A third of UK consumers too scared to shop online

ID fraud is hampering e-commerce growth

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said today that 30 per cent of web users avoid shopping online due to a lack of trust of businesses and concerns over ID fraud.

Such confidence issues could hamper the development of online markets, said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.

"Online retailing is the future for many businesses. If consumers are not confident, demand will grow at a slower rate, so we must tackle these concerns,” he said.

Despite the concerns, UK consumers are still more willing to shop online than their European neighbours, according to the OFT report. Some 54 per cent of people who shop online feel that using the channel is as safe as shopping in a store, compared with 26 per cent reported in 2006.

"It's encouraging that the OFT's survey shows increasing consumer confidence when buying online – but people still have concerns,” said Gareth Thomas, minister for consumer affairs.

"That's why we will be setting out proposals in our forthcoming consumer white paper to better protect people from fraudsters and increase their consumer knowledge when shopping online," he said.

Nearly three quarters of UK consumers believe that the recession has increased the risk of identity theft and related crimes, according to a recent Unisys report.

Consumer fears are fuelled by the soaring level of debit and credit card fraud taking place online, which rose by 14 per cent to £609m last year, according to payments association Apacs.

The news of insecurity over online shopping follows similar concerns voiced by consumers polled by trade body IMRG – according to the research, satisfaction levels with web customer service is “significantly lower” than it was six months ago.