E-commerce: the online withdrawal button has been mandatory since 19 June

Since 19 June 2026, any professional selling at a distance to consumers through an online interface must offer them a free withdrawal function, directly on the site or app. The obligation stems from EU Directive 2023/2673. It also applies to Belgian e-merchants, even though the local transposition is not yet finalised.

1. A European obligation, applicable in Belgium

The directive amends the consumer rights rules: cancelling a purchase must become as simple as making one. The 19 June 2026 deadline is binding for any business selling online to Belgian or European consumers. In scope: e-commerce shops, mobile sales or subscription apps, customer portals that allow ordering, shopping modules embedded in social networks, and every professional seller on a marketplace. Pure B2B is not covered.

2. What you need to put in place

Four concrete elements. A visible button throughout the legal 14-day period, with an unambiguous label such as "Withdraw from my order". A two-click journey: a declaration, then a confirmation, with no forced justification or added friction. An automatic acknowledgement sent on a durable medium, in practice an immediate, traceable email. Updated terms and conditions that mention the function and say where to find it before the order is confirmed.

3. The exceptions stay the same

The function only needs to appear when the right of withdrawal applies. Still excluded: made-to-measure or personalised goods, perishable products, unsealed items that cannot be returned for hygiene reasons, digital content downloaded with express waiver, fixed-date services (tickets, accommodation, transport) and single-issue press.

4. What you risk without it

The sanctions add up: administrative fines of up to €75,000, an automatic extension of the withdrawal period to 12 months and 14 days for all your customers, litigation risk, and reputational risk tied to "dark patterns". The cost of compliance is nothing compared to the cost of inaction.

The AI lens, humans first

This is a case where AI saves real time: an assistant can audit your purchase journey, check that the button is present on every page template, verify the acknowledgement email goes out, and retest the two-click flow after every site update. But choosing the right legal wording, deciding the exclusions product by product, validating the terms and conditions: that remains the role of an expert. That is our stance: humans first, AI in support.