Use of internet demands regulations on e-commerce www.zgm.mn
Although Mongolia has a significantly high number of internet and social media users, there are no regulations in place for e-commerce or internet shopping. Without the necessary adjustment and monitoring, internet shopping could potentially remain as a black market.
As of today, two out of three people actively use and engage on the internet in Mongolia. In two decades, the number of internet users skyrocketed with about 4400 times growth, to 2.2 million as of April 2018 according to a social media management platform Hootsuite. It became hard to find Mongolians that do not engage in social media. Obviously, the market will never ignore such an opportune trend as we see multiple social media-based businesses nowadays. However, businesses and commercial services on social media remain disorganized and unregulated in Mongolia.
Shopping on social media, which attracts the highest number of internet users, is still no better than a black market for Mongolians. A clear example is the numerous advertisement groups with thousands of members. People are selling products with different prices and no quality assurance on social media, victimizing consumers. There were some instances where people got deceived by fake accounts when making purchases for the Lunar New Year.
E-commerce development in other countries is mostly based on independent platforms. The situation is different for Mongolia as the consumption is mostly directed towards social media platforms. But this part of e-shopping is still foreign for Mongolians. Not only does the country lacks a decent service provider, but the public also does not have the desire to seek one.
Analysts are predicting 99 percent of global shopping to shift to e-commerce by 2030. It is questionable if Mongolia could adapt to such a mindset within just one decade. In order for e-commerce to flourish in Mongolia, experts suggest developing the infrastructure, such as delivery service and urbanization.
E-commerce is important especially for a land-locked country. The country may not fall behindin terms of internet speed and consumption, but the usage notably differs from other countries.
Published Date:2019-02-18