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The downfall of online shopping?19 March 2009 When the news emerged last week that Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the founding father of the Internet, was caught on the wrong end of an online scam, it must have concerned the masses that have become reliant upon purchasing goods via this method – and surely would have mortified the ‘hold-out’ brigade who still have reservations about e-shopping. They will understandably afford themselves a wry smile at this recent development.
The story goes that Sir Berners-Lee ordered a Christmas present for his wife from a smalltown outfit, and simply never received the goods. It’s rather surprising that the news has taken three months to surface – had the naïve consumer in this tale been ultra-patient, or was he just a tad embarrased? Either way, he certainly isn’t particularly bothered about it: “I think I am yet to get the money back, but it wasn’t a lot”. If he can’t even be inclined to make the effort to check on the whereabouts of his refund, how can anyone take his subsequent, half-hearted “Let’s tackle internet crime” campaign seriously?
A quick search for ‘online scams’ on Google News reveals that he certainly isn’t alone in his predicament. In fact, hoaxing of this nature seems to be happening more and more frequently – hardly surprising - and seemingly nobody is discriminated against. However, whilst Sir Berners-Lee can write-off such a menial amount (the actual figure remains to be specified), many others aren’t in the same position. If they wish to recoup their losses from their uncontactable vendors, they have to fend for themselves. This normally results in a multi-year road to nowhere, complete with the pre-requisite flare-up on Watchdog thrown in for good measure.
It’s stories such as these which undoubtedly affect online shopping confidence. Indeed, research from eDealsUK.com - a cashback network of 600,000 UK shoppers - reveals that small businesses are suffering online as wary shoppers stick to big brands; with perusers of the online aisles more likely to buy from an established name, it seems.
Aside from the concern regarding non-trustworthy traders, there is also an apparent reluctance to purchase goods from a smaller business that could potentially go bust in these financially-challenged times; although the recent demise of Woolworths and Zavvi (amongst others) would make you wonder whether any company is actually safe at all.
“Price comparison websites have allowed small businesses to compete on a like-for-like basis with much bigger companies in the past few years,” says Nadeem Azam, eDealsUK.com’s marketing manager. He continues, “If you could sell a product for less than anyone else, that got you sales. But that situation is starting to change.
“Despite money being tight, consumers are willing to spend a few extra pounds to buy an item from a retail name they know and trust. And this is having a significant impact on small businesses that have not focused much attention on brand building.”
Nadeem added: “It’s all a matter of consumer confidence in a business. They see companies like Woolworths and MFI going bust, and ask themselves if they really trust a small online company they have never heard of to stay in business. And it seems the answer is increasingly ‘no’.”
eDealsUK.com now has 600,000 members across its network of 200 sites, buying from 2,000 mainstream retailers. Cashback is a very simple concept that is experiencing extraordinary growth during the recession: customers log into the cashback site before visiting any of 2,000 mainstream retailers and buying goods and services as normal.
A portion of the referral fee paid by online retailers is returned to the consumer - this is the cashback. Because it can monitor purchases from more than 2,000 retailers, eDealsUK.com has access to more UK online sales information than any single retailer. The network is operated by V A C Media, the biggest operator of customer loyalty websites in the UK.
- Have you fallen victim of an online hoax or scam? How was it resolved - if it even has been, that is? E-mail your tales of woe (and hopefully success) to simon.rowley@imlgroup.co.uk, along with any thoughts or comments relating to the notion of sticking with the ‘bigger brands’. Contact Details and Archive...Most Viewed Articles... |
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