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Retailer to charge users who shop with IE7

Monday, June 18, 2012 - 10:55 by Graham Miller

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Internet Explorer 7 is by no means the oldest web browser that some people still use, although it now seems that harnessing it could be costly, if you want to carry out safe shopping online.

This is since e-commerce firm, Kogan, introduced a new fee which it is levelling against anyone who visits its site and then buys something while browsing with IE7.

6.8 per cent of the value of the transaction will be added to what customers are charged if they continue to make purchases via IE7, according to a report in The Metro.

The motivation behind this move is the fact that Kogan has to adapt its website to be easy to use on all web browsers, which also means programming it for legacy platforms like IE7.

The work that this involves is expensive but necessary, although it seems like Kogan is taking quite a militant approach to recouping the money it spends on continuing support for IE7.

Chief executive, Ruslan Kogan, said that the fact that IE7 was released six years ago and remains a bugbear for the site's programmers, is the main justification for the introduction of what is, effectively, a tax.

Mr Kogan said that his site was not alone in facing large costs associated with out of date browsers. He predicts that the cost to the world of safe shopping online must be pushed into the millions, when you consider the international impact of ensuring backwards compatibility with IE7.

Some have said that the charge is something of a gimmick and, thankfully, users in the UK will not have to pay it, with only those buying from Kogan's native Australia being impacted.

However, it is certainly safer and more sensible to use a modern browser, rather than sticking with one which is so outdated.