Web 'Emcees' Wanted

Websites Need to Give Consumers More Info

Although domestic and foreign Websites that sell goods over the Internet are legally secure, most need to improve both the level of services they offer and the quality of information that they provide to consumers, according to a soon to be released study.

In an effort to gauge the ease and safety of e-commerce in the United States and abroad, Consumers International commissioned a study wherein researchers in 11 countries attempted to purchase, inspect, and ultimately return certain items from Internet retailers. Items purchased by researchers included champagne, blue jeans, computer memory and other low ticket items.

The good news of the study was that none of the researchers credit card numbers were compromised over the course of their research, and that a vast majority of the researchers eventually received the goods they ordered online. The bad news was that many sites provided inadequate or unclear information on their procedures for such things as security, dispute resolution, and returns, and the speed with which orders were processed and goods were sent varied widely.

"The first step is providing general information to consumers to gauge the quality of the sites" from which they are purchasing goods, study researcher Robert Mayer said, a professor at the University of Utah. He presented preliminary findings of the study - which is due to out at the end of June - earlier today the conference on consumer protection in the global electronic marketplace put on by the Federal Trade Commission.

The study also found:

	Many sites did not provide clear information about delivery charges.
	A minority of sites (less than 20 percent) disclosed what laws would apply in the event of a dispute.
	Only 13 percent of the sites promised that they would not sell customers' personal information to a third party.
	Only 53 percent of the sites surveyed had policies for returning goods and only 32 percent provided provided information on how to register complaints.
	While 65 percent of the sites provided order conformation, only 13 percent confirmed that orders had been sent.
	US sites provided somewhat better information and services than did sites in other countries.

But despite the problems described in the report, Mayer contends that Consumers International and other consumer advocates are not attempting to quash the growth of e-commerce. "Consumers have more at stake in the success of e-commerce than any individual firm does," Mayer said.