"Trust in E-commerce"
Trust is a charged of duty imposed in faith or confidence as one of the aspect in a relationship. It is a credit held to an individual to the person he/she in trusted about something. It is one of the ingredients to stay a relationship strong and without any doubt to someone he/she given some trust.
In terms about e-commerce online between the seller and the buyer, Trust is a major challenge to the consumer acceptance of e-commerce: the lack of trust is an important reason for the hesitant growth in e-commerce and for the reluctance of consumers to engage in online buying transactions. Communicating trustworthiness is therefore a major challenge company’s encounter (Consume Trust in E-Commerce, Zum Inhalt, 2007).
Trust is a concept everybody understands at some personal level, but most people will have trouble enunciating a specific definition of the concept. Some people will have strict measures they use to evaluate their level of trust in a person or company, while others rely on a more subjective "feel" for determining whether to trust somebody.
Just as every person has his or her own way of deciding issues of trust, every role a person plays will also have its own understanding of trust based on the specific goals and priorities of that role. Empathy is great for times that call for compassion and care, but in matters of trust it can be hard to see things from another's point of view. When you walk into a store that you have patronized for years, you have a level or trust about handing over your money in exchange for goods; the merchant may approach this transaction with an entirely different level of anxiety about your ability to pay -- maybe a new employee is ringing you up -- or your ownership of the credit card you proffer. Trust means different things to different people, to different roles, and in different scenarios (Derek Sisson,2000).
(Derek Sisson,2000)gives the cues a user may look for while evaluating trustworthiness in a commerce site:
(1) Is the site professional?
Have the designers taken care to create a coherent interface, or is the site the apparent product of somebody learning how to code HTML? Does the site have typos, grammatical errors, useless animation, or any of a slew of other problems that indicate that the designers or implementers don't know what they are doing? If they can't design a good site, why expect them to be able to handle commerce transactions and fulfillment? Personally, I won't deal with any site that uses the Comic Sans font face because it shouts "built by an amateur" to me.
(2) Does the information architecture make sense?
If the organization of information doesn't appear to have been carefully designed, why expect the site designers to have thought much about fulfillment and payment systems?
(3) Is the site easy to navigate?
Can I find the product I want to buy? Is it easy for me to browser the site looking for interesting things I might want to buy? If the designers can't make the site easy enough to navigate around, why would I trust them to have made a backend that works?
(4) Is the site easy to use?
Can I access and use the site and its offered functionality? Can I search, browse, and purchase from the site? If I can't, because of my browser and preferred browser configuration, then the site designers are telling me that they don't want my business.
(5) Are my questions answered?
If I'm concerned about security or privacy, can I find information that addresses these concerns without having to email a faceless answer-bot? If the designers didn't think about my possible needs before I made my purchase, why expect them to handle my needs after they have my money?
(6) Do other people trust this site?
What's the word about this site? Have customers received their orders correctly?
(7) Am I familiar with this company?
Have I had good experiences with this company before, on or off the web?
Are the prices reasonable?
Is the price realistic or just too cheap? Will they hit me with an outrageous shipping charge to balance the low price?
Trust is based on experience over time; it can either strengthen or weaken. The process of trust begins when one perceives indications that an online company maybe trustworthy. These indications are known as "forms"(Cheskin, 1999). Manners, professionalism, and sensitivity are examples of these indications. Once the forms representing trustworthiness are strengthened over time, they are transformed into "character traits". These traits include dependability, honesty, and reliability. Once an online company possesses the "character", one will be more likely to purchase items from them. The experience over time is very important in a commercial relationship(Cheskin, 1999).
It really has a big difference between e-commerce transactions online than e-commerce transactions in the traditional way. Transaction online has a lot of risk, because it is lack of physical interaction between the producer and the consumer. The buyer may not physically seen the product he/she is trying to buy, he/she did not know it the company will follow the stated laws and regulation given, is their product will be delivered to them as it is expected. There are a lot questions that maybe running into a buyers mind. While in the traditional way they can talk and communicate with the producer personally, they can observe the product and test it the things they want to buy if its good, it works properly, or they can have it without any hesitation.
In satisfying people in the issue of internet security and privacy trust must be first addressed. Building trust is the most important step in e-commerce. And there are six types of forms for e-commerce trust given by Fred Lee, Trust and E-Commerce. The first one is seals of approval. Symbols of security, such as MasterCard, reassure that proper security measures have been put into place. Second, the brand. The credibility of the online company based on reputation, the promise to deliver certain criteria and a person’s previous experience dealing with the company. Third, its navigation. The ease of finding what you want. Fourth, fulfillment, clear explanations of how orders are processed and what to do if there are any problems. Fifth, presentation, the design of the site must present professionalism and quality. And lastly, sixth, the technology. The site uses new technology to indicate professionalism.
And the three of those forms are the key to e-commerce trust. Navigation, the ease of finding information, is the key form needed for e-commerce trust. A well-known brand and fulfillment are the other two forms involved in e-commerce trust. Navigation must be associated with one or both of the other forms in order for an online business to be consider trustworthy. Strong navigation increases a user’s perception that a web site will meet a user’s needs. For online businesses with lesser-known or newer brands, navigation and fulfillment are key to gaining e-commerce trust. These businesses must have sites with strong navigation and strong fulfillment in order to compete with the well-known brands. As navigation and fulfillment improve, so does e-commerce trust. Also, the most trusted companies were the companies that were well-known and most familiar. The least trusted companies were companies that were lesser-known(Cheskin, 1999). For example, Borders and Amazon.com were the most trustworthy bookseller sites over Barnes and Noble and Books.com. Another example involves video sites: more people would trust Blockbuster Video over Reel.com. Overall, the companies that have "real-world" stores tend to be more trusted than web-based companies. However, some web-based companies, such as Amazon.com, are gaining more appeal than "real-world" stores. Consequently, well-known web-based companies possess the power to operate in the real world (Cheskin, 1999).However, users are more familiar with security techniques, such as "cookies" and "encryption", than the specific security company. These security companies may gain more credibility if they were to associate themselves more with security techniques, such as motto or logo design. And with trust the most considerable thing so that companies can be trusted by their customers are the following: one, a clearly stated return policy, relates to fulfillment. Second, stated and authenticated policies of security and encryption, relates to seals of approval. Third, Ability to withdraw from a transaction, relates to fulfillment. And lastly, the fourth one, Efficient and easy navigation (Trust and E-commerce, Fred Lee).
(Consumer Trust In E-Commerce Web Sites Alarmingly Low, Consumer Reports WebWatch Research Find,2002)"As consumers settle into the realities of a world where the Internet has changed many aspects of how they live their lives, they are starting to question more and more how much they should trust Web content," said Beau Brendler, director of Consumer Reports WebWatch. "Using the Web should not be a game of 20 questions. Consumer Reports WebWatch will encourage sites to be more transparent about the financial interests behind the content they publish, and provide tools to help consumers feel more confident about using the Web."
In concert with those findings, Consumer Reports WebWatch will promote a core set of guidelines for Web sites to help improve the credibility of online information. The guidelines come from this survey research, and as a result of extensive review by Consumer Reports WebWatch's diverse advisory board.
The guidelines and research findings can be accessed at the project's Web site, www.consumerwebwatch.org, which launched officially today.
Consumer Reports WebWatch believes Web sites will promote Web credibility if they adopt these basic policies:
1. Identity. Web sites should clearly disclose the physical location where they are produced, including an address, a telephone number or e-mail address. Sites should clearly disclose their ownership, private or public, naming their parent company. Sites should clearly disclose their purpose and mission.
2. Advertising and Sponsorships. Sites should clearly distinguish advertising from news and information, using labels or other visual means. This includes "in-house" advertising or cross-corporate ad sponsorships. Search engines, shopping tools and portals should clearly disclose paid result-placement advertising, so consumers may distinguish between objective search results and paid ads. Sites should clearly disclose relevant business relationships, including sponsored links to other sites. For example: A site that directs a reader to another site to buy a book should clearly disclose any financial relationship between the two sites. Sites should identify sponsors. The site's sponsorship policies should be clearly noted in accompanying text or on an "About Us" or "Site Center" page.
3. Customer Service. Sites engaged in consumer transactions should clearly disclose relevant financial relationships with other sites, particularly when these relationships affect the cost to a consumer. Sites should clearly disclose all fees charged, including service, transaction and handling fees, and shipping costs. This information should be disclosed before the ordering process begins. Sites should clearly state and enforce policies for returning unwanted items or canceling transactions or reservations.
4. Corrections. Sites should diligently seek to correct false, misleading or incorrect information. Sites should prominently display a page or section of the site where incorrect information is corrected or clarified. Sites should strive to mark content with its published date when failing to do so could mislead consumers. Sites should clearly state their policy on a consumer's rights if a purchase is made based on incorrect information on the site.
5. Privacy. Site privacy policies should be easy to find and clearly, simply stated. Sites should clearly disclose how personal data from site visitors and customers will be used. Personal data includes name, address, phone number and credit card number. Sites should disclose whether they use browser-tracking mechanisms such as "cookies," and other technologies such as Web beacons, bugs and robots. Sites should explain how data collected from them will be used. Sites should notify customers of changes to privacy policies and provide an easy opt-out alternative.
Trust must be acquired from both consumer and producer. Not just by producer alone, or not just by consumer alone. Both should build such factor in their own ways on how to deal with it. even though its so hard to gained sometimes but each individual must be patient in doing such to reach the things they want.
REFERENCES:
http://www.verlagdrkovac.de/3-8300-3014-2.htm
http://www.philosophe.com/commerce/trust.html
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/press-release-trust-in-ecom.cfm
http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/soc/courses/soc4jj3_99/stuweb/gp6/g6-E-commerce%20and%20trust.html
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/press-release-trust-in-ecom.cf
