LIN Wenyi XU Shuqian
New Economy. 2026, 47(1): 42-60.
Against the backdrop of the digital economy, online consumption has emerged as a core pillar of the consumer market in megacities. The explosive growth of online consumption disputes, however, has posed severe challenges to existing dispute resolution. However, up to now, the research on online consumer dispute resolution mechanisms predominantly focuses on isolated aspects or entities, with insufficient investigation into frontline staff. Therefore, taking the Consumer Association of City S (hereinafter referred to as “S Consumer Association”) as the case study subject, this paper integrates three methods of case study, semi-structured interviews, and data analysis of typical complaint handling processes, following the workflow of “complaint acceptance-pre-settlement-complaint assessment-mediation and disposal”, and based on the findings from in-depth interviews with frontline staff involved in these four key processes, systematically analyzes the operational status, core dilemmas, and underlying roots of the online consumption dispute resolution mechanism. The results reveal six major obstacles in resolving online consumption disputes in City S: inconsistent channel standards, delayed response timeliness, simplistic handling methods, poor cross-regional collaboration, difficulties in evidence collection, and weak external coordination. These obstacles originate from multiple factors, including outdated legal norms, insufficient collaborative governance, constraints on the nature of consumer associations, unreasonable process design, and complex transaction scenarios. Based on these findings, optimization countermeasures are proposed from three dimensions: intelligent technology empowerment, multi-stakeholder collaborative linkage, and data-driven governance. This research aims to provide theoretical support and practical pathways for the efficient resolution of online consumption disputes in megacities.
