International guarantee
Wijnand Jongen, the president of the Dutch trade organization Thuiswinkel.org, announced the news. He is also the Ecommerce Europe president as well, the overarching organization representing European web shops.
According to Jongen, the seal should be for “every company, at a low cost and based on non-profit and self-regulation”, Twinkle wrote. When Ecommerce Europe was founded in 2012, Jongen already spoke of his desire to get international guarantee at web shops, but agreed that it would not be feasible in the short term. “A guarantee, with dispute settlements and so forth, is a long-term ideal and not something that can be arranged in a year. You will need approval from the European Commission and its Digital Agenda, of all member states and consumer organizations”, he said back then.
For everyone
The mark will not only serve large companies, but also has to be available to smaller and average-sized companies, which is why its costs have to be kept low. Online shops will self-regulate which stores get the seal, but more details will be divulged at a later time.
Emota, the European Multi-channel and Online Trade Association, has launched its own European quality seal several months ago. Thuiswinkel.org used to belong to that organization as well, but left it to collaborate on Ecommerce Europe, unlike Belgian SafeShop which is part of Emota.
