Internet Shopping - Essay Example

Kona Vishnu Internet Shopping 15 November 2005 Internet Shopping San Francisco Chronicle staff Verne Kopytoff reports that forecasts suggest a strong e-commerce even ten years after its founding. Studies conducted by Jupiter Research and Forrester Research predict a rise in shopping online as compared to retail selling. Sales are expected to grow 18 percent over last year to US $26 billion and are predicted to jump 25 percent to US $18 billion according to Jupiter Research and Forrester Research respectively. Gannett News Service's Rhonda Abrams reported that 54.2 percent Americans using Internet in 2003 purchased products and 78.1 percent used Internet to obtain information on products or services. The China Post's Shelley Shan reports that 37 percent have either purchased or bid online according to a survey conducted by Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC). According to various studies conducted free shipping offers, convenience, flexibility of shopping 24 hours a day, good bargains (low prices) and saving on gas due to less driving have prompted more customers to shop online. Now the question is why and how does the consumer take a decision to buy online Bruce D. Weinberg in his "Internet Shopping 24/7 Research Project Initial Summary" states that A long traditional framework in marketing is a worthwhile lens to look through when charting a path for success (i.e., formulating strategy and tactics) in ecommerce. This framework is known as the consumer buying decision process and it encompasses all consumer behaviors related to buying. It consists of five general stages. Consumers may not experience all of the stages for each buying decision. -Need or problem recognition - the processes related to the realization that a problem needs to be solved (e.g., thirst and hunger). -Information search - seeking and gathering information believed to be relevant and useful to solving a problem. -Alternative Evaluation - analyzing products and merchants on their various strengths and weaknesses and applying choice decision rules (e.g., buy the one with the lowest price). -Purchase - payment and acquisition of product (n.b., the product purchased is not always the one preferred by a consumer -- e.g., when Coca Cola is not available on an airplane, many people drink Pepsi). -Post purchase - behavior related to both the felt comfort and satisfaction levels with the purchase experience and decision; all product related activities that one does after purchasing a product (e.g., returning an item, using an item and being either satisfied or dissatisfied, spreading word-of-mouth). Bruce D. Weinberg in the same article further states that "The Internet creates an information intensive environment where power and success is very much high quality information and the ability to best understand and utilize it. Exchange (i.e., buying and selling) information is typically generated by either buyers or sellers, though certainly others can generate relevant exchange information -- for example, those who provide advice (e.g., e-pinions.com). Taken together, this highlights a very important lesson. Buyers and sellers need to listen very carefully to each other as it is their communication skills -- the ability to clearly transmit and interpret needs in the form of information". Further following points are to be kept in mind while developing a website: Make it easy to find desired products at the site. Consumers want to know quickly the purpose of a site; and they want to know who is involved in the venture. Respond quickly to consumer requests for information or assistance. Provide useful and direct information. Provide live or software-based agent assistance online. Enable comparison shopping. State upfront all order-related factors and the total cost of a transaction. Maintain tight security when handling customers' credit card numbers. Keep your customers apprised of fulfillment progress. Simplify product returns and exchanges. Respect your customers' privacy. Don't underestimate the intelligence, savvy, and voice of online consumers. Trust is at the heart of success in ecommerce. In addition exact specifications and pictures of the products available may be displayed on the site. It should be in "What You See is What You Get" pattern (WYSWYG) thus leading to a successful online shopping website. Chen-Hsuan Kuan's editor Nancy Stubbs reports in Technology Forecast that There is a new class of software on the software market helping people set up electronic stores online. The software is called 'online store-builders.' The basic elements of an online store-builder are a database for dispensing catalog data, HTML authoring tools to help create the pages the customer will see, and a variety of tools to handle accounting, order processing, payment, and other back-office functions-with enough integration to make sure these work together effectively. Most of these products can be run under Windows or Windows and Unix. Their prices are between $1,000 and $10,000 (King 1997). What are the benefits to the business Benefits of Commercialization on WWW reported that marketing businesses and magazines help companies provide goods and services on the Internet. Suppliers, distributors, and retailers of hard goods are benefiting from the Internet. Smaller companies are able to access a global market and compete with larger companies to attract customers via Internet shopping. In addition Internet can be used to create or expand a client base and provide access to consumers around the world. The Internet users can also be helpful in providing information about product analysis, advice, or help with problems. Before investing in costly goods or services, businesses can request for a feedback from others who have purchased the same goods and services. What are the benefits to the customer Benefits of Commercialization on WWW reported that biggest benefit to the consumer besides convenience is access to global marketplace and getting a good bargain for related products from different suppliers. The consumer can choose to hear audio, view the video or product in a virtual environment. The product updates and information is equally available to all customers any time of the day or night irrespective of their race, gender or ethnicity. Finally the consumer can order for a product from the warmth of his house or from the busy desk of his office just by the click of a mouse. In conclusion, it can be said that Internet shopping is developing in leaps and bounds in times to come with increasing number of online shopping websites coming into being and swelling customer base. Simultaneously utmost care should be taken by the online websites to protect the consumer's privacy and security information from hackers to avoid the theft of credit card info. In addition attractive schemes like free shipping of goods and incentives should be given to the consumers to promote sales. Quality products with exact specifications should be displayed on the web pages to attract consumer's attention. Safe delivery of the products should be ensured by the sender. Post-sales feedback should be obtained from the consumer and problems if any should be attended to immediately. Works Cited Verne Kopytoff. "Online retail growth forecast 2 studies see sales accelerating as much as 25 percent." San Francisco Chronicle November 1, 2005. < http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgifile=/c/a/2005/11/01/BUG38FGVUP1.DTL> Rhonda Abrams. "Internet presence key in business world." Gannett News Service November 3, 2005. Shelley Shan. "Study shows fastest-growing online activities in 2005." The China Post. November 4, 2005. Bruce D. Weinberg. "Internet Shopping 24/7 Research Project Initial Summary." 2000 < http://www.internetshopping247.com/IS247Pv1.pdf>. Nancy Stubbs. "Internet Shopping." Technology Forecast: 1997. < http://www-rcf.usc.edu/wdutton/comm533/internetshopping.html>. "Benefits of Commercialization". Page retrieved on November 15, 2005 < http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/commercialism/benefits.htm>. Read More