European branchorganization (EMOTA)
EMOTA, the European Distance Selling Trade Association (EMOTA), the representative Association for the distance selling trade sector in Europe.
EMOTA comprises 22 national associations in 21 countries: 16 from the European Union as it is today (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland,The Netherlands, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) as well as Norway, Switzerland and Russia.
The mission of EMOTA is threefold:
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to represent the interests of the distance selling trade sector in all modern multi-channel aspects in relationships with governmental institutions, regulatory bodies, service providers and consumer associations;
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to increase consumer confidence in buying at a distance (off- as well as on-line) by offering professional knowledge and know-how and by stimulating self-regulation within the sector;
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to serve as a platform for exchange of information and support between the member associations;
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EMOTA's Member Associations represent over 2,000 companies offering more than 200,000 permanent jobs with a total turnover of over 68,5 billion Euro in 2004 (see Statistics). Our companies offer a wide range of goods and services to consumers, including the big well known internationally operating catalogue companies with a range of goods comparable to the high street as well as specialised companies with a specialised range of goods and services, such as books, records, financial services, clothing, wines, bulbs and flowers. As the definition of distance selling gets wider under the influence of the further penetration of online the range of goods and services expands to railway and airline tickets, hotel bookings, pharmaceuticals and many more.
Over the last decades, the traditional mail order and catalogue industry has seen many changes and is facing new challenges. With the further penetration of the telephone, the rapidly growing number of online transactions, the advent of new, interactive communication technologies like e-mail, mobile messaging and payment, the traditional name of the sector - “mail order” – has evolved into “distance selling”, which is also how it is referred to in European and member state laws and regulations.
Today, distance selling is a multi-channel, multi-market industry facing the challenges of the European Single Market, offering a competitive range of goods and services and an ever better and more direct service to customers thereby closing the distance gap.This evolvement also implies a keen interest of the sector in all EU regulatory issues concerning consumer protection, applicable law, cross-border transactions, self- and auto-regulation under discussion these days within the European Union.
Customer care is highly developed in the relationship with our customers, offering them good quality at competitive prices. Mail-order and distance selling companies are close to their customers and have pledged in codes of conduct both nationally and on the European level to abide by high standards of fair trading.
For any question or information concerning distance selling, our members and/or our companies and the activities of EMOTA please contactthe Brussels office atinfo@emota.org.