Among the EU member states, the proportion of those who also use the Internet to shop in Hungary has increased to the second largest in the last five years. E-commerce is setting a record in Hungary, with consumer protection supporting Hungarians in avoiding unnecessary annoyances and secure online purchases through a permanent presence and strong official action, the Ministry for Innovation and Technology emphasized in a statement on Monday.
According to a recently published data series from Eurostat, compared to 48 percent in 2016, 74 percent of domestic Internet users already bought from a web store last year. The 26 percentage point increase in five years is the second-highest in the European Union, just one unit behind the Czech gold medal. The rise of internet and parcel trade is spectacularly confirmed by domestic statistics. The annual turnover of online sales exceeded HUF 1,000 billion for the first time last year, and in 2021 it increased to well over HUF 1,300 billion. Last December brought the strongest monthly data with HUF 148 billion, passing the previous month’s peak of HUF 147 billion to the past, according to Ministry for Innovation and Technology.
As e-commerce accelerates, the role of digital consumer protection is becoming more and more important. In 2016, the government tightened the fines for repeated violations of webshops from HUF 15-500,000 to HUF 2 million. Ministry for Innovation and Technology prioritizes increased consumer protection in the online space. In the summer of 2021, the possibility of officially blocking websites selling dangerous products became more acute. The ministry’s internationally unique IT lab has so far inspected more than 1,100 online stores to filter out deceptive practices. Before releasing a penny from our hands, it is definitely worth flipping through the database of infringing online stores, which provides access to data on merchants who have been in default for two years, with more than six hundred resolutions currently being proposed, the ministry suggests.
In 2021, the Ministry’s European Consumer Center provided advice on more than 2,500 cases of domestic and cross-border online shopping. With their participation, the complaints of 171 Hungarian customers against EU companies were successfully settled, who thus received a total of HUF 10 million back.
Nikoletta Keszthelyi, Deputy Secretary of State for Consumer Protection, said: “Since 2017, the IT laboratory and the consumer protection authority have inspected nearly four thousand webshops. The rate of repeated infringements has been steadily declining in recent years as a result of regular investigations. The objection rate, which previously exceeded 50 percent, became a single-digit 9 percent last year. From May this year, online consumer rights will be further strengthened, with stricter information provisions requiring, among other things, the inclusion of search parameters and a ban on fictitious comments. ”
Ministry for Innovation and Technology has attached some additional important tips and information from Ministry for Innovation and Technology’s e-commerce savvy:
– The suffix .hu of the website address or the Hungarian texts and product descriptions do not necessarily mean that the operator is a domestic company.
– Take a look around the website’s contact menu and prefer not to make a purchase if you only find an email address or an online form to fill out.
– Hungarian consumers also have the right to withdraw from the purchase within 14 days without giving a reason if they have purchased in the webshop of a company registered in another EU Member State. The cost of return may then be borne by the consumer, but in the event of a warranty problem, if the quality claim is justified, this amount will be refunded.
– Payment of the purchase price by credit card via chargeback available at the banks provides a secure refund option if the ordered product is not received.
– When ordering abroad, it is worth considering whether the favorable purchase price of the product and the delivery cost is cheaper than the domestic purchase. It can easily cost more than we paid for the item itself to return it as needed. With the introduction of the band warranty in Hungary, up to two to three years of warranty can apply to more expensive products, depending on the selling price. In addition to the price, it is worth considering this aspect before deciding on a foreign webshop over a domestic purchase.
MTI
