It would stand to reason that as a consequence of more and more consumers shopping for products online, consumer trust in online retailers would grow. Yet, that isn’t necessarily so, according to scientists from Monash University.

Despite a sudden surge in e-commerce, consumers make no secret about how they feel about online retailers, calling them untrustworthy in a survey of over 630 Australian consumers. According to the survey, the reasons for such distrust of online retailers include lack of human interaction, lack of interaction with the product before purchasing it and fear of compromising the safety of personal information.

In addition to discovering that consumers expressed the greatest amount of distrust of online retailers as well as discount stores, the survey also revealed that consumers are most trusting of supermarkets, pharmacies, sporting goods stores and computer/technology shops.

“Unlike with the retail industry overall, when it comes to clothing retailers, communication and products are also key in driving trust," Paolo De Leon, one of the authors of the study, said. "This differs again for supermarkets, where we saw trust in information security emerge as important.”