Study of Online Shopping Issues Impacts on Consumer Behaviour and Effective Solutions

Introduction

Nowadays, Online Shopping is a method of customer’s purchasing goods and services. In the past, many people purchased everything from supermarket, department store and counter services such as foods, beverages, clothes, furniture, several materials and services. Besides, the main public infrastructure payment was cash that buyers can pay all goods and services by face to face with reliable sellers. Although currently the growth of internet is the main society of global communications which all shoppers can reach, order and pay for merchandise from worldwide online shopping websites or mobile applications comfortably. In order to purchase goods and services in a few minutes of shopping time, most of people reach to use new technology innovation of credit or debit card instead of cash payment for conveniences than previous times. Hence, buyer behavior exactly has changed when the global online commerce sales have been increasing from 2014 to 2021 (Clement, 2019) and It represented to the wide of online channels will be most powerful than offline channels in the future. All are the revolution of shopping channels that demonstrate a lot of online transactions from business to customer (B2C) in the pattern of electronic commerce (e-commerce) (Kenton, 2019). This essay will investigate online shopping in terms of the problems which occur in changing consumer behavior but also suggest solutions to encourage beneficial improvement.

Body paragraph 1 – User Problem

There is much evidence to suggest that shoppers’ problems come from customer’s shopping experiences (B2C). Firstly, in terms of price, the sensitive price provides buyers’ making a wrong decision and receive the expensive price than shopping in a store. Some online stores, ebay for instance, there are a lot of retailers and wholesalers sell the same product with different prices and sometime their price deals are limited time on sales that create the flexible prices to shoppers. It generates unrealistic lowest price and loss opportunity when shopper compare the promotion deal of offline store such as Samsung.

Figure 1: An example of Samsung galaxy S10 price in eBay’s online store [Copying eBay website]

Samsung: In store shop (Should find in shop not in online webs)

Secondly, security is unprotecting for online shopper’s individual information and credit card payment before paying. As Katawetawaraks and Wang (2011) argued that the main payment method of online channel was credit card and all buyers believed to purchase by prepaid the goods and services from the familiar shop only due to avoiding the critical problems from seller’s deception and stealing personal information. Which means that the first thing of customers’ concentrated point to go shopping online quite dangerous for private security. Also, product quality is the essential for online shopper making a decision to buy something from media advertising. Most of shoppers perceive the product’s advertising from online channels and purchase it on the first impression but it is not good quality when they receive it. Because of rising e-commerce companies and “many websites become a marketplace for sellers to sell their products, and the issue of fraudulent sellers is increasing. The checks on registration are poor and selling poor-quality in the name of brands is becoming increasingly common” (NA, 2019) In other words, online shopping websites become a public market and there are a lot of unknown and known sellers that concern about quantity more than quality of the products.

Figure 2: An example of product quality in eBay’s online store [Copying Feedback eBay website]

Finally, long term human health problems occur after they spend long times on phone or computer for online shopping. According to Thomée (2012), a studying on electronic devices, computer and mobile phone effected to health on physical symptoms including pain on neck, shoulders, and upper extremities and another was mental symptoms including stress, headaches, and sleepless when people spend working time on both devices more than 5-6 hours per day. Therefore, electronic devices provide long term bad health to user’s spending long times.

To sum up, there are several problems of shoppers’ experiences including sensitive price, unsecured payment, quality merchandises and long-term health that many online businesses should focus on it especially.

Body paragraph 2 – User Solution

There are many e-commerce companies announce solution strategies to solve those purchasers’ problems above. To begin with, “Buy from a web site unless it is certified for safety” (KURIACHAN, 2014). In other words, shoppers should purchase products from the dependable online shops only. However, online companies have used Information and Technology(IT) system for protecting all virus such as cookies, malware, trojan and hackers from internet to users every times including notification alert to customers’ perception, trustworthy advertising for promoting big deal campaigns, verification code for private security on email or phone number and check not-remember password on payment. All are scanning methods for taking care their customers from dangerous online issues. Accordingly, shoppers must be careful the unreliable shops and keep all transaction processes when they select and purchase the products from online stores for crosscheck with online stores’ email verification accurately such as price, credit statement and all confirmations from sellers. Besides, online companies basically prefer to hire manpower for contacting their customers about after sales services (Customer Relationship Management: CRM) during the product’s warranty year. For instance, online store administrators usually reply comments and contacts to customers for 24 hours assistances, particularly online shops concern the first one is customers’ satisfaction due to online worldwide channels depend on customers’ global internet user to drive their businesses and ensure customers’ willingness appropriately. Consequently, online shoppers can purchase everything happiness and feelings brand loyalty with online shopping’s help services. Lastly, buyers must arrange shopping timetable swap with exercises per day or per week for reducing health problems such as strain of eyes, neck, back pain, shoulders, and stress. For example, the normal employees work in office 8 hours per day and they keep working and sometimes go to shopping by using a computer and mobile phone. It seems like they spend whole day on electronic devices and finally bring them to office syndrome. The best treatment is exercises including “sun salutations with twists, backbend arch, assisted neck stretches, high altar side leans, eagle arms and sun salutation arms” (MSMINNK, 2017).

Figure 3: An example of 6 Yoga Exercises for Office Syndrome [Copying MMCHIC website]

Overall, all strategy solutions are effective to solve those problems such as online companies’ IT system checking all shopping processes, hiring CRM staffs to follow customers’ satisfaction after sales services and exercises can treat everyone from all stains which all supports are the best ideas and shoppers will receive the good outcomes absolutely.

Body paragraph 3 – Logistic Problem (From shipping product to customer)

Product’s delivery issues argue in several companies from the buyers’ experience which are the enormous impact during shipping the products to customers. Firstly, several categories of delivery problems occur whilst the products are on the way from sellers to buyers including delayed, damaged, lost items and others. For example, Amazon and eBay were separated the percentage of delivery issues by customer group survey showing “The three most common problems are deliveries arriving late (19%), goods arriving faulty or damaged (13%) and goods not arriving at all (12%)” (Smithers, 2014). In other words, shoppers have many complains to online stores and the three main of delivery problems are the product delivery delayed, broken, and missed.

Figure 4: An example of delivery problem in eBay’s online store [Copying Feedback eBay website]

In addition, cross border products from international countries have long delivery lead times with no free shipping. While shoppers commonly favour the fastest delivery products with free shipping, they will receive this problem definitely. As a research conducted by Thai Young Kim et al. (2017), particularly online retailers usually created a variety of delivery price tables for cross border products by based on the among of merchandise and weight to earn more revenue from buyers. In reality, free delivery was for the high-priced items but it took long delivery lead time. So, express delivery was another type of transportation for online purchasers to “trade-off between the two distance dimensions of delivery time and delivery cost” (Thai Young Kim et al. 2017) Which means that, the shoppers can choose the delivery methods by concerning short time and high cost or long time and low cost. Finally, return products are the attractive problem in both customers and businesses due to a lot of processes of return items including the limited time of return products, following the standard pattern of packaging and spending long time for product’s verification processes before customers receive money refund. Generally, online shoppers love shopping in term of conveniences, if they receive any mistakes on the products and register too long return processes. It is terrible for waiting refund or return new product from online stores and lastly no more shoppers’ loyalty.

Figure 5: An example of return item issues in eBay’s online store [Copying Feedback eBay website]

Therefore, these transportation problems include the items’ delayed, loss, missed, long delivery from cross border and taking long return processes, all are the realistic situations from customers’ feedback whilst their items during delivery processes.

Body paragraph 4 – Logistic Solutions

As many e-commerce and third-party logistics (3PL) industries receive the problems above, there are a lot of beneficial solutions that can solve reasonable. First of all, shoppers can follow up their products status by checking online tracking number from domestic and international online stores’ system or 3PL system conveniently and real time status update continuously. For example, eBay has used several worldwide 3PL companies network based on sellers’ location such as the products come from the United States or United Kingdom, customers normally receive the tracking number from the American logistics company only that is the main partner of eBay by sellers’ user mostly prefer the eBay global shipping program for sending parcels and if sellers deliver parcels from China, customers will receive tracking number from four logistics companies including China post, SFC, Winit and EPacket (NA or eBay, 2019). Which means that customers can track and trace their items status from logistics companies in each region provided suddenly. When customers prefer to order cross border or domestic products and receive the tracking number on personal email after they completely pay transactions. Then, the email from online shops is the main page to go through order details including delivery lead time, total paid, shipping policies and checking items’ status link to 3PL partners network. Overall are clear to solve and reduce the delivery issues for smooth and accurate shipping processes for responsibility to customers’ satisfaction and sustainability. Moreover, customers decide to purchase online products by depending online shops’ return policies because the safety first for prepaid any products before testing. As Rheude (2018) argued that there were five successful return rules for online trades treated their customers such as making a clear track of shoppers’ order to returns and refunds policies, putting the return and refunding form for customers’ return conveniently, fixing a limit return deadline to customers consider, no aggressive at all because customers’ satisfaction come first for online businesses and the adaptable return periods for customers need from 30 days limit to 32 days was fine. Thus, online businesses must create the return and refund processes obviously to customers perception, attention and agreement for transparency. These solutions assist to encourage the delivery processes’ problems to customers improving and it can be declined and solved by a buyer’s perception on all mechanisms of the online channels including online tracking system to follow up items’ status noticeably and customers’ agreement on return and refund policies from online shops’ winning technical skills to compromise return issues by using the customers first strategy.

=1922-(20)-13 =111words for conclusion (+-100)

Conclusion

Re-thesis: This essay demonstrates the successful methods of solutions to solve and improve online shopping problems on consumer behavior in term of B2C and shipping processes to customers. 

Main ideas of Body paragraphs: There are two main problems from customers’ shopping experiences and solutions for solving each problem professionally. First of all, online shoppers’ issues receive from shopping online stores including the vary price of the same products with several online sellers, unsecured to shoppers’ personal information, low product quality and long-term health to physical and metal symptoms. However, online businesses normally concern their customer first and arrange the solutions such as IT system for scanning and checking all customers’ transactions to ensure their customers’ safety and trustworthiness, recruitment CRM team to follow up customers’ satisfaction after sales services and all shoppers should separate shopping and exercises times for helping long-term health of all stains. Moreover, the delivery products to customers are the second problem including the three main of shipping issues are items’ delayed, damaged, and lost, the next is long delivery lead times of international products with no free shipping if customers need fast shipping and the annoyance return processes issue. Nevertheless, shoppers can prove their products’ status and confident with shipping part of online shopping from the IT improvement of the online tracking number system and every online industry might use the customer first strategy plus the noticeable return processes policy on customers’ need for reducing the return issues.

Opinion summary:

Reference

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