About the report:

Discussion of the geo-blocking phenomenon, i.e. limitations in access to foreign websites, and its impact on trade in Poland. The report shows how geo-blocking works and how e-shops and consumers are losing out on it. The publication includes proposals for changes to the EU's digital single market legislation, as well as recommendations for legal solutions.

Key conclusions:

• From 28 to 63 per cent of European e-shops offering their products to Europeans are regionally blocking their customers.
• Central and Eastern European citizens are more likely to experience geo-blocking than residents in the rest of the European Union.
• Entrepreneurs from Central and Eastern Europe more often use geo-blocking than entrepreneurs from Western Europe.
• The most common barrier that Poles have encountered when shopping in a foreign online store is the failure to deliver goods to the selected country (48 per cent). In second place, the respondents indicated the high cost of transporting a product or service (42 per cent).
• Among the possible legislative solutions, Poles most strongly support the obligation for e-shops to accept payment cards from all EU countries (64 per cent).

The report is also available in the Polish version.