The 2023 European Commission Consumer Conditions report also looks at attitudes to travel and other concerns.
Irish people appear more willing to accept vouchers from airlines if a trip is cancelled rather than accepting cash, with almost 50 per cent of people in Ireland saying they would be willing to accept a voucher instead of a cash refund compared with an EU average of one in three.
The research also suggested that consumers are frequently exposed online to unfair practices, with 69 per cent of consumers saying they had come across reviews that did not appear genuine. Privacy concerns were also to the fore with 94 per cent saying they were worried about how their data was being used when it came to targeted advertising.The European Consumer Centres Network activity report for 2022 meanwhile said that the EU-wide organisation dealt with a total of 118,142 inquiries and consumer complaints from consumers all over Europe and assisted them in recovering just under €10 million in consumer claims.
The European Consumer Centre Ireland received 1,665 complaints from Irish consumers against businesses based in the EU and the European Economic Area, and 1,506 complaints from European consumers against businesses based in Ireland.