Feasibility studies for new standards relating to consumers and electronic commerce

Author

Allan McChesney

Organization

Office of Consumer Affairs

Published

2000

Summary

This study canvasses the feasibility of a standard to provide guidance on establishing and implementing voluntary codes on business-to-consumer practices in electronic commerce.

A panoply of pledges and practice codes is being advertised by electronic sellers, but most such offers were not created via multipartite consensus, as a standard would be. Nor are they tied to a system of compliance assurance. It is hard for consumers to judge the strength and veracity of the promises. A rising number of voluntary pledges and codes is anticipated from merchants who operate online, in response to the continuing distrust and discomfort that consumers express and display regarding Internet shopping.

The variety of promises made by online merchants and by services offering to certify identities or attributes can be confusing to consumers. Publicity is occasionally given to incidents in which merchants violate codes of practice, yet suffer no consequences from the trustmark service. Such fiascos further confuse consumers and merchants alike and justify the shaky image that many hold of the electronic marketplace. E-commerce will blossom only when consumers can sense real protections in the areas of privacy, security, reliability and redress for complaints.

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Source: Consumer Policy Research Database