A rating system will be introduced for buyers in marketplaces in RussiaScience and technology18 December 2024, 02:06

To combat the problems faced by sellers, the Federal Association for Network Commerce (FOST) has suggested that marketplaces introduce a rating system for buyers. The organization announced its initiative in letters sent to the largest online trading platforms such as Wildberries, Ozon, Yandex Market, Megamarket, Lamoda and SDEK-Global. According to Data Insight research, 87% of Russian sellers face problems such as non-return of goods, damage, loss during delivery and fraud. All this leads to losses of up to 16% of sellers’ turnover. Additionally, more than 60% experience what is called “consumer extremism” when customers return products after using them for a short time.

FOST proposed a rating system where buyers would be rated based on their behavior. The ratings will be made available to payment staff so they can adapt their approach to customers with problematic reputations. However, the idea failed to gain support from market participants. Wildberries, in particular, considers the creation of such ratings unnecessary, and the Association of Internet Trading Companies (AKIT), which includes major players such as Ozon and Wildberries, also did not support the initiative. AKIT chairman Artyom Sokolov said marketplaces effectively protect sellers from unscrupulous buyers.

However, some experts support this suggestion. Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline Analytics, noted that the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ba rating is reasonable, although some of its elements have already been implemented. For example, marketplaces rank users by various parameters, including reimbursement of goods, and Yandex Taxi already has a rating system for customers. Oleg Pavlov, Head of the Public Consumer Initiative, added that creating ratings does not violate the law on the protection of consumer rights, but it is important that these ratings do not become the basis for price discrimination.