July 10, 2025, 5:23 am | Read time: 3 minutes
For frequent online shoppers, mistakes can happen. That’s why the planned cancellation button for online shopping makes a lot of sense.
Many things are easier and faster when done online. This includes shopping–just a few clicks to fill the cart, proceed to the virtual checkout, and then wait for delivery. However, in the rush, you might make the wrong decision. You might accidentally select the wrong item or simply regret the impulse purchase. A simple cancellation button for online shopping would be a practical way to reverse the order. Fortunately, such a button is now planned. A corresponding draft law is already in place.
Cancellation Button for Online Shopping Aims to Protect Customers
This is reported, among others, by the “Stern” citing the AFP news agency. According to the report, Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection Stefanie Hubig of the SPD is a key proponent of the new initiative to significantly simplify online cancellations. Similar to the existing cancellation button, a cancellation button for online shopping and services is to be introduced. This is already stated in the draft law.
The cancellation button for online shopping is intended as a response to the simplified conclusion of contracts of any kind on the internet. “Concluding a contract with a click is already often standard today. This must also apply to cancellations,” Hubig is quoted as saying. The initiative aims to better protect consumers from contracts they do not actually want. The draft follows new EU guidelines on consumer and insurance contracts.
For the implementation of the cancellation button for online shopping, it is primarily required that it be “easily readable.” It must also either read “Cancel Contract” or have another equivalent phrase. Additionally, the feature must be “constantly available, prominently placed, and easily accessible to the consumer during the withdrawal period on the online user interface.”
Eternal Right of Withdrawal with Limitations
The cancellation button for online shopping is not the only innovation in the draft law. Among other things, the so-called eternal right of withdrawal is to be restricted. The current statutory withdrawal period is 14 days, which companies must inform consumers about. However, in certain cases, it has been possible to withdraw from a contract even years later, even if companies have informed consumers about the period.
This can happen, for example, with minor violations of the prescribed information obligation. In such cases, the 14-day withdrawal period does not even begin. The new law aims to close this loophole. For contracts for financial services, for instance, consumers will in the future have a maximum of twelve months and 14 days to withdraw, provided they have been informed about it. For life insurance, the new period will be 24 months and 30 days.
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Personal Contact in Financial Services
In financial services, the new law also stipulates that they and their consequences must be “adequately” explained to customers. Consumers should also be able to request personal contact. At the same time, companies will be relieved of the obligation to provide contract terms in paper form upon request.
The new draft law with the cancellation button for online shopping was sent to the states and associations today, July 9, 2025. They have until August 1 to respond. It is not yet clear if and when the law will come into effect.