On the first day of United Nation Conference on Trade and development weeklong event on electronic commerce, a survey was presented showing substantial trust issues. The survey conducted by Ipsos and Centre for International Governance Innovation (GIGI), in collaboration with UNCTAD and the Internet Society, found that the lack of trust on internet is keeping potential buyer’s from e-commerce.
The UNCTAD e- commerce week from 24-28 April. According to UNCTAD press release, the study shows that of those worried about privacy mainly worry about cyber criminals, internet companies and government. “The lifeblood of the Internet is trust, and when that is damaged, the consequences for the digital economy are nearly irreparable,” Fen Osler Hampson, director of CIGI’s Global Security and Politics program, said in the release.
Almost 50 percent of the survey respondents do not trust the internet, the survey found.
The survey also found substantial differences in e-commerce behavior, with some populations more inclined to pay for e-commerce purchases through their Smartphone, such as in China, India and Indonesia, contrary to countries such as France, Germany and Japan.
Some 24,225 internet users in 24 countries participated in the survey, conducted between 23 December 2016 and 21 March 2017. The 24 countries are the following: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.