Author: reporter Chen Chen

【Economy Interface】

Tmall’s transaction volume was 498.2 billion yuan and JD.com’s transaction volume was 271.5 billion yuan-no surprise, this year's "Double 11" carnival season, when the timeline was stretched, multiple e-commerce platform transactions broke records, a feast for the whole people The curtain came down with brilliant numbers.

However, recently, "Double 11 refund" has been on the hot search, and 12315 hotline platforms in various places have successively received consumer complaints about "Double 11". Some stores’ products are inconsistent with the description or have quality problems or cannot be exchanged. ...

In fact, the various problems of online shopping do not only appear in "Double 11".

In recent years, the e-commerce platform has grown and developed all the way, and along with it, various businesses on the platform have mixed good and bad, and various problems have emerged one after another.

To this end, regulatory authorities have intensively introduced new regulations to standardize online economic order.

This undoubtedly releases a signal: the online shopping market can no longer grow wildly.

Especially during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, my country will "promote consumption in an all-round way."

A good consumption environment is an important prerequisite for promoting consumption.

On the network platform, besides paying attention to traffic and sales, more attention is needed to maintain quality.

1. "Send the wrong goods but refuse to exchange them", how can the seller be so "willful"

【Case】

"Some time ago, I bought two bags of rice of the same brand at Tmall Supermarket. The seller divided the delivery into two logistics. The first bag of rice was received without problems. I was not at home when the second bag of rice was signed for. It was discovered that the seller had sent the wrong product, and it was another brand of rice.” Ms. Li, who originally thought that applying for a replacement would solve the problem, did not expect that she embarked on a long journey of rights protection.

　　"There is no exchange option in the after-sales operation, only return. If you return the product and buy it now, the price is different from when you bought it. And what I don’t understand is that this product is clearly still on sale and not out of stock. Why Can’t exchange the goods? Under the protection of this overlord clause, if the merchants feel that they are selling too cheaply or do not want to ship the goods for other reasons, wouldn’t they be able to deal with the wrong goods and force consumers to refund them?" In many communications, Ms. Li expressed her request that she only agreed to exchange the product but not the return of the product, and even revealed the terms in the "Punishment Measures for Violating Consumer Rights" to support her request, but the customer service of Tmall Supermarket always insisted on "sending wrong" The goods can only be returned and not exchanged".

"No way, only 12315 complaints." Ms. Li said.

　　The situation encountered by Ms. Guan in Beijing was even more "embarrassing."

"I bought a mattress on JD. It was soaked during transportation. I waited for the replacement and received a call from JD’s customer service, saying that there are only three mattresses left in the main warehouse and there are quality problems. Retired." Ms. Guan told reporters helplessly.

　　While consumers enjoy the convenience of online shopping, similar consumer complaints have also been concentrated and magnified under the huge transaction volume of "Double 11".

According to a report issued by the Jiangsu Consumer Rights Protection Committee, the "Double 11" consumer rights protection information problems are mainly concentrated in the promotion rules, express delivery, return refunds and product quality.

The relevant person in charge of the State Administration of Market Supervision stated that during the "Double 11" promotion period, competition problems such as forcing merchants to "choose one from two" were prominent, promotion rules concealed mystery, counterfeit and shoddy goods were repeatedly banned, consumption rights protection was difficult to implement, and illegal advertisements were occasional. It has emerged that the live broadcast marketing problem has become prominent, infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and operators, and disrupting the order of the online market.

　　"Frozen three feet is not a day's cold." The chaos in the online consumer market is not uncommon.

In recent years, with the increasing diversification of promotional methods such as exemption, cashback, discounting of coupons, and giving out gifts, and the prevalence of live broadcast and other promotional methods, online shopping complaints are no longer limited to common counterfeit and inferior problems, and the goods in online shopping are incorrect. False propaganda on boards, live broadcasts, false discounts, "familiarity" with old users, and difficulty in safeguarding rights have greatly harmed consumer rights.

Data from the first three quarters of the national 12315 platform showed that online shopping complaints and reports mainly focused on advertising issues, counterfeiting and after-sales service. Among them, the number of complaints about live delivery was more prominent, with a year-on-year increase of 479.6%.

　　Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China and director of the Institute of Business Law, said in an interview with our reporter that in recent years, my country's emerging consumer demand, consumption patterns, consumption activities and business models have emerged one after another, the consumption structure has been continuously upgraded, and consumption disputes have also continued to emerge.

For example, online false advertising is hard to guard against, counterfeit and shoddy products in online shopping are unscrupulous, consumers are difficult to return and exchange, and the cost of rights protection is high. Many consumers are facing the dilemma of "killing a cow in order to recover a chicken".

　　Zhao Ping, vice president of the Research Institute of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, told our reporter that the current online shopping environment in my country violates fair competition, infringes on consumer rights, uses a dominant market position to refuse to fulfill legal obligations such as seven-day unreasonable returns, and breaks through the bottom line of product quality. Outstanding issue.

2. Intensive introduction of new regulatory regulations, "the Internet is no bigger than the French Open"

【phenomenon】

Recently, new regulations on online marketing have been intensively introduced.

On October 24, the State Administration of Market Supervision and other fourteen departments issued the "Notice on Printing and Distributing the 2020 Internet Market Supervision Special Action Plan (Internet Sword Action)."

Entering November, the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the "Interim Regulations Regarding Promotional Behaviors", prohibiting first price increases and then discounts.

Immediately afterwards, it issued the "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Online Live Marketing Activities" to strictly regulate online live marketing activities.

On November 6, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Central Cyberspace Administration of China, and the State Administration of Taxation convened 27 major Internet platform companies to hold an administrative guidance meeting on regulating online economic order, and put forward clear requirements for Internet platform companies from nine aspects.

On November 10, the State Administration of Market Supervision issued the "Guidelines for Anti-Monopoly in the Field of Platform Economy (Draft for Comment)", and widely concerned platforms such as "choose one", big data maturity, and low-price dumping have become key regulatory areas .

　　Although these new regulations have different focuses, they all point to the chaos of online shopping.

For example, the administrative guidance for the online economic order will emphasize platform responsibilities, requiring Internet platform companies not to abuse their dominant market position to eliminate restrictive competition and force merchants to stand in line to "choose one of two"; consciously maintain the order of online economic competition, and eliminate orders and reviews , Credit speculation and other dishonest and fraudulent acts; strengthen online sales of counterfeit and shoddy products; strengthen food safety governance; strengthen advertising review, strictly regulate advertising behavior; strengthen the price management of goods and services on the platform; strengthen consumer rights protection, perfection and efficiency Convenient complaint report processing and feedback mechanism; strengthen personal information protection; fulfill tax obligations in accordance with the law.

　　In Zhao Ping's view, the various problems brought about by online shopping have aroused people's attention, and the intensive efforts of the regulatory authorities are to convey to the society the signal that enterprises must be honest and innovative.

"Although my country insists on the core position of innovation in the overall situation of my country's modernization drive, and requires continuous improvement of the technological innovation capabilities of enterprises, and further strengthening of the main position of enterprise innovation, enterprises must adhere to the integration of integrity and innovation. On the one hand, we must oppose the banner of innovation. , Put certain new business forms above the law; on the other hand, we must continue to improve system construction and maintain a fair and competitive market environment, so that companies that maintain integrity and innovation stand out." Zhao Ping said.

　　Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that the intensive introduction of new regulatory regulations has released a signal that after the release of water and fish to a certain extent, the supervision should be strengthened.

"The platform economy itself is an economy governed by law and an economy of integrity, and self-discipline alone is not enough. There must be some regulations to strengthen supervision while encouraging the development of e-commerce." Zhu Wei told our reporter.

　　"This time the intensive introduction of new regulations on online shopping supervision reflects the change of ideas-the rule of law and development are equally important, and the rule of law is more important; safety and efficiency are equally important, and more attention is paid to safety; integrity and innovation are both important and honest; fairness and efficiency are both more important. Pay attention to fairness. No matter how big the Internet is, it cannot be as big as the French Open.” Liu Junhai emphasized.

3. Implement the main responsibility of the platform and build a good online consumption environment

【Outlook】

The "Proposals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and Long-Term Goals for 2035", which was reviewed and approved by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, clarified, formed a strong domestic market and built a new development pattern .

It mentioned that the overall promotion of consumption.

To promote consumption in an all-round way, in addition to improving consumption supply capacity, producing more personalized, diversified, and high-quality products to meet the people's demand for high-quality consumption, it is also necessary to create a better consumption environment to make consumers willing Consume and consume with confidence.

　　In recent years, consumption has played an increasingly important role in boosting my country's economy, and online consumption has accounted for an increasing proportion of consumption.

As of the third quarter of this year, my country's online retail sales accounted for 24.3% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

In other words, nearly 1/4 of the consumption of commodities is realized through new formats and new models such as online consumption.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, in order for the whole people to promote consumption, online consumption must be an indispensable and important part.

From this point of view, it is imperative to optimize and purify the online consumption environment.

　　Liu Junhai believes that in order to create a good consumption environment, it is necessary to form a regulatory force.

"Platforms must consciously practice the basic concepts of'corporate autonomy, law-abiding operations, honesty and credibility, rigorous procedures, and transparency of information', and operate legally; regulators must not be absent. Innovative regulatory methods must be strengthened to eliminate regulatory blind spots and regulatory arbitrage. Big data, cloud computing and other technological means improve the accuracy and sensitivity of supervision; consumers must consume rationally and boldly defend their rights." Liu Junhai said.

　　Zhao Ping stated that it is necessary to speed up the legislative process of e-commerce related laws and improve the work efficiency of industry associations and regulatory departments; operators and platforms must perform their duties, participate in market competition fairly, and perform well in consumer rights protection, intellectual property protection, Obligations for network security and personal information protection, assume responsibility for product and service quality, and accept supervision.

　　In the interview, several experts mentioned the main responsibility of Internet platform companies.

"Now there are many types of Internet platform companies, and their natures are very different. In addition to legal responsibilities, the main responsibility of the platform also includes social and moral responsibilities. The size of the platform is different, and the audit and after-sales responsibilities are different. Internet platform companies must fully protect consumption The rights of the people." Zhu Wei said.

　　"E-commerce platforms must follow the principles of openness, fairness, and justice, formulate platform service agreements and transaction rules, protect the rights and interests of operators and consumers on the platform, and ensure safe consumption for consumers, and treat unqualified business entities, Counterfeit and inferior products must be strictly screened to help consumers resolve disputes; all types of illegal activities must be reported to the regulatory authorities and removed in time." Zhao Ping pointed out.

　　"Internet platform companies must stand on their posts and control the gates." Liu Junhai said, hoping that e-commerce platforms can be grateful to consumers, respect the law, and have a scientific, accurate, complete and comprehensive understanding of the spirit of contract , Stand with the majority of consumers, focus on providing and innovating products and services of high quality and low price, and get rid of the bad habit of seeking improper benefits by virtue of unfair format clauses as soon as possible.

Establish a harmonious contractual relationship with benign interactions with consumers and other stakeholders, and truly realize multi-win sharing for all parties.