Which e-commerce industry got the highest number of complaints from customers?

The electronics and electrical industry received 653 total complaints.

The number of complaints involving online purchases grew to 1,703 in the first half of 2023, 54% higher than complaints logged in the same period last year, a study from the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) reported.

CASE said some 7% of these complaints related to delivery issues and another 12% related to goods that were defective or did not conform to contract.

Of the complaints received in H1 2023, 172 of them are purchases of electrical and electronic products and this was a 67% increase from 103 complaints in H1 2022. 

In separate data, CASE said it received 7,316 complaints in H1 2023, a decrease of 8% compared with 7,960 complaints received in H1 2022.

The top five industries with the highest count of complaints from online shoppers are electrical and electronics (653), renovation contractors (631), motorcars (629), and beauty and furniture (594). 

Consumers reported $302,205 in prepayment losses in H1 2023, a 4% rise from the reported losses of $289,842 in the same period in 2022. 

The beauty, renovation contractor, education and gym industries accounted for $223,495 in prepayment losses, which was close to 74% of total losses reported to CASE in H1 2023.

Amidst a general decline in complaints, complaints against the airlines industry increased by 39% from 181 complaints in H1 2022 to 251 complaints in H1 2023.

CASE President Melvin Yong said the rise in complaints is due to the increasing popularity of online shopping. He said this is a cause of concern, adding that they will create ways to provide safer shopping experiences.

“CASE will be launching a new CaseTrust accreditation scheme for e-businesses in the coming months. The scheme will cover the entire range of e-commerce practices from pre-sale to post-sales and addresses common consumer pain points when they shop online,” said Yong.