We cannot reach the customers who bought the product

The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 turns reaching the buyers into a duty with an order of priority. In a product safety recall, or where a safety warning has to reach consumers, economic operators, each according to its obligations under Articles 9 to 12, and providers of online marketplaces under Article 22(12), ensure that all affected consumers who can be identified are notified directly and without undue delay. Operators and marketplaces that collect their customers' personal data must use that information for recalls and safety warnings (Article 35(1)).^[1]

Registration data is handled with care but is meant to be used. Where an operator runs a product registration system or a loyalty programme for other purposes, it must offer customers the possibility to give separate contact details for safety purposes only; those data are limited to the minimum and used only to contact consumers in a recall or safety warning (Article 35(2)). The Commission may, by implementing act, require registration possibilities for specific product categories (Article 35(3)).^[1]

Only where not all affected consumers can be contacted directly does the public notice take over. Then operators and marketplaces, according to their responsibilities, disseminate a clear and visible recall notice or safety warning through other appropriate channels, ensuring the widest possible reach: the company's website, social media channels, newsletters and retail outlets, and, as appropriate, announcements in mass media and other channels, accessible to persons with disabilities (Article 35(4)). The written notice follows Article 36.^[1]

Marketplaces carry the buyers you cannot see. They must directly notify all affected consumers who bought the relevant product through their interfaces once they have actual knowledge of a recall, publish recall information on their interfaces, inform the operator when they remove an offer, and cooperate with authorities and operators to ensure effective recalls, including by not obstructing them (Article 22(12)). Distributors, for their part, ensure the corrective measures are taken and give the details they have on the risk and the number of products involved (Article 12(4)).^[1]

The Commission's advice to businesses is to encourage customers to register their purchases and to explain that the data will only be used to contact them if a problem occurs. Where the response stays low, market surveillance authorities can require further corrective action, including alerting the public, and ensure the recall themselves where the operator fails to act (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 16(3) and (5)).^[3][2]