Title:
ONLINE BUSINESS PRACTICES TO ENABLE CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT

Authors:
Laura Best, Miemie Struwig, South Africa

Abstract:

This paper explores African online business practices that enable consumer protection. The intention is to identify possible fraudulent, deceptive and unfair conduct. As e-commerce continues to grow, businesses are using a variety of practices to attract and secure potential consumers. For many businesses, online transactions bring greater efficiency, increased responsiveness and reduced costs. In addition, consumers gain from wider choices, increased availability of specialised products, greater comprehensive product information, lower costs and more responsive services. However, it is important for online businesses to ensure ethical business conduct, which guarantees consumer protection. Thirteen theoretical online business practices were identified and applied to reported data of 235 online websites. These practices related mainly to disclosure of terms and conditions and problematic areas of conduct were identified. Any business and consumer should be empowered to make informed choices when transacting online and participating in e-commerce. The results show that even though consumer protection is afforded to online consumers, this is not necessarily as comprehensive as it could or should be.