A new piece of legislation from the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD), comes into force later this year, sparking major changes for retailers, particularly online.

As part of the directive, the cooling off period for goods will be extended from 7 to 14 days, automatically ticked boxes for add-on products when buying online will be banned and confirmation of order buttons on websites must make it clear that a contract is being entered into. “Confirm order” or “buy now” will be replaced with terms such as “Order with obligation to pay”.