‘India’s e-commerce growth propelled due to Covid might come at the cost of more online frauds’

The Covid-19 pandemic has led the world into an unforeseen health and economic crisis, altering lifestyles, preferences and habits of consumers and also the way organisations will operate. Consumers now more than ever would prefer shopping in a manner that is convenient, safe and hygienic and the e-commerce space meets these requirements. As the e-commerce space continues to grow globally, it is also solidifying its foothold in the Indian marketplace. Today lockdown restrictions have driven technology-averse consumers towards using technology for delivery of food and online shopping of essential products. It is likely that this will result in more consumers transitioning to online shopping for essential and non-essential products in the long run due to convenience, ease of use, benefits of hygiene and change of habits. This in a way could further propel the growth in the e-commerce space.

The rapid growth of the e-commerce sector has also inadvertently led to a rise in frauds. The number of online shopping frauds registered with the National Consumer Helpline has jumped nearly six times from 977 cases in FY17 to 5,620 cases in FY20 till November 2019, taking the total count of cases since FY17 to 13,993.