DOHA: Qataris are hesitant to shop online even though some products are available at prices lower than in the local market, according to a survey conducted by a local Arabic daily. The survey found that people fear that the Internet is not a secure place for shopping and they may fall victim to online fraud.
Globally, the popularity of online shopping is increasing because of the convenience in buying and payment, due to which customers are increasingly buying products ranging from books and mobile phones to gifts online.
A number of Qataris who have shopped online complained of delivery of goods taking months and some had not at all received the items they had bought.
Some others said that using credit cards for online shopping was not safe and they were not comfortable about buying goods without examining them first.
“Buying goods like car spare parts or electronics online is very cheap but the problem is those goods are not up to the standards,” said Abdullah Abdul Rahman Fakhru, a Qatari national.
“I have many friends who bought things online and were not happy as the goods they bought had either some damage or they did not meet the specified standards,” he said.
He added that even though goods online were up to 70 percent cheaper than in the local market, he would still buy goods from the market as he would be able to physically examine them and check the quality of products before paying for them.
He also urged the authorities to control prices, which, he said, should be close to or the same as those in neighbouring countries. “I tried to buy some spare parts for a car at a cost of QR20,000 while the same spare parts cost QR12,000 in neighbouring GCC countries,” he said.
Mohammed Nabeel, another Qatari national, said he would rather buy spare parts from local dealers than buy them online as buying on the Internet was dangerous. “I know people who paid a small price on the Internet for some spare parts and they never received the parts, whereas I buy at higher prices from the local dealers and I always go home with my spare parts,” he said.
He said there was a lot of insecurity about buying goods online as it required one to reveal credit card details to a system that was not trusted and the system could easily be hacked.
Hussein Mohammed Al Qahtani, another Qatari, said that rising prices in Doha were a major reason for people considering buying things online, but the security risks involved in online shopping were a major hurdle to it becoming popular.
He said there were risks like buying goods from sites set up by scammers who can collect shoppers’ credit card details, or forgetting to sign out and leaving all one’s credit card details open.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has advice on its website for those who wish to shop online. It urges people to ensure that the website is secure and reputable, use prepaid cards and keep the bills after every purchase.
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