Challenges of online shopping and consumer protection

The Indians are buying online never before and the trend seems to be catching on. The online retail market in India which has been valued at around $3.5 billion (Rs 21, 000 crores) is expected to witness over 7-fold growth by 2019. E-commerce is sweeping the world today, and our country is no exception. The greatest benefit of e-commerce is the time saved, and the fact that the consumer is able to complete his transaction with a single click of the mouse. Product information is more extensive and price/product comparisons are also possible, enabling consumers to make informed choices. Despite all the advantages online shopping is always vulnerable to substandard products, false deliveries and other frauds. Attractive sales, influencing and misleading advertisements and social media posts, attract thousands of buyers every day. There are countless cases of online fraud reported in India, where the online buyers are being fooled by the online sellers. This has made it necessary to offer some kind of security and protection to the online buyers.