Despite the fact that payment gateways have step up their game to provide top notch security measures against fraud, many people are still scared of making payments online.
Statistics show that over 3 billion people make use of the internet and Research shows that over 58% use the internet for shopping.
New technology is making it easier to pay for things from anywhere in the world, but some are frightened to use it. But at the same time, some people are still scared of making payments online.
As U.S e-commerce sales rise to $39,707,000, (14 percent growth), online shoppers still have high anxiety and fear when placing an order online.
Out of many other reasons, I have brought together 6 reasons why people are afraid to shop online and tips to reduce the fear.
Let’ see if you’ll find yourself in the picture.
Here are the top 5 e-commerce fears:
Fear Of Credit Card Information Being Stolen
Almost in every country, cases of credit card fraud and identity theft rise each year, and this gives online customers valid reasons for being concerned that their information may be stolen.
There are lots of programs out there which scammers and hackers use to get your credit card information.
Not only that, they could lure anyone to provide credit card details before they get access to gift, etc.
I could remember a Facebook work from home program one of my friends tried, he was told to purchase a tool kit for just a dollar. He did that and in 3 days, about N29, 000 was deducted.
The craziest part is, his credit card was used to make payment for some other things online, although he had nothing in that account, that was a signal he had to block the card.
There are several stories like that. You have to be careful. But be rest assured that there are tips to make payment safely online.
If It’s Not A Real Store, I Can’t Buy
Have you ever wondered about how buying something on the internet and having it right in your hands after payment will give you desired satisfaction?
Purchasing items in a virtual shopping cart that has no physical address or location creates an uneasy feeling with the possibility that their item may not exist.
This is another reason why you may be afraid of paying for items online.
I Can’t Tell What The Product Is Really Like
We are humans and our sense organs play vital role in almost everything we do. Many shoppers rely on the sensory aspect of shopping and because they can’t feel, touch, or even smell the product they become afraid of purchasing the wrong item.
Questions like; ‘what if the gold coating I’m seeing on the picture of this wristwatch turns out to be fake? Arises in the minds of almost anyone who doesn’t want to squander his/her hard earned money buying a bad item.
It creates a moment of doubt and eventually leads to not buying at all.
Not Being Able To Track Orders
Will my order really get to me? How do I know for sure? These questions pops up every now and then for almost new entrants into the e-commerce world.
The ability to track orders is becoming more popular among e-commerce retailers and shoppers fears of losing an order and never seeing it again is common when a tracking service is not provided.
Also Read: 7 major types of bank accounts in Nigeria banking industry
If I Don’t Like It, I’ll Be Stuck With It
Without a 100% satisfaction guarantee, many shoppers are afraid of not having the ability to return a bought item or if it is not what they were looking for, they may have to pay high shipping fees on a returnable item.
Let’s just say almost everyone will prefer seeing the things they want to buy before making payment.
But these Tips can lower your online shopping fears.
5 TIPS TO LOWER ONLINE SHOPPING FEARS AND ANXIETIES
In 2009, more than 92 million people made online purchases using credit cards, debit cards and services such as Paypal and Google checkout. These tips below should help lower your shopping fear:
- Avoid clicking on pop-ups or warnings that indicate something is wrong with a sites’ SSL certificate. What is SSL certificate?
- An important tool when online shopping is to double check the URL and starts with https versus http”
- Getting rid of malware will avoid possible attempts of hackers using software to capture key stokes and screen images.
- Avoiding opening many tabs at the same time on a web browser will take away the risk of tab napping, which refers to a hacker who has the ability to steal banking information off browsers with many tabs open.
- Make your passwords known to you alone, when entering on forms, don’t click yes to the “remember password” feature in your web browsers. This really helps.
It’s the information age, making payments online is in vogue and has changed the face of buying and selling. You can learn how to make payments online for more information.
