Deception in e-commerce settings

The internet is an evolving medium that is continually offering new functionalities which is creating an increase in its commercial use. This increase in the commercial use of the internet is driving consumers more into online shopping and traditional “Brick and Mortar” retailers are experiencing the showrooming effect more than ever before.

Unfortunately, with the increase in commercialisation of the internet comes an increase in the number of fraudulent practices, misleading advertisement and information misrepresentation, and common deceptive practices in e-commerce settings such as; exaggeration of product benefits and characteristics, advertisement of non-existent products and outright deception under false pretence are all variations of deceptive styles in the traditional shopping context.

Perpetrating online deception is intensified by a number of reasons which include;

·         The internet being inherently a representation environment where consumers base their decision on products on cognitive representation of reality, which is further exacerbated by the unfamiliar and impersonal nature of the web and the lack of opportunity for face-to-face interaction to detect deception.

·         The general low entry and set up cost introduced by the internet allows deceptive online retailers to set up store front that looks as genuine as a legitimate store.

·         The identities of parties involved in communications and transactions are very difficult to verify when they are done via the internet.

Though online deceptive practices affect consumers’ attitudes and behaviour, the internet still generates millions in revenue for organizations that understands how to effectively communicate their products and services to the right audience.

Reference:

Roman Sergio, (2010). Relational Consequences of Perceived Deception in Online Shopping: The Moderating Roles of Type of Product, Consumer’s Attitude Toward the Internet and Consumer’s Demographics, Journal of Business Ethics 95:373–391

http://baymard.com/checkout-usability/benchmark/top-100/34-symantec sourced on 20/03/14