5 Things You Need To Know Before Shopping From eCommerce Websites

Tasnuv Bin Manjur (Shanon)
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Since the Internet has become a part of our life, it has had given huge influences on mankind. Even though it still has some negative sides, we, however, can’t deny the facts that people are very familiar with the internet as an essential part of our daily life.

Take Shopping for size. The Internet has revolutionized the way we shop. People are using eCommerce websites to shop for a wide variety of goods or items, from houses to shoes to airplane tickets. Because of the enormous number of advantages and benefits, more and more people these days prefer buying their stuff and goods online over the typical way to going into stores. Due to rapid growth of technology, business organizations have switched over from the traditional method of selling goods to electronic methods such as e-commerce and f-commerce as a result online retailing is growing at an astonishing rate. Since the number of online retail is growing, some people take this as an opportunity to steal money. Since this whole thing is virtual, people really can’t check whether a product is original or not. Besides many e-commerce sites are not secure enough to buy from. A recent survey showed that a majority of online shoppers were not aware of various hacker attacks. Not knowing how to keep yourself safe is the biggest disadvantage of online shopping. However, you need to think carefully and weigh all the advantages and disadvantages - backed by good market research - before deciding on whether or not to trade online.

In this article, we will try to expose some of the scams that unsuspecting shoppers may encounter online, and things they should be aware of before clicking.

1. Know the right price:
The vast majority of online stores offer prices that are much higher than what you will find at a physical store. Before buying anything online you should have some idea about the price of that product. Suppose, the product you are buying online is 500 taka on the website but its actual price is 200 taka. So, before buying anything you better research on it or you can easily browse through dozens of different websites to find the best price. You do the same at shopping mall.

2. Buying from a Reliable Source:
The growth of online retail market has attracted the attention of sophisticated criminal elements. Since online shopping is continuously becoming more popular and improving every single day many online marketer and retailer try to sell a low-quality product. This is one of the biggest problem while buying things online. Reviews are not always reliable and all the research can’t assure of a product’s quality. So the quality of product is really a big issue. There is another problem with online shopping is that, there is no instant gratification. Because the item must be shipped to you, you will have to wait a few days. Sometimes retailer does not send the product which customer has chosen. It is a common scenario in online shopping, maybe you have seen one product’s picture in online but you get different one which does not match with the picture you have seen before. This is why buying from a reliable source is really important in terms of online shopping.

3. Prefer 'Cash On Delivery':
One big issue that constantly turns up while shopping online is cyber security or more precisely the lack of it. Whether a customer is paying by credit/ debit card, Bkash or one of the several digital payment systems that exist today eCommerce websites record important customer data like name, phone number, address, and bank details. If these websites don’t implement stringent cyber security measures, your data is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. So, this is a big drawback for eCommerce business but if eCommerce websites can fix these issues, they will certainly improve customer experience and hence generate more sales. Customers should be more careful while making payment. For f-commerce or a facebook based business, a customer should not make payment before receiving the product. In this circumstance, you may use cash on delivery. If you do use cash on delivery system there is less probability of losing your money.

4. Read 'Return Policy and Guarantee' Carefully:
Since you have no idea of product’s quality until you hold it in your hands, returning is quite common in online shopping. Unless you’re buying from one of the renowned eCommerce companies, it’s important to go through the return and warranty policy while making a purchase. But most eCommerce businesses have vague return policies that can leave you with a low-quality product and no way to return it. The same applies for guarantees, as most eCommerce businesses don’t clearly mention what the policy is for a product and then refuse to carry out replacements if you receive a damaged product. So make sure you contact with the seller to verify whether the item has guaranty or not.

5. Discount and offer:

Maybe you are browsing facebook on a lazy friday you would see a lot of lucrative offer in many products on your facebook feed. Be aware of that, a retailer may try to squeeze a profit from heavily discounted items by tacking on an extremely high shipping rate or other charges. You should be extra careful in this case. 

In conclusion online shopping has their advantages and disadvantages for the consumer for many different reasons. Online shopping is far too convenient to get hindered by the mentioned problems. Although it is easy to prove its positive influences on people daily lives, there are still many hindrances that worth more attention. But if e-commerce businesses can fix these issues, they will certainly improve customer experience and hence generate more sales.


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