Online retailers urged to improve security
Balance required between regulation and good business
Regulations are needed to control how big data about customers is gathered and used in the digital age to protect consumer rights, according to a session on e-commerce on Monday.
Online retailers should be required to protect customers’ personal data through security encryption, stating their privacy policy clearly and giving customers a choice on whether they want their data collected or not, Terry Jones, chairman of travel search website kayak.com and founder and former chief executive of Travelocity.com, told Gulf News.
“There has to be a balance between regulation and good business,” he said prior to a session titled ‘E-commerce Revolution: How to protect the rights of consumers purchasing through the internet.’ “If you collect data, you have to use it wisely or they won’t come back. If you spam them, they won’t come back,”
Only about 4 to 5 per cent of people who arrive on a website’s homepage will actually make a purchase, he said. “Once you catch the fish, you got to hold on and put them in the pail because they are hard to get.”
Asked if there was a higher chance of data misuse online than in physical stores, he said: “It’s not worse online but people perceive it is — it’s because you can’t see the person.”
In the world of the internet, where the balance of power has shifted to the buyer, retailers have to build successful relationships with their customers online and earn their trust, Jones said.
“You can’t just demand their money, you have to think about the process,” he said.
Online retailers need to know customers as individuals, their preferences, habits and information to target the right offers and emails at the right time, he added.
