Online personalised pricing is a form of price discrimination that involves charging different prices to different consumers, often based on a consumer’s personal data. Policymakers are currently discussing ways to protect consumers from potential adverse effects of personalised pricing. One...

This report uses a standard gravity setup to analyse the determinants of e-commerce, using data on online credit card payments by private Spanish customers of the multinational bank BBVA. The results show that the gravity model applies well to credit card payments, explaining up to 95% of the...

This paper aims to complement the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Consumer Protection in E-Commerce by elaborating on its key principles in the context of online advertising and offering practical guidance on how to apply these principles. For these purposes, the guide provides a number of...

Building on the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Consumer Protection in E-Commerce, this paper aims to provide practical guidance to businesses on online consumer ratings and reviews. The document focuses on four issue areas: (i) fake ratings and reviews; (ii) incentivised ratings and...

This paper takes stock of recent developments related to online consumer ratings and reviews and their effects on consumer behaviour. It provides an overview of key consumer benefits and risks associated with user-generated feedback, and identifies consumer policy challenges, including...

Problems in e-commerce can lead to significant consumer harm (detriment), for example, when consumers have to pay more for a product than they reasonably expected (e.g. due to hidden costs); suffer from unfair contract terms; or receive products that do not conform to their reasonable...

An examination of payments issues is taking place in the context of the review of the OECD’s 1999 guidelines on e-commerce. This report looks at what might need to be amplified or revised to enhance consumer trust and adoption of new and emerging online and mobile payment mechanisms. It...

This study provides an overview of government- and industry-specific measures to address the abuse of online platforms by counterfeiters. In recent years, trading platforms have been instrumental in the growth in e-commerce, but at the same time, they can be abused by illicit trade networks. The...

This policy brief reports on the activity of online platforms during the COVID-19 crisis. Google Trends data for OECD and other G20 countries indicate that in some areas (such as retail sales, restaurant delivery, and mobile payments) online-platform use increased markedly during the first half...