EU wide, there has been a slight increase in trust in consumer organisations (72% vs. 69% in 2010) and satisfaction with existing consumer protection measures (58% vs. 57% in 2010). Encouragingly, those who experienced problems were more likely to complain about them (82% compared to 77% in 2010), which can be interpreted as a sign of growing consumer empowerment. In addition, more EU consumers were satisfied with the way their complaints were handled (58% vs. 52% in 2010). The public perception of redress mechanisms improved further in 2011, continuing the upward trend since 2008. Slightly over half of EU consumers find it easy to resolve disputes with sellers/providers through alternative dispute resolution schemes (ADR); yet, actual use of ADR remains low.

On the negative side, unfair commercial practices are perceived to have become more prevalent since 2010 (see more details below). In addition, slightly fewer consumers (68% vs. 70% in 2010) have confidence in the safety of products.

The majority of Member States (19 out of 27 countries) increased their scores compared to 2010. Of these, 13 Member States have seen the index grow by more than 2 points (on a scale of up to 100). The biggest improvements (of around 6 points) were experienced by Bulgaria, Belgium, France and Denmark. In the case of Bulgaria, this is due to a considerable increase (of 12, 9 and 7 points, respectively) in consumer trust in public authorities, consumer organisations and sellers/providers. In addition, more consumers find it easy to resolve disputes through ADR and the courts (+7 and +11 percentage points, respectively).

The countries with the best conditions are Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium Germany, France and Sweden, all of which are above the EU average.

The Scoreboard measures the quality of consumer conditions in EU countries through the Consumer Conditions Index.

The objective is to create a long-term data set, which can be used by national policy-makers and stakeholders to estimate the impact of their policies on consumer welfare and to compare national outcomes with those of other countries, thereby promoting best practices.

The key components of the Consumer Conditions Index are the quality of regulation concerning consumers and businesses, the effectiveness of resolving disputes and handling complaints, consumer trust in authorities, retailers, advertisers and consumer organisations, and the degree of trust in the safety of products on the market

The key indicators used to calculate the Consumer Conditions Index are percentages of consumers (and/or retailers as relevant) who: feel adequately protected by existing regulations and law enforcement; trust public authorities to protect their consumer rights; trust consumer organisations to protect their consumer rights; trust sellers / providers to respect their rights; did not encounter misleading or fraudulent advertising and offers; complained when faced with a problem; were satisfied with how their complaint was handled; find it easy to resolve disputes thorough alternative-dispute-resolution (ADR) schemes; find it easy to resolve disputes through courts; do not think that a significant number of products on the markets are unsafe.