Consumer’s Trust in E-Commerce World

Consumer’s Trust in E-Commerce World

                From the article “The Role of Consumer’s Trust in Online-Shopping”, author Sonja Grabner-Kraeuter believes that consumer’s trust is the foundation of the E-Commerce business world. Without the trust, the new business model will not grow such successful.

            Lacking of trust is the barrier that keeps the shoppers away from the online retailers. Meanwhile, consumers do not trust most online retailers enough to engage in relationship. Online shopping is easy, clicks and done, but without enough faith with the online retailer, online shopping could be risky to shoppers. “Buying on the internet presents numerous risks for consumers over and above the transaction process itself being perceived as risky”. (Einwiller and Will, 2001)

            Consumers face uncertainty and complexity of transactions while they shop online, to help themselves reduce the uncertainty and complexity, consumers apply trust into it, trust could “reduces information complexity and lowers the perceived risk of a transaction”. (Grabner-Kraeuter, 2002) If buying actions are under certainty and no risk environment, trust would not be needed. Unfortunately, most online shopping environments are uncertainty and risky, when consumers exchange their personal information via the Internet would bring several risks such as security problems in information, someone may use the consumer’s information for illegal purposes.  

                Internet retailers can use different policies to gain the trusts from consumers, such as the information policies to “reduce information asymmetries between seller and buyers by applying various communicative measures such as advertising”; (Grabner-Kraeuter, 2002) also guarantee policies such as taking back guarantee and warranties. To customers, guarantee policies would be more effective for building the trust between consumer and retailer in E-Commerce business world.

            Today, more and more consumers are shopping online, however, still millions consumers are refusing to shop online due to the fears of being ripped off, or concerns about personal information security. No matter now or future, “trust will remain the decisive factor for success or failure of e-business”, (Grabner-Kraeuter, 2002) to gain more trusts from consumers, Internet companies should improve and maintain well their security of personal information system, and  also have good customer policies. 

Citied:

Sonja Grabner-Kraeuter, “The Role of Consumers' Trust in Online-Shopping”, Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 39, No. 1/2, Four Teenth Annual Conference of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) (Aug., 2002), pp. 43-50, URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25074817.

Einwiller, S. and M. Will: 2001, 'The Role of Reputation to Engender Trust in Electronic Markets', in Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Corporate Reputation, Identity, and Competitiveness, May 2001, Paris, URL: http://www.communicationsmgt.org/neta cademy/publications.nsf/all_pk/1869, last access: 18 Feb. 2002.