User-friendliness of features employed by OMPs / Features employed by OMPs influencing users’ behaviour

The European Commission DG CNECT has published open tender EC-CNECT/2026/OP/0143 for a services contract to conduct an empirical behavioural study of the user‑friendliness of features used by very large online marketplaces. The study will support the Commission's monitoring role under Article 72 of the Digital Services Act and focuses on notice-and-action, trader information and compliance-by-design obligations (Articles 16, 30(7) and 31). The estimated contract value is €400,000, the maximum duration is 8 months, the award will be by best price-quality ratio (quality 60 and price 40) and the tender deadline is 23 September 2026 16:00 Brussels time. Key requirements include live-platform testing on 5–6 marketplaces, a between-subjects design with at least 80 participants per platform, a mandatory pilot phase, and final per-platform reports with machine-readable raw datasets and full methodology documentation.

What it funds

Study scope

A behaviourally grounded empirical study for the European Commission (DG CNECT) to observe how real users interact with features on very large online marketplaces relevant to the Digital Services Act (DSA): notice and action mechanisms (Art.16), trader information (Art.30(7)) and compliance by design/pre-contractual information (Art.31). The contractor will run live testing on selected platforms, collect behavioural metrics, deliver per-platform reports, raw datasets and a documented methodology.

Funding range:Estimated total procedure value: €400 000; maximum contract duration: 8 months ¹

Who can apply

Open tender for economic operators established in eligible jurisdictions under EU procurement rules (including consortia). Suitable applicants are market‑research, UX or behavioural research firms, research institutes and consultancies with capacity for live platform testing, recruited participant panels, and data collection/analysis. Subcontracting and reliance on third‑party capacities are permitted and must be declared.

Key procurement facts

1. 1Procedure type: open procedure; award by best price-quality ratio (quality 60%, price 40%)
2. 2Main CPV: 79310000 Market research services; nature: services
3. 3Deliverables: inception report, pilot report, progress report, final per-platform reports, raw datasets and handover
4. 4Methodological constraints: tests must use real live platforms (no simulated prototypes); minimum 80 participants per platform; pilot required; platforms to be selected from a shortlist (final selection at inception)
5. 5Data protection: processing must comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725; personal data to remain within EU/EEA unless specifically authorised

Deadlines and submission

Electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission is mandatory. Official submission deadline: 23 September 2026, 16:00 (Brussels time). Late tenders will be rejected. Questions and updates are published on the Portal ¹.

1. 1Deadline for receipt of tenders: 23/09/2026 16:00 Europe/Brussels
2. 2Date and time of public opening: 24/09/2026 10:00 Europe/Brussels
3. 3Contract notice publication: 17/08/2026

Administrative notes:tenders must include the Declaration on Honour, required tender annexes (power of attorney for consortia, financial form, tender specifications compliance), and demonstration of selection criteria (legal status, turnover, relevant project experience, key experts). A Participant Identification Code (PIC) and EU Login are required to submit.

Apply / procurement documents:All procurement documents, invitation to tender, tender specifications, draft contract and annexes are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal where electronic submission must be made Funding & Tenders Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Official tender page and documents for EC-CNECT/2026/OP/0143 are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

High-level summary

Procurement type:open call for tenders (electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission). Objective: a structured empirical study producing observational behavioural data on how real users interact with features of selected very large online marketplaces that are intended to implement DSA obligations (Articles 16, 30(7) and 31). The contract is a services contract managed by the European Commission, DG CNECT (Online Platforms: Economy, e-Commerce). Estimated total value: €400 000 (exclusive of VAT). Maximum contract duration: 8 months. Award method: best price-quality ratio. Public tender documents and clarifications are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

Tender identifier:EC-CNECT/2026/OP/0143 (TED reference 567244-2026).

Purpose and study scope

Purpose:support the Commission’s monitoring functions under Article 72 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in relation to very large online marketplaces (VLOMs). The study is strictly empirical: it must gather structured, reproducible observational data on users’ ability to find, understand and act upon platform features that implement DSA transparency and consumer-protection obligations. The contractor must not provide legal assessments or compliance determinations; those remain the Commission’s exclusive responsibility.

DSA provisions in scope:Article 16 (Notice and Action mechanisms), Article 30(7) (access to trader information / Know-Your-Business-Customer), and Article 31 (compliance by design / presentation of pre-contractual and product safety information).

Key tasks, methodology and deliverables

Required tasks and outputs

1. 1Task 1 Evidence gathering: structured testing on live platforms, measuring task completion, timestamps, error rates, perceived difficulty, navigational frictions and specific interface features (placement, labelling, sequencing, guidance, accessibility). No simulated or prototype-only testing: participants must access the real live services.
2. 2Task 2 Presentation of results: per-platform standalone reports organised around each DSA Article; supporting documentation (screenshots, recordings), complete raw datasets (machine-readable) and full methodology documentation; transfer-of-knowledge/handover session.
3. 3Pilot phase: mandatory pilot covering all task scenarios before full rollout; pilot report required and must be approved before recruitment and full testing.
4. 4Monthly interim calls and concise minutes; inception meeting (Month 1), pilot report (Month 3), progress report (Month 5), final meeting and final deliverables by Month 8.

Methodology requirements and technical constraints

The tenderer must propose a comprehensive, replicable methodology that captures behavioural interactions on the actual live marketplaces rather than facsimiles. The contractor must propose and justify access mode (browser or native app) per platform and provide a technical solution to record objective user interaction journeys (steps, abandonment, time elapsed, navigation errors), and to control or record whether participants consult external resources during task completion. For Article 16 testing the user journey may include all steps up to and including the submission interface but must not submit live notices on the platforms (no triggering of actual notices). As part of platform mapping the contractor must document whether the notice-and-action mechanism is available without an account and record platform-level access restrictions.

Measurement dimensions (minimum):task completion rate; temporal metrics (initiation, completion or abandonment timestamps); error rate (incorrect steps, navigation errors, restarts); perceived difficulty and qualitative observations (points of confusion, unexpected interface engagement, absence/presence of guidance).

Participant sampling and platform scope

Minimum sample and design

Minimum sample:at least 80 participants per platform. Study design: between-subjects (each participant tests only one platform). Participants must be recruited from established market-research panels (pre-recruited representative samples), with demographic and behavioural screening (age, gender distribution, frequency and type of OMP usage, prior relevant experience). The tenderer must justify sample size statistically in the technical proposal and explain representativity across Member States and user types.

Candidate platforms (final selection confirmed at Inception phase)

• AliExpress
• Amazon
• Booking.com
• Temu
• TikTok Shop
• Shein
• Zalando

Deliverables and schedule

Administrative, legal and technical procurement facts

Contracting authority:European Commission, DG CNECT — Communications Networks, Content & Technology, Directorate CNECT.D (Online Platforms: Economy / e-Commerce). Type: services contract (market research services, CPV 79310000; additional CPV 73200000). Award method: best price-quality ratio with price weighting 40% and quality weighting 60% (quality subcriteria and thresholds defined in the tender specifications). Maximum contract value: €400 000 exclusive of VAT. Maximum contract duration: 8 months. Framework options: contracting authority may procure repeat services up to 50% of the initial contract value within 3 years via negotiated procedure.

Award criteria: quality scoring:Quality (60%) subdivided into: 1) quality of proposed methodology and tools (60 points total; sub-criteria include feasibility, soundness, transferability and choice of tools), 2) organisation of work and resources (30 points), 3) quality control measures (10 points). Minimum thresholds are applied to quality subcomponents as specified in the tender specifications.

Price evaluation:Price (40%): financial tender is a fixed price not subject to revision and must be provided using Annex 6 financial form. The price evaluated is the total fixed price covering all requirements, inclusive of all expenses (A+B+C).

Payment and approval:final deliverable (Final Study Report and raw datasets) is linked to final payment. Commission review windows: reports are subject to a 14-calendar-day approval period (14 days for final datasets per contract Article I.5). If the Commission requests revisions, the contractor must submit the revised Inception/Interim Report within 7 days and the Final Study Report within 14 days as applicable.

Eligibility, consortium rules and templates

Eligible applicant types:open to legal and natural persons (economic operators) established in Treaty countries and countries with procurement access as per the Financial Regulation and GPA. Typical eligible applicants: research consultancies, market research firms, design & UX consultancies, universities or research institutes acting as contractors, SMEs and consortia combining methodological, behavioural and technical expertise. Subcontracting is permitted. Joint tenders (consortiums) are allowed; a group leader must be appointed and a signed Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3 model) is required. Identified subcontractors with a share above 20% or relied upon for selection criteria must be listed in Annex 4 and must supply commitment letters (Annex 5.1). Entities on whose capacity a tenderer relies must provide a commitment letter (Annex 5.2).

Mandatory documents / templates published with tender:Invitation to tender, Tender specifications (Annex I), Draft Direct Service Contract, Annexes package including Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3), Declaration on Honour (Annex 2), Annex 4 list of identified subcontractors, Annex 5 commitment letters, Annex 6 financial tender form and the Financial Model. All documents published in English; economic operators may submit tenders in any EU official language via the Portal.

Technical and team requirements

Minimum required personnel and expertise:at least one Project Manager (bachelor degree or equivalent, minimum 5 years project management experience, English CEFR C1) and at least one senior expert in UX and/or behavioural research (minimum 3 years experience designing task-based user testing with recruited participant panels; English CEFR C1). The tender must include CVs for these personnel and indicate the allocation of days, senior/junior rates (Annex 6), roles and responsibilities. The technical proposal must describe tools and technical infrastructure for live platform access, data capture, pilot testing and objective logging of participant journeys.

Submission process, deadlines and practicalities

Submission method:eSubmission via the Funding & Tenders Portal. EU Login account and PIC required. Tender language: any official EU language accepted; procurement documents are published in English (English text is the authentic version). Electronic submission only; no email or paper submissions accepted. Files: eSubmission system requirements apply (supported browsers: latest Chrome or Firefox; max attachment size per file is stated in system requirements; total max number of attachments is 200).

Deadlines (procurement timetable):Deadline for receipt of tenders: 23 September 2026 at 16:00:59 Brussels time. Public opening: 24 September 2026 at 10:00 Brussels time. Contract maximum duration: 8 months from entry into force. Questions deadline: contracting authority is not bound to reply to questions submitted after 15 September 2026 23:59 Europe/Brussels. See the Portal for published procurement documents and Q&A. Tender validity period: 6 months. The contracting authority may extend deadlines if eSubmission is disrupted in the 5 calendar days before submission deadline; bidders should subscribe to the call on the Portal for notifications.

Evaluation process and compliance checks

Order of evaluation:access-to-procurement checks, administrative compliance, exclusion criteria, selection criteria, award criteria (price-quality). Exclusion evidence: declaration on honour (Annex 2) required; contracting authority may consult EDES and request supporting documentation from the presumed awardee before signing. Selection evidence: legal and regulatory capacity, economic/financial capacity (average turnover last two years above €525 000 for the consolidated tender), technical and professional capacity (minimum references and CVs as specified). The Commission may request supporting evidence within short deadlines; failure to provide evidence may trigger rejection unless material impossibility is shown.

Award computation and abnormally low tenders:Ranking: best price-quality ratio formula combining the price score (40%) and quality score (60%). The contracting authority will follow Financial Regulation rules for detection and treatment of abnormally low tenders.

Eligibility and geographic scope

Beneficiary geographic eligibility:open to economic operators from EU Member States, EEA/candidate countries and third countries where procurement access rules apply (including GPA signatories); subcontractors and entities relied upon must also have procurement access. The contracting authority is an EU institution and the procurement is governed by EU Financial Regulation and is covered by the GPA.

Funding type, nature of support and co-funding

Funding type:procurement / service contract (the Commission pays a fixed-price contract for services rendered). Nature of support: monetary payment to successful contractor as defined in the contract (fixed price inclusive of all expenses). Co-funding: no co-funding required from applicants; the tender price must be fixed and inclusive of all expenses. VAT: tender price must be quoted exclusive of VAT; invoices must follow the VAT instructions in the tender documents depending on Member State where expense is taxable.

Project stage and target sector

Expected project maturity:research and empirical behavioural testing with validation/pilot phases and final reporting. Target sector: digital platforms, online marketplaces, e-commerce, ICT, consumer protection and platform design (interfaces, UX), market research and behavioural research.

Eligible applicant types

Eligible applicants include:market research consultancies, UX / behavioural research consultancies, research institutes and universities, SMEs and larger enterprises, consultancies with experience running recruited participant testing panels, and consortia combining methodological and technical capacities. Nonprofits and NGOs with relevant technical capacity may tender. Public-private partnerships may participate provided they meet procurement access rules. Individual natural persons may participate if they meet legal and selection criteria and if their legal status allows contracting.

Consortium requirement and structure

Consortiums are permitted but not mandatory. If a joint tender is submitted, all group members must sign the Agreement/Power of Attorney (Annex 3). The group leader acts as single point of contact, receives payments (bank account indicated in the contract) and coordinates performance. All group members are jointly and severally liable for contract performance. Changes in group composition after tender submission are permitted only in limited circumstances set out in the tender specifications.

Success rates and applicant competition

Success rates are not specified in the tender documents. This is a competitive open procedure: tenderers should assume competition from multiple experienced market research/UX consultancies and consortia. The Commission applies rigorous exclusion, selection and award checks; only tenders meeting all mandatory requirements and scoring highest on price-quality will be awarded.

Co-funding requirement

No co-funding is required from applicants. The contract is a fixed-price procurement. All costs must be included in the fixed price submitted in Annex 6 (A: staff; B: travel and subsistence; C: other costs).

Application procedure and templates

Application is by electronic tender via eSubmission on the F&T Portal. Required documents and templates published with the tender: Invitation to tender, Tender specifications (final), Draft Direct Service Contract (final), Annexes pack (Annexes, Agreement/Power of Attorney model, Declaration on Honour model, Financial offer form Annex 6), Declaration on Honour and commitment letter templates (Annex 5.1 and 5.2). The tender must include the technical tender (methodology, staffing, timeline, pilot plan) and the financial tender (Annex 6 financial model). Required selection evidence: legal registration, proof of enrolment in trade register, consolidated turnover evidence (if requested), project references and CVs for key personnel. The Portal publishes the official documents and any clarifications; tenderers should subscribe to the call to receive notifications.

1. 1Documents published with the call: Invitation to tender; Tender specifications (EN_TENDER_SPECIFICATIONS_EC-CNECT2026OP0143_User-friendliness of features by OMPs_FINAL); Draft Direct Service Contract (EN_Direct_Service_Contract_EC-CNECT2026OP0143_Final); Annexes (Annexes_V1.docx); Declaration on Honour; Annex 6 Financial form (Annex+6-+Financial+form_V1.xlsx).
2. 2Where to submit: eSubmission link provided in call notice; EU Login required; PIC ID must be used.
3. 3How to sign: preferred qualified electronic signature (QES) for signed declarations; handwritten signatures accepted but originals not required unless requested.

Security, data protection and publication

Personal data processing:contractor must comply with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Data localisation: the tender requires that personal data processed under the contract be processed and held within the EU/EEA (data centres in EU/EEA) and avoid transfers outside the EU/EEA unless prior Commission authorisation and compliance with Chapter V of Regulation 2018/1725. The contractor must provide DPIA or other documentation if required and follow Commission instructions on data protection. Where sensitive information is handled, the contractor must follow Commission security requirements set out in the draft contract appendices (security baseline for external connections; ethics reminder for service providers).

Mentioned countries, platforms and locations

Mentioned countries and regions:European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) are the geographic eligibility focus. Contracting authority location: Brussels, Belgium. Platforms explicitly mentioned as candidate platforms to be tested: AliExpress, Amazon, Booking.com, Temu, TikTok Shop, Shein, Zalando. Final platform list (5 to 6 platforms) will be confirmed at the Inception phase.

Application evaluation stages and review

Number of application stages:single-stage open tender (one submission of documents). The procedure includes administrative verification, exclusion and selection checks, and evaluation of award criteria. Checks on supporting evidence may occur after the evaluation (especially for the presumed successful tenderer). Contract signature follows successful verification and award decision. Remedies and review: normal remedies apply under EU procurement and Financial Regulation rules; competent review bodies include the Commission and the Court of Justice for disputes.

Risks, constraints and mandatory rules for bidders

1. 1All testing must use live marketplaces; prototype-only testing is not acceptable.
2. 2No actual submission of notices to platforms during Article 16 testing (do not trigger real notices).
3. 3Pilot phase is mandatory and must validate technical setup including objective interaction logging and the no-submission requirement.
4. 4Data protection and processing location constraints: personal data must be held in EU/EEA data centres unless explicit permission is given.

How to apply (practical checklist)

1. 1Register organisation in Participant Register and obtain PIC; create EU Login account for submission.
2. 2Subscribe to the call on the Funding & Tenders Portal to receive updates.
3. 3Download tender specifications, draft contract and Annexes (Annex 6 financial form, Declaration on Honour, Agreement/Power of Attorney templates).
4. 4Prepare technical tender addressing methodology, pilot design, participant recruitment, data protection safeguards, access-mode justification and technical solution for live access and objective logging; attach CVs for Project Manager and senior behavioural/UX expert.
5. 5Prepare financial tender using Annex 6 financial form; provide fixed price inclusive of all expenses (A+B+C).
6. 6Include declaration on exclusion and selection criteria (Annex 2), signed Agreement/Power of Attorney for consortia (Annex 3) if joint tender, and commitment letters for subcontractors or relied-upon entities as required (Annex 5.1/5.2).
7. 7Submit both technical and financial tenders via eSubmission before the deadline (23 September 2026, 16:00:59 Brussels time).

Summary description:what this tender is about and how to interpret it

This is an EU Commission procurement to contract an independent third party to run a robust, behaviourally informed empirical study of how users interact with specific features implemented by very large online marketplaces to comply with the DSA (notably notice-and-action, trader information and compliance-by-design obligations). The study must collect reproducible, objective behavioural data from real user interactions on live services, carry out pilot validation of instruments and technical arrangements, and produce per-platform reports, raw datasets and full methodological documentation. The Commission will evaluate tenders on methodological quality and feasibility, staffing and organisation, quality control, and price. Applicants must ensure strict compliance with data protection, security and the procurement rules set out in the tender documents. All documentation and submission are via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and eSubmission. For official procurement documents, templates and submission, consult the Funding & Tenders Portal F&T Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1All official procurement documentation, annexes, invitation letter, tender specifications, draft contract and financial form are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This is an open-service procurement by the European Commission, DG CNECT, for an empirical behavioural study on the user-friendliness of features used by very large online marketplaces to meet Digital Services Act obligations. The Commission says the study will support its monitoring role under Article 72 DSA, which allows the Commission to monitor compliance by very large online platforms and search engines and to appoint independent external experts to assist[2][1]. The policy context also covers marketplace interface obligations on notice and action, trader information, and compliance by design under Articles 16, 30(7) and 31 DSA[6][2].

Contract at a glance

What the study is about

The contract is for a structured observational study of how users interact with features on selected very large online marketplaces. The aim is to generate behavioural evidence, not to make legal compliance findings, and the Commission keeps exclusive responsibility for compliance assessment. The contractor must study live platforms, not simulated environments, and must document real user journeys, frictions, errors and task completion outcomes.

• Notice and action mechanisms under Article 16 DSA, including discoverability, accessibility, category selection and completion of the reporting journey.
• Trader information and know-your-business-customer type information under Article 30(7) DSA, including whether users can locate trader identity and compliance information.
• Compliance by design features under Article 31 DSA, including pre-contractual information, price components, delivery terms, withdrawal rights, and product safety or compliance information.
• User friendliness measures such as accessibility, ease of navigation, friction points, time to complete tasks, error rates and self-reported difficulty.

Who can apply

The tender is open to economic operators that can deliver market research, user testing, behavioural analysis, interface assessment and related project management services at the level required by the specifications. Bidders may apply alone or as a consortium, and subcontracting is allowed, but the tender documents require clear identification of group members, subcontractors and any entities whose capacity is relied on.

• Applicants must have the legal and regulatory capacity to perform the contract and must satisfy the exclusion and selection criteria in the tender documents.
• The tenderer must not be subject to EU restrictive measures and must not have an established debt to the Union or related EU bodies.
• A PIC is mandatory, and submission must be made electronically through the Funding and Tenders Portal using EU Login.
• The project team must demonstrate subject matter expertise and project management capacity, including at least one Project Manager and one senior expert in the relevant field.
• The tenderer must be able to show no conflicts of interest that would negatively affect performance.

Core delivery requirements

1. 1Use a live marketplace environment and verify that participants are interacting with the actual service, not a prototype or facsimile.
2. 2Test 5 to 6 very large online marketplaces selected from AliExpress, Amazon, Booking.com, Temu, TikTok Shop, Shein and Zalando.
3. 3Use a between-subject design, with each participant assigned to only one platform.
4. 4Recruit at least 80 participants per platform and justify the sample size statistically.
5. 5Propose representative participant composition across Member States, age and gender, using established market research panels.
6. 6Run a pilot phase covering all task scenarios before full rollout and submit a pilot report for Commission approval.
7. 7Record an objective interaction log, including navigation steps, errors, abandonment points and elapsed time.
8. 8Prevent or record access to external resources during tasks, including search engines.
9. 9Do not trigger actual notice submissions under Article 16; the study stops at the submission interface.
10. 10Produce standalone per-platform reports organised per DSA article, plus raw data and full methodology documentation.

Key compliance and procurement conditions

• Variants are not allowed.
• The contract is a direct service contract and the financial offer is a fixed price inclusive of all expenses, not a grant or reimbursement scheme.
• The contractor must work from its own premises, although inception and final meetings are in Brussels.
• Monthly interim meetings or calls are expected, and minutes must be circulated promptly.
• The final study report must be neutral and impartial, in English, with an abstract and executive summary also required in English and French.
• Raw datasets must be machine-readable and accompanied by variable definitions and coding decisions.
• The Commission may request repeat services under a negotiated procedure for up to 50 percent of the initial contract value within three years, on the same conditions.
• AI use in deliverables is tightly limited to text and data mining purposes and must be disclosed if permitted by the Commission.

Deliverables and timing

What applicants will need to show in the proposal

• A clear methodology for observing users on live platforms and for recording behavioural evidence in a replicable way.
• A realistic technical setup for browser-based or app-based testing, justified for each platform.
• A detailed recruitment strategy and screening questionnaire capturing marketplace usage patterns and relevant prior experience.
• A data protection approach aligned with Regulation 2018/1725, including data mapping, storage, security, retention and any DPIA needs.
• A plan for accessibility observation, including keyboard operability, contrast, touch target size and alternative input or audio features where relevant.
• A complete project plan covering pilot, fieldwork, reporting, handover and risk mitigation.

Bottom line for prospective bidders

This is a specialised behavioural research procurement, best suited to firms or consortia with strong UX research, market research, digital platform testing, data protection and EU procurement experience. The award will go to the tender offering the best price-quality balance, but the methodology is unusually demanding and the live-platform and sample-size requirements are likely to be the main determinants of competitiveness.