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in E-Retailing in ASEAN
Consumer Protection
in E-Retailing in ASEAN
Huong Ha
Consumer Protection in E-Retailing in ASEAN
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Description
While many sectors and industries have been badly affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, e-retailing is one of the booming sectors during
this period. Even before the global pandemic, the e-retailing sector was
already booming with the online retail sales being forecasted to reach
several trillions by 2023. Although e-retailing offers many opportuni-
ties for businesses and consumers, there are several issues associated with
e-consumer protection, that is, consumers face various types of risk, such
as insufficient information about transactions, unsecured online payment
modes, privacy and security, inaccessible redress mechanism, goods not
delivered, or defective goods received.
This book aims to examine how consumers are protected on the
online marketplace in the context of ASEAN countries, and what are the
challenges of e-consumer protection in the digital era. Specifically, this
project aims to:
(i) Discuss the six issues of e-consumer protection, including issues asso-
ciated with information about transaction, product quality, p rivacy,
security, redress, and jurisdiction.
(ii) Examine the policy/governance approach adopted by the public
sector, the private sector, and the third sector to address the issues
associated with e-consumer protection.
(iii) Propose a multisector governance framework for e-consumer
protection.
Keywords
e-consumer protection; multisector governance; e-retailing; e-retailers;
industry association; information disclosure; self-regulation; privacy;
security; redress; jurisdiction; ASEAN
Contents
List of Figures����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ix
List of Tables������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
Foreword���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xiii
Acknowledgments�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xvii
personal assessments of the sellers’ honesty the way they might in face-to-
face interactions with them. Caveat emptor remains critical.
The main purpose of this wonderfully informative and insightful book
is to improve e-retailing, especially from the consumers’ perspectives.
Much of the focus is on ASEAN nations, which provides very valuable
comparative analysis. The book consists of six succinct, yet comprehen-
sive chapters including an introduction and conclusion. These cover the
overall “issues associated with e-consumer protection,” “the current gov-
ernance framework for e -consumer protection,” “a proposed governance
framework for e-consumer protection,” and three case studies drawn on
experiences in Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia followed by a conclu-
sion drawing the entire book together.
Chapter 1 introduces the subject matter by defining e-retailing and
outlining its advantages and disadvantages, e-consumer rights and pro-
tections, and governance for e-consumer protection.
Chapter 2 discusses the main problems associated with e-retailing.
These include deceptive advertising, guarantee and warranty, unautho-
rized billing, late or non-delivery of products, wrong product deliv-
ery, shipping costs, poor quality of products and services, unclear price
and payment, unclear terms and conditions, lack of information about
redress, misleading information, security and privacy along with refunds,
exchanges, and other redress, especially in cross-border transactions under
different legal regimes. Additionally, as the chapter explains there are the
collateral risks posed by exposure of personal and financial information
by sophisticated schemes for phishing, pharming, smishing, vishing,
breaching privacy, spam, spim, spyware, and the like.
Chapter 3 analyzes efforts to regulate e-retailing through a variety of
approaches at the national, regional, and international levels. The chapter
explains that both overregulation and underregulation are problematic
and, accordingly, a complex balance of measures is necessary. Importantly,
the chapter emphasizes how different nations adopt different balances and
that compliance with guidelines and mandatory regulations is variable
and cannot be assumed.
Chapter 4 is among the major contributions of this excellent book.
It develops a proposed model of governance of e-retailing for improving
consumer protection. Based on responsiveness, transparency, participation
Foreword xv
David H. Rosenbloom
Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and
Editor-in-Chief, Routledge Public Administration
and Public Policy Series
Department of Public Administration and Policy
School of Public Affairs
American University
Washington, DC, USA
Acknowledgments
It was impossible to complete this book without the support of my
family members and friends. I take pride in acknowledging the excep-
tional and tireless support of Dr. Stanley Bruce Thomson during the
review and proofreading process and Prof. David H. Rosenbloom
for his great support and the foreword. My great appreciation goes to
Dr. Thomson and Prof. Rosenbloom as always. Finally, I am very grateful
for the advice and assistance from the series editor/s of BEP, USA.
Introduction of E-Consumer
Protection in E-Retailing
in ASEAN
Introduction
This book investigates the issues associated with consumer protection
in e-retailing (or e-consumer protection). It also examines the roles of
e-retailers, government, industry, and consumer associations in the cur-
rent policy framework for e-consumer protection, and cooperation among
groups of stakeholders. In addition, this book proposes a multisector gov-
ernance framework with e-consumers as one of the main sectors.
This book consists of four chapters excluding the introduction and
the conclusion. An overview of each chapter is presented here. C hapter 2
examines six issues associated with e-consumer protection, such as
(i) information disclosure, (ii) product quality, (iii) security, (iv) privacy,
(v) redress, and (vi) jurisdiction. Chapter 3 discusses the current policy
framework for e-consumer protection, highlighting the roles of the public
sector (government or the state), the private sector (business or e-retailers),
and civil society (the third sector or civil society organizations). Chapter 4
outlines the weaknesses of the current governance framework for protect-
ing e-consumers and proposes a four-sector governance model to enhance
e-consumer protection. Chapter 5 illustrates how e-retailers protect their
e-consumers in the real life by examining three e-retailers, namely Lazada
in Singapore, Shopee in Vietnam, and Zalora in Malaysia.
Specifically, this introduction chapter discusses various concepts
pertaining to e-retailing and business transactions. It also explains the
advantages and disadvantages of shopping online. Consumer rights and
consumer protection are elaborated in the next section, followed by a
brief explanation of governance and e-consumer protection.
2 Consumer Protection in E-Retailing in ASEAN
E-Retailing
Concept of E-Retailing
networks. The goods and services are ordered over those networks,
but the payment and the ultimate deliver of the good and service
may be conducted on or off-line. (p. 89)
Kita et al. 2018; Lokken et al. 2003). A survey in the United States in April
2020 revealed that 51 percent and 21 percent of the respondents explained
that price and fast and convenient delivery affected their decisions to shop
online (Clement 2020). E-consumers are able to select from a wide range of
products and services, goods and services can be purchased at a better price,
and communication between e-consumers and e-retailers is faster (Hui and
Wan 2007). E-consumers can also avoid discrimination based on religion,
gender, and other factors (Alboukrek 2003). E-consumers can browse
and purchase products online via different channels and devices (laptops,
desktops, tablets, phones) (Wagner, Schramm-Klein and Steinman 2020).
Additionally, from a macro-economic view, e-consumers can “
capture
a much larger fraction of the surplus created by the online distribution
channel than firms” (Duch-brown et al. 2017, para. 67).
However, many factors have deterred Internet users from shopping
online, including deceptive advertising, guarantee and warranty, unau-
thorized billing, late or nondelivery of products, wrong product deliv-
ery, shipping costs, poor quality of products and services, unclear price
and payment, unclear terms and conditions, lack of information about
redress, misleading information, and security and privacy (Aïmeur,
Lawani and Dalkir 2016; Aragoncillo and Orús 2018; Invest Northern
Ireland undated; Kaushik et al. 2020; Oliveira et al. 2017; WTO 2020).
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also entailed many supply chain
bottlenecks of online purchases and delivery of goods (WTO 2020). This
issue has grown bigger due to new health regulations and travel restrictions
that have disrupted international transport and logistics services (WTO
2020). Other factors that discourage Internet users to shop online include
the need to touch, feel, see, and try a product and to talk to a salesperson
before purchasing (Mann and Liu-Thompkins 2019). Also, e-consumers
also worry about difficulties in refund and exchange when purchasing
goods online (Consumer Affairs Victoria 2003, 2004; Lokken et al. 2003).
In addition, since e-consumer trust is essential for e-retailers to drive
consumer e-transactions (Lin, Wang and Hajli 2019), practices of unscru-
pulous e-retailers and other cyber threats have eroded e-consumer trust and
confidence in e-retailing (Deloitte 2015). According to Deloitte (2015),
e-consumers are more active now, and 73 percent of consumers would not
engage with a company if the company did not keep their data safe and
Introduction of E-consumer Protection in E-retailing 5
(Hilton 2005, p. 7). Although there have been many surveys gathering
data about e-consumer behaviors in e-retailing, the Scottish Consumer
Council (2001) highlights that nobody asks
matter where they shop, that is, online or offline. They also have the right
to be included in the governance of e-retailing. Therefore, governance for
e-consumers has also been examined in chapters 3 and 4.
Conclusion
This chapter has defined the key concepts pertaining to e-retailing and
e-consumer protection. It has explained the importance of e-consumer
protection in e-retailing and the significance of this study regarding gov-
ernance and e-consumer protection.
Although a mixture of measures has been implemented to p rotect
e-consumers, the desired outcomes have not fully materialized. A stand-
alone, extreme approach of governance, such as strict regulation or
self-regulation, is inadequate to address the issues related to e -consumer
protection. Either too much government intervention or lack of ini-
tiatives from business and lack of participation of civil society can
hinder the development of e-retailing and discourage consumers from
shopping online. A governance model which comprises all groups of
stakeholders and can utilize the strengths of both the regulatory and self-
regulatory approaches is worthy of research. Thus, this book will propose
a four-sector governance model which may better explain the operation
of e-consumer protection and could assist the development of more
effective measures to protect e-consumers. The next chapter, Chapter
2, reviews the literature regarding the issues associated with e-consumer
protection in the context of ASEAN countries.
References
Aïmeur, E., O. Lawani, and K. Dalkir. 2016. “When Changing the Look of
Privacy policies Affects User Trust: An Experimental Study.” Computers in
Human Behavior 58, 368–379.
Alboukrek, K. 2003. “Adapting to a New World of E-Commerce: The Need for
Uniform Consumer Protection in the International Electronic Marketplace.”
The George Washington International Law Review 35, no. 2, pp. 425–460.
APEC Secretariat. 2020. Regulations, Policies and Initiatives on E-Commerce and
Digital Economy for APEC MSMEs’ Participation in the Region. Singapore:
APEC Secretariat.
10 Consumer Protection in E-Retailing in ASEAN