The European Commission published today its 2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard which monitors EU consumers' ratings of how 42 goods and services markets work. These ratings show that markets performance has improved since the last scoreboard in 2014. The positive trend observed since 2010 is speeding up, with financial services showing the biggest progress. Consumers' top three goods markets are books, magazines and newspapers, the market for entertainment goods (e.g. toys and games) and large household appliances such as fridges. As for services, consumers' three top-ranking markets are leisure-related, ranging from holiday accommodation to cultural and entertainment services and sport services such as gyms.

"We can see from this year’s Scoreboard that consumer-friendly rules, market reforms, as well as effective enforcement of consumer rules, have made consumers more confident in the markets", said Věra Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality.

The Consumer Scoreboards are used by national policymakers and stakeholders to assess the impact of policy over time and compare the situation between Member States. The Commission uses the findings of the Consumer Markets Scoreboard as evidence to develop its policy.

For more information:

• Press release
• 2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard
• Factsheet on the 2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard
• Infographic on the 2016 Consumer Markets Scoreboard findings