The Consumers Association of Singapore (“CASE”) and Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (“NYP-SIRS”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) today to develop a new CaseTrust accreditation scheme for e-businesses. When the new scheme is launched in the second half of 2022, consumers will be able to more easily identify reliable online merchants. The accreditation will also serve as an industry benchmark for e-businesses in Singapore which are committed to fair and transparent business practices. E-businesses which are CaseTrust accredited will be able to provide greater assurance to consumers, and stand out from their peers in the crowded e-commerce space.

 

Singapore has seen an increase in online shopping since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and Singapore’s e-commerce market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.2% to be worth around S$14.2 billion in 2025. As the volume of e-commerce transactions grows, CASE has observed a general increase in the proportion of complaints related to e-commerce transactions from 4% in 2017 to 14% in 2021. The bulk of e-commerce complaints received by CASE in 2021 pertained to defective or non-conforming goods, delivery issues, missing products and misleading or false claims made by businesses.

 

The new CaseTrust accreditation scheme will cover the entire range of e-commerce practices from pre-sale to post-sale, and address common consumer pain points when shopping online.

CASE and NYP-SIRS will jointly develop the new CaseTrust accreditation scheme for e-businesses and its corresponding evaluation framework.

 

The framework will incorporate:

• CaseTrust’s requirements such as ethical advertising, price transparency, good sales and after-sales service, and business integrity;
• Relevant guidelines from CASE’s Standard Dispute Management Framework for E-marketplaces; and
• Relevant guidelines from Technical Reference 76 (TR 76) – the national standard for electronic commerce transactions.

 

The CaseTrust mark will be awarded to retailers who pass the evaluation framework.

 

As part of the MOU, NYP-SIRS will also assist to:

• Develop a one-day workshop to give e-businesses an overview of what the accreditation scheme entails and the corresponding assessment criteria; and
• Curate one-on-one mentorship programmes for e-businesses to help them identify and address gaps in the consumer experience they are offering online, before guiding them through the accreditation application process.

 

The workshop and mentorship programme will be made available to the public in Q3 2022.

 

Mr Melvin Yong, President, CASE said: “Over the last few years, more businesses have set up retail websites or online shops to cater to the growing number of consumers shopping online. Unfortunately, the low barriers of entry, coupled with the lack of minimum service standards, have led to an increasing number of complaints against e-businesses. Currently, there is a lack of a comprehensive accreditation scheme that encourages and guides e-businesses to adopt fair-trading practices and safeguards the interests of online shoppers. With this new CaseTrust accreditation scheme, we want to put in place a framework whereby consumers will be able to recognise e-businesses that have adopted the requisite e-commerce standards and consumer-friendly practices. Ultimately, we hope that consumers can have an assured and positive experience when shopping online.”

 

NYP’s Principal & Chief Executive Officer, Ms Jeanne Liew, said: “As Singapore’s e-commerce industry continues to grow, there is a need for industry accreditation and certification to remain relevant for retailers and consumers alike. NYP-SIRS provides market-driven retail training programmes to support the growth of retailers and keep up with the rapidly evolving e-commerce industry. We are glad to partner CASE to co-develop the CaseTrust accreditation scheme for e-businesses and the training programmes to help e-businesses identify and address the gaps in their business practices to become more consumer-friendly.”

 

The MOU was signed today by Mr Melvin Yong, President, CASE and Ms Jeanne Liew, Principal & Chief Executive Officer, Nanyang Polytechnic.

 

Applications for the accreditation will open in the second half of 2022. Businesses which are interested to apply for or find out more about the accreditation can contact CaseTrust at casetrust@case.org.sg.