Trusted Shops

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Trusted Shops GmbH

logo
legal form GmbH
founding 1999
Seat Cologne GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Jean-Marc Noël, Ulrich Hafenbradl, Thomas Karst
Number of employees 450 (as of September 2019)
Website www.trustedshops.de

Trusted Shops is a company founded in Cologne in 1999 that offers online shops and their customers services in the form of a seal of approval , a buyer protection procedure and a system of customer reviews. For online retailers, there is also help to protect against warnings . In July 2019 around 25,000 online shops carried the seal of approval.

Company history

founding

The company was founded in 1999 in Cologne as a joint venture of Gerling Speziale Kreditversicherungs AG and the consulting firm Impact Business & Technology Consulting GmbH founded. Jean-Marc Noël and Ulrich Hafenbradl were among the founders. The company started operations a year later. The offer consisted of a seal of approval for online shops including buyer protection. By mid-November 2000, around 100 shops had received the seal of approval.

development

Number of shops
with a seal of approval
Nov 2000 around 100
Oct 2001 around 200
Nov 2006 1,600
Jan. 2008 more than 2,570
Nov 2008 around 3,000
Nov 2009 6,000
Nov 2010 more than 9,000
May 2013 more than 10,000
Nov 2015 more than 20,000
May 2017 more than 25,000

In 2010 the number of online shops with a seal of approval was 9,000, currently more than 25,000 Trusted Shops are listed (as of July 2019).

When a large number of web shop operators were affected by warnings at the end of 2006, the company asked online shops that had been warned to take part in a survey . In 2011, a special anti-warning service (sample texts, assumption of liability, help with warning letters) was set up. Two years earlier it had already offered interested shops its web-based purchase evaluation tool as a stand-alone version , regardless of the seal of approval.

In 2008, the Samwer brothers participated in Trusted Shops with 25 percent through the European Founders Fund . Due to a change in the ownership structure of the Samwer investments, Rocket Internet has held a stake in Trusted Shops since the end of 2014 . In May 2011, Crédit Agricole joined the company.

In 2017 Trusted Shops France SARL was founded as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trusted Shops GmbH, followed by the Polish subsidiary one year later . The Spanish subsidiary followed in September 2019 .

present

Services

  • Online shops can use the seal of approval after they have passed a test, which includes aspects such as data security , consumer protection , customer service , price transparency and creditworthiness .
  • Buyer protection offers financial protection for purchases in online shops with a seal of approval. Purchases worth up to 100 euros per purchase are insured free of charge. In the case of a paid, extended membership of the buyer in Trusted Shops, the buyer protection is increased to 20,000 euros.
  • Companies can use web-based feedback systems to let their customers evaluate purchases or transactions. For example, it concerns the service, the website or the product quality delivered. Only customers who have actually made purchases can take part in the feedback procedure.
  • Providers with web shops can use the company's services to protect themselves against legal attacks, such as warnings. The assistance aimed at legal security includes, among other things, support in the preparation of legal texts (such as the general terms and conditions ) or representation in legal disputes in Germany and other European countries.

Personnel and locations

The company headquarters are in Cologne. There are other locations in France ( Amiens and Lille ), the Netherlands ( Amsterdam ), Poland ( Warsaw ) and Spain ( Barcelona ). According to its own information, the company employs 450 people.

Market position

In Germany, Trusted Shops is the most widespread quality seal for online shops in 2018. The degree of awareness of this web shop seal is also highest in Germany. This applies to unsupported awareness, awareness by name and awareness by seal. According to a study by elaboratum New Commerce Consulting , Trusted Shops succeeded in “creating a strong brand as a shop seal”.

owner

The related to the fiscal year 2017 information from Bisnode according to two own funds of Crédit Agricole ( CA Innovation 10 and LCL Innovation 2009 ) together 10 percent of the shares Trusted Shops. Two funds of the French private equity and infrastructure investor Omnes Capital ( Capital Invest PME 2014 and Capital Invest PME 2015 ) together hold 4 percent. The Sohano GmbH , owns 23 percent of the Entract GmbH 38 percent. Global Founders Capital GmbH & Co (part of Rocket Internet ) holds 25 percent .

Others

recommendations

In 2009, the magazine Computer Bild examined seals of approval from online shops. Only four are trustworthy. In this study, Trusted Shops achieved the best possible rating in all 20 categories. In 2005, the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer center recommended looking out for quality seals such as Trusted Shops. In 2015, the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center also advised consumers to look out for the Trusted Shops seal of approval in online shops. The Trusted Shops seal of approval is one of the few seals recommended by D21 , an initiative from business and politics.

criticism

The economist and specialist book author Erwin Lammenett drew attention to the fact that the company might trigger high hopes for sales growth through its advertising messages. His A / B test showed that the impact of the seal of approval was rather minor here. The improved legal security for online retailers with a seal as well as the advantages of positive customer feedback, however, seemed plausible to him.

Surveys and studies

The company regularly conducts surveys and studies. The main topics here are warnings, returns and how to deal with changed legal requirements for consumer protection.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Lukas Hansen: Tüv test for Internet sellers . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , May 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ Imprint of the company's website , accessed on July 15, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b c Company information on the etrusted.com website , accessed on September 2, 2019.
  4. ↑ a b c Trusted Shops GmbH: Annual financial statements for the financial year from 01/01/2017 to 12/31/2017 . Published in the Federal Gazette , January 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Stiftung Warentest: Online shopping. Safe from fraud on the internet. In: test.de. July 30, 2019, accessed August 15, 2019 .
  6. ↑ A seal of approval for online . In: Horizont , April 13, 2001.
  7. ↑ bigOrder 2.0: purchase at the click of a mouse . In: Passauer Neue Presse , February 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ Online shopping without risk . In: Advertise & Sell , January 28, 2000.
  9. ↑ Patrick Goltzsch: Buy safely. Seals of quality for online retailers are intended to reduce the mistrust of customers when shopping on the Internet . In: Berliner Zeitung , February 17, 2000.
  10. ↑ Heike E. Krüger-Brand: "Trusted Shops" seal of quality . In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt , September 8, 2000.
  11. ↑ a b Arbitration Board wants to strengthen trust in e-commerce. Trusted Shops interest group offers advice throughout Europe . In: Der Tagesspiegel , November 15, 2000.
  12. ↑ Sven Heinemann: Seal of approval helps when shopping on the Internet. The Distance Selling Act, which has been in force for a year, has proven itself . In: Berliner Zeitung , October 2, 2001.
  13. ↑ a b wave of warnings. In: Spiegel Online . November 4, 2006, accessed July 16, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Birgitt Loderhose: More online shops at Trusted Shops . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , January 18, 2008.
  15. ↑ Lina Panitz: This is how Christmas shopping on the Internet is safe. Customers should inform themselves about providers before ordering - be careful with prepayment and imprecise prices . In: Die Welt , November 10, 2008.
  16. ↑ Trust is good, seals of approval are better. In: it & t-business , November 1, 2009.
  17. ↑ a b c More than 9,000 certifications . In: it & t-business , November 1, 2010.
  18. ↑ dataVERS cooperates with Trusted Shops . In: AssCompact , May 3, 2013.
  19. ↑ Daniel Mosler: Bargain Hunt on the Internet. Online trading in Germany is booming. Anyone looking for gifts online should check the offers carefully . In: Der Tagesspiegel , November 30, 2015.
  20. ↑ a b Warned? Please report! Trusted Shops asks retailers about warning practice on the Internet . In: IT-Business , issue 51/2006.
  21. ↑ Katrin Hofmann: Trusted Shops starts anti-warning service . In: IT-Business , October 20, 2011.
  22. ↑ Nicole Ritter: Safe from warnings with Trusted Shops . In: handelsjournal - the business magazine for retailers , issue 10/2011.
  23. ↑ Customer opinions help optimize webshops . In: IT-Business , October 12, 2009.
  24. ^ Ulrich Hafenbradl: European Founders Fund participates in Trusted Shops. In: trustedshops.de. May 8, 2008, accessed on July 16, 2019 (press release from Trusted Shops).
  25. ↑ Jochen Krisch: Rocket Internet takes over Samwer holdings for € 255 million. In: excitingcommerce.de . August 16, 2014, accessed May 22, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Rocket Internet SE (formerly: Rocket Internet AG): Consolidated financial statements for the financial year from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014 . Published in the Federal Gazette , August 4, 2015.
  27. ↑ Alexander Hüsing: Crédit Agricole secures 10% in Trusted Shops. In: deutsche-startups.de. May 13, 2011, accessed May 22, 2019 .
  28. ↑ For the subsidiaries, see the information on the company website , accessed on September 2.
  29. ↑ Trusted Shops soon with its own portal . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , October 22, 2004.
  30. ↑ What the certificates cover . In: BZ , June 8, 2017.
  31. ↑ Johannes Lemm: New: Customers can now secure high shopping baskets individually. In: trustedshops.de. May 7, 2018, accessed on July 16, 2019 (press release from Trusted Shops).
  32. ↑ "Central Success Factor on the Internet" . In: Creditreform , April 1, 2010.
  33. ↑ See the company's contact details on the etrusted.com website , accessed on July 16, 2019.
  34. ↑ Online shops - Use of quality seals in Germany 2018 | Statistics. Statista , accessed on May 22, 2019 .
  35. ↑ How to recognize fake shops on Instagram and Co. Be careful with bargain prices. In: RTL (online). December 18, 2018, accessed July 16, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Sascha Hoffmann, Karlotta Kneschke: Awareness & Effect of Quality Seals in E-Commerce. (PDF) February 2019, accessed on July 16, 2019 .
  37. ↑ Marco Schulz, Julia Froschmeier, Martin Rothhaar: Shopsiegel Monitor 2017/2018. Seal of approval in German online shops: Awareness, trust and benchmarking . Munich 2017, p. 23 ( online reference ).
  38. ↑ Company profile of Trusted Shops GmbH at Bisnode, information from July 6, 2019.
  39. ↑ Beware of dubious seals of approval . In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger , February 2, 2009.
  40. ↑ Be careful with online purchases . In: Rhein-Zeitung , March 16, 2005.
  41. ↑ This avoids online shopping traps . In: Neuss-Grevenbroicher Zeitung (Dormagen edition), March 13, 2015.
  42. ↑ Safe shopping in the online shop. Seal of approval: Those who adorn themselves with them must meet certain requirements . In: Aachener Nachrichten , March 29, 2007.
  43. ↑ Sebastian Wieschowski: Web shopping with a clear conscience . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung , February 24, 2009.
  44. ↑ Sybille Wilhelm: Checked and found to be good . In: The trade . Special publication online trade , May 2, 2012.
  45. ↑ Erwin Lammenett: In the test: Trusted Shops seal of approval. In: lammenett.de. December 3, 2014, accessed July 17, 2019 .
  46. ↑ Sandra Spier: Trust sells better . In: acquisa , Vol. 61, issue 04/2015.
  47. ↑ Katrin Hofmann: Trusted Shops has examined the most common warning reasons . In: IT-Business , October 24, 2011.
  48. ↑ Dietmar Neuerer: Trade association warns of the failure of the government's plans to abuse warnings. In: Handelsblatt . May 6, 2019, accessed July 17, 2019 .
  49. ↑ Birgitt Loderhose: Expensive returns reduce the profit of online shops . In: Lebensmittel Zeitung , August 17, 2007.
  50. ↑ Kirsten Ludowig: The webshop as a "pawnshop" . In: Handelsblatt , August 10, 2012.
  51. ↑ Kirsten Ludowig: Back with the package . In: Handelsblatt , December 19, 2013.
  52. ↑ Kirsten Ludowig: Back once, please! In: Handelsblatt , June 13, 2014.
  53. ↑ German Press Agency : Retailers do not implement consumer rights adequately. In: The world. July 4, 2014, accessed July 17, 2019 .
  54. ↑ Achim Preu, German Press Agency: First results are positive . In: Darmstädter Echo , June 13, 2015.