Consumer perception of electronic-commerce

Consumers’ concerns about conducting electronic business transactions and the risks involved have a vital impact on the transition of electronic business. This paper deals mainly with consumers’ willingness to conduct Electronic-commerce and their knowledge of the security measures used in online transactions. In an inferential survey Human Resource (HR) and Information Technology (IT) consumers’ perceptions of buying products and services and giving credit card information over the Internet were compared. The results allow one to conclude that consumers generally do not trust the security of Electronic-commerce. It was also found that IT respondents have a better knowledge of security measures used during online transactions than HR respondents, but are still not significantly more willing to conduct Electronic-commerce. The conclusion drawn that it is not so much the lack of knowledge of security measures that has an impact on consumers’ perceptions, but rather the issue of trust that needs to be addressed.