SEOUL — A significant number of South Korean consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with Chinese e-commerce platforms, despite the lure of competitive pricing. A survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which polled 800 users who had shopped on AliExpress, Temu, or Shein in the past year, found that 80.9 percent reported some level of dissatisfaction with their experiences.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the leading cause of dissatisfaction was delivery delays, with 59 percent of respondents citing it as a major issue. This was followed by concerns over the poor quality of products received, product defects, and excessive advertising, reported by 49.6 percent, 36.6 percent, and 33.5 percent of participants, respectively. The survey allowed for multiple responses to identify a range of issues encountered by consumers.
In terms of resolving these problems, 56.4 percent of the respondents stated they filed complaints with the platforms, while 39.9 percent took no specific action. Among those who did not pursue complaints, 56.6 percent had anticipated potential dissatisfaction prior to purchase, and 54.3 percent expected the resolution process to be overly cumbersome and complicated.