This session will offer a forward-looking vision of consumer policy in OECD countries and non-member economies through a series of keynotes from high-level speakers. It will highlight the growing importance of consumer policy globally, as well as the need to strengthen the evidence base for consumer policymaking through robust empirical research, and to build on insights from behavioural economics. The session will also explore what the future consumer marketplace may look like and how new technologies, business models, and consumption patterns will change the consumer experience during the COVID-19 crisis, and beyond. The session will also feature a short video that will look back at 50 years of consumer policy at the OECD, and look forward to the consumer marketplace of the future.

The first part of the session will set the scene for consumers in e-commerce and the digital transformation. It will focus on key emerging trends and business models. The session will explore how new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual and augmented reality, and increased personalisation affect consumer behaviour and experiences, including raising new product safety considerations. The session will also consider whether the digital transformation is leaving vulnerable consumers behind and whether specific policy responses are needed.

This second part of the discussion will focus on consumer transactions via online marketplaces, including social media and peer platforms. It will recall the types of platforms identified in the OECD’s 2019 publication on online platforms and will explore the benefits marketplaces bring consumers, as well as their role and responsibility in protecting consumers from issues such as unsafe products, scams and unfair and misleading conduct, drawing on a recent OECD policy note on the topic. Panellists will consider the challenges online marketplaces face in detecting and deterring such conduct, as well as initiatives from online marketplaces themselves to enhance protections for their customers.