Product quality causes concern for three-quarters of online shoppers
A screen view of the online daily deals site muachung.vn. Product quality is the biggest concern of consumers who shop via the Internet. — VNS File Photo
HA NOI (VNS)— Only 5 per cent of online shoppers in Viet Nam are highly satisfied with shopping via the internet, 29 per cent satisfied, 62 per cent made no comment and 4 per cent were unsatisfied, a recent survey revealed.
According to a study carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), product quality is the most worrisome factor when shopping online with 77 per cent of those surveyed complaining.
They said in many cases the products they received were not as good as the advertised ones they ordered online, according to the survey, which questioned thousands of online shoppers from cities nationwide.
Meanwhile, 40 per cent of them doubted the reasonability of prices, 38 per cent were not satisfied with the delivery service and 31 per cent were worried about the confidentiality of their personal information while making online transactions.
Aside from the products themselves, 29 per cent of those surveyed complained about the complexity of the online ordering process, while 20 per cent questioned the professionalism of websites.
The survey findings, entitled “Revision of e-commerce development in Viet Nam in 2013,” was made public at the international conference on Viet Nam – Japan E-Commerce Co-operation held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.
According to the survey, as many as 36 per cent of Viet Nam’s 90 million people are now accessing the internet, and 57 per cent of them are engaging in online shopping.
The most common online products are clothes, footwear, cosmetics, high tech devices, household appliances, air tickets, food, books, cinema tickets, hotel bookings and games.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade in August established a portal to help consumers identify trust-worthy e-commerce sites as well as provide a blacklist of sites that have failed to provide good business practices.
According to the ministry, the portal updates the list of trusted e-commerce websites, which must register to offer e-commerce services and are required to meet standards established by the ministry.
The ministry said customers can see if the websites are labelled with SafeWeb, a standard system in e-commerce transactions in Viet Nam.
Meanwhile, the ministry last month published a draft on developing e-commerce from 2014-20.
According to the draft, VND350 billion (US$16.6 million) from the State budget will be used for building a national e-payment portal, developing an integrated e-commerce payment card and an online transfer management system.
The money will also be utilised to help train enterprises in e-commerce and to enable them to participate in trading floors inside and outside the country, building online shopping solutions for small and medium companies, developing e-commerce applications on mobile devices and improving on-line trade marks for Vietnamese products and services. — VNS