The Trust Gap in Online Marketplaces: Policy and Platform Dynamics in the European Union's Digital Economy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61978/commercium.v2i1.977Keywords:
Digital Trust, E Commerce, Privacy Risk, Online Consumer Behavior, EU Regulation, Digital Risk Index, Platform GovernanceAbstract
This study introduces the Trust Risk Index (TRI) as a novel, policy-relevant metric to capture digital risks privacy, fraud, misinformation, and targeted advertising shaping consumer trust in EU e-commerce. Unlike prior measures, TRI integrates consumer perception and behavior, providing actionable insights for regulators and platforms in restoring trust. The TRI captures consumer concerns related to privacy, fraud, misinformation, and targeted advertising. Using descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and principal component methods, the study analyzes how TRI scores correlate with e commerce engagement across EU countries. Results indicate that higher TRI scores are associated with significantly lower online shopping frequency. Privacy concerns, in particular, emerged as more influential than financial or product related risks. Platforms play a dual role, offering both protective measures and algorithmic risks that affect consumer perception. The findings highlight the importance of regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, the Digital Services Act, and the Digital Markets Act in restoring and maintaining digital trust. The study concludes that addressing non financial digital risks is essential for a sustainable digital economy. The TRI provides a scalable, policy relevant tool for measuring trust deficits and guiding targeted consumer protection strategies in the EU.
References
Amofah, D. O., & Chai, J. (2022). Sustaining Consumer E-Commerce Adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do Trust and Payment Method Matter? Sustainability, 14(14), 8466. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148466 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148466
Astuti, A. K., Wibowo, S., & Juwono, E. (2023). The Influence of Digital Technology Adoption by Small and Medium Enterprises and Online Consumer Behavior on the Success of E-Commerce Platforms in Bandung City. West Science Journal Economic and Entrepreneurship, 1(04), 153–159. https://doi.org/10.58812/wsjee.v1i04.392 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58812/wsjee.v1i04.392
Belwal, R., Shibli, R. A., & Belwal, S. (2020). Consumer Protection and Electronic Commerce in the Sultanate of Oman. Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society, 19(1), 38–60. https://doi.org/10.1108/jices-09-2019-0110 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JICES-09-2019-0110
Cantillo, J., Martı́n, J. C., & Román, C. (2020). A Hybrid-Fuzzy TOPSIS Method to Analyze the Consumption and Buying Behavior of Fishery and Aquaculture Products (FAPs) in the EU28. British Food Journal, 122(11), 3403–3417. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj-12-2019-0884 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-12-2019-0884
Cindrakasih, R. R., Mu’min, H., Jumui, J., Utami, E. Y., & Weni Indah Doktri Agus Tapaningsih. (2024). The Effect of Digital Marketing Strategy, Brand Trust, and Customer Expectations on Online Purchasing Decisions on E-Commerce in West Java. West Science Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(03), 552–562. https://doi.org/10.58812/wsis.v2i03.726 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58812/wsis.v2i03.726
Farooghi, R., Qasim, S., & Shaikh, D. H. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Green Satisfaction, Consumer Willingness to Pay, and Green Loyalty on Green Brand Evangelism. Nice Research Journal, 17(2), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.51239/nrjss.v17i2.478 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51239/nrjss.v17i2.478
Gruntkowski, L. M., & Martinez, L. F. (2022). Online Grocery Shopping in Germany: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 17(3), 984–1002. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer17030050 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer17030050
Gupta, V., Khanna, K., & Gupta, R. K. (2018). A Study on the Street Food Dimensions and Its Effects on Consumer Attitude and Behavioural Intentions. Tourism Review, 73(3), 374–388. https://doi.org/10.1108/tr-03-2018-0033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-03-2018-0033
Gurung, A., & Raja, M. K. (2016). Online Privacy and Security Concerns of Consumers. Information and Computer Security, 24(4), 348–371. https://doi.org/10.1108/ics-05-2015-0020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ICS-05-2015-0020
Guthrie, C., Wamba, S. F., & Arnaud, J. B. (2021). Online Consumer Resilience During a Pandemic: An Exploratory Study of E-Commerce Behavior Before, During and After a COVID-19 Lockdown. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, 102570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102570 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102570
Hamaker, E. L., Mulder, J. D., & IJzendoorn, M. H. v. (2020). Description, Prediction and Causation: Methodological Challenges of Studying Child and Adolescent Development. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 46, 100867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100867 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100867
Hasan, S., Islam, Md. A., & Bodrud-Doza, Md. (2021). Crisis Perception and Consumption Pattern During COVID-19: Do Demographic Factors Make Differences? Heliyon, 7(5), e07141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07141 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07141
Hossain, M., Islam, S., Rahman, M. M., & Arif, N. (2024). Impact of Online Payment Systems on Customer Trust and Loyalty in E-Commerce Analyzing Security and Convenience. Ajsteme, 4(3), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.69593/ajsteme.v4i03.85 DOI: https://doi.org/10.69593/ajsteme.v4i03.85
Hwang, J., You, J., Moon, J., & Jeong, J. (2020). Factors Affecting Consumers’ Alternative Meats Buying Intentions: Plant-Based Meat Alternative and Cultured Meat. Sustainability, 12(14), 5662. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145662 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145662
Krishnan, V., Jayabalan, N., Guo, J., & Susanto, P. (2024). Decoding Online Shopping Behavior in Malaysia: The Critical Influence of Consumer Trust. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(8). https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i8.5095 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62754/joe.v3i8.5095
Lăzăroiu, G., Neguriţă, O., Grecu, I., Grecu, G., & Mitran, P. C. (2020). Consumers’ Decision-Making Process on Social Commerce Platforms: Online Trust, Perceived Risk, and Purchase Intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00890 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00890
Maulana, A., Kurniawan, I., & Riyansyah, A. (2023). The Effect of E-Commerce Trust, Site Loyalty, and E-Commerce Satisfaction on Purchasing Behavior. Jurnal Manajemen, 27(2), 362–380. https://doi.org/10.24912/jm.v27i2.1329 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24912/jm.v27i2.1329
Minbale, E., & Seife, W. (2024). Factors Affecting Ethiopian Consumers’ Attitudes Towards Purchasing Locally Produced Apparel: An Empirical Study. Journal of Consumer Sciences, 9(2), 226–246. https://doi.org/10.29244/jcs.9.2.226-246 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/jcs.9.2.226-246
Pandowo, A., Rahmani, S., & Hapsari, A. A. (2024). Social Commerce Surge: The Fusion of Shopping and Social Media. Journal of Economic Bussines and Accounting (Costing), 7(4), 7902–7907. https://doi.org/10.31539/costing.v7i4.10435 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31539/costing.v7i4.10435
Qun, B., Tan, S., Yuelong, Z., Su, J., & Tingting, L. (2022). Credit Supervision and Trading Strategy of Rural E-Commerce Based on Evolutionary Game. Kybernetes, 52(11), 5164–5185. https://doi.org/10.1108/k-11-2021-1189 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/K-11-2021-1189
Rybak, A. (2018). Consumer Trust in E-Commerce: The Case of Poland. Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, 18(2), 59–71. https://doi.org/10.2478/foli-2018-0019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foli-2018-0019
Sadri, A. (2022). Machine Learning Can Solve the Reproducibility Crisis by Supplanting Reductionist Statistics. https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/yxba5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/yxba5
Samsuranto, S. (2021). Perception and Motivation Analysis of Purchase Decisions in Lumajang. Jurnal Ilmu Manajemen Advantage, 5(2), 79–84. https://doi.org/10.30741/adv.v5i2.795 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30741/adv.v5i2.795
Singh, S., & Ahlluwalia, S. (2021). Unboxing the Black Box: Demystifying the Impact of Consumers’ Psychological Motivations on Their Perception of Online Advertising. Vision the Journal of Business Perspective, 28(3), 374–385. https://doi.org/10.1177/09722629211039353 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09722629211039353
Suratno, S., EKAWARNA, E., & Kusmana, A. (2019). The Analysis of the Effect of Entrepreneurship Education, Perceived Desirability, and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy on University Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(11), 2507–2518. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.071131 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.071131
Tsalikis, J., & Solt, M. v. (2019). Business Ethics Index: The Impact of Political Affiliation. Social Responsibility Journal, 16(7), 949–955. https://doi.org/10.1108/srj-01-2019-0014 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SRJ-01-2019-0014
Valdivino, C. X., Paula, T. M. D., & Gerhard, F. (2025). Individual and Structural Factors of E-Commerce Adoption in Latin America: An Analysis During the Pandemic Period. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6550525/v1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6550525/v1
Wang, P., & Huang, Q. (2022). Digital Influencers, Social Power and Consumer Engagement In social Commerce. Internet Research, 33(1), 178–207. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-08-2020-0467 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-08-2020-0467
Wijenayaka, A. (2022). A Study of Establishing a Conceptual Model for Understanding the Impact of Social Commerce on Consumer Decision Making With Social Support Perspective. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202201.0332.v1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202201.0332.v1
Yano, Y., Nakamura, T., Ishitsuka, S., & Maruyama, A. (2021). Consumer Attitudes Toward Vertically Farmed Produce in Russia: A Study Using Ordered Logit and Co-Occurrence Network Analysis. Foods, 10(3), 638. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030638 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030638
Zaini, S. M., Noor, N. H. M., & Zandi, G. (2024). The Behaviour of E-Commerce Users: An Empirical Investigation of Online Shopping. JoMW, 2024(2), 50–60. https://doi.org/10.53935/jomw.v2024i2.276 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53935/jomw.v2024i2.276
Zarei, G., & Mirzaei, K. (2022). Impact of Perceived Social Responsibility on Consumers’ Green Perception and Green Behavior: The Moderating Role of Personality Traits. Journal of Consumer Sciences, 7(2), 168–188. https://doi.org/10.29244/jcs.7.2.168-188 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29244/jcs.7.2.168-188
