Despite much popularity as of late, online retail is far from making a significant impact on Pakistan's brick-and-mortar retail sector. To many, the idea of click-to-buy still seems odd enough. That being said, whatever progress has been made thus far in this nascent domain has been rapid. And if India is a relevant example, our e-commerce sector is in for a treat in coming years. But there are concerns over consumer protection that must be addressed sooner rather than later.
At this early stage, consumer loyalties are generally fragile. Different online vendors specialize in different product categories and the competition in each category is rising. Dozens of new players are entering the market every week, if not through web domains then through Facebook pages.
In this day and age, starting a web business is easy. This makes room for deceivers to be added to the mix; how hard could it be to replicate attractive product offerings from international e-stores without shelving the original products. The consumers, disallowed to open packages without paying, or returning them (in many cases) can fall prey to scammers.
For a young sector like e-commerce, bad reputation can slow down growth. A shoddy seller or a bad experience hurts the reputation of industry as a whole, especially in Pakistan where many potential consumers are close to taking that leap of faith and order online; they might be put off.
Regulations, in general are considered a detriment to growth. But, a set of rules that give necessary protection to buyers will actually be positive for the industry's journey upwards. Policies on dispute resolution, payment gateways and data privacy must also follow suit.
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