Three Out of Ten Online Shoppers Say They Have Experienced Personal Data Breaches

Seoul City Survey on Online Shopping Consumers
Many Cases of Damage from Defective Products and Delivery Delays
40% Dissatisfied with Customer Service... Frustration with Chatbots
Rising Interest in "Protecting Delivery Workers"

Three out of ten online shopping users have experienced personal data breaches. Among them, 40% reported inconvenience in resolving the issue because they could not reach the customer service center or were only connected to automated responses, making communication difficult.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the results of its "Survey on Consumer Perceptions of Online Shopping" on February 27, 2026. The survey was conducted on 1,000 online shopping users between October 2 and October 14 last year.

Among respondents, 28.1% said they had experienced personal data breaches on online shopping platforms. A total of 78.0% answered that they feel anxious about the possibility of personal data leaks. In addition, 40.8% responded that strengthening security on online shopping platforms is the most necessary measure for "personal data protection."

Some 30.2% of respondents said they had suffered damage while using online shopping. The types of damage experienced (multiple answers allowed) were, in order of frequency, defective or faulty products (65.6%), delivery delays (42.7%), and false or exaggerated advertising (30.1%).

In particular, 41.1% of respondents said that when damage occurred, they experienced inconvenience because they could not reach the customer service center or because communication was not smooth due to automated responses. A further 39.4% said they were dissatisfied when consulting with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots that replace human agents because they received standardized answers unrelated to their questions. When asked about improvements needed for AI chatbots, 40.4% of consumers said they would like to see "simultaneous operation of chatbots and one-on-one online consultations with human agents."

The survey also looked at consumer preferences regarding product recommendation methods based on search and purchase history. As advantages of AI product recommendations, 39.5% cited discovering products they did not previously know about, followed by 28.6% who cited help in selecting products that match their tastes. As for disadvantages, many respondents pointed to being induced to purchase products they do not immediately need (31.2%), and difficulty distinguishing between paid advertisements and AI-recommended products (24.0%). To prevent harm, respondents said improvements are needed in the following areas: imposing refund and compensation liability on influencers in cases of false or exaggerated advertising (61.6%), requiring influencers to register as business operators and disclose their business information (8.1%), and imposing obligations on social media and video platforms to intervene in and manage disputes (7.1%).

This survey also revealed citizens' interest in "protecting delivery workers." While 86.2% of respondents said that "fast delivery service is important when making purchase decisions," many also said that improvements in working conditions are needed to protect delivery workers. Specifically, 86.8% called for securing sufficient rest time and space through workforce expansion rather than simply restricting delivery time slots, 84.1% called for workforce expansion, and 84.2% called for automation of delivery systems.

Based on the survey results, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to continue monitoring unfair practices by businesses that deceive consumers and to conduct further fact-finding investigations. Kim Myungseon, Director of Fair Economy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "As online shopping becomes a part of everyday life, it offers convenience but also leads to a gradual increase in cases of consumer harm. We will therefore strengthen monitoring in areas where consumer issues are likely to arise and pursue institutional improvements in parallel," adding, "We will work to create an e-commerce environment in which consumers can feel secure when purchasing products."