ABSTRACT
With the fast growth of digital technologies, there is a paradigm shift in the buying behaviour of Indian consumers. The key driver of progress is the internet as an electronic medium of exchange and the growing usage of smartphones has given rise to an online marketplace in India. Accessibility, better prices, comparative analysis of products and offers available, belligerent discounts online, soaring petrol prices, larger assortment of brand options, and hassle-free shopping are a few advantages which consumers experience while buying online. On the one hand, by engaging in e-shopping consumers, can make purchases all day long and trace the status of their merchandise; on the other hand, digital shopping poses challenges linked to cross-border operations, threats of shoddy quality, duplicate, spurious and counterfeits, predatory prices, and manipulative and unfair trade practices. The author identifies important questions stemming from discontinuities in the statutory legislature especially when it comes to implementation of the various consumer protection legislature, the nature of problems faced by the Indian consumers while making digital shopping, prerequisite to have more clarity and revelation on the part of e-portals. The study also highlights how the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, can be a gamechanger in protecting the rights of Indian consumers.
