ONLINE BRAND TRUST: WHAT ARE THE CONTRIBUTORS?

Thanks to the flexibility, ease of interactivity and personalization, the usage of internet has been increasing since it was first introduced back in the early 1980s. The internet has opened a new window and business opportunity that have never been imagined before, thus changing the way consumers shop. Differs from the traditional way of shopping, online shopping has allowed consumers to decide what kind of product they want, when and where they want to purchase the items within their budget by a click of a mouse or mobile phones. Instead of waiting for a premise to be opened and spending so much time looking for a parking space, online shopping provides a convenient way to shop as digital marketplaces are open all day, every day, throughout the year. However, trust has remained one of the most popular issues that leads to the ineffective use of digital marketplaces.

Because consumers play the main role for any business transactions, their trust contributes to the reduction of uncertainty and complexity of any transactions and relationships involving digital marketplaces. When customers show their trust to the brand and the company, they will show willingness in any transactions, eventually creating a smooth business transaction. Likewise, trust develops not only positive attitude towards suppliers but brings in customer loyalties (Schurr and Ozanne, 1985). Furthermore, a world of abundance for consumers is just another world of rivals for brands. When a particular brand is viewed as trustworthy, it has the added advantage to succeed as opposed to its competitors (Reast, 2005). 

Despite the increasing number of Internet users who spend their time with online shopping, companies should stay committed to Internet branding by considering the consumer’s perception of brand trust online. Ha (2004) defines brand trust as the trust possessed among the customers in a particular brand. In this era of e-commerce, online brand trust is considered as one essential component that spurs online purchases and more consumers are becoming aware of its importance (Quelch and Klein, 1996). When consumers put their trust in a particular brand, they will not be reluctant to spend a premium price not only for the brand itself but its brand extension while carrying on being loyal. Furthermore, when customers view a brand as trustworthy, they would not mind spending their time, sharing feedbacks regarding their behavior, tastes and preferences which would allow the brand to develop.

For businesses to remain strong in the game in the long run, there are several aspects that influence online brand trust which comprise of website factors and consumer factors. Sultan et al. (2002) identifies website factors such as navigation, advice, no error, fulfillment, community, privacy and security, trust seals and brand presentation are responsible in developing consumer’s trust. On the other hand, the study shows that trust is contributed by consumer factors such as self-confidence, past behavior, online shopping experience as well as entertainment experience. Lee and Turban (2001) also agree that the declining of online shopping activity is the result of the lacking of consumer trust. 

Salo and Karjaluoto (2007) suggest that internal factors namely consumer characteristics, previous experience with digital marketplaces, reputation, website quality and non-government association are likely related to online trust. As for external factors, they conclude that the product or service characteristics, the distinctive markets, cultures and countries act as the driving factors to the level of trust among consumers. Also, Srivinasan (2004) concludes that brand trust is greatly affected by word of mouth, positive online shopping experience and quality of information. In Malaysia, a recent study involving studying online brand trust in online ticketing determines word of mouth, online experience, quality information and brand reputation as the factors (Alam and Yasin, 2010). 

To make digital marketplaces fairer, it is not an easy task and Rome was not built in a day. As a developing country, it is important for online businesses to be prepared with the new challenges in building consumer online brand trust. They should execute effective plans and consider numerous factors such as demographic variables based on the previous studies. These online businesses must acquire an in-depth knowledge of factors contributing to online brand trust. 

FRAUD TRANSACTION AND DELIVERY: SHOPPERS ARE WORRIED

A number of online shoppers have voiced out their fear of buying goods online due to online fraud. There are numerous reports regarding fraud occurring in our country. Online shoppers reported that they did not hear any updates from the sellers by the time they have made the payment. Other than the sellers terminating their contact numbers or websites, they would deliver items which failed to meet the requirements as advertised on the digital marketplaces, leading the customers to ultimate disappointment. 

Moreover, there is a case where a scammer manages to access a depositor’s bank account to conduct his criminal activity. The scammer who disguised himself as a loan agent, had persuaded 200 people to deposit their money into the complainant’s bank account for RM1000 scooters he advertised on FaceBook. The complainant who realized his account had been so active with money going in and out was left with charges as those depositors had pressed charges against him. Unfortunately, the person committing the crime vanished with the loan processing fee and due to the small amounts involved, the reluctance of the victims to lodge police reports had prompt these scammers to pursue their illicit trade without being traced (Mukhtar et al, 2016).

Hence, before successfully enrolling these businesses or individuals on digital marketplaces, they need to be authorized first. The details of the company or individual, company registration number, identity card, company address and bank account statement should be acquired beforehand. These documents can beneficial when it comes to performing a verification check. Even though these online scammers would provide a false information, this measure would impede them from continuing their activities due to the high level of security. 

MALAYSIAN CONSUMER’S AWARENESS ON DIGITAL MARKETPLACE ISSUES

The e-commerce which was first introduce in the mid-1990s has been recognized globally as a multi-trillion dollar industry over the last 10 years. As for the Malaysian e-commerce, it is maneuvered rapid knowledge driven economy and ICT enablement. Furthermore, 6 out of 10 Malaysians preferred to buy flight tickets online, 58% Malaysian bought movie and performance tickets online while nearly quarters of Malaysian survey respondents utilized social media to look for promotion code while shopping on digital marketplaces (Mukhtar et al., 2016; Fathil Asri, 2015; Nelson Global Survey, 2014). This clearly shows that Malaysian consumers are accepting the existence of e-commerce with open arms especially due to the development of internet and technology. 

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (2016), it has been reported that age 15 and above using the internet was at 57% in 2013 while the percentage has increased by 14.1% to 71.1% in 2015 where most of them were using their mobile devices to surf the internet. Today, consumers be it adults or teenagers are actively making use of the internet, consequently contributing to the steady growth of the e-commerce. Unfortunately, Malaysian consumers are only willing to go digital using the latest technology if and only if they are shown a real evidence or positive development from other superior foreign countries (Che Mohd. Zulkifly, 2014). Although the e-commerce industry contributed to USD984 million the Malaysian revenue, there are still issues concerned by both businesses and consumers such as security and customer safety (Krishnan et al., 2017).

The level of internet security has been one of the fears to businesses and consumers to engage with e-commerce (Niranjanamurthy and Chahar, 2013). Generally, both parties want to protect themselves from such harms namely unauthorized access, uses, alteration and destruction. E-commerce security offers three essential component data security, network security and privacy of the customers. Furthermore, many businesses are updating their security system to prevent risks, consequently contributing to the efficient digital marketplaces. On the other hand, consumers are still doubting the digital marketplace due to their perceived risks involved (Muthaiyah et al., 2011). Thus, to ensure their security and privacy are protected, it is vital for consumers to enrich their knowledge on how to safeguard their highly confidential personal information and consumer rights.

Next, customer safety remains as the common issue be it in any activities (Cagaoan et al., 2014). E-commerce or digital marketplace is operated in global network internet which is entrusting. Henceforth, because confidentiality is listed as the requirement, it is also a must to keep it away from all kinds of threats. Moreover, customer awareness on digital marketplaces’ security is increased through the deployment of the Consumer Protection Act in 2007. Plus, the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulation 2012 was introduced in 2013. These regulations that come with certain obligations to digital marketplace are implemented with aims to consumer’s confidence in making online transaction and shopping. Once these regulations are imposed, other than making the growth of the digital marketplace industry to spur, it is predicted that the people in Malaysia will be persuaded to access the e-commerce platform without hesitation.

KEEPING UP WITH THE DIGITAL MARKETS CONSUMERS

As many people are continuously demanding for better, faster and cheaper products or services, businesses must always find new ways to come up with the next best thing consumers will want. Businesses must learn to keep up with the new types of consumer needs and trends as these are proven to be contributing to the companies’ survival and success. The e-commerce prospect in Malaysia and the Asia region are predicted to be profitable in the future. 

Furthermore, the engagement of Malaysian Governments and regulatory bodies on a massive platform has provided guidelines to merchants to make use of e-commerce systematically by imposing e-commerce laws, policy and regulations. Apart from that, this action manages to provide protection for customers who are into e-commerce. As technology is always emerging, e-commerce in Malaysia is always moving forward and becoming a vital tool especially to businesses. 

Consumers and businesses should take precautions when dealing with e-commerce. This is to ensure that any malpractices such as false claim, scams and fake products can be curbed. Other than building a sense of security and awareness, the actions taken act as reminder to the consumers and business entities where they are always protected by Malaysia’s law, acts and regulations. There is no escape for them to commit any wrongdoing since their actions are being watched by the authorities.  

Should any customers encounter any unethical behavior by the other party, they should make a report without any hesitation. It is advisable for cheated consumers to lodge a report within 24 hours once the fraud activity has been identified. If both parties have agreed on a certain price offered, the online transaction should be made without a hassle and the delivery of the item should be made immediately. It is also recommended to assure the buyers that their purchases will be arriving in a good condition in a short period of time so that they will not feel distressed after performing online shopping. 

Additionally, e-commerce is mainly facilitated by technology that comes with network, hardware and applications. We need to ensure that the devices are equipped with a high level of protection to ensure information security of e-commerce. Also, the security products should be tested by other independent and trusted party to validate if they are reliable. Besides that, the Malaysian Common Criteria Scheme (MyCC) was initiated to elevate the competitiveness in quality assurance of information security through the deployment of the Common Criteria (CC) standard as well as to gain the consumer confidence in Malaysian information security product and systems. On top of that, the laboratory use for testing purposes are always on the go to conduct CC evaluation to local information security product and is now being accredited with MS ISO 17025.

MALAYSIAN DIGITAL MARKETPLACE AND ITS FUTURE

Traditional retail industries are making their ways to participate in the digital trend. This eventually has heightened the fear of market saturation to the e-commerce industry. In order stay in the game for a longer period of time, digital marketers are investing their time, money and energy on newer technologies to further improving their businesses. Furthermore, technology experts believed that with the implementation of innovative and creative technology, the e-commerce industry is predicted to be more mobile and would involve the latest virtual reality market. Online shoppers will be dealing with sellers through such medium such as augmented reality and virtual reality when making purchases over the internet (Global Retail Trends, 2017). 

Furthermore, KPMG International Cooperative (2017) mentioned that online shopping via the digital marketplaces is predicted to be available on mobile devices. Mobile-first sites, dedicated apps and various payment methods made it easier for people who are busy running their day-to-day lives to shop by using their phones. For example, global mobile sales accumulated to 34% of all e-commerce transactions worldwide and it was predicted to grow 31% in 2017 (e-Marketer, 2017). Hence, businesses are utilizing omni-channel services as they believed that the consumers are always looking for a more convenient way of shopping. 

To provide a positive customer experience, businesses are working on a communication through the usage of technologies such as bots. Businesses are seen to be doing a good job connecting their physical and digital presence in enhancing the customer experience. For customers who expect a ‘phygital’ online shopping experience, investing in innovative and latest technologies is the answer. Other than fulfilling savvy consumers demands for customized services and experience, the latest technologies offer businesses to rise to the personalization challenge.