2024 in Review: 10 ways we shaped the Marketplace
As 2024 comes to a close, we celebrate a year of progress powered by our global community. Together with our Members and select stakeholders, we tackled some of the biggest challenges consumers face today to ensure fairness, safety, and sustainability for consumers everywhere. Here are the top ten highlights from the year.
1. Amplifying consumer voices at global events
We ensured consumer voices were front and centre in global discussions. We were the only global consumer group invited to the first-ever OECD Consumer Policy Ministerial, representing the consumer voice across all thematic sessions. Our delegation of Members influenced policies on digital and green transitions, as well as the final resolution calling for greater responsibility for business in product safety. At the eighth UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts, we highlighted the critical role of resilient consumer groups, leading to Agreed Conclusions calling for a new social contract between governments and consumer advocates.
2. Securing funding for Members to drive grassroots impact
This year, we awarded grants to 43 Members, enabling transformative projects at the local level. From tackling plastic pollution to preventing non-communicable diseases and improving financial literacy, these initiatives demonstrated the power of community-driven solutions to address global challenge.
3. Digital rights at an international level
We elevated the conversation on digital rights, focussing on key concerns including advancing redress, data protection and inclusion. Highlights include our research on a consumer-centric approach to digital public infrastructure – the systems that deliver public services online – being featured in the T20’s digital working group, aligning closely with G20 recommendations and shaping global discussions on digital inclusion. We also presented our new research on cross-border consumer redress at the Global Privacy Assembly, where we secured three-year observer status to continue influencing global privacy initiatives.
4. Bridging finance and digital to fight scams
Our Consumer Coalition to Stop Scams unites over 30 Members, alongside global partners and contributors, to tackle the interconnected challenges of modern scams. By addressing the critical overlap between financial systems and digital platforms, this multi-stakeholder group drives cross-sector policies and solutions to counter evolving threats. Together, we are shaping a safer digital landscape and protecting individuals from online fraud and deception worldwide.
5. Improving local policies in digital finance
The Fair Digital Finance Accelerator made a tangible impact this year, with one-third of its 65 Members reporting new or improved policies in their countries. Success stories include IDEC Brazil champion an Over-Indebtedness Law, protecting vulnerable consumers, while the Consumer Council of Fiji established a Financial Services Ombudsman, ensuring fair treatment and a platform for consumers complaints. Our advocacy for greater transparency drove progress in Uganda, Barbados, and Cambodia, showing the power of united action.
6. Over 100 Members engaged for World Consumer Rights Day
For World Consumer Rights Day we launched a global campaign on responsible artificial intelligence, spotlighting consumer challenges – particularly around improving consumer search experiences. We brought together voices from over 100 Members, uniting consumer advocates, government, NGOs and select business on making AI work for consumers. In an experiment involving 35 Members from 19 countries, we showed that AI chatbots lacked reliability, with only 50% of responses citing sources – underscoring the need for stronger AI governance.
7. Advocating for healthy and sustainable diets
We championed affordable, sustainable, and healthy diets through our Good Food for All roadmap. We wrote an open letter to governments at COP29, urging them to recognise the transformative power of food systems in achieving sustainability. Through our Fair Food Price Monitor and partnerships with over 200 organisations, we influenced governments in Nigeria, Kenya, and Zambia to take action on food affordability and sustainability. Through a media campaign we reached over 30 million people, raising awareness. We will build on these achievements as we look to our 2025 World Consumer Rights Day for A just transition to sustainable living.
8. Driving sustainable consumption and clean energy transitions
We joined the International Energy Agency's Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions, a group of Ministers from around the world working to shape G20 outcomes and ensure consumer rights are prioritised. At COP16, we campaigned for stronger government and business support for consumers and biodiversity. As official observers to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, we were the sole global consumer group present at negotiations for a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. Working alongside Members in India and Korea, we championed a comprehensive approach to addressing the environmental impacts of plastic waste.
9. Purchasing Powers becomes most-watched BBC StoryWorks series
Our media series Purchasing Powers, produced by BBC StoryWorks, reached audiences in 174 countries, spotlighting the critical role consumers play in modern consumption. With record-breaking viewership, the series amplified the work of our Members and drove global awareness of consumer rights.
10. Putting vulnerable consumers first
Across every initiative – scams, finance, energy, sustainable living and more – we focussed on the people who need protection most. Our new initiative Consumer Voice in Digital Finance, unites Members with a broad group of leaders, to investigate how vulnerability impacts consumers and to identify legislative gaps. Initial research across 13 countries has proven that people with higher vulnerability face harsher financial impacts. We highlighted these findings to the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, advocating for stronger consumer protections. At the OECD Consumer Policy Ministerial, we emphasised the need for deeper research to understand vulnerability and called for tailored approaches to support those most at risk. We also prioritised equitable energy policies, ensuring no one is left behind in the transition. This commitment to protecting vulnerable consumers will remain central to our advocacy throughout 2025.
As we look forward to 2025, these milestones underscore the collective power of our global network. Together, we will continue to advocate for a fairer, safer, and more sustainable world for consumers everywhere.
Happy New Year from Consumers International!