As many as 13 percent of online shoppers in Croatia have experienced fraud, with the most common form being the non-delivery of goods bought, or the delivery of items of poorer quality than advertised, according to a survey by the Croatian Banking Association released on Thursday, a day ahead of Black Friday when many stores offer discounts.

The survey, conducted among little over 1,000 Croatian residents, showed that less than half of people polled said they shop online.

Out of those who buy goods online, 49 percent said they considered the security of transactions as the most important factor for their experience, while 29 percent placed priority on actually getting items as advertised by shops.

When it comes to frauds, 13 percent of all polled said that they have experienced some form of it, with nearly half of them, or 46 percent, saying that they experienced ordering items that they paid for which never arrived. Another 41 percent of cases reported involved deliveries of goods of lower quality than advertised.

About 36 percent of online shoppers polled said they purchase items from verified online shops only, such as Amazon, eBay, or AliBaba, and merely 14 percent said they bought goods at Croatian online stores.

Head of the Croatian Banking Association, Zdenko Adrovic, commented on the survey and said that one of the priorities for online retail is raising awareness about the risks of online shopping, by educating and informing shoppers about ways available to them to protect themselves against potential frauds.

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