Consumer E-Commerce Dissonance: Innovating without Alienating Before Information Overload

Abstract

After over a decade since widespread adoption of ecommerce, privacy concerns continue to increase among people going online, while at the same time Internet usage is at an all time high and companies are forced to keep up with innovative new technologies. The Internet and its’ innovative technological advances, while providing opportunities for easier and more fluent commerce, has opened new threats for user privacy and potential for information overload and consumer dissonance. With information being collected on sites visited as well as personal identifying information, the subsequent sharing of personal information, and the evolving perceived technical threats, many consumers feel they have lost control. Government regulators, consumer advocacy groups, and e-businesses need to understand how Internet innovation affects the consumer. The central premise being that these groups are modeling consumer trends and making decisions on false or fabricated information, even suggesting this could lead to inhibiting overall Internet innovation, especially e-commerce. A 2008 survey found that due to new concerns about being confronted by technologies they don’t understand on the web, a majority of consumers have stopped giving out personal information on the internet, 28% say they have reduced their overall use of the Internet, and 30% say they stopped buying things online (Princeton Survey Research 2008).