APPENDIX I

Questionnaire to Consumers on Information and

Awareness in Online Shopping

1. Name
2. State

3. City/Town/Village

4. Gender
Mark only one oval.
Male
Female

5. Age Group
Mark only one oval.

Below 20 years
21•40
41•60

60 years and above

6. Education
Mark only one oval.

Class X
Class XII
Under•graduate
Post•graduate
Advanced degree
Other:

7. Computing Skills
Mark only one
oval. None
Basic
Professional

1
Advanced user

2
8. Occupation
Mark only one oval.

Professional

Managerial/Official

Business

Student
Homemaker

Retired
Other:

9. Do you make any purchase through online shopping?

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

10. If No, Why? (If No, your survey ends here)

Mark only one oval.
Online portals do not sell products in the location that I reside
Do not trust the privacy and confidentiality of websites
Cannot touch and feel the product
Physical purchase of goods and service is convenient
The process of online shopping is confusing
Other:

11. If Yes, What type/s of product/s do you purchase through online shopping? (Please
feel free to tick more than one item)
Tick all that apply.

Electronic goods
Software products/Computer hardware
Music, CDs and recording
Travel
Food/food products
Clothing & Apparels
Home furnishing/Decor
Ticket booking
Careers/job
Gifts (Flowers, Chocolates etc.)
Baby products

Other:

12. Why do you choose to purchase the product through the online shopping portal?
(Please feel free to tick more than one item)
Tick all that apply.

Online shopping is a novel, fun way to shop

Shopping in stores is a hassle
Did not find the product in local stores
Better prices and promotions than local stores
Good website review and recommendation
Other:

13. Overall, how was your experience with the online shopping portal?
Mark only one oval.

Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory

14. What was the reason for your satisfaction? (Please feel free to tick more than one
reason)
Tick all that apply.

Website provided exactly the product I was looking for

Product /service delivered on time
Product ordered in compliance with description
Adequate information was provided explicitly at every stage of purchase
Had no difficulty tracking my order
Customer care responded well to all my queries

Other:

15. What was the reason for your dissatisfaction? (Please feel free to tick more than one
reason)
Tick all that apply.
Merchandise never received
Merchandise not in conformity with order
Defective product delivered
Late delivery
Unavailability of aftersales service
Warranty/guarantee was not honoured
Cancellation Issue
Return Issue
Refund Issue

Other:

16. Did the website/online shopping provide you with details about customer care
service?
Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

Don't know

17. Did you contact the customer care service of the website/online shopping portal for
redressing your grievance?
Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

18. Did the customer care service of the website respond to your complaint/problem?
Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

19. If yes, were you satisfied with the customer care service that was provided to you?
Mark only one oval.

Extremely satisfied
Very satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Slightly satisfied
Not at all satisfied
20. If not satisfied, what further course of action did you take to settle your
complaint/problem?
Mark only one oval.

Did not take further action

Posted my grievance on consumer complaint blog/website

Resorted to arbitration/mediation as provided in contractual terms

Approached consumer forum
Pursued other legal action
Other:

21. What was the duration of your complaint settlement?

Mark only one oval.
Less than a week 15 days –1 Month

1 month – 6months

Six months•1 year

More than a year

Never resolved

22. Are you aware of your rights as a consumer?

Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

23. Have you participated/seen programmes that create awareness on online shopping?
Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

24. Do you feel there is a need to enhance awareness among consumers on

online shopping?
Mark only one oval.

Yes
No
 25. Are you aware of Consumer Courts for redressal of consumer grievance?
Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

26. Do you feel that an online mechanism of redressal of grievance, such as mediation
can help resolve consumer complaints in a quicker and cost-effective manner?
Mark only one oval.

Yes

No

Rate your opinion on the IMPORTANCE of information under the following

categories based on your shopping experience on a five point scale. The indicators of
the five point scale are as follows:

1• Not at all important 2 • Slightly Important 3 • Moderately Important 4 • Important

5•Extremely Important

27 A: Contact Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
A1 Details of geographical address of the online
business entity
A2 Details of company registration, VAT No.,
Service tax number etc. to be provided on the
website of the shopping portal
A3 Merchant/manufacturer's name and contact
details to be provided on the website
A4 Customer service helpline information to be
provided on the home page of the portal
A5 Customer service email address to be
provided on the home page of the portal
A6 Shipment details to be provided by website

28 B: Pricing Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
B1 Pricing details to be clear and explicit on
inclusion of all taxes
B2 Delivery costs to be explicit in the pricing
description
B3 Period for which the offer or the price
remains valid is clearly mentioned
B4 Period for which promotions/discounts are
 valid is clearly mentioned
B5 Choice of Modes of Payment is clearly
mentioned along with product description

29 C: Availability Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
C1 Area pincode of customer for the purpose of
delivery of product should be verified before
proceeding with considering order
C2 Quantity of products available at the time of
order to be explicit
C3 Duration of availability of product to be
explicit
C4 Duration of warranty/guarantee of
product/service to be mentioned along with
description
C5 Availability of after sale services should be
clearly mentioned
C6 In case of non-availability of product/service,
arrangement for substitute goods or services
of equivalent quality and price should
be explicitly mentioned

30 D: Cancellation Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
D1 Cancellation procedure should be easy and
hassle free
D2 Cancellation procedure must be explained
clearly in the website's policy
D3 Person to whom notice of cancellation should
be given is to be clearly mentioned
D4 Information on circumstances where order
cannot be cancelled should be clear and
explicit
D5 Time period for cancellation from the date of
order should be explicit

31 E: Return Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
E1 Return policy should be explicit and easy to
understand
E2 Address to which product is to be returned
should be explicit
E3 Return policy to clearly mention who shall
bear the cost of return of product
E4 Return policy to be explicit on the time within
which reverse pick/return shall be made
33 F: Return/Replacement Details 1 2 3 4 5
(Mark one rating per row)
F1 Refund policy to be explicit and easy to
understand
F2 Time period within which refund shall be
made is to be explicitly mentioned
F3 Return policy should clearly mention the
account into which refund shall be credited
F4 Information about existence of website credit
account/ewallet account in case of refund, if
any, is made known to the consumer

33. Please feel free to add your personal opinion/experience.

I heartily appreciate your time

THANK YOU!
 APPENDIX II

QUESTIONNAIRE TO CONSUMER NGOs/VCOs ON CONSUMER

INFORMATION AND EDUCATION IN ONLINE SHOPPING

Dear Sir/Madam,

Good Day,

I am Pratima Narayan, pursuing a doctoral research at National Law School of India

University, Bengaluru. I have undertaken a comprehensive study titled “A Critical Study
of Consumer Protection in Online Shopping in India”. As we have known, India has been
witnessing a phenomenal growth in electronic commerce, especially online shopping. It has
no doubt, been a very convenient mode for the purchaser to choose from a wide range of
products, compare prices and have the best deals at the click of a button. At the same time,
the virtual and unanimous nature of the platform has also resulted in consumers complaining
about some unpleasant experiences in the recent times.
The objective of the study is to identify gaps in the consumer protection laws, which tend to
impede consumers’ right to information, consumer education and dispute resolution in online
shopping and thereby suggest means to strengthen consumer rights through State endeavour.
I am currently collecting data for my Ph.D thesis in this regard.

Please find below the questionnaire relating to my subject. I consider your cooperation in this
undertaking to be very valuable. I am hoping that you could spare me some of your valuable
time to complete this survey form. Be assured that all information appearing herein will be
kept strictly confidential and be used for academic purpose only. As much as possible, please
do not leave any item unanswered.

Thank you

Yours sincerely

Pratima Narayan

Research Scholar

National Law School of India University

Bengaluru

1
1. Name:

2. Name of the Consumer Association:

3. Location:

4. Designation:

5. Year of incorporation:

6. For how long are you associated with the Consumer Association:

PART I

7. Has/have any consumer grievance relating to online shopping come up before this
Consumer Association during your tenure?

Yes/No

8. If yes, what was/were the type of goods/services the consumer had purchased?

a. Electronic goods f. Mobile and other recharge facilities

b. Home Appliances g. Toys

c. Online travel booking h. Education

d. Booking tickets i. Food and Food Products

e. Clothing and Apparel j. Drugs and Medicines

k. Others, please specify:

9. What was/were the reason/s for which the complainant had approached the organisation?

a. Merchandise never received f. Warranty/guarantee was not honoured

b. Merchandise not in conformity with order g. Cancellation Issue
c. Defective product delivered h. Return Issue
d. Late delivery i. Refund Issue
e. Unavailability of after-sale service
j. Any other, please specify:

10. Did the Consumer Association/Organisation encounter any difficulty in redressing

consumer grievance with the online shopping portal?

Yes/No
11. If yes, what was the nature of difficulty?

a. Geographical address of the Opposite Party not available on the website or elsewhere.

b. Customer service of online shopping portal did not respond despite several calls

c. No response to mails

d. Promised to resolve consumer complaint but failed

e. Grievance Officer did not co-operate in resolving the dispute

f. Any others, please specify:

12. Are you aware of the new Mediation mechanism proposed under the Consumer
(Amendment) Bill, 2014?

Yes/No

13. Do you agree that mediation will be an effective tool to grievance Redressal in
consumer disputes relating to online shopping?

a. Agree Strongly b. Agree Moderately c. Agree Slightly d. Disagree

Slightly e. Disagree Moderately f. Disagree Strongly

PART II

14. Do you think the present measures taken on consumer education in online shopping are
sufficient?

a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Undecided d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree

15. Briefly share the initiatives undertaken by your organisation, if any, in bringing
awareness and education among consumers on online shopping.

16. Do you have any suggestions on further steps that can be adopted in enhancing consumer
awareness in the context of e-commerce?
PART III

Based on your experiences with consumer grievance settlements in online shopping, do you
agree that there is a need for statutory regulation on uniform disclosure standards to be
complied by online shopping business under the following categories? Please rate your
opinion on the five point scale given below:

1- Strongly agree 2 - Agree 3 - Undecided 4 - Disagree 5 - Strongly

disagree

17. CONTACT DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Geographical address of the online business entity
Company registration, VAT No., Service tax
number etc.
Customer service helpline information to be
provide on the home page
Merchant/manufacturer's name and contact details
Customer service email address on the home page
Shipment details
Any other/s, please specify:

18. PRICING DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Pricing details to be clear and explicit on
inclusion of all taxes
Delivery costs to be explicit in the pricing
description
Period for which the offer or the price remains
valid is clearly mentioned
Period for which promotions/discounts are
valid is clearly mentioned
Choice of Modes of Payment is clearly
mentioned along with product description

Any other/s, please specify:

19. AVAILABILITY DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Area pin code of customer for the purpose of
delivery of product should be verified before
proceeding with considering order
Countries in which the website extends its
services
Quantity of products available at the time of
order to be explicit
Duration of availability of product to be
explicit
Duration of warranty/guarantee of
product/service to be mentioned along with
description
Availability of after-sale services, if any
In case of non-availability of product/service,
arrangement for substitute goods or services of
equivalent quality and price
Any other/s, please specify:

20. CANCELLATION DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Cancellation procedure must be explained
clearly in the website's policy
To provide information about the person to
whom notice of cancellation should be given is
to be clearly mentioned
Information on circumstances where order
cannot be cancelled should be clear and explicit
Time period for cancellation from the date of
order should be explicit
Any other/s, please specify:
21. RETURN/REPLACEMENT DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Duration of cooling-off/return period for
different products

Address to which product is to be returned

should be explicit
Return policy to clearly mention who shall bear
the cost of return of product

Return policy to be explicit on the time within

which reverse pick/return shall be made

Exemptions, if any, from cooling-off period

such as personalised goods, perishable
commodities etc.

Any other/s, please specify:

22. REFUND DETAILS:

Details 1 2 3 4 5
Time period within which refund shall be made
Refund policy to clearly mention the account into
which refund shall be credited
Information about existence of website credit
account/e-wallet account in case of refund, if any,
is made known to the consumer
Any other/s, please specify:

Please feel free to express any of your views / opinions and experiences with respect to
consumer complaints in online shopping.

Thank You! Appreciate your time.

 Appendix III

DECISIONS OF DISTRICT CONSUMER REDRESSAL FORUMS

W.R.T ONLINE SHOPPING CASES