UK SURFERS LACK OF TRUST
Posted by Phil Robinson
Thursday 29th October 2009 at 12:34
UK on-line shoppers are suffering from a lack of confidence in e-commerce vendors. A recent Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report found that over 30% of Internet users don't shop on-line, 20% clearly stating they don't trust on-line vendors.
It's obvious that some UK shoppers do not trust vendors with their card details and even more won't store their personal information on-line. The OFT report does show that in recent years on-line consumer confidence has improved but doesn't full explain what caused the negative shift in confidence in the first place. On-line shopping cannot be fully realised with current attitudes.
John Fingleton, chief executive of OFT, said "On-line retailing is the future for many businesses and increasingly important to the economy... If consumers are not confident on-line, demand will grow at a slower rate. So we must tackle these concerns right now if the on-line market is to grow at its full potential,".
So what could have caused this lack of trust? The media has covered countless data protection flaws on-line in recent years, from Monster's database leak to Facebook profiling users personal data, news coverage has developed an awareness of database hacking and unbecoming marketing through social media.
One positive reaction to the OFT's findings is that on-line vendors are asking their hosts the right questions and doing all they can from the ground up to secure their users data, after all a major vendor like Amazon being hacked would prove to be a costly mistake.
What can we do to boost Internet consumer confidence?
Contact me if you have any other questions of suggestions, best of luck.
It's obvious that some UK shoppers do not trust vendors with their card details and even more won't store their personal information on-line. The OFT report does show that in recent years on-line consumer confidence has improved but doesn't full explain what caused the negative shift in confidence in the first place. On-line shopping cannot be fully realised with current attitudes.
John Fingleton, chief executive of OFT, said "On-line retailing is the future for many businesses and increasingly important to the economy... If consumers are not confident on-line, demand will grow at a slower rate. So we must tackle these concerns right now if the on-line market is to grow at its full potential,".
So what could have caused this lack of trust? The media has covered countless data protection flaws on-line in recent years, from Monster's database leak to Facebook profiling users personal data, news coverage has developed an awareness of database hacking and unbecoming marketing through social media.
One positive reaction to the OFT's findings is that on-line vendors are asking their hosts the right questions and doing all they can from the ground up to secure their users data, after all a major vendor like Amazon being hacked would prove to be a costly mistake.
What can we do to boost Internet consumer confidence?
- Buy an SSL certificate and secure order and account pages
- Display authority and card trust logos clearly
- Show existing customer testimonials
- Offer a free trial without taking any card details (if applicable)
- Offer a money back guarantee
- Increase visibility of terms and conditions
- Where applicable have real photos of directors and personal information
Contact me if you have any other questions of suggestions, best of luck.
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