year

olds are the most important shopping group, while those in large towns likely have higher

rates of Internet access. For those in the UK, Denmark and Sweden (non-Euro zone), it may

be easier to shop via Internet than to physically travel to the Euro zone. For those in the non-

Euro zone, most shoppers spent over 200 Euros, while a plurality of those aged 25-39 and

living in large towns spent 50 to 99 Euros.


77

58 A note on the Eurobarometer survey: the 14.7% of 15-24 year-olds who responded that they had purchased abroad is equivalent to 354 individuals, while the 13.8% of 25-39-year-olds who had purchased abroad is equivalent to 619 individuals. Thus, in the follow-up questions of by which means the respondents did their shopping, it is mathematically possible for the 25-39 year-old group to be higher than the 15-24-year-old group.


Q30a: Top three socio-demographic categories and spending for each means of shopping, 2003

S

In

sal

hopping tripManualworkers

Educ to15 yrs

40-54yrs old

Holiday or business trip

(++)income

20+ yrseduc

55+ yrsold

<50 EUR 14.1 29.3 12.4 <50 EUR 16.9 14.1 20.750-99 34.8 31.3 30.7 50-99 16.1 23.0 22.2

100-199 23.1 18.8 24.7 100-199 30.0 27.5 22.5>200 25.7 18.6 31.5 >200 35.1 30.5 31.5

ternetNon Euro-zone EU

25-39 yrs old

largetown

mail order catalogue, telephone sales

(--)income

rural areaor vlg

25-39 yrs old

<50 EUR 20.5 22.7 23.2 <50 EUR 20.2 8.3 20.650-99 25.0 29.5 33.7 50-99 24.4 36.1 25.4

100-199 16.3 19.7 15.8 100-199 25.7 28.0 23.6>200 34.7 21.9 22.3 >200 26.8 26.6 24.0

es repself-

employed(+)

income25-39yrs old

<50 EUR 5.0 20.2 14.850-99 16.6 35.1 26.9

100-199 17.4 15.0 11.6>200 49.5 26.0 24.8

Mail order purchases are another means of shopping by which physical presence is not

required, a point which is underlined by the characteristics of the three groups which shop

most often this way: those with the lowest income, those from rural areas or villages and

those aged 25 to 39. For those with the lowest income, trips, whether shopping or

holiday/business are probably less likely, as is Internet access, thus leaving mail order

shopping as a viable shopping alternative. For those with the least income, the largest

percentage of purchases are made in the over 200 Euro category. For rural areas and those

aged 25 to 39, the most purchases were made for 50 to 99 Euros.

For purchases made from a sales representative who came to one’s home or office,

which only accounts for 3.5% of all purchases made, the self-employed, those in the second-

highest income group and those aged, again, 25-39 years old were the top three groups of

purchasers. For the self-employed, the most purchases were made for over 200 Euros, while

for the other two groups, the corresponding figure was 50 to 99 Euros.


78


Comparison with 2002

There were slightly different socio-demographic groups which were the strongest

shoppers in 2003 and slightly different in 2002.59 For shopping trips, house persons (40.0%),

the self-employed (38.4%) and those from a rural area or village (37.2%) were the groups

which most often shopped by this means. Those with more than 20 years of education

(61.4%), the retired (60.2%) and those with right-leaning political orientation (60.0%)

shopped on holiday or business trips more often than did other socio-demographic groups.

In terms of Internet shopping, managers (28.8%), the self-employed (26.5%) and the highest

income category (24.4%) were the most significant, while for mail order, catalogue and

telephone sales, manual workers (13.1%), those with 16-19 years of education (12.4%) and

those aged 15-24 (11.9%) were the top three categories. For purchases made via a sales

representative, the self-employed (10.0%), those aged 25-39 (4.5%) and those in the highest

income category (3.9%) bought most often.

As above, the spending in each category is shown by the top three socio-

demographic categories for each of the five means of shopping. In 2002, the top shopping

group, in terms of being among the highest percentage for multiple means of shopping, was

the self-employed. The self-employed were among the top shoppers for shopping trips, the

Internet and for purchases from sales representatives. The self-employed do not figure in the

top three for 2003. Those in the highest income category (++) also appear twice, for Internet

purchases and for purchases from sales representatives. In 2003, the highest income

category is in the top three for holiday or business trips. The group which was most

significant in 2003, those aged 25-39 years old, does not appear in the top categories for

2002.

In terms of purchases made, for the most part, the top three categories are in line

with the overall EU average figures for money spent via different means. For the top three on

shopping trips, the highest percentage of spending is divided between 50-99 Euros and over

200 Euros, approximately the same as the EU average. For holiday or business trips and

purchases made on the Internet, the highest percentage of

shoppers spent more than 200 Euros, representing a departure from EU averages.


7959 Q 17 a, EB 57.2


For mail order sales, the majority of purchases were in the 50-99 Euro range, which is

completely in line with the EU average. For purchases made from sales representatives, the

large majority were over 200 Euros, both for the top three socio-demographic groups and for

the EU average.

Shopping triphouse

personsself-

employedrural area

or vlgHoliday or business trip

20+ yrs educ retired right

<50 EUR 7.6 8.4 14.8 <50 EUR 15.9 5.3 17.250-99 56.4 12.1 25.8 50-99 24.0 19.2 24.0

100-199 18.9 22.6 29.6 100-199 23.1 19.7 21.0>200 16.8 53.9 26.1 >200 31.4 50.5 31.2

Internet managersself-

employed (++)

mail order catalogue, telephone sales

manual workers

16-19 yrs educ

15-24 yrs old

<50 EUR 14.4 7.6 20.6 <50 EUR 20.4 15.6 11.750-99 22.9 19.7 29.1 50-99 29.4 45.3 51.6

100-199 20.7 20.7 16.5 100-199 14.1 17.4 24.2>200 35.8 42.3 29.5 >200 20.6 11.4 7.4

sales repself-

employed25-39 yrs

old (++)<50 EUR 1.8 15.1 2.2

50-99 0.0 12.8 3.9100-199 9.6 11.2 0.0

>200 68.6 37.5 84.7

Q 17a: Top three socio-demographic categories and spending for each means of shopping, 2002


80


Advertising of Goods and Services and Purchases Made

The above discussion reveals significant differences both among European (EU 15)

countries and on the basis of socio-demographic groups. While there may be many different

explanations for such variations, advertising may be one explanation for the wide variations

in shopping behaviour, given the fact that advertising for services and goods outside one’s

own country is not widespread. Just one-third (33.6%) of Europeans had seen any

advertising for goods or services outside their own country in 2003, a figure which again

varies widely on the basis of nationality and socio-demographic figures.60 In 2002, nearly half

(45.3%) had seen advertising.61 In 2003, 12.4% of European consumers had made

purchases in other EU countries, while 13.3% did so in 2002.

Prevalence of Advertising from other EU Countries and Purchases Made in other EU Countries

The percentages of shoppers in each country are fairly closely linked to the

prevalence of advertising of goods and services in other EU countries. When asked as to

Q 31a/Q29 : Correspondence between Percentage who have seen Advertising and those who have Purchased Products or Services in

other EU Countries, 2003

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

GR P E F I

UK TOTAL

D OST

EU 15

B IR

L

D TOTAL

D WEST

FIN

NL A S DK L

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Yes have seen advertising Yes have bought in other EU countries


81

60 Q 31a. 61 Q 18 in EB 57.2


whether they have seen advertising for goods and services from other EU countries, about

one-third (33.6%) of EU 15 consumers respond positively. The Greeks, Portuguese and

Spaniards have seen the least advertising (15.1%, 18.3% and 22.8%, respectively) and have

shopped abroad the least (along with Italy), showing a clear regional distinction. Likewise,

the Swedes (56.0%), Danes (74.7%) and the Luxembourgers (81.1%) have seen the most

advertising, and are among the four most active shopping countries.

For 2002, the same correspondence between advertising seen and purchases made

does persist. The four countries which have seen the most advertising, the United Kingdom

(68.5%), Finland (69.8%), Denmark (77.3%) and Sweden (81.7%)62 are also among the

countries with the highest percentage of respondents bought products or services abroad:

Denmark (38.9%), Luxembourg (38.0%), the Netherlands (29.3%) and Austria (24.2%).

Q16/ Q18: Correspondence between those who have seen Advertising and those who have Purchased Products or Services in

other EU Countries, 2002

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

GR P F B E I

EU 15

D WEST

D TOTAL

D OST

NL IRL S A

UK TOTAL

FIN

DK L

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

yes, have seen advertising yes, have bought goods in other EU countries

The four countries which have seen the least advertising, namely, Greece (24.5%),

Portugal (25.1%), France (34.8%) and Belgium (36.0%) are among those who have shopped

abroad the least. Both in 2002 and in 2003, Southern European countries have tended to be

toward the bottom end of the scale, along with France (and, in 2002, Belgium) while

Northern European countries are above the EU 15 average. Luxembourg is toward the top of

the scale in both years.


8262 It should be noted that of these four countries, three (UK, DK, S) are not in the Euro zone.


Types of Advertising Seen: 2002 and 2003

Advertising for goods and services in other EU countries was seen by, on average,

one-third (33.6%) of Europeans (EU 15) in 2003, and 45.3% of Europeans (EU 15) in 2002.

As noted above, in 2003 the Greeks, Portuguese and Spaniards saw the least advertising

while the Swedes, Danes and the Luxembourgers saw the most. For 2002, the United

Kingdom, Denmark, Finland and Sweden saw the most advertising and Greece, Portugal

and France saw the least. For 2003, the three main types of advertising were television

(15.4% of those who saw advertising for goods and services in other EU countries saw it on

television), the Internet (10.8%) and in newspapers and magazines (10.6%) (see figure

below). For 2002, the option of “Internet” was not available. Television (16.1%), newspapers

and magazines (12.1%) and e-mail (8.2%) were the three most important sources of

advertising in 2002.

Q 18 and Q 31a: Comparison of Advertising Seen by Europeans, 2002 and 2003

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Yes, ontelevision

Yes, on theinternet

Yes, innewspapers or

magazines

Yes, by e-mail Yes, throughleaflets left inthe post box

Yes, by post,personallyaddressed

Yes, on theradio

Yes, bytelephone

2002 2003

In 2003, there was a clear regional bias for advertising for goods and services in other EU

countries, with Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece all having seen less advertising

than the EU 15 average (along with the UK and Eastern Germany). In 2002, Greece,

Portugal, France, Belgium and Italy had all seen less advertising than the EU average.

Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden had the most of nearly every type of advertising in both


83


2002 and 2003. In 2003, Luxembourg had a startling 64.0% of advertising having been seen

on television (the EU average is 15.4%), of personally addressed post (33.1%; EU average

5.1%) and of radio advertising (45.5%; EU average 2.8%). Greece and Portugal had the

overall lowest figures of advertising for 2003. There are some differences between Eastern

Germany and Western Germany, with the Internet the third most prevalent means of

advertising in Western Germany (13.4%) but only the fifth (at 9.2%) in Eastern Germany.

Q18/Q31a: Percentage of Europeans who have seen Advertising from other EU Countries, 2002 and 2003

B DKD

WESTD

TOTAL D OST GR E F IRL I L NL A P FIN SUK

TOTAL EU 15

No, I have not seen orheard ads or info 2002 64.0 22.7 49.4 48.9 47.3 75.5 63.3 65.2 38.0 56.9 18.3 40.8 33.2 74.9 30.2 35.5 51.5 54.7No, I have not seen orheard ads or info 2003 62.5 25.3 54.5 57.0 66.5 84.9 77.2 74.7 61.2 71.4 18.9 48.7 48.0 81.7 53.0 44.0 69.3 66.4Yes, by email 2002 4.8 18.9 8.6 7.6 3.6 2.9 5.5 7.1 11.5 7.6 9.4 15.2 10.7 2.5 15.8 22.8 9.1 8.2Yes, by email 2003 6.0 24.0 10.4 9.8 7.7 1.9 4.3 3.0 9.6 5.8 18.4 10.5 7.5 1.2 14.4 20.2 9.9 7.4Yes, personally addressed post 2002 3.7 8.2 7.4 7.2 6.2 0.5 1.5 3.4 6.7 2.4 18.6 4.6 6.1 0.5 8.1 10.9 3.9 4.3Yes, personally addressed post 2003 5.2 9.9 10.0 10.0 9.7 0.3 1.1 3.1 7.4 2.8 33.1 3.1 7.0 1.5 6.5 11.0 5.4 5.1Yes, leaflets inpost box 2002 7.2 35.4 10.1 10.2 11.0 1.1 2.9 5.2 6.4 2.2 49.0 10.3 11.7 1.7 9.8 12.9 3.4 6.2Yes, leaflets inpost box 2003 9.6 32.8 12.1 11.9 11.3 0.7 2.7 5.4 6.5 2.7 55.3 11.8 13.0 2.0 8.5 14.4 4.0 6.9Yes, by telephone 2002 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.0 0.3 1.0 0.2 1.6 0.5 4.4 0.9 1.0 0.5 1.8 1.4 1.3 0.9Yes, by telephone 2003 1.8 0.6 7.1 6.4 4.1 0.1 1.3 1.1 4.2 1.2 11.6 0.6 2.4 0.7 2.2 1.7 1.9 2.5

Yes, internet 2003 9.0 28.3 13.4 12.5 9.2 4.3 6.9 6.2 11.6 10.0 20.4 17.8 10.2 2.9 19.8 29.8 12.5 10.8Yes, on television 2002 18.0 29.9 18.6 19.1 21.1 10.7 18.1 9.2 19.3 10.2 53.8 30.1 33.4 16.6 35.2 36.1 11.6 16.1Yes, on television 2003 20.8 39.4 19.0 18.8 18.2 7.0 11.9 12.2 20.5 11.9 64.0 25.1 29.2 10.2 21.2 34.3 10.7 15.4Yes, on the radio 2002 3.1 4.2 5.3 5.0 4.2 1.4 3.1 2.0 5.2 1.4 22.1 5.2 8.1 1.3 5.2 4.0 2.3 3.2Yes, on the radio 2003 5.7 4.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 0.7 1.1 2.1 2.6 2.2 45.5 5.1 9.3 1.5 1.8 3.3 2.2 2.8Yes, in newspapers/magazines 2002 9.3 30.7 16.0 16.0 16.1 3.0 6.5 9.7 18.1 7.8 42.6 19.3 24.6 3.3 26.7 24.0 11.6 12.1Yes, in newspapers/magazines 2003 10.9 25.9 15.0 14.4 11.9 2.1 5.3 7.3 10.6 8.6 54.5 16.8 18.1 4.0 16.5 23.5 10.6 10.6

In 2002, Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark also generally had the highest rates of

advertising seen, for nearly all media. The table above shows the highest three for each

possibility (grey boxes) as well as decreases (red boxes) and increases (blue boxes) from

2002 to 2003. Luxembourg and Denmark had the highest overall rates of advertising seen,

while Portugal and Greece had the lowest, as they did in 2003. The figures for advertising

seen in Luxembourg are, also in 2002, often considerably higher than for other EU

members, with, for instance, 53.8% of respondents having seen advertising on television,

but just 16.1% of all European consumers having done so. Although Internet was not

discussed as a means of advertising in 2002, the differences in advertising via e-mail are

also significant for Eastern and Western Germany in 2002, with 8.6% of west Germans

having seen advertising by e-mail, but just 3.6% of East Germans having done so. The

difference between Eastern and Western Germany in 2002 for e-mail advertising was five

per cent, which dropped to 2.7% in 2003.


84


Advertising: Largely Unsolicited

The majority of this information was not requested.63 Advertising via Internet was the

most requested, with 20.9% of respondents noting that they had requested such advertising,

followed by 16.0% who had requested information via e-mail and 14.4% who had requested

advertising to be delivered via personally addressed post (see table below). Again, the

percentage of different types of advertising which was requested varies strongly from

country to country. Greece, the country which has seen the least advertising, has the highest

request rates, with 56.3% of respondents having requested the advertising by email, in

contrast to the EU average of 16.0% (see table below). Other notable points include Italy’s,

Greece’s and the Netherlands’ high request rates (28.5%, 27.8% and 26.0%, respectively)

for personally addressed post.

Internet Email

Personallyaddressed

post Telephone Leaflets

in post box TelevisionL 19.6 22.2 17.0 8.7 1.5 1.0

DK 19.4 19.8 25.7 0.0 1.3 0.5S 7.3 10.5 8.6 0.0 6.7 0.9A 28.7 29.1 15.7 15.5 4.3 3.6

NL 32.3 25.8 26.0 16.0 5.1 1.7FIN 6.6 12.3 14.6 7.9 5.9 0.9

D WEST 18.7 7.5 10.1 3.0 3.6 1.8D TOTAL 18.8 9.6 11.3 3.0 3.0 2.1

IRL 26.4 17.6 10.7 9.4 6.2 3.4B 24.2 21.1 12.4 24.2 3.2 2.9

EU 15 20.9 16.0 14.4 8.5 4.2 3.1D OST 19.8 20.1 15.9 2.7 0.6 3.0

UK TOTAL 18.5 16.0 18.8 9.4 7.9 2.6I 22.9 21.1 28.5 33.7 5.6 7.2F 31.8 16.7 7.8 9.0 1.8 4.3E 13.8 18.0 8.1 20.2 9.0 0.7P 12.2 52.2 19.6 19.8 12.7 4.1

GR 53.1 56.3 27.8 0.0 45.0 14.3

Q 31 b: Percentage of Europeans who Requested Advertising, 2003

Socio-demographic Profiles

The Reach of Advertising

On the socio-demographic level, advertising, again, as in the case of the national

breakdown, is positively linked to the percentage of respondents having made purchases in


85

63Q 31b. Trend data for this question are not available; the question was not posed in EB 57.2.


the past twelve months (see figure below).64 For 2003, managers, those in the highest

income bracket, those with more than 20 years of education and the self-employed are those

groups with the highest rate of purchasing of goods in other countries of the EU. While

these four categories are not the absolute highest in terms of having seen advertising, they

are, respectively, second, fifth, first and fourteenth, indicating that there is a positive

correspondence between these two points. The self-employed may be somewhat of an

unusual category in that, while the question of purchase of goods is posed with respect to

private use,65 the self-employed purchase items for personal use that someone employed

elsewhere would not need to purchase. Hence, some other factor may play into this

situation, explaining the disparity on that point.

0

5

10

15

20

25

20+

yrs

educ

man

ager

s

still

stu

dyin

g

stud

ents

(++)

unem

ploy

ed

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

25-3

9 yr

s

15-2

4 yr

s

Mal

e (+)

DK

, S, U

K

Larg

e to

wn

self-

empl

oyed

Rig

ht

Left

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

n

Cen

tre

40-5

4 yr

s

EU

15

man

ual w

orke

rs

Euro

zon

e

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc (-) (--)

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

Fem

ale

55+

yrs

hous

e pe

rson

retir

ed

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

Have purchased goods in other EU countriesHave seen advertising

Q 29 /Q 31 a: Correspondence Between Having Seen Advertising and Having Purchased Goods, 2003

Overall, those with more education, higher incomes, lower ages and living in large

towns have seen more advertising (see table below). Political orientation appears to play

little role, while 37.8% of men, compared to 30.3% of women, have seen advertising. Those

with less education, the retired, house persons, those over 55 and in the lowest income

categories have seen the least advertising.

64 See Q 29 and 31 a.


8665 See Q 31a.


Q 16 / Q 18: Correspondence between having Seen Advertising and Having Purchased Goods, 2002

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

man

ager

s

20+

yrs

educ

(++)

still

stu

dyin

g

stud

ents

DK

, S, U

K

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

unem

ploy

ed

self-

empl

oyed

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

Mal

e (+)

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

n

Rig

ht

man

ual w

orke

rs

Cen

tre

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc Left

EU

15

Larg

e to

wn

40-5

4 yr

s

Eur

o zo

ne

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

Fem

ale

(-)

(--)

55+

yrs

hous

e pe

rson

retir

ed

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2002 Have seenadvertising

In 2002, the picture is similar, with managers (23.3%), those in the highest income bracket

(22.7%) and those with more than 20 years of education (21.6%) having most often

purchased goods in another EU country. These three groups are also the groups which have

seen the most advertising overall. There is an even closer link between having seen

advertising and having purchased goods than there is in 2003.

Overall, those with more education, those who are younger, who live in small or mid-

size towns or urban areas have seen more advertising. Men (48.3%) have seen more

advertising than women (42.5%). The lowest income groups, those aged over 55, house

persons, the retired and those with up to 15 years of education have seen the least

advertising. The overall patterns have, for the most part, remained constant from 2002 to

2003, while the correspondence between having seen advertising for products or services

from other EU countries and having purchases such products or services also remains.

In terms of what type of advertising each socio-demographic group saw in 2003,

there are, again, noticeable trends. Women have, in every case, seen less advertising – both


87


Q31a: Advertising for Products and Services from Other EU Countries Seen, 2003

Have not seenadvertising Email Post Leaflets Telephone Television Radio

Newspapers/magazines Internet

Male 62.8 9.1 5.2 7.2 2.6 17.1 3.3 11.5 13.7Female 69.7 5.9 5.1 6.6 2.4 13.9 2.3 9.8 8.0

15-24 yrs 62.0 9.7 3.0 4.5 1.2 17.8 3.6 10.4 16.625-39 yrs 61.8 11.0 5.7 7.1 2.8 17.0 3.1 11.2 14.640-54 yrs 66.2 7.1 5.4 7.5 2.9 15.3 2.9 11.5 10.855+ yrs 72.3 3.7 5.4 7.4 2.5 13.2 2.0 9.6 4.9

to 15 yrs educ 77.1 2.3 3.2 4.9 1.7 10.8 1.3 6.7 3.316-19 yrs educ 67.2 6.7 5.4 7.2 3.1 14.7 2.6 9.7 9.120+ yrs educ 55.3 12.9 7.9 9.5 2.8 21.1 4.3 16.3 19.1still studying 58.3 12.5 3.4 5.3 1.3 18.5 3.8 13.1 19.7

self-employed 64.2 11.3 7.4 5.8 2.4 13.9 3.9 11.5 15.5managers 57.5 12.5 7.6 9.8 3.3 20.9 4.5 16.2 20.3

other white collars 61.8 11.1 5.1 7.8 2.6 15.3 3.5 10.8 13.6manual workers 67.1 5.9 4.0 6.4 2.3 15.4 2.4 9.5 9.2house person 72.7 3.7 4.1 5.4 2.2 12.9 1.6 8.6 5.2unemployed 60.4 9.5 7.4 8.8 4.1 21.1 2.3 12.6 12.7

retired 73.9 3.0 5.1 7.1 2.5 12.4 2.0 8.8 3.8students 58.9 11.8 3.1 5.2 1.3 18.2 3.8 12.4 19.4

Left 65.3 8.2 4.9 6.1 1.8 16.5 3.2 11.6 11.8Centre 66.1 7.2 5.1 6.8 2.2 15.1 2.5 11.6 11.1Right 64.4 8.2 6.0 9.2 3.2 16.4 3.0 11.2 10.8

Rural area/vlg 69.6 5.3 4.6 7.0 2.3 14.1 2.3 9.8 8.2small or mid-size

town 65.8 7.4 5.0 6.6 2.5 15.6 2.4 10.0 11.1Large town 63.9 10.1 5.7 7.2 2.6 16.7 3.9 12.2 13.2

(--) 69.6 6.4 4.4 6.8 2.3 14.6 2.5 8.9 8.1(-) 67.6 4.9 4.9 7.7 3.1 15.1 2.2 9.6 7.3(+) 62.3 8.4 6.2 7.9 2.4 16.9 3.3 12.9 11.6(++) 59.0 12.9 7.2 8.2 3.2 18.4 3.0 14.5 17.7

Euro zone 67.2 6.3 4.8 6.8 2.6 15.3 2.8 10.0 9.6DK, S, UK 63.0 12.2 6.4 7.3 1.8 15.7 2.5 13.3 15.7

EU 15 66.4 7.4 5.1 6.9 2.5 15.4 2.8 10.6 10.8 generally and with respect to specific types of advertising – than men. Managers have seen

more advertising than any other occupational group – except for advertisements on

television, which were seen slightly more often by the unemployed. The retired saw the least

advertising overall. Those living in large towns have, in every case, seen more advertising

than those in small towns or rural areas. In the case of advertising via Internet, there is the

largest difference between respondents in large towns, whose residents have seen more

advertising, and in rural areas, namely a difference of five percentage points. Those in the

highest income bracket have, in every case except radio advertising, seen the most

advertising of all four income levels. With respect to the Euro zone/non-Euro zone, 32.8% of

those in the Euro zone had seen advertising, compared to 37.0% of those EU countries in

the non-Euro zone. For the overall figures, as well as for the specific figures, non-Euro zone

respondents had seen more advertising than Euro zone respondents, most substantially so

for e-mail and Internet advertising.


88


The same data for 2002 reveal similar trends with slight differences.66 While men

have still, overall, seen more advertising than women, in one category (leaflets), women

have seen slightly more than men and, for telephone advertising, they have heard the same

(limited) amount. Overall, those who are younger have seen more advertising, but this

correspondence is not a clear progression for all types of advertising (it is only a clear

progression for email, radio and television). Those with more education have seen or heard

more advertising, with a clear progression for most types of advertising. Managers have

again, as in 2003, seen more advertising than almost any other occupational group, with the

exception of students having seen more advertising on television. In 2003, the unemployed

held the top spot for having seen television advertising. The retired had seen the least

advertising overall, as they had also in 2003.

While in 2003, there were clear differences between rural areas and large towns, with

respondents in the latter having consistently seen more advertising, in 2002, the advertising

was more evenly distributed among rural areas, small or mid-size towns and large towns.

Income is, again, a significant predictor for having seen advertising, with the lowest income

group having seen the least advertising overall and those in the highest (or second-highest)

income group having consistently seen the most. The non-Euro zone (DK, S, UK) has once

again, for the most part, seen more advertising than the Euro zone except for radio and

television.

(see table next page)


8966 Q 18 of EB 57.2 This question did not include the option of Internet advertising.


Q 18: Advertising for Products and Services from Other EU Countries Seen, 2002Have not

seenadvertising Email Post Leaflets Telephone Radio Television

Newspapers/magazines

Male 51.7 11.0 4.8 6.2 0.9 3.8 18.2 14.1Female 57.5 5.7 3.8 6.3 0.9 2.6 14.2 10.215-24 yrs 48.0 15.6 3.4 5.9 0.9 4.0 21.0 12.125-29 yrs 49.4 12.7 4.5 6.4 1.0 3.9 18.1 14.040-54 yrs 55.0 7.0 5.7 6.8 1.0 3.3 16.5 14.055+ yrs 62.4 1.6 3.6 5.9 0.7 2.1 11.7 9.0

to 15 yrs educ 64.9 1.9 2.3 4.2 0.7 1.7 11.3 6.216-19 yrs educ 54.2 6.6 4.5 5.9 0.8 2.9 15.9 12.520+ yrs educ 45.7 14.9 6.8 9.5 1.1 5.2 20.4 18.2still studying 45.9 19.4 3.8 6.7 1.3 4.4 22.2 14.5

self-employed 50.1 9.5 7.3 5.8 0.9 2.7 17.5 16.5managers 43.7 20.4 8.4 9.9 1.4 6.2 20.1 22.6

other white collars 50.3 10.9 4.7 6.2 0.6 3.7 18.2 16.7manual workers 53.5 7.2 4.0 6.8 1.1 3.5 17.8 11.1house person 62.7 3.7 2.6 4.3 0.8 2.1 11.5 7.5unemployed 49.6 6.2 3.0 5.4 0.5 1.3 16.1 10.1

retired 64.2 1.0 3.0 5.5 0.6 2.2 11.6 7.3students 45.9 19.4 3.8 6.7 1.3 4.4 22.2 14.5

Left 54.5 10.5 4.7 7.2 0.8 3.7 16.8 13.3Centre 53.7 8.3 4.3 5.9 1.1 3.3 17.1 11.8Right 53.3 8.3 5.8 7.4 1.0 3.0 17.3 13.6

Rural area/vlg 56.7 6.6 4.2 6.4 1.1 3.1 17.0 11.5small or mid-size

town 53.2 8.4 4.8 6.8 0.9 3.2 16.5 12.4Large town 54.8 9.9 3.6 5.3 0.6 3.3 14.8 12.1

(--) 60.9 5.1 3.0 5.3 0.7 2.3 13.3 8.0(-) 57.8 6.6 4.2 7.0 0.8 2.9 14.1 10.1(+) 52.2 8.7 5.8 8.6 1.2 4.3 19.4 13.8(++) 45.8 14.6 6.8 7.8 1.1 4.5 21.5 20.3

Euro zone 56.4 7.5 4.1 6.1 0.8 3.3 16.2 11.5DK, S, UK 47.5 11.4 5.1 6.8 1.3 2.7 15.8 14.5

EU 15 54.7 8.2 4.3 6.2 0.9 3.2 16.1 12.1

In terms of the socio-demographic breakdown of financial services purchased,67

there is not as significant a range of values as for the national breakdown (which was 0.4%

to 8.4%). There is a range of only 1.3% to 5.3 per cent, with those with education up to 15

years (1.3%), house persons (1.4%) and those in the lowest income range (1.6%) having

purchased the least financial services from another EU country in the past 12 months.

Managers (5.3%), those with more than 20 years of education (4.4%) and those in the

highest income bracket (4.1%) purchased the most. The "don't know" responses are not

significant.


9067 See Q 42


Requested Advertising

In terms of advertising having been requested,68 there are again socio-demographic

differences (see table below). While women had consistently seen less advertising than

men, they have consistently requested more advertising than have men, with the one

exception of telephone advertising. In terms of socio-demographic categories, there are no

Email Post Leaflets Telephone Internet TelevisionMale 17.7 18.6 6.2 8.3 21.2 3.8

Female 13.6 10.5 2.3 8.8 20.3 2.215-24 yrs 16.4 22.1 8.8 23.9 21.2 3.925-39 yrs 16.4 11.9 8.3 5.8 23.0 3.640-54 yrs 11.9 12.3 2.2 6.8 18.2 2.655+ yrs 20.6 16.4 1.2 9.4 19.7 2.4

to 15 yrs educ 15.0 8.5 0.2 0.3 11.0 0.816-19 yrs educ 15.6 15.5 5.2 9.3 20.6 4.020+ yrs educ 18.0 15.5 4.0 8.8 23.9 3.6still studying 13.2 16.8 10.0 27.2 19.8 2.6

self-employed 24.8 32.3 5.1 12.2 24.8 4.1managers 21.1 10.4 4.6 6.8 27.7 6.1

other white collars 12.1 12.2 3.7 13.1 16.7 3.2manual workers 11.3 7.7 6.7 3.3 17.9 4.0house person 21.5 2.2 1.0 9.5 28.3 2.1unemployed 9.8 12.5 1.7 4.6 18.6 0.3

retired 20.7 17.8 1.9 6.9 15.3 1.5students 11.6 17.8 10.2 29.1 19.4 2.4

Left 17.1 17.4 3.4 9.6 19.7 3.4Centre 16.9 12.1 2.6 7.3 22.4 2.4Right 19.1 16.7 6.9 12.8 21.4 3.9

Rural area/vlg 18.2 11.8 3.7 5.7 21.5 2.1small or med town 18.0 14.3 3.4 6.0 21.1 2.2

Large town 12.8 17.7 6.1 14.7 20.3 4.7(--) 10.0 8.7 4.6 3.7 21.3 3.4(-) 17.5 20.1 2.3 9.8 13.1 3.9(+) 16.8 21.6 9.5 13.5 20.4 3.8(++) 17.6 16.5 4.8 11.0 21.0 1.2

Euro zone 16.3 13.5 3.9 8.6 22.7 3.4DK, S, UK 15.5 17.5 5.5 8.1 16.1 1.8

EU 15 16.0 14.4 4.2 8.5 20.9 3.1

Q31 b: Socio-Demographic Breakdown of Advertising Requested, 2003

noticeable trends, but rather isolated events. For e-mail advertising, those over 55 requested

more of the advertising than any other group, although they had seen e-mail advertising the

least of all age groups (indeed, they are the socio-demographic group which has seen e-mail

advertising the third-least, at 3.7%, after those with up to 15 years of education (2.3%) and

the retired (3.0%)).


91

68 See Q 31 b.


Only rarely does it occur that a group is highest both in terms of having seen

advertising and in terms of having requested it. For email advertising, this is the case for

those with over 20 years of education and for those in the highest income bracket. It is also

the case for advertisements sent by personally addressed post for those living in large

towns; for leaflets this point applies to those with a right-leaning political orientation and

those living in large towns. For telephone advertising, there were two groups which both

received and requested the highest amount of advertising: those having right-leaning

political orientation and those living in a large town. For the Internet, there are no socio-

demographic groups which fall into this category. In terms of television advertising, those

aged 15-24 and those living in large towns fell into this category.

Impact of Introduction of Euro in Notes and Coins

The introduction of the Euro in notes and coins as of 1 January 2002 was a much-

anticipated event. Data from surveys carried out in 2002 (EB 57.2), just months after the

introduction of the Euro in notes and coins, and one year later in 2003 (EB 59.2) reveal

some interesting points. Overall, the rate of European consumers who say the introduction of

the Euro in notes and coins has made them more interested in purchasing goods or services

in another EU country rose in 2003 to 14.8% from 12.3% in 2002.69

There is, however, quite a significant range of opinion: in 2003, these figures range

from 44.1% of Austrians, 44.0% of the Dutch and 33.2% of Luxembourgers to 9.8% of the

French, 9.3% of the Spanish and 8.3% of the British. It should be emphasised here that the

United Kingdom, the least interested of the EU, does not have the Euro. Denmark and

Sweden, ranking fourth- and fifth-lowest, respectively, in having increased interest in buying

in another EU country following the introduction of the Euro, also do not have the Euro.

Indeed, in the socio-demographic breakdown between Euro zone and non-Euro zone, 16.1%

of those in the Euro zone said that the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins would

make them more likely to purchase goods or services, while 8.8% of those in the non-Euro

zone said so.70

69 See Q 32 and Q 19 of EB 57.2.


92

70 These figures are calculated by total weight, that is, by total number of respondents, thereby accounting for the difference of non-Euro zone vs Euro-zone/figures and Denmark, Sweden and United Kingdom vs rest of EU.


Q19/32: Comparison of Impact of Introduction of Euro in Notes and Coins on Interest in Making Purchases in other EU Countries,

2002 and 2003

05

101520253035404550

A NL L

IR

L

D WEST

B

D TOTAL FIN

P

EU 15

D OST I

GR S DK F E

UK TOTAL

Yes 2002 Yes 2003

For 2002, the data were similar, with the Netherlands (31.1%), Austria (26.8%) and

Luxembourg (22.1%) the countries who became more interested in purchasing goods or

services in other EU 15 countries because of the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins.

The countries with the least increase in interest were Denmark (6.4%), the United Kingdom

(7.3%) and Finland (7.4%). The socio-demographic breakdown for this question indicates

that the overall interest in the Euro zone was 13.5% and in the non-Euro zone 7.5 per cent.

In terms of actual purchases made in the twelve months prior to the survey of 2003,

taken together with increased interest in purchasing, somewhat of a correspondence does

appear to be present, although it is not definitive. Of the four countries in which respondents

most often bought goods in other EU 15 countries (Luxembourg at 48.5%, Netherlands at

31.0%, Denmark at 28.1%, Sweden at 23.6%), two (Luxembourg and the Netherlands) were

among the top three countries for having said that the introduction of the Euro in notes and

coins increased their interest in purchasing goods in other countries, while Denmark and

Sweden (again, both non-Euro zone) were toward the bottom. Overall, there is somewhat of

an increase in both aspects.


93


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

UK TOTAL E F

DK GR

S I

D OST

EU 15

P FIN

D TOTAL

B

D WEST

IRL L

NL

A

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Bought goods in last 12 months Intro of Euro notes and coins has made you more interested in buying goods

Q 29/Q 32: Correspondence of Having Purchased Goods and in Previous Twelve Months and Stronger Impact of Introduction of Euro, 2003

In 2002, the slight correspondence was similar, with the top four purchasing countries being

Denmark (38.9%), Luxembourg (38.0%), Netherlands (29.3%) and Austria (24.2%). Three of

the four, namely Luxembourg, Austria and the Netherlands, were also the countries in which

respondents had stated most positively that the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins

had led to an increased interest in purchasing in other EU 15 countries, indicating that there

was at least some slight correspondence between the two aspects in 2002.

Q 16/Q 19: Correspondence of Having Purchased Goods in Previous Twelve Months and Stronger Impact of Introduction of Euro, 2002

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

DK

UK TOTAL

FIN GR F S ED O

STEU 15

I P B

D TOTAL

D WEST

IRL L A NL

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Yes have purchased goods in last tw elve months

Yes, intro of Euro notes and coins has increased my interest in purchasing in other EU countries


94


Socio-Demographic Profiles

Education and age are the strongest predictors for increased interest in spending in

other EU 15 countries following the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins (see figure

below).71 As education increases, so too does the interest in purchasing in other EU 15

countries: (up to 15 years education: 8.1%; 16-19 years: 13.6%; 20+ years: 21.4%; still

studying: 23.2%).

It turns out that persons with higher education are, in general, more interested. Those

groups with the overall highest increased interest in shopping in other EU 15 countries

following the introduction of the Euro are: those still studying, students, managers, those with

20 years+ of education and those aged 15-24 years. The least interested are house

persons, those aged over 55 years, those EU countries not in the Euro-zone, the retired and

those with up to 15 years of education.

Q 32: Socio-Demographic Breakdown: Interest in Buying Products or Services abroad after Introduction of Euro, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

Mal

e

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stu

dyin

g

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-) (+)

(++)

Eur

o zo

ne

DK,

S, U

K

EU 1

5


9571 See Q 32.


Q 19: Socio-Demographic Breakdown of Interest in Buying Goods Abroad after Introduction of Euro, 2002

0

5

10

15

20

25M

ale

Fem

ale

15-2

4 yr

s

25-3

9 yr

s

40-5

4 yr

s

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc

20+

yrs

educ

still

stu

dyin

g

self-

empl

oyed

man

ager

s

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rs

man

ual w

orke

rs

hous

e pe

rson

unem

ploy

ed

retir

ed

stud

ents

Left

Cen

tre

Rig

ht

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

n

Larg

e to

wn

(--) (-)

(+)

(++)

Eur

o zo

ne

DK

, S, U

K

EU

15

The socio-demographic breakdown for the same question posed in 200272 reveals

very much the same picture, with education, income and age very clearly predictive for

increasing interest in buying products or services as a result of the introduction of the Euro in

notes and coins: (up to 15 years education: 5.7%; 16-19 years: 11.9%; 20+ years: 17.6%;

still studying: 22.2%). Overall, as noted above, positive responses to this question have risen

from 12.3% to 14.8 per cent from 2002 to 2003.

When responses as to whether the introduction of the Euro in notes and coins made

respondents more interested in shopping abroad in other EU countries are compared with

purchases made in the past year, there is some correspondence. For the most part, the two

figures are close, with several exceptions – those in the EU non-Euro-zone (Denmark,

Sweden, the United Kingdom), those in the lowest income category, those in the highest

income category and those in the second to highest income category. For all four of these

groups, their purchases made were higher than would be expected. The impact of the

introduction of the Euro clearly does play a role, but other factors cannot be ignored.


9672 See Q 19, EB 57.2


Q 32/Q 29: Correspondence of Introduction of Euro Increasing Interest and Purchases Made Abroad, 2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

still

stu

dyin

gst

uden

tsm

anag

ers

20+

yrs

educ

15-2

4 yr

sse

lf-em

ploy

ed (++)

25-3

9 yr

s(+

)M

ale

R

ight

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rsEu

ro z

one

Left

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

Larg

e to

wn

EU 1

540

-54

yrs

Cen

tresm

all o

r mid

-siz

ed to

wn

unem

ploy

edm

anua

l wor

kers

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc (--)

Fem

ale

(-)

hous

e pe

rson

55+

yrs

DK,

S, U

Kre

tired

to 1

5 yr

s ed

uc

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Intro of Euro makes you more interested in buying abroad (EU) Made purchases abroad (EU) in last year

Q16/Q19: Correspondence of Intro of Euro Increasing Interest and Purchases Made Abroad, 2002

0

5

10

15

20

25

still

stu

dyin

gst

uden

tsm

anag

ers

15-2

4 yr

s20

+ yr

s ed

ucse

lf-em

ploy

ed25

-39

yrs

(++)

Mal

e

othe

r whi

te c

olla

rsR

ight (+)

Left

Euro

zon

eLa

rge

tow

n40

-54

yrs

smal

l or m

id-s

ized

tow

nE

U 1

5un

empl

oyed

16-1

9 yr

s ed

uc (-)

man

ual w

orke

rsC

entre

Rur

al a

rea/

vlg

(--)

Fem

ale

ho

use

pers

onD

K, S

, UK

55+

yrs

to 1

5 yr

s ed

ucre

tired

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Yes, intro of Euro in notes and coins has increased my interest in purchasing goods in other EU countries

Have purchased goods in other EU countries 2002


97


For 2002, much the same situation appears to hold true, with slightly different notable points.

The non-Euro zone of the EU (Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom) again has a

purchase rate much above the rate that would be predicted by the response to the question

about the impact of the Euro. The same is true for those in the highest income category,

while for 2003, the lowest income group made purchases above what would be predicted.

The specific behaviour of different socio-economic groups thus differs fairly substantially

between 2002 and 2003, but the overall correspondence between the two points appears to

remain.

Financial Services73

Portugal (0.4%), Greece (0.5%), Germany (1.1%) and Italy (1.5%) are the countries where

consumers least often say they have bought financial services in other EU countries in the

last three years. The countries where the largest proportion of consumers say they bought

financial services in other EU countries in the last three years are Luxembourg (8.4%), the

Netherlands (7.4%), Sweden (5.8%) and Belgium (3.8%). The EU average is 2.4 per cent.

Q42: Percentage of EU Consumers who have Purchased Financial Services from another EU Country, 2003

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

7,0

8,0

9,0

P GR

D OST

D TOTAL

D WEST I E

UK TOTAL

EU 15

FIN

IRL

DK F B A S NL L


9873 See Q 42


ANNEXES


99


QUESTIONNAIRE

Let's move to another topic: consumers but we are not talking here about food safety.

Q.27. a) Do you think that, as a consumer, you have a high level of protection in (OUR COUNTRY)?

b) And, you, as a consumer in the other countries of the European Union?

READ OUT YES NO IT DEPENDS (SPONTANEOUS) DK

a in (OUR COUNTRY) 1 2 3 4

b in the other countries of the European Union

1 2 3 4

EB59.2 - NEW

The Single European Market allows free movement of products and services.

Q.28. As a consumer, do you think the Single European Market has a very positive, fairly positive, fairly

negative, very negative or no effect on…? (SHOW CARD WITH SCALE)

READ OUT VERY POSITIVE

FAIRLY POSITIVE

FAIRLY NEGATIVE

VERY NEGATIVE NO EFFECT DK

1 the price of non-food products

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 the price of food products 1 2 3 4 5 6

3 the price of services 1 2 3 4 5 6

4 the quality of non-food products

1 2 3 4 5 6

5 the quality of services 1 2 3 4 5 6

6 the choice of non-food products

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 the choice of food products

1 2 3 4 5 6

8 the choice of services 1 2 3 4 5 6

EB59.2 - NEW

Q.29. Over the last 12 months, have you bought or ordered products or services for private use from shops or sellers located in another European Union country, or not?

Yes ................................................................................................................................................ 1

No .................................................................................................................................................. 2 DK.................................................................................................................................................. 3

EB57.2 - Q.16. - TREND


100


IF YES, CODE 1 IN Q.29., OTHERS GO TO Q.31.

Q.30. a) How did you buy or order them? (SHOW CARD - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)

FOR EACH WAY IDENTIFIED IN Q.30.a.

b) What was the approximate total value of what you bought or ordered? (SHOW CARD WITH SCALE - ONE ANSWER ONLY)

b) TOTAL AMOUNT

READ OUT a) WAYS

LESS THAN 50 EURO

FROM 50 TO 99 EURO

FROM 100 TO 199 EURO

200 EURO OR MORE DK

1 On a trip or trips primarily for shopping purposes

1, 1 2 3 4 5

2

On holiday or on a business trip, excluding items such as travel, accommodation, meals, leisure activities

2, 1 2 3 4 5

3 On the Internet 3, 1 2 3 4 5

4 By mail order, catalogue, telephone sales

4, 1 2 3 4 5

5

From a sales representative located in another European Union country, who came to visit you at home or your place of work

5, 1 2 3 4 5

6 DK 6,

EB57.2 - Q.17. a. & b. - TREND


101


ASK ALL

Q.31. a) In the last 12 months, have you seen or heard advertising or information coming from shops or sellers located in another European Union country in any of these ways? (SHOW CARD - MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)

b) Was it requested or not?

Q.31.a. Q.31.b.

READ OUT SEEN OR HEARD ADVERTISING OR

INFORMATION REQUESTED NOT

REQUESTED DK

1 No, I have not seen or heard advertising or information

1,

2 Yes, by e-mail 2, 1 2 3

3 Yes, by post, personally addressed to you

3, 1 2 3

4 Yes, through leaflets left in your post box 4, 1 2 3

5 Yes, by telephone 5, 1 2 3

6 Yes, on the Internet (N) 6, 1 2 3

7 Yes, on television 7, 1 2 3

8 Yes, on the radio 8, 9 Yes, in newspapers or magazines 9,

10 Yes, other way (SPONTANEOUS) 10, 11 DK 11,

EB57.2 - Q.18. - TREND MODIFIED

ASK ALL

Q.32. Has the introduction of euro notes and coins made you more interested in buying from shops or sellers located in another European Union country, or not?

Yes........................................................................................................................................... 1 No ............................................................................................................................................ 2 DK ............................................................................................................................................ 3

EB57.2 - Q.19.a. - TREND


102


Q.33. a) Do you think that the safety of non-food products is guaranteed or not in (OUR COUNTRY)?

b) And in the other countries of the European Union?



b In the other countries of the European Union

1 2 3 4

EB59.2 - NEW

Q.34. a) Do you think that the safety of services offered to consumers is guaranteed or not in (OUR

COUNTRY)?





1 2 3 4

EB59.2 - NEW Q.35. a) Do you think that the legislation on consumer protection is applied in practice or not in (OUR

COUNTRY)?





1 2 3 4

EB59.2 - NEW


103


Q.36. a) Do you think that, as a consumer, you have a high level of protection or not when you buy

something on the Internet from a seller/company located in (OUR COUNTRY)?

b) And, from a seller/company located in another country of the European Union?

READ OUT YES NO IT DEPENDS

(SPONTANEOUS)NOT

APPLICABLE (SPONTANEOUS)

DK

a in (OUR COUNTRY) 1 2 3 4 5

b in another country of the European Union

1 2 3 4 5

EB59.2 - NEW Q.37. a) Do you think you can have access to ways to settle disputes or not when you buy products or

services in (OUR COUNTRY)?





1 2 3 4

EB59.2 - NEW

Q.38. Are you aware of ways to settle disputes between consumers and suppliers of products or services other than going to Court? By this, I mean mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

Yes........................................................................................................................................... 1 No ............................................................................................................................................ 2 DK ............................................................................................................................................ 3

EB59.2 - NEW

Q.39. a) Do you think you know enough about your rights, as a consumer, under (NATIONALITY) laws?

b) And, as a consumer, under European laws?

READ OUT YES NO DK

a (NATIONALITY) laws 1 2 3

b European laws 1 2 3

EB59.2 - NEW


104


Q.40. a) Do you think that consumer associations have enough involvement in or should be more

involved in formulating consumer protection policy in (OUR COUNTRY)?

b) And, in the other countries of the European Union?

READ OUT ENOUGH INVOLVEMENT

MORE INVOLVED DK

a in (OUR COUNTRY) 1 2 3


1 2 3

EB59.2 – NEW

Q.41. Other than in consumer policy, do you think that your rights, as a consumer, are sufficiently taken into

account in European policies such as agricultural policy, transport policy, energy policy,

telecommunication policy or competition policy?

Yes ................................................................................................................................................ 1

No .................................................................................................................................................. 2 It depends (SPONTANEOUS) ....................................................................................................... 3 DK.................................................................................................................................................. 4

EB59.2 - NEW

Q.42. In the last 3 years, have you bought any financial services from a firm located in another country of the

European Union, or not? (INT.: BANK ACCOUNT, CREDIT CARD, CAR INSURANCE, HOME

INSURANCE, LIFE INSURANCE, MORTGAGE, PERSONAL LOAN, STOCKS / SHARES, PRIVATE

PENSION PLAN)

Yes ................................................................................................................................................ 1

No .................................................................................................................................................. 2 DK.................................................................................................................................................. 3

EB59.2 - NEW


105


TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Between 9th May 2003 and 30th June 2003, the European Opinion Research Group, a consortium of Market and Public Opinion Research agencies, made out of INRA in Belgium – I.C.O. and GfK Worldwide, carried out wave 59.2 of the standard Eurobarometer, on request of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Directorate-General Press and Communication, Opinion Polls The Standard EUROBAROMETER 59.2 covers the population of the respective nationalities of the European Union Member States, aged 15 years and over, resident in each of the Member States. The basic sample design applied in all Member States is a multi-stage, random (probability) one. In each EU country, a number of sampling points was drawn with probability proportional to population size (for a total coverage of the country) and to population density. For doing so, the points were drawn systematically from each of the "administrative regional units", after stratification by individual unit and type of area. They thus represent the whole territory of the Member States according to the EUROSTAT NUTS 2 (or equivalent) and according to the distribution of the resident population of the respective EU-nationalities in terms of metropolitan, urban and rural areas. In each of the selected sampling points, a starting address was drawn, at random. Further addresses were selected as every Nth address by standard random route procedures, from the initial address. In each household, the respondent was drawn, at random. All interviews were face-to-face in people's home and in the appropriate national language. COUNTRIES INSTITUTES N° INTERVIEWS FIELDWORK DATES POPULATION 15+ (x 000) Belgium INRA BELGIUM 1,030 09/05 – 19/06 8,458 Denmark GfK DENMARK 1,000 09/05 – 22/06 4,355 Germany (East) INRA DEUTSCHLAND 1,024 19/05 – 05/06 13,164 Germany (West) INRA DEUTSCHLAND 1,014 17/05 – 13/06 56,319 Greece MARKET ANALYSIS 1,001 19/05 – 17/06 8,899 Spain INRA ESPAÑA 1,000 09/05 – 17/06 34,239 France CSA-TMO 1,110 09/05 – 27/06 47,936 Ireland LANSDOWNE Market Research 1,004 20/05 – 16/06 3,004 Italy INRA Demoskopea 1,013 24/05 – 22/06 49,531 Luxembourg ILRes 600 10/05 – 19/06 357 The Netherlands INTOMART 1,001 19/05 – 19/06 13,010 Austria SPECTRA 1,027 20/05 – 06/06 6,770 Portugal METRIS 1,000 29/05 – 21/06 8,620 Finland MDC MARKETING RESEARCH 1,022 23/05 – 18/06 4,245 Sweden GfK SVERIGE 1,000 10/05 – 30/06 7,252 Great Britain MARTIN HAMBLIN LTD 1,012 09/05 – 18/06 46,370 Northern Ireland ULSTER MARKETING SURVEYS 303 21/05 – 04/06 1,314

TOTAL NUMBER OF INTERVIEWS 16,161 For each country a comparison between the sample and the universe was carried out. The Universe description was derived from Eurostat population data or from national statistics. For all EU member-countries a national weighting procedure, using marginal and intercellular weighting, was carried out based on this Universe description. As such in all countries, minimum gender, age, region NUTS 2 were introduced in the iteration procedure. For international weighting (i.e. EU averages), INRA (EUROPE) applies the official population figures as provided by EUROSTAT or national statistic offices. The total population figures for input in this post-weighting procedure are listed above. The results of the Eurobarometer studies are reported in the form of tables, datafiles and analyses. Per question a table of results is given with the full question text in English, French and German. The results are expressed as a percentage of the total. The results of the Eurobarometer surveys are analysed and made available through the Directorate-General Press and Communication, Opinion Polls of the European Commission, rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels. The results are published on the Internet server of the European Commission: http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/. All Eurobarometer datafiles are stored at the Zentral Archiv (Universität Köln, Bachemer Strasse, 40, D-50869 Köln-Lindenthal), available through the CESSDA Database http://www.nsd.uib.no/cessda/europe.html. They are at the disposal of all institutes members of the European Consortium for Political Research (Essex), of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (Michigan) and of all those interested in social science research. Readers are reminded that survey results are estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests upon the sample size and upon the observed percentage. With samples of about 1,000 interviews, the real percentages vary within the following confidence limits:

Observed percentages 10% or 90% 20% or 80% 30% or 70% 40% or 60% 50%

Confidence limits ± 1.9% ± 2.5% ± 2.7% ± 3.0% ± 3.1%


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STANDARD EUROBAROMETER 59.2 CO-OPERATING AGENCIES AND RESEARCH EXECUTIVES

The European Opinion Research Group EEIG

Christine KOTARAKOS 111, rue Colonel Bourg

B -1140 BRUSSELS – BELGIUM Tel. ++/32 2 702 08 84 – Fax: ++/32 2 724 89 12

e-mail: [email protected] BELGIQUE INRA BELGIUM Ms Verena MELAN tel. ++/32 2 642 47 11 159, avenue de la Couronne [email protected] fax ++/32 2 648 34 08 B-1050 BRUXELLES DANMARK GfK DANMARK Mr Erik CHRISTIANSEN tel. ++/45 38 32 20 00 Sylows Allé, 1 [email protected] fax ++/45 38 32 20 01 DK-2000 FREDERIKSBERG DEUTSCHLAND INRA DEUTSCHLAND Mr Christian HOLST tel. ++/49 4542 801 0 Papenkamp, 2-6 [email protected] fax ++/49 4542 801 201 D-23879 MÖLLN ELLAS Market Analysis Mr. Spyros Camileris tel. ++/30 1 75 64 688 190 Hymettus Street markanalysis@ fax. ++/30/1/70 19 355 GR-11635 ATHENA marketanalysis.gr ESPAÑA INRA ESPAÑA Ms Victoria MIQUEL tel. ++/34 91 7672199

Avda de Burgos Nº 12, 8ª planta victoria.miquel@ fax ++/34 91 3834254 28036 Madrid consulting.ecoipsos.es SPAIN FRANCE CSA-TMO Mr. Bruno JEANBART tel. ++/33 1 44 94 59 10 30, rue Saint Augustin [email protected] fax ++/33 1 44 94 40 01 F-75002 PARIS IRELAND LANSDOWNE Market Research Mr Roger JUPP tel. ++/353 1 661 34 83 49, St. Stephen’s Green [email protected] fax ++/353 1 661 34 79 IRL-DUBLIN 2 ITALIA INRA Demoskopea Mrs Maria-Adelaïde SANTILLI tel. ++/39 06 85 37 521 Via Salaria, 290 [email protected] fax ++/39 06 85 35 01 75 I-00199 ROMA LUXEMBOURG ILReS Mr Charles MARGUE tel. ++/352 49 92 91 46, rue du Cimetière [email protected] fax ++/352 49 92 95 555 L-1338 LUXEMBOURG NEDERLAND Intomart Mr. Dré Koks tel. ++/31/35/625 84 11 Noordse Bosje 13-15 [email protected] fax ++/31/35/625 84 33 NL - 1201 DA HILVERSUM AUSTRIA SPECTRA Ms Jitka NEUMANN tel. ++/43/732/6901 Brucknerstrasse, 3-5/4 [email protected] fax ++/43/732/6901-4 A-4020 LINZ PORTUGAL MetrisGFK Ms Mafalda BRASIL tel. ++/351 210 000 200 Rua Marquês da Fronteira, 8 – 1° Andar [email protected] fax ++/351 210 000 290 1070 - 296 LISBOA FINLAND MDC MARKETING RESEARCH Ltd Mrs Anu SIMULA tel. ++/358 9 613 500 Itätuulenkuja 10 A [email protected] fax ++/358 9 613 50 423 FIN-02100 ESPOO SWEDEN GfK SVERIGE Mr Rikard EKDAHL tel. ++/46 46 18 16 00 S:t Lars väg 46 [email protected] fax ++/46 46 18 16 11 S-221 00 LUND GREAT BRITAIN MARTIN HAMBLIN LTD Mr. Ross Williams tel. ++/44 207 222 81 81 Mulberry House, Smith Square 36 ross.williams@ fax ++/44 207 396 90 46 UK-London Swip 3HL martinhamblin.co.uk


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CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU · 2017-11-30 · CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE EU SPECIAL REPORT 193 -...

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