Geo-blocking in the CEFTA region

The E-commerce Association of Macedonia from December 2021 until February 2022 was doing an analysis of the markets that are part of the CEFTA countries in the interior mystery shopping and completing interviews with representatives from the mapped e-stores in order to investigate geo-blocking from the perspective of consumers. , imposed by e-stores in CEFTA and analyzed the nature and causes of localized geo-blocking practices. This research was conducted through “mystery shopping” on 160 e-stores in the CEFTA region. Each e-store was double-observed by two assigned non-domestic “mystery shopper”, resulting in a total of 320 online “mystery” shopping assessments of which 76% were for products and 24% for services. 44 interviews were conducted with representatives from e-stores The study was conducted by the Macedonian E-commerce Association in cooperation with the Serbian E-commerce Association with the support of the CEFTA Secretariat – Central European Free Trade Agreement.

Geo-blocking in the CEFTA region

Key points

1

72.5% of e-stores in the CEFTA region are geo-blocked, preventing buyers from other CEFTA markets from shopping online

2

Geo-blocking is most common during the delivery phase of the purchase process

3

Customs and shipping issues, as well as the lack of uniform and clear rules and regulations, are considered major blockers by e-tailers

The research was based on 4 research questions:

How common is the practice of geo-blocking in cross-market online shopping in the countries of the CEFTA region?

Is geo-blocking more common when selling services or products?

At what stage of the online shopping process does geo-blocking occur and in what form?

What is the reason and justification for the recognized practices of geo-blocking?

The conclusions of the comprehensive market study on geo-blocking were presented at an online event organized by the CEFTA Secretariat, entitled “Removing unjustified geo-blocking in e-commerce in CEFTA” which was attended by close to a hundred participants from the region, including representatives of government institutions , non-governmental and private sector. The informations from the report will help to improve the e-commerce ecosystem and remove unjustified geo-blocking in the CEFTA region, as part of the CEFTA e-commerce agenda.