Online boom and cross-border sales: the need for a political agenda - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 Online boom and cross-border sales: the need for a political agenda Beat Vonlanthen, Member of the Council of States Regulatory framework for operating e-commerce Bern, January 16 th , 2018

2 Presentation outline 1. E-commerce and politics: wait and see? 2. Opportunities and risks of the online boom 3. Required political measures 4. Outlook: Building bridges between the e- commerce community and politics

3 1. E-commerce and politics: wait and see?

4 A complex and cross-sectional political topic Competition policy Location and export E-commerce promotion Consumer protection European policy Logistics and transport policy

5 2. Opportunities and risks of the online selling boom • In January 2018, Migros announces that 43 out of 57 Ex Libris branches will be closed • 114 jobs are lost • However, Ex Libris online sales increased by 8% in 2017!

6 E-commerce represents an opportunity for Switzerland’s export-orientated economy Retail e-commerce sales (B2C) worldwide from 2014 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars) • Online shopping is one of the most popular internet activities • Internet facilitates access to external markets • 3,8bn internet users worldwide (Jan 2018) • 5,5bn google searches per day (2017) • E-commerce allows SMEs to set up internationalization strategies Source: statistica.com (2017)

7 Numerous Swiss companies benefit from online sales channels… Alpine Cabin Online selling platform for Swiss brands on the Chinese market (since 2017) Orange Garten Online sales platform set up by Migros for the Chinese market (since 2017)

8 …but cross-border online shopping also amplifies negative macroeconomic trends • Outflow of value creation • 1,5bn CHF in 2016 • Daily parcel deliveries 2017: 30’000 units from Zalando and 45’000 from Aliexpress • Potential reduction in employment • Loss of tax revenue

9 The imminent Amazon market entry is likely to increase these negative trends... • Loss of profit and market share of smaller retailers and independent businesses • Stronger market concentration in e-commerce • Loss of jobs and tax revenue ... but there could also be new export opportunities for Swiss retailers!

10 3. Required political measures A political agenda is needed in order to: • reduce the outflow of value creation • facilitate cross-border online sales by Swiss companies • avoid discrimination of Swiss companies against foreign competitors à 4 important fields of action

11 Field of action 1: better positioning of the Swiss national brand in e-commerce • Switzerland has one of the strongest national brands in the world • “Swissness” is a key success factor of the Swiss export sector • A unique and officially recognised label could provide Swiss retailers a competitive advantage à Labelling strategy for Swiss e-commerce (Parliamentary motion introduced in September, 2017)

12 Field of action 2: full access to the European Digital Single Market • The Digital Single Market strategy strengthens e-commerce within the EU/EEA (Postulate Vonlanthen June 2016) • There is a potential of discrimination of Swiss retailers: • MOSS-procedure for VAT • Geoblocking • Consumer protection (Interpellation Vonlanthen Dec. 2017) à FC Cassis... Digital Single Market as part of «Bilaterales III» ?

13 Field of action 3: No preferential treatment for foreign competitors The cross-border online boom reveals several problems: • Custom duties • Tax avoidance (VAT) • International postal tariffs for parcels à Clarify framework of cross-border online sales to Switzerland

14 Field of action 4: Information offer and support for companies, in particulier for SMEs • E-commerce is a challenging topic for SMEs • Technical complexity • High customer expectations • Logistic challenges • The availability of up-to-date information is a key to success • Example: web platform “Industry 2025” for an intelligent production à Improved information offer about e-commerce (within the branch and SECO SME portal)

15 4. Outlook: Building bridges between the e- commerce community and politics • Regular dialogue between the e-commerce community and political actors • Parliamentary interventions concerning the most urgent issues • Better mediation from the international to the national level (i.e. language J )

16 Thank you for your attention! beat.vonlanthen@parl.ch www.beat-vonlanthen.ch