Just add legal texts to your online store and you’re off and running? Store operators will realize that it’s not that simple when they receive their first warning letter. It is not enough to bring your store up to legal standards just once. Entrepreneurs must always stay on the ball. The following three examples show how a store that was once legally secure can become a guarantee for warnings.
Shipping costs before checkout process
The shipping costs are often only displayed in the shopping cart itself or on the checkout page. The reason for this is that the height of the shipping costs may depend on the products selected. However, as the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court has ruled, this is unlawful. Accordingly, it is not sufficient for the customer to be informed on the product page that the total price is “plus shipping costs”. The shipping costs must be visible to the customer before they view the filled shopping cart. According to EU law, the customer must be provided with all information essential for the purchase in good time. The court interprets this “in good time” as “before the shopping cart”.
This does not mean that the retailer has to specify fixed shipping costs, but they must provide the customer with information that clearly shows the shipping costs. This can be done, for example, by means of a table that can be accessed via a link on the product.
Consequences of the judgment
According to this ruling, retailers are therefore obliged to provide information on the height of the shipping costs whenever the customer can place the goods in the shopping cart, i.e. not only on the product detail pages, but also on the overview pages, if corresponding buttons are provided there.
The third gender and order forms
Since December 2018, it has been possible in Germany to enter “diverse” as a gender in the birth register in addition to the designation male or female. Another new feature is that it is no longer necessary to enter a gender at all. This change also has implications for eCommerce: according to the General Equal Treatment Act, no one may be discriminated against on the basis of their gender. Discrimination exists if someone cannot shop in an online store because of their gender. However, if only the Title “Mr.” or “Mrs.” is required on order forms, people who do not belong to one gender or the other are excluded.
Consequences of the legal innovation
To avoid being prosecuted for breaches of the General Equal Treatment Act, retailers must adapt their order forms. This means that the Title is either no longer mandatory or a third option is added.
The ePrivacy Regulation is coming
It was actually supposed to come into force with the General Data Protection Regulation: The ePrivacy Regulation. While the GDPR deals with the general handling of personal data, the ePrivacy Regulation is aimed directly at eCommerce and is intended to regulate the electronic processing of personal data.
However, it is still unclear what exactly the regulations should look like. The EU member states are struggling to reach an agreement, so the date of entry into force keeps being postponed. But even if the regulation does not come into force until 2020 (or 2021), entrepreneurs should not lose sight of developments! It is worth following the creative process now in order to prepare for the coming changes as far as possible.
The regulation will be relevant in important parts of eCommerce: from the use of cookies to direct marketing via email.
Important: stay on the ball
It is extremely important for companies to stay on the ball: Even though internet legislation is slowly arriving in the modern age, in many cases the courts have to apply laws that date back to a time when online retail was in its infancy. As a result, the Application of the law varies from time to time and traders regularly have to adapt to changing legal opinions.
The Händlerbund helps!
The legal protection of their online presence causes many online retailers an enormous amount of extra work. With Händlerbund, you have a competent partner at your side who will ensure that your online store is always legally up to date. And if things do go wrong, we will cover your legal costs, the costs of your opponent and claims for damages of up to 5,000 euros as part of our new Professional Package.
Secure a discount on your membership now
If you, as a retailer, decide to use the comprehensive legal services of the Händlerbund now, you will receive a discount of 3 months on the membership package of your choice with the discount code P470#M2#2012.
