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Question
:
What do you
think of online shopping?
1.
What is the online shopping?
2.
What are the advantages of online shopping?
3.
What are the disadvantages of online shopping?
4.
Examples we usually see about online shopping.
5.
What people are worried about?
Answer:
The content of
online shopping
Online shopping
is the process where by consumers directly buy
goods or services from a
seller in
real-time, without an intermediary service, over
the
Internet. It is a form of electronic
commerce. An online shop, eshop,
e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore, online
store, or
virtual store evokes the
physical analogy of buying
products or services at a bricks-and-mortar
retailer
or
in
a
shopping
centre.
The
process
is
called
Business-to-Consumer
(B2C)
online
shopping. When a business
buys from another
business it is called Business
-to-Business (B2B)
online shopping.
In 1990 Tim
Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web
server and browser. It opened
for
commercial use in 1991 . In 1994 other advances
took place, such as online banking and the
opening of an online pizza shop by
Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape
introduced SSL
encryption of data
transferred
online, which has become essential for secure online shopping.
Also
in
1994
the
German
company
Intershop
introduced
its
first
online
shopping
system.
In
1995 Amazon launched its
online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared.
In recent years, online
shopping has become popular; however, it still
caters to the middle
and upper class.
In order to shop online, one must be able to have
access to a computer, a bank
account
and
a
debit
card.
Shopping
has
evolved
with
the
growth
of
technology.
According
to
research
found
in
the
Journal
of
Electronic
Commerce,
if
one
focuses
on
the
demographic
characteristics
of
the in-home
shopper,
in
general,
the
higher
the
level
of education,
income,
and occupation of the
head of the household, the more favourable the
perception of non-store
shopping.,
Enrique.(2005) The Impact of Internet User
Shopping Patterns and Demographics on
Consumer
Mobile
Buying
Behaviour.
Journal
of
Electronic
Commerce
Research,
An
influential
factor in
consumer attitude towards non-store shopping is
exposure to technology, since it has
been
demonstrated
that
increased
exposure
to
technology
increases
the
probability
of
developing
favourable attitudes towards new shopping
channels.
Online shopping
widened the target audience to
men and
women
of the middle class. At
first,
the
main
users
of
online
shopping
were
young
men
with
a
high
level
of
income
and
a
university education. This
profile is changing. For example, in USA in the
early years of Internet
there were very
few women users, but by 2001 women were 52.8% of
the online population.
The main idea of
online shopping is not just in having a good
looking website that could be
listed
in
a
lot
of
search
engines
or
the
art
behind
the
site.
It
also
is
not
only
just
about
1
disseminating
information,
because
it
is also
about
building
relationships
and
making
money.
Mostly,
organizations try to adopt techniques of online
shopping without understanding these
techniques and/or without a sound
business model. Rather than supporting the
organization's
culture
and
brand
name,
the
website
should
satisfy
consumer's
expectations.
A
majority
of
consumers
choose online shopping for a faster and more
efficient shopping experience.
Many
researchers notify that the uniqueness
of the
web has dissolved and the
need for the design,
which will
be user centered, is very important. Companies
should always remember that there
are
certain things, such as understanding the
customer's wants and needs, living up to promises,
never
go
out
of
style,
because
they
give
reason
to
come
back.
And
the
reason
will
stay
if
consumers always get what they expect.
McDonaldization theory can be used in terms of
online
shopping,
because
online
shopping
is
becoming
more
and
more
popular
and
a
website
that
wants
to
gain
more
shoppers
will
use
four
major
principles
of
McDonaldization:
efficiency,
calculability,
predictability and control.
Organizations,
which
want
people
to
shop
more
online
with
them,
should
consume
extensive
amounts
of
time
and
money
to
define,
design,
develop,
test,
implement,
and
maintain
the
website.
Also
if
a
company
wants
their
website
to
be
popular
among
online
shoppers
it
should
leave
the
user
with
a
positive
impression
about
the
organization,
so
consumers
can get an
impression
that
the
company
cares
about
them.
The
organization
that
wants to be accepted in
online shopping needs to remember, that it is
easier to lose a customer
then to gain
one. Lots of researchers state that even when a
site was
nowhere if the organization
failed to live up to common etiquette, such as
returning e-mails in
a
timely
fashion,
notifying
customers
of
problems,
being
honest,
and
being
good
stewards
of
the
customers' data. Organizations that want to keep
their customers or gain new ones
should
try to get rid of all mistakes and be
more appealing to be more desirable for online
shoppers.
And this is why many
designers of webshops consider research outcomes
concerning consumer
expectations.
Research
conducted
by
Elliot
and
Fowell
(2000)
revealed
satisfactory
and
unsatisfactory customer
experiences.
Advantages of
online shopping
1.
Convenience
Online
stores
are
usually
available
24
hours
a
day,
and
many
consumers
have
Internet
access
both
at
work
and
at
home.
Other
establishments
such
as
internet
cafes
and
schools
provide access as well.
A visit to a conventional retail store requires
travel and must take place
during
business hours.
In the event of a
problem with the item
–
it is not what the consumer ordered, or it is not
what they expected
–
consumers are concerned with the ease with which they can return an
item for the correct
one or for a refund. Consumers may need to contact
the retailer, visit the
post
office and
pay
return
shipping,
and
then
wait
for
a
replacement
or
refund.
Some
online
companies have
more generous return policies to compensate for
the traditional advantage of
2
physical stores. For example, the
online shoe retailer includes labels for free
return
shipping,
and
does
not
charge
a
restocking
fee,
even
for
returns
which
are
not
the
result
of
merchant
error.
(Note:
In
the
United
Kingdom,
online
shops
are
prohibited
from
charging
a
restocking fee if the consumer
cancels their order in accordance with the
Consumer Protection
(Distance Selling)
Act 2000.
2.
Information and reviews
Online
stores
must
describe
products
for
sale
with
text,
photos,
and
multimedia
files,
whereas
in a physical retail store, the actual product and
the manufacturer's packaging will be
available
for
direct
inspection
(which
might
involve
a
test
drive,
fitting,
or
other
experimentation).
Some
online
stores
provide
or
link
to
supplemental
product
information,
such
as
instructions, safety procedures,
demonstrations, or
manufacturer s
pecifications. Some provide
background
information,
advice,
or
how-to
guides
designed
to
help
consumers
decide
which
product to buy.
Some
stores
even
allow
customers
to
comment
or
rate
their
items.
There
are
also
dedicated review sites that host user
reviews for different products.
In
a
conventional
retail
store,
clerks
are
generally
available
to
answer
questions.
Some
online
stores
have
real-time
chat
features,
but
most
rely
on
or
phone
calls
to
handle
customer
questions.
3.
Price and selection
One
advantage
of
shopping
online
is
being
able
to
quickly
seek
out
deals
for
items
or
services
with
many
different
vendors
(though
some
local
search
engines
do
exist
to
help
consumers locate products for sale in
nearby stores). Search engines, online
price comparison
services and
discovery shopping engines can be used to look up
sellers of a particular product
or
service.
Shipping
costs
(if
applicable)
reduce
the
price
advantage
of
online
merchandise,
though
depending on the jurisdiction, a lack
of sales tax may compensate for this.
Shipping
a
small
number
of
items,
especially
from
another
country,
is
much
more
expensive
than
making
the
larger shipments
bricks- and-mortar
retailers
order.
Some
retailers
(especially
those
selling
small,
high-value
items
like
electronics)
offer
free
shipping
on
sufficiently large orders.
Another
major advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch suppliers and vendors
without
disrupting users' shopping experience..
Disadvantages of online shopping
1.
Fraud and security concerns
Given the lack of
ability to inspect merchandise before purchase,
consumers are at higher
risk of fraud
on the part of the merchant than in a physical
store. Merchants also risk fraudulent
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