Consumer Protection Data Spotlight | July 2020 1 

Pandemic purchases lead to record reports of unreceived goods

Online shopping has been a lifeline for many people 

hunkering down to help reduce the spread of COVID19. But as online orders have increased, so too have

reports to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network

about sellers failing to deliver on promises — or just

failing to deliver, period. During April and May of

2020, more people reported problems with online

shopping than in any other months on record. More

than half said they never got the items they ordered.1

With COVID-19, scammers quickly launched 

opportunistic websites. People reported online shops 

claiming to sell the things they desperately needed but 

could not get. By the week of April 5, reports of 

unreceived merchandise were almost on par with 

previous peak numbers from the December 2019 

holiday shopping season. 2 In the following weeks, as 

people scoured the internet for scarce items, reports of 

unreceived orders continued to climb. Reports in May 

were nearly double the December 2019 numbers. 3 Of 

course, many sellers have had legitimate supply chain 

problems, but these reports are about no-show orders, 

not just shipping delays.

People reported unreceived orders of facemasks in 

April and May far more often than any other item, and 

undelivered sanitizer, toilet paper, thermometers, and 

gloves were also reported. 4 But that’s not the whole 

story. Reports show that scammers shirked their 

promises to shoppers on everything from clothes to 

electronics – and even puppies, which people had 

bought online. Scammers often used pandemic-related 

pretexts for supposed shipping delays, sometimes – in 

the puppy scam – even charging extra fees for 

COVID-related “regulations.” Then they just stopped 

responding. This stalled people who might otherwise 

have posted negative reviews. 

Reports show that scammers have honed their ability 

to put up remarkably polished looking websites in 

recent years. They’ve learned to work social media 

and online advertising to their advantage, and to peel 

off negative reviews by simply disappearing and 

popping back up under a new name. This is a global 
 Consumer Protection Data Spotlight | July 2020 2 

problem, since the web gives scammers cheap access 

to consumers worldwide. 5 

While pandemic purchases have fueled record 

numbers, reports about online shopping were common 

even before the pandemic. People reported losing

nearly $420 million dollars since 2015, 6 and the 

numbers have been on the rise for years. The FTC 

took in more than 86,000 online shopping reports in 

2019, which is a 38% increase over 2018, and the 

largest annual increase in recent years. 7 Most troubling 

is the rise in the number of people who report that they 

simply did not get the items they ordered. That number 

increased more than fourfold from 2015 to 2019. 8 

There is some good news. Credit cards are the top 

way people reported paying for their online 

shopping, including unreceived orders. What’s 

good about this is that people can dispute credit 

card charges if they don’t get what they paid for. 

Here are some tips to avoid being left emptyhanded when you shop online: 

• Check out the company by typing its name in

a search engine with words like or “scam” or

“complaint.”

• Confirm the seller’s physical address and

phone number.

• Watch out for unfamiliar sites selling products

that are in short supply or name brand goods

at steep discounts.

• Pay with a credit card, and contact your credit

card company to dispute the charges if a seller

doesn’t deliver your goods or they are not as

promised.

To learn more about Coronavirus-related scams, 

visit ftc.gov/coronavirus/scams. For more about 

online shopping, including how to dispute credit 

card charges, go to ftc.gov/onlineshopping. And if 

you spot a scam, report it to the FTC at 

ftc.gov/complaint. 

1 This monthly comparison is based on online shopping reports directly to the FTC from January 2015 through May 2020. Consumers submitted 15,492 such reports in 

April 2020 with 7,545 indicating that items were not received, and 18,946 such reports in May 2020 with 10,827 indica ting that items were not received. 

2 This comparison is based on 1,519 online shopping reports about unreceived merchandise directly to the FTC the week of December 15, 2019 and 1,486 such reports the 

week o f April 5, 2020. 

3 This comparison is based on 5,487 online shopping reports about unreceived merchandise directly to the FTC in December 2019 and 10,827 such reports in May 2020. 

4 This finding is based on keyword analysis of the narra tives provided in online shopping reports directly to the FTC in April and May o f 2020 indicating that items were not 

received. Of the 18,370 such reports, 1,328 mentioned facemasks.

5 Online shopping is the top ca tegory reported to econsumer.gov, a partnership of more than 35 consumer protection agencies around the world. Many o f these reports are 

from consumers located outside the United States. Consumers filed 56,040 online reports with eConsumer from January 2015 through May 2020. 

6 This figure is based on online shopping reports directly to the FTC from January 2015 through May 2020.

7 This increase is calculated based on 86,472 and 62,606 online shopping reports directly to the FTC in 2019 and 2018 respectively. In earlier years, 34,249 (2015), 

40,319 (2016), and 53,373 (2017) such reports were made.

8 This increase is calculated based on 9,435 and 38,701 online shopping reports directly to the FTC in 2015 and 2019 respectively indicating items were not received. In 

the intervening years 12,080 (2016), 18,852 (2017), and 26,710 (2018) such reports were m ade.