Calling all online shoppers: Shopping on a website you don’t know? Check reviews first, order second
When shopping online, many consumers don’t check whether they’re dealing with a reliable shopping site first, even though ordering products from unfamiliar sellers can be a risky prospect. Based on this insight, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), Consumentenbond, the European Consumer Centre, Fraudehelpdesk and the National Internet Scam Hotline (LMIO) are launching a campaign today to tell everyone: Shopping on a website you don’t know? Check reviews first, order second.
The ECC and other partner organisations receive large numbers of reports from consumers encountering issues after making an online purchase. According to an ACM survey, 50% of consumers ran into issues with an online purchase last year, such as late delivery, no delivery at all, or a problem with the products.
Edwin van Houten, Consumers director at ACM: "Problems with online purchases are a top-3 issue for all of these organisations, but many of the problems we hear about could easily be prevented if consumers checked the seller before buying. That's why we are now joining forces to remind consumers to check the reviews before they order, especially with unfamiliar shopping sites. It can save you a lot of hassle later on.”
Unfamiliar shopping site? Check reviews first, order second
The survey also found that, in the past 12 months, over 59% of consumers bought something from an unfamiliar online seller that they had not used or heard of in the past. Consumers rate the risks of unfamiliar online sellers higher than when shopping at a familiar seller, but hardly behave differently. At a well-known shopping site, 43% of consumers check reviews before ordering something, but at 55%, this percentage is hardly higher for unfamiliar sites. According to the partners behind the campaign, this number has to go up.
Quick check
The first and easiest thing to check are reviews. Google the word "reviews" and the URL of the shopping site to find out more about the experiences of others on multiple review sites, or visit the website of the police (Dutch) for reports. A quick check is often enough to filter out shopping sites that are best avoided.