European consumers shop amid strict regulatory transparency and protection. Since its inception in 2018, the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation has imposed fines totaling €5.6 billion ($6.6 billion), raising public awareness of data rights and privacy. Consumers expect clear policies, compliant data handling, straightforward returns, and transparent pricing, especially from an unfamiliar seller.
Lack of trust is the top conversion barrier for non-European merchants.
Expectations
The GDPR requirements on sellers are explicit: the ability of consumers to grant and withdraw consent, and clear explanations on the use of personally identifiable data. These requirements shape shoppers’ expectations.
For example, the E.U.’s Consumer Rights Directive grants shoppers a 14-day right of withdrawal for most online purchases — a de facto baseline for returns across member states.
Under the E.U.’s consumer protection laws, the final price shown to shoppers must include all taxes and fees, including VAT. The Omnibus Directive adds further requirements, such as prices from advertised discounts must not exceed the lowest amount charged in the previous 30 days.
The United States has no comparable federal regulatory equivalent. There’s no nationwide right to withdraw from online purchases, and fewer mandatory disclosures about business identity or tax-inclusive pricing. U.S. shoppers often evaluate trust based on brand familiarity, convenience, and store-specific policies rather than legal guarantees.
Berlin-based Zalando, a fashion retailer and marketplace, lets visitors control their cookie settings.
Reviews: Local and Verified
Customer reviews play a significant role in how European shoppers assess an unfamiliar merchant. Cross-border ecommerce is common, and many consumers buy from retailers they don’t know, increasing the reliance on third-party validation. The Omnibus Directive reinforces this behavior by requiring merchants to disclose whether customer reviews are verified and by prohibiting misleading practices related to authenticity.
For example, shoppers in Germany and other parts of Central Europe rely heavily on Trustpilot and Trusted Shops as indicators of merchant reliability.
All shoppers, notably those in France, prefer reviews in their native language.
The volume of reviews matters, too, especially from unfamiliar merchants — the more reviews, the better, especially when clearly verified and in the buyer’s native language.
Conversely, U.S. consumers purchase with limited review volume when the seller is recognizable or the experience is convenient.
Policy Pages and Disclosures
For European shoppers, credibility often starts in the footer. Before they buy from an unfamiliar merchant, many will scroll to the bottom of the page to check the company behind the site and what rights they have if something goes wrong. That behavior is reinforced by law.
Under the E-Commerce Directive, online sellers and other service providers must disclose specific business information “easily, directly, and permanently accessible.” At a minimum, that includes:
- Legal name,
- Physical address,
- Contact details,
- Applicable trade or VAT registration numbers.
Several countries go further. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, for example, require an Impressum — a legal statement — that consolidates this information on a single page.
In the U.S., shoppers typically accept limited company details.
Reliable, speedy contact is also a trust signal. Per the E-Commerce Directive, a website can’t rely solely on an email address; sellers must communicate in a “rapid and effective” channel. Sites that offer no quick method of immediate dialogue raise questions about their reliability.
Payment Security
European shoppers rely on local payment methods. Pay-by-invoice and Klarna’s buy-now-pay-later are common in Germany. iDEAL dominates in the Netherlands, Bancontact is standard in Belgium, and Nordic consumers expect Klarna, MobilePay, or Vipps (pay by phone number).
In parts of Central and Eastern Europe, bank transfers, cash-on-delivery, and marketplace-specific payments remain popular.
For many buyers, familiar payment logos and clear fee transparency are essential to completing a purchase.
U.S. retailers often underestimate E.U. payment methods, launching only with credit cards and PayPal.
In short, ecommerce traction in Europe starts with understanding the trust factors that shape the customer journey. Clear disclosures, verified reviews, familiar payment methods, and compliance with regional standards all contribute to credibility and success.