New research suggests that trust in online retail is improving, though 24% of shoppers still have concerns over the issue.
According to the IMRG’s E-Customer Service Index, confidence in e-commerce security has risen 2% over the past three months to 76%.
But security still remains an issue for many consumers - in a government Get Safe Online study from October last year, 18% of web users said they were too concerned about security risks to shop online.
A 3V survey from September this year also supports this point - it found that 37% of web users have a 'serious fear of fraud', and would shop online more often if they were confident in the security of their transactions.
According to some research, online fraud is falling as retailers invest more in security measures and tackle the problem of public perception.
Clearly displaying third party certification logos, such as VeriSign, and making contact details available are just two basic steps which help reinforce customer trust.
Other findings of the report include:
- Etailers are getting better at customer service, with 76% of shoppers saying they were happy with the help they were offered on websites.
- 73% were satisfied with responses from online retailers via telephone and email, though this still leaves 27% of customers presumably unhappy with the way their queries / problems were handled.
The survey uses a sample of the 1.7m members of iPoints’s online loyalty programme, so presumably the respondents are reasonably savvy web shoppers.
Related stories:
House of Lords calls for action on online security
10 tips on improving online customer service
Graham Charlton is Editor at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin or Google+.
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1:55AM on 29th February 2008
This is truly encouraging and interesting however, the treath of online frauds needs to be handled in a more consistent and organized ways. Phishihg which is basically identity theft is catching more and more innocent victims. It is the selling community that needs to educate buyers about these online threats. Failing to do so might lead to a situation where consumers might just not find it worthwhile to take risks.
7:58AM on 6th January 2009
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8:33PM on 25th May 2010
In spite everything bad I will use online shopping stores when I wish to buy something. I've never had bad experience with online shopping websites,yet. But I always try to be more careful when I buy something. I use Amazon and Ebay and I like to consult someone before buying. Simply I looking for recommendations and reviews of products for example : onlineshoppingstoresites.com or www.epinions.com and something like that. . This is my opinion, maybe I'm not right. Always Be careful.