THE year-end and festival sales are around the corner – namely, double-digit sales 11.11 and 12.12, Christmas and New Year sales.
During this period, many brands and online stores hold massive deals for Malaysians to take advantage of. With the rising trend of online shopping, especially with its discounts, e-commerce platforms are more attractive to shoppers.
Besides the obvious convenience, Malaysian shoppers are also motivated by the quality, range and availability of products.
Not to mention the price advantages, and the assurance through customer reviews when they shop online, as shown in a recent survey conducted by Ninja Van Group and DPDGroup. Exclusive deals, free shipping, and limited offers by online stores also play a big role in enticing shoppers.
As of last year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported a 23.1% year-on-year growth in e-commerce in the first nine months of 2021. The market is expected to reach US$12.6 billion by 2024, increasing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.3% between 2020 and 2024.
But, it is important to be careful when shopping online. With rampant cyber crimes like identity theft and issues related to deliveries such as wrong orders, delayed shipping, as well as cash-on-delivery (COD) scams, make the effort to be well-informed.
Here are five tips for a better and safer online shopping experience:
1. Shop smart, do some “homework”
Before making a purchase, do some research on the items you’d like to buy, and the platform/seller you are buying from. This is especially so if you’re buying something super expensive.
Do price comparisons, and read customers’ reviews of the product and platform/seller’s shipping policy to check if the platform or seller is legit before proceeding. A good tip is to always buy from official or authorised stores.
A credible online store must be encrypted with a secured connection. To see whether a website is safe to visit, you can check for security info about the site. Some browsers will alert you if you can’t visit the site safely or privately. Here’s an example of how to check a site’s security if you are on Chrome:
- Open a website, then look at the left side of the web address.
- Identify the security status based on the following symbol/sign (may vary depending on the browser):
? Lock = Secure;
ℹ️ Info symbol = Not secure;
⚠️ Warning sign = Not secure or dangerous, DO NOT proceed.
To see the site's details and permissions, select the icon. You'll see a summary of how private Chrome suspects the connection is.
2. Plan ahead
- During festive seasons, you may face some delays in your delivery. Here are a few things you can do to avoid further delays in receiving your items. :
- Ensure that there will be someone to receive the packages during the scheduled delivery time. If there is no one to receive it, make sure there’s a safe spot for our riders and drivers to drop off your item(s). Alternatively, inform and update your status the soonest to reschedule the delivery. This will help in reducing the travel time of your courier.
- You can also arrange for your package to be personally picked up at a location near you. Many delivery services offer a wide range of self-pick-up locations across Malaysia.
3. Avoid scams
Of course, this is easier said than done and unfortunately, delivery scams are not uncommon in Malaysia. With increasing delivery volumes, this can sometimes be a challenging task to manage accordingly. COD scams are one of the recent and most commonly faced problems within the industry at the moment.
According to the Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) commercial crimes investigation department (CCID), a total of 71,833 scams, with over RM5.2 billion in losses, was reported in the past two years. Of the total amount of scams, 48,850 (68%) were online scams.
Amongst these online scams, Ninja Van Malaysia has found a rising trend in COD scams. One tactic is where scammers lure customers to pay in cash for parcels that either they did not buy or did not match their expected purchases. With the e-commerce surge, this scam is becoming more prevalent.
Avoid such scams by ensuring these steps:
- Do background research: check the reliability of the sites or sellers (especially overseas ones).
- Only buy from reputable sites and sellers (see customer reviews).
- Stay alert, and stay updated with scammers’ latest tactics (since they tend to get creative by the day).
- Whenever you can, opt for cashless payment.
- If the price is too good to be true, then it probably is.
- If you made a COD arrangement, ensure that the person who will be receiving knows so that they are aware (especially if you’re not the one receiving it).
- If the parcel arriving has already been paid for, make sure to notify the person receiving it.
- Feel free to reject your parcel if you sense something is off.
- Protect your privacy and avoid giving out personal information.
If COD scams are such a hassle, why can’t sellers and logistics just remove them entirely as an option? Well, it’s not that easy. For sellers, it remains an option to reach their brand to a pool of customers that do not have access to credit cards and prefer to pay when their parcel arrives at the door.
Learn more about COD scams and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones here.
4. Be extra careful of how you dispose of your packages
The packaging of your parcel contains personal information like your name, address, and telephone number. These are all private information that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Once you have unpacked your parcel, dispose of it safely and discreetly. Remove any visible personal information (it can be as easy as using a pen to cross out the information).
If you are a seller, we recommend using a secure delivery option like Ninja Packs. All orders and essential information are keyed online, allowing no room for scammers to get your customers’ data for their gain. Through a generated QR code on the packs, the delivery service can access the required information for sorting and delivery.
5. When in doubt, get in touch
Whatever issues you are concerned about, contact the seller or delivery service. Customer service experts can help customers enjoy a hassle-free delivery experience.
Be sure to practice these tips for your next online shopping spree and enjoy the best experience. Do not be disheartened by one bad experience – continue to always stay alert and keep in mind these commonly faced issues. Happy shopping. – The Vibes, November 1, 2022
