INFORMATION THAT EVERY WEB PAGE NEEDS TO HAVE

The Law on Electronic Legal and Business Transactions (BiH Official Gazette No. 88/07) in effect in Bosnia and Herzegovina provides a list of information to be posted on a web page. The information listed below needs to be visibly posted on a web page. In this way, buyers can learn more about the company whose products they are buying. Also, knowing more of such information will help buyers feel safer, thus leading to increased purchase rate in a web shop.

List of information to be posted in an on-line shop:

• Company name

  this information needs to be listed in an on-line shop for the buyers, i.e. potential buyers, to be familiarized with the company from which they intend to buy products or services

• Place and address of the seat

  every company is mandated by law to have its seat. Hence, this is one of the reasons to denote the business address

• Contact information for prompt and direct communication, including an e-mail address

  in this way, customer/buyer can contact responsible persons in case of any problems or a need for additional questions

• If registered with a court, commercial or public registry, it shall state its registration number, as well as a registration authority

  a company’s registration number attests to an actual existence of a company. With the use of Internet and on-line shops, there appear some problems and uncertainties, e.g. impersonation and inexistent companies. The registration number and registration authority is an indication to all customers that particular company actually exists

• Identification number related to a value-added tax

  this number is obtained upon company registration, as explained in more details under the Module No. 2

In addition to the above-mentioned information that every online shop needs to publicly disclose, the Law on Electronic Legal and Business Transactions (BiH Official Gazette No. 88/07) also defines the bellow listed information. Such data provide additional security and denote and prove the company’s existence.

• Official or similar institutions of registration of a service provider

• Official name of the country of granting relevant approval

• Instruction on official rules of the country of incorporation and their location

In addition to all such data mandated by law to be posted on the web page, it is advisable to provide the customers with some more information on the company. About us section is always an excellent idea providing a more detailed description of the company. Information on company inception, line of business, main values, mission and vision provide a sense of security to all visitors of an online platform. In this way, all customers can familiarize with the company’s operations. All this information may significantly affect the products’ sale increase.

eCommerce rests on online purchase of products and services via web pages. Surely, every buyer needs to have as much information accompanying a product or service of interest. More information gives potential buyers a clearer picture of a product or service, thus significantly influencing greater number of conversions. Therefore, such data and information to be disclosed along particular product include the following:

• PRODUCT / SERVICE PRICE

  clearly posted (unambiguous) price of the offered product/service with taxes. The price needs to be posted on a visible spot since it is one of prevailing factors of any purchase. The price needs to be expressed in Convertible Marks (KM) with VAT (17%)

• COSTS

  all costs to be borne by a buyer, including delivery costs. It is important that costs are visible and stated along the price. It is not good to hide such information, as this may lead to buyer dissatisfaction.

• ADDITIONAL COSTS

  it is also important to inform buyers of any other additional costs. All such costs must be visibly and clearly stated. Buyers must be informed about all costs prior to making any purchase.

• RULEBOOK

  Every web shop needs to post its pricing rules, sales terms and other buyer-relevant information. This segment is highly important in order to keep potential buyer apprised of pricing and conditions of online sale.

The BiH Law on Consumer Protection (BiH Official Gazette No. 25/06) clearly defines that a sales price of a product or service that is posted on the web page shall be the final price that includes all taxes, contributions and fees and shall be identical to the price recorded in the inventory book. Prices may not be ambiguous since every customer is fully protected against any form of Internet fraud.

In addition to information on product/service price and cost, it is advisable also to provide customers additional information that may cause them to make that purchase decision. Of note, all information must be relevant and up-to-date, thus reflecting any changes. Irrelevant information may cause additional problems. Find below is the list of items and information that are advisable to be posted next to products.

Companies may send commercial messages to potential or existing customers who left their contact information and agreed to receive promotional messages. For example, when a company sends an e-mail message with product and service offer to its end buyers, it needs to pay attention to the following information:

Whether a message clearly denotes it has commercial contents

In order to identify a sender of a commercial contents – in practice, every e-mail message needs to contain this data at the bottom:

• Sender’s name
• Address
• E-mail address for possible buyer contacts
• An option for the buyer to cancel receipt of such messages in future

Important note: a sender should be sending such promotional messages only subject to the recipient’s prior consent.

In addition to the product list/catalogue with above-mentioned information, every web shop needs to contain very simple ordering options. Often, this section of online shops is also called a “cart”. Every ordering segment needs to be reviewed and should contain the below listed information. When making an order, a buyer must be able to review its order and check once again all its details.

• REVIEW

  as a final step, every buyer wishes to recheck products added to the cart and their prices. In addition, an order must contain a final price (sum of all product prices) that is made clearly visible

• COSTS

  delivery costs and any additional costs must also be clearly posted. The total price with listed costs is the most ideal way of posting the final amount to be charged

• PAYMENT OPTIONS

  in eCommerce, payment is one of crucial segments. Every web shop should enable its customers to make card payments. Showing a payment platform (payment terminal) plays a great role here and warrants safety of any payment

• DELIVERY INFORMATION

  this section is being populated by a buyer and most often contains the following information: Buyer’s first and last name, Buyer’s phone number, E-mail, Buyer’s address and address for delivery (these two segments sometimes appear separately and sometimes as a single data field)

• CONFIRMATION

  order confirmation is being sent or provided to customers for review after they have made their purchase. Often, a purchase confirmation is being sent automatically to the previously entered e-mail address or appears after performed purchase. The confirmation must be clearly stated and contain the following information: Order number, Date, Name of purchase product/service, Seller information (name, address, contact), Charged price is clearly and unambiguously stated, Period of delivery (e.g. delivery within 3 days), In case of an online broker, information on the broker (usually near the end of an e-mail message)

Many web shops provide an order change option even after products have been ordered. Changes most frequently refer to the delivery address. Changes may be effected only over a specific time horizon, after which this option is no longer available.

An offer and offer acceptance may be provided electronically, i.e. in electronic form. We can surely say that this is considered an electronic agreement where both parties are obliged to abide by it.

Agreements may be concluded electronically, i.e. in electronic form. Every order represents an electronic agreement.

An e-agreement is deemed concluded at the time an offering party receives an electronic message with a recipient’s statement of acceptance of the agreement’s contents.

During their purchase, many customers consider product return options. Surely, every company must have a product return option. Every company chooses its own policy of product/service return and return fees, e.g. cash refund, product replacement or refund in form of
points that can be used in the next purchase.

Every e-merchant should post on its web page information on product/service purchase and return of already purchased products/services.

• Sales terms (or purchase terms)

  these terms relate to purchase, order and delivery. They can be in form of a document or be presented during the ordering process. All such details were mentioned above

• Product return policy

  every web shop needs to have its return policy. It is determined in advance and its terms are being shown during the ordering process. These terms must be very precise and unambiguous to avoid any misunderstandings. If such information is not clear enough, customers will ask for additional information. Often, this may cause buyers to abandon their purchase. A frequent practice is to mention return options within the very product description. In this way, buyers know what their return or replacement options for particular products are

• A product/service cancelation or return form

  this form may be delivered together with the confirmation or be posted on a web page. It is important to have this form so that buyers can access it at all times. The form should be clear and simple. Complicated or inaccessible forms may cause further problems or complications that neither party wants to have

A product return policy should enable a buyer to return particular product within 15 days after a purchase date, if such product has not been used, damaged or opened. During an online purchase, a buyer has a right of product return by attaching an evidence of purchase, i.e. order confirmation from an e-merchant. It is important to follow the complaint/return dates and time and do this as soon possible. After returning a purchased product, a money refund process needs to be initiated (if a company opted for that return policy or a company will act in line with its predetermined return policy).

A right to cancel/abandon an online purchase says that a customer has 14 days to file a cancelation request:

• since the payment date (date of agreement) - in case of a service

• since product receipt date – in case of a product.

• After cancelation notice, a buyer should deliver or send a product back to the seller (except if a merchant has offered to take over the product). A buyer is required to send back the product within 14 days of its cancellation request.

Within 14 days since receipt of the cancellation request, a merchant should make a cash refund to a buyer minus any delivery costs. A refund can sometimes take longer to finalize, so it is important to emphasize this information to customers. A merchant should do its best to accommodate the buyers and make all information readily accessible and available.