Online Shopping
Online Shopping
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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.
The term 'webshop' has a number of meanings as a noun. An online retailer may be called a 'webshop'. Web development, hosting and other web-related activities can be called 'webshops.' The word 'webshop' is also used as a verb- 'I will webshop for that.' Buying online grew because, over time, transportation costs went up and telecom costs went down and access to the Internet became commonplace. Online shopping offers a larger selection of goods and services and thus greater choice at optimal prices. The problems with online shopping are that you can not smell, touch, taste or try what you are buying.
In general, shopping has always catered to middle class and upper class women. Shopping is fragmented and pyramid-shaped. At the pinnacle are elegant boutiques for the affluent; a huge belt of inelegant but ruthlessly efficient "discounters" flog plenty at the pyramid's precarious middle. According to the analysis of Susan D. Davis, at its base are the world's workers and poor, on whose cheapened labor the rest of the pyramid depends for its incredible abundance. Shopping has evolved from single stores to large malls containing many stores that most often offer attentive service, store credit, delivery, and acceptance of returns. These new additions to shopping have encouraged and targeted middle class women.
In recent years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class.[citation needed] 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 we[who?] focus 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. 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. Sociocultural pressure has made men generally more independent in their purchase decisions, while women place greater value on personal contact and social relations.[citation needed]
Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly, or do a search across many different vendors using a shopping search engine.
Once a particular product has been found on the web site of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, by analogy with filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout" process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. Some stores allow consumers to sign up for a permanent online account so that some or all of this information only needs to be entered once. The consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete. Less sophisticated stores may rely on consumers to phone or e-mail their orders (though credit card numbers are not accepted by e-mail, for security reasons).
Online shoppers commonly use credit card to make payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:
Some sites will not allow international credit cards and billing address and shipping address have to be in the same country in which site does its business. Other sites allow customers from anywhere to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction might be processed in real time (for example, letting the consumer know their credit card was declined before they log off), or might be done later as part of the fulfillment process.
While credit cards are currently the most popular means of paying for online goods and services, alternative online payments will account for 26% of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent.
The term 'webshop' has a number of meanings as a noun. An online retailer may be called a 'webshop'. Web development, hosting and other web-related activities can be called 'webshops.' The word 'webshop' is also used as a verb- 'I will webshop for that.' Buying online grew because, over time, transportation costs went up and telecom costs went down and access to the Internet became commonplace. Online shopping offers a larger selection of goods and services and thus greater choice at optimal prices. The problems with online shopping are that you can not smell, touch, taste or try what you are buying.
In general, shopping has always catered to middle class and upper class women. Shopping is fragmented and pyramid-shaped. At the pinnacle are elegant boutiques for the affluent; a huge belt of inelegant but ruthlessly efficient "discounters" flog plenty at the pyramid's precarious middle. According to the analysis of Susan D. Davis, at its base are the world's workers and poor, on whose cheapened labor the rest of the pyramid depends for its incredible abundance. Shopping has evolved from single stores to large malls containing many stores that most often offer attentive service, store credit, delivery, and acceptance of returns. These new additions to shopping have encouraged and targeted middle class women.
In recent years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class.[citation needed] 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 we[who?] focus 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. 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. Sociocultural pressure has made men generally more independent in their purchase decisions, while women place greater value on personal contact and social relations.[citation needed]
Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly, or do a search across many different vendors using a shopping search engine.
Once a particular product has been found on the web site of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, by analogy with filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout" process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. Some stores allow consumers to sign up for a permanent online account so that some or all of this information only needs to be entered once. The consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete. Less sophisticated stores may rely on consumers to phone or e-mail their orders (though credit card numbers are not accepted by e-mail, for security reasons).
Online shoppers commonly use credit card to make payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:
Some sites will not allow international credit cards and billing address and shipping address have to be in the same country in which site does its business. Other sites allow customers from anywhere to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction might be processed in real time (for example, letting the consumer know their credit card was declined before they log off), or might be done later as part of the fulfillment process.
While credit cards are currently the most popular means of paying for online goods and services, alternative online payments will account for 26% of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent.
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