Special: Focus on online shopping for World Consumer Rights Day
By Wang Zhen
2015-03-16
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Editor's Note: Online shopping has become a regular part of daily life in China over the past five years as people learn to depend on internet for goods and services. But, coming hand-in-hand with the euphoria over the surge in online purchases, improved quality, payment security and delivery speed are the growing number of consumer complaints. According to a report from China E-Business Research Center last week, Chinese consumers are getting assertive during and after big online sales such as the crazy "Double 11" ( a holiday for online shopping ) and other holidays when the complaints reach as big a peak as the euphoria via instant messages, phone calls and emails. |
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What are today's complaints? Those filed against online shopping platforms account for almost half of all complaints, according to the report, which cited Chen, in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, who gave her own story, saying, "I'm a veteran online shopper and I'm so sick of having to withdraw orders from online stores." She went on to explain how she ordered a down jacket through an online store just before Chinese New Year and found that the jacket she got was much smaller than that the store had shown in a picture. "It was too tight to fit," Chen commented, explaining that when she tried to return the jacket for a full refund, "the store refused me for not having returned it within seven days." Finally she managed to get a full refund, but only after appealing to the customer service department of the online platform. In complaining about this, this veteran online shopper says, "Unscrupulous stores are really ticking me off. They sell shoddy goods while adopting a 'no refund' policy most of the time. It's a waste of consumers'time and money." The problem is that this sad tale is just the tip of the iceberg, honestly, because millions of other shoppers might encounter this and other problems. For example, the top six complaints for 2014: faulty refunds, fake products, delayed deliveries, after-sales service, personal information disclosure, and fraud. The report concludes, "Consumers are particularly dissatisfied with the rigid refund policy and fake goods in 2014." |
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Related Readings: Online shopping sees surge in consumer complaints 2015-3-12 According to officials from the State Administration for Industry & Commerce, the number of complaints filed by consumers till date have seen a 14.3 percent year-on-year growth, and totaled some 1.26 million cases. [Full Story] Auto dealers linked to needless repairs 2015-3-16 In late January, Taobao, under the e-commerce giant Alibaba group, and the SAIC engaged in a public dispute over a quality-check report, which said that less than 40 percent of the goods sold on Taobao were authentic. [Full Story] |
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Who's watching out for consumers? One explanation for the surging in the number of complaints comes from Yao Jianfang, of the China E-Business Research Center, who says that, while people have come to depend on online shopping for all sorts of goods and services, from clothes, to electrical appliances, to smart phones, all against a backdrop of an e-business boom. But the business developers quality control over goods and services is not sufficient, even though Premier Li Keqiang, at a press conference, threw his support behind online shopping and e-commerce, which has boosted employment and consumer spending, on March 15, World Consumer Rights Day. But, Li went on to emphasize the need for both online and offline retailers to pay more attention to product quality to protect consumers' rights. There is a new regulation on protecting consumers and e-commerce purchases that took effect on March 15, which says customers can return goods they bought online within seven days and get a full refund, without having to give a reason for the return, according to China Daily. |
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Related Readings: Quality watchdog to check online shopping platforms for fake goods 2015-02-14 Products sold through online shopping platforms will be a key target for quality inspectors this year, the national watchdog has revealed. [Full Story] Taobao and regulator must refine e-business 2015-01-31 The booming sector should be encouraged to expand business provided the ever-increasing number of online shoppers are guaranteed delivery of authentic goods. [Full Story] |
