More than three-fourths of online shoppers in four Asian countries are dissatisfied with their online purchases upon receiving them, says a survey by the Tokyo-based Rakuten Inc.
The Rakuten Smart Shopping Survey said 78% of 2,000 online shoppers in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan in the past 12 months were unhappy with the end result, showing the need for better product quality and greater details.
Rakuten is Japan's biggest e-commerce company and the owner of the Thai marketplace Rakuten Tarad.com.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, the founder and managing director of Rakuten Tarad.com, said the survey reflects the need for online merchants to enhance customer satisfaction quickly.
Strategies such as a two-week product return policy could help, he said.
The Electronic Transactions Development Agency plans to set up an online consumer protection centre to increase confidence in online purchases.
The survey also found one-third of consumers never or rarely interact with merchants during e-shopping, preferring instead to research products first and decide later whether to buy them.
In Thailand, seller reliability was cited as the main issue in failing to complete online purchases.
The top four criteria specified were quality products, detailed photos, clear prices and good return policies.
A good e-commerce site is seen as ensuring the integrity of each order and using advanced encryption and firewall technology to safeguard transactions.
Mr Pawoot said Rakuten expects the country's economic slowdown to boost online commerce as shoppers hunt for bargains.
Rakuten's sales transactions rose by 40% year-on-year last month.
Transactions via mobile accounted for 24% of the total thanks to growing use of wireless broadband.
According to the MasterCard Online Shopping Survey 2013, about half of 7,011 respondents in Asia-Pacific have used a smartphone to make online purchases.