Consumers filed nearly 20 lakh complaints against e-commerce platforms in 5 years
Nearly 20 lakh consumer complaints were lodged against e-commerce and quick commerce platforms over the last five years on the National Consumer Helpline.
Intelligence analysis by Qwen 2.5 (3B)
In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs B L Verma stated that all complaints received by NCH during the five-year period had been disposed of through its grievance redressal mechanism.
Over five years, lots of people complained about not getting their stuff or getting the wrong thing from online stores like Flipkart and Amazon. The government says they're working on rules to help fix these problems.
Analysis
{"#e-commerce-complaints-over-time":"The volume of complaints has more than doubled since 2021, with Flipkart and Amazon consistently attracting the highest number of complaints. The nature of complaints shifted from refunds not being processed in 2021 to non-delivery of products and delivery of wrong products emerging as leading categories in 2025.","#flipkart-amazon-complaints":"Flipkart received the highest number of complaints in every year covered by the data, with Amazon following closely. Meesho, Myntra, Netmeds, Zepto, and Blinkit also featured among the top platforms with the most complaints against them.","#regulatory-framework":"The government pointed to a layered regulatory framework built around the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which require e-commerce entities to appoint grievance officers, acknowledge complaints within 48 hours and resolve them within a month. The CCPA’s Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, identified specific dark patterns in the e-commerce sector."}
Key points
- Nearly 20 lakh consumer complaints were lodged against e-commerce and quick commerce platforms over the last five years on the National Consumer Helpline.
- Flipkart received the highest number of complaints in every year covered by the data, with Amazon following closely.
- The nature of complaints shifted from refunds not being processed to non-delivery of products and delivery of wrong products emerging as leading categories in 2025.
With better regulations in place, e-commerce platforms can improve service quality and reduce complaints.
Even with new rules, some issues might still persist if companies don't follow them properly.
