Despite several cases of fraud in the sale of unoriginal products or stealing stolen credit card data after making an online purchase, the online shopping mania remains strong after the spread of many commercial websites, especially via Facebook and social media networks which offer good products at affordable prices compared to prices of brands in the Tunisian markets.
The customers are usually deceived by the temptations posed by online sales, and totally forget that they may purchase unoriginal products or risk their bank accounts data. E-Commerce Department of the Ministry of Commerce called for Tunisian customers to avoid the online purchase via Facebook, as it offers no guarantee after the spread of online trading between consumers.
Salim Saad Allah, head of Defending Consumer Organization, stressed that nearly 7% of business operation via the Internet has witnessed manipulation after the spread of e-commerce in Tunisia, taking into account that Tunisia occupies an advanced rank among Arab countries in the field of electronic commerce.
980 websites for online sale
According to the Ministry of Commerce, there are 980 online commerce websites in the past year with estimated sales of 1.5 million dinars. According to information obtained from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the ministry is working to spread the electronic sales in enterprises. According to an official in the ministry, workshops and seminars were held by the ministry to spread awareness of e-commerce in Tunisia in collaboration with the National Union for e-commerce to develop a set of standards as conditions for the launch of e-coomerce websites.
Electronic Commerce market
The Ministry of Commerce lacks a clear record of electronic commerce market, because each person has the right to launch his own website, and the control of the sector is limited only to electronic payment systems.