On the World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), The Network for Consumer Protection has called upon the government to finalise the e-commerce policy to ensure building of fairer digital marketplaces, which consumers can trust. The day being celebrated by TheNetwork in collaboration with Consumers International, an umbrella body of over 200 member organisations in more than 100 countries, is aiming to create a Better Digital World by promoting access to fair and secure internet services, action against scams and fraud and better protection online.
E-commerce has transformed the way that people shop, giving consumers more choice than ever before. But it has also raised global issues that we can only tackle together. In 2017 global e-commerce sales reached $2.29 trillion, and by 2021 it is expected to reach $4.49 trillion. But nearly 70 percent of consumers worry their digital payments are unsafe. Meanwhile, half the world's population is still offline.
As part of the campaign, The Network has drawn attention of the Federal Minister for Commerce, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik, towards finalization and implementation of the E-commerce Policy in Pakistan. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has already directed the concerned authorities to finalize policy framework for providing maximum facilitation and promoting business through e-commerce facility.
Nadeem Iqbal, CEO, The Network for Consumer Protection, has said that the size of the e-commerce market in Pakistan is rapidly growing and currently stands at around Rs 65 billion or $ 620 million and expected to reach $1 billion by 2020. With such a growing market size there is an urgent need of putting an e-commerce policy in place in order to develop supportive financial services regulations, provide import and export regulations, establish and regulate e-commerce establishments. A consumer perspective should also be added in the policy framework as it is more important to gain trust in e-commerce as compared to conventional business, he added.
Pakistan's Internet penetration rate has sky-rocketed from 1 million users across the nation in 2000 to around 30 million users today. This, however, is expected to rise up to 56 million users by 2019. Over the next 5 years, 28 percent of the country's population is estimated to have internet access. With increased access to the internet and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, marketing trends are also rapidly changing and transforming the way opinions are now being shaped. This will not only transform shopping trends but also significantly impact several other ecommerce arenas, such as online job hunt, online cab services, to name a few.
Strong, safe and secure internet access is also essential to be able to shop online with confidence. That is why on World Consumer Rights Day many consumer organisations will be calling for better access to the internet. Currently only half of the world's population has internet access, making accessing digital marketplaces impossible. Half of the people with internet access choose not to shop online because of a lack of trust. A major contributor to this lack of consumer trust is the fear of incurring unexpected and dishonest costs. These can arise from illegal and fraudulent scams or from unfair, unclear and confusing business practices. These barriers and fears constitute a significant impediment for the further development of the digital economy: when consumers mistrust businesses, they are discouraged from using new digital products and services. To address this lack of trust it is vital authorities take action to prevent scams and companies have clear terms and conditions, fair pricing and good redress procedures because growth on the supply-side of the digital market presupposes consumer trust on the demand-side of the market.
While concluding the talk, Nadeem Iqbal said that the online shopping has opened up choice and convenience on a scale never seen before. But this does not equal trust. This World Consumer Rights Day we are calling for, not only, more access to e-commerce transactions, but for more access to trusted e-commerce systems. And for that we definitely require a strong e-commerce policy, which not only safeguards the businesses but also focuses on the consumers. We want consumers to be sure that their data and payments are secure and the products they buy are safe.