To online shops, it’s their turn to make a move and they don’t have much time to think about it. If you sell through an e-commerce platform in the European Union, go ahead and mark June 19, 2026 on your calendar, because by that day, the famous withdrawal button must be up and running on your website. Directive (EU) 2023/2673 doesn’t mess around and demands that cancelling a purchase be as easy as making one. Therefore, the following methods are prohibited:
- PDF that needs to be printed or filled out.
- Request by mail.
- Request by phone call.
The rule is clear: any distance contract, which means any purchase made by a customer, is included. It doesn’t matter if you sell shoes, cooking courses, or digital service subscriptions. If you don’t comply, the fines in Spain could reach up to 4% of your annual turnover, a real blow. Additionally, if you don’t provide clear information or make things easy, the legal deadline for the customer to withdraw goes from the usual 14 days to a whole year. Imagine the hassle of having to refund the money for an order 12 months later.
Sanctions and deadlines for e-commerce
To comply with the law, any old solution won’t do. Forget about putting an email address or a WhatsApp link; the directive specifically states that the function must be integrated into the store’s interface. It has to be a visible, direct, and accessible mechanism, even for those customers who shop as guests without registering. In the end, the idea is that the user has a button or form at their disposal, preferably at the bottom of the page or in their customer area, to exercise their right without leaving your website.
There are some exceptions, such as customized goods, perishable products, or software that has already been downloaded; in those cases, the customer has no recourse. However, be careful, because as soon as you sell a single item that is not on that list of exceptions, you have to set up the entire withdrawal button system, just in case. It’s better not to take any risks and have everything ready before the last-minute rush.
What happens in Spain?
In Spain, the final text of the Royal Decree has not yet been finalized, so for now, you should make sure to comply with the minimum requirements, which are:
- Your store must have a visible page or section on your website dedicated to withdrawal, easy to find from anywhere on the site. It’s recommended to put it at the bottom of the page, along with the rest of the legal and privacy policies.
- An integrated form that the customer can fill out online without downloads or emails. The essential data includes name, order email, order number, and a field for details.
- Immediate confirmation to the customer that their request has been received, usually by automatic email.
- Internal notification in your CMS or an external tool (ERP, incident management system, etc.).
- Auditable record of each request, with date, time, customer identification, and order identification. This part is designed so that the customer can claim it, so it’s ideal to display it in the email you’ll send them.
How to implement the withdrawal button in WooCommerce or PrestaShop
If you use WooCommerce or PrestaShop, don’t worry because we can integrate this solution for you. We already have a module designed for it. Ask us for a quote, and we’ll help you protect yourself.