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Apply global standards for M’sian e-commerce

When we spoke to an online retail operator about the rise in the number of consumer complaints lodged in Malaysia against online retailers - he said good!

It means more Malaysians are shopping online! He is right. E-commerce is relatively new and very exciting way of doing business

Last year, Nielsen survey shows that about 62 percent Malaysians will view the internet to check out products and reviews before purchasing them at a ‘brick and mortar’ retailer. The survey also says that six out of ten Malaysians plan to buy at least an airline ticket or accommodation within the next six months.

Some surveys say that more than 50 percent of those surveyed spend at least RM500 a month shopping online - and most buy electronics, clothing, accessories and food. In 2011 the total e-commerce transaction was worth RM900 million and estimated to be worth RM5 billion in 2015 according to Forbes - a vast and exciting growth potential on the back of rising consumer demand.

Shopping online comes with different kinds of challenges for consumers. As we monitor consumer complaints over the years, the nature of complaints is quite different from those lodged against ‘brick and mortar’ retailers.

Last year a total of 7641 complaints were lodged i.e 18.4 percent of total complaints received that year (2014). More than half of those complaints were related to delivery problems followed by refunds and product quality issues.

Whilst the Consumer Protection Act 1999, the Electronic Commerce Act 2006, the Electronic Government Activities Act 2007 and other related acts provide minimum requirements to be met for e-commerce operators to comply with, the competitive edge comes in the form of going the extra mile to serve consumers better than your competitor.

The competitive edge comes from emulating best practices of highly successful online retailers or those referred to in International Standards. For example online reviews, warranties and refund policies, delivery and logistics and very important cross border online dispute resolution. These can be achieved if international best practices in the form of standards are complied with.

There are international standards on personal data protection and protection of privacy, online review and customer satisfaction on electronic transaction. There are also standards on best practices on internet and telecommunication infrastructure. This can avoid confusion on who has the best internet speed in the region - we have a common language on how to determine and communicate internet speed for instance.

There are even international standards on hardware and electronics to support growth in e-commerce sector and thousands more to produce safer products and services.

Malaysian e-commerce businesses should apply these international standards to ensure that we can experience the anticipated growth the e-commerce sector is said to experience. Consumers will then continue to support retailers especially if they know they are shopping in a safe and secure e-commerce environment for quality products and value for money from ethical retailers.

Review archaic policies

Regulators need to review policies, regulations and enforcement methods which are archaic and improve them in-line with the rapid development in the e-commerce sector.

Policies on cross-border dispute resolution, product recalls, product safety requirements and warranty disputes should be strengthened as complaints related to these issues cause Malaysians millions of ringgit of potential loss last year alone across various product categories; from cars computers, cupboards to cookies.

Standards and regulations should seek to solve problems in a society and the environment so that members of the society can in turn contribute to a productive economic growth.

Happy World Standards Day 2015!


MARIMUTHU NADASON is president, Malaysian Association of Standards Users.

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