From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet. An online shop, e-shop, internet shop, webshop or online store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping mall. It is an electronic commerce application used for business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B) or business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C). Online shopping is popular mainly because of its speed and ease of use. Some issues of concern can include fluctuating exchange rates for foreign currencies, local and international laws and delivery methods.

Product reviews

Online shoppers can easily learn from previous experiences of different products, mostly by reading user or expert reviews. Reading online product reviews is usually the first step in online shopping, which plays an important role in customers' decisions. Many online stores such as Amazon.com and Newegg today allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are also dedicated review sites (e.g. Epinions, etc.) to host user reviews for different products.

Store reputation

It is important to do business with reputable online stores to avoid possible Internet fraud and to easily exchange or return when things go wrong. Again, shoppers often read store ratings or reviews by other customers if they are not familiar with some online stores.

Some general guidelines apply when choosing an online store

• Honesty in providing product information and availability
• Speed of orders processing
• Shipping cost and speed: online package tracking is popular today
• Return/exchange policy: the time frame customers can return/exchange; who should pay the returning shipping; if there is any restocking fee etc.

Some online stores also provide live chat with their representatives in case customer need to discuss the product.

Means of payment

Oline shoppers commonly use their credit card for making payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as

• Debit card
• Various types of electronic money
• Cash on delivery (C.O.D.) Note: Very few online stores will ship C.O.D.
• Cheque
• Wire transfer/delivery on payment
• Postal money order
• PayPal
• Google Checkout
• Gift Cards
• Direct Debit in some countries

Product Delivery

Once a payment has been accepted the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways.

• Download: This is the method often used for digital media products such as software, music, movies, or images.
• Shipping: The product is shipped to the customer's address.
• In-store pickup: The customer orders online, finds a local store using locator software and picks the product up at the closest store. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks business model.

Security issues

• User and payment data is encrypted by SSL when it is transferred on the Internet.
• Quality seals can be placed on the Shop webpage if it has undergone an independent assessment and meets all requirements of the company issuing the seal. The purpose of these seals is to increase the confidence of the online shoppers; the existence of many different seals foils this effort to a certain extent.
• Privacy of personal information is a big issue. In spite of Privacy Guidelines of the OECD, for example, privacy violations still occur and hamper eCommerce from developing to its full potential.

Age

Many online stores require customers to be at least 18 for some reason.