Consumer e-commerce concerns examined

Monday, December 10, 2012 - 13:35 by Simon Crisp

A new study has examined the fears that still dog consumers in the UK when it comes to using online shopping services.

Redshift Research was commissioned to carry out the survey, which took answers from over 1,000 people.

Sixty four per cent of respondents said that they are uncomfortable with the idea of handing over financial information via the internet, while almost half said that they prefer not to shop with an online retailer of which they have never previously heard.

Forty five per cent claimed that most of their concerns stemmed from the fact that they do not feel that they are quickly able to determine whether a site is going to offer them safe shopping online.

Website security seems to be a cloudy issue for many consumers, with 91 per cent of those questioned saying that they believe that not enough is currently done to alert shoppers to whether or not a site is going to keep their private data safe.

It seems that although there are plenty of browser-based indicators of whether or not a site will offer secure, safe shopping online, consumers are largely unaware of what these cues actually mean.

There is clearly a need for a greater degree of education and awareness as to the features which mark out an e-commerce site's legitimacy.

While millions of us will be shopping online this Christmas, there will, doubtlessly, be those who end up being duped by maliciously operated sites that steal personal information.

The best way to avoid this is to only shop with reputable sites and read up about the different indicators that tell you whether or not a particular retailer is going to act honourably.

You should also scan your PC for viruses and malware using a mainstream software suite, before shopping online, to avoid further data theft issues.