Online shopping in boon
“When everything is available at our door step, why going and shopping outside?” say many youngsters. The internet has become a shopping mall in itself and online shopping has become a breeze in the recent times. A new craze plunged amongst the youngsters for shopping online. Global retailers are stepping up technology spend as more consumers prefer to shop from the comfort of their homes. As Internet shopping is becoming a trend, branded stores and outlets sales have reduced when compared to the past. The new seasonal offers beget the mindset of the people buying online. You can also save your money especially when you couple it with online savings codes, deals of the day, and free shipping offers.
You can purchase almost anything online, starting with groceries and greeting cards to cell phones and ringtones for the cell phones. While most people still find it convenient to buy their groceries from the neighbourhood shop, many people are purchasing rail and air tickets over the Internet.
Let’s date back to the history and see who the creator is and when online shopping started. In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser which opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and online payment. During the same year, NETSCAPE introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. In 1995 Jeff Bezos launched Amazon which created history by becoming the first online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared.
For online shopping, Customers have to access to a computer with Internet and then find a product of their interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine. After selection the method of payment is done in different means. But indeed everything has its own Pros and Cons.
Pros:
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Firstly it’s very convenient and easy, no need to dress up or spend time on shopping.
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There are ‘n’ number of shopping sites where you can compare products and prices just by a click.
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No need to run from table to table to transfer money and stand in long queues for payment.
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The festive offers provided by these portals bring down the price of the products considerably, while the same quality is maintained.
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The pricing of the goods are surprisingly low when compared to outlets and branded stores. You get the delivery at the comfort of your house.
As the potential of online shopping is being grasped, there are many people who magnify and look at its flipside.
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Online shopping frauds are more dangerous, because once the security is breached, fraudsters can siphon off a lot of money without the victim realising it.
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Sometimes looks can be deceiving because you do not get to test the product before you buy it.
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At times shipping costs will be extremely high when compared to the purchase of products.
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In case if the purchase goods are not good, you can’t return it back.
India is witnessing an unprecedented economic boom and this is visible through online shopping and E-commerce. Given the near universal availability of Internet connectivity, consumers save time and efforts by shopping online. More and more merchants are realising the enormous potential of the medium of Internet and are gearing up to offer products and services.
“I think online shopping is great. I’ve grown an increased interest in doing most of my shopping online because of its convenience, no rush, and because you view everything in one place. You get more options as laid out on a single page and cash on delivery makes it more reliable” says Keertana Rumalla , CSIIT student.
With rising Internet penetration and adoption of mobile devices across the country, companies selling products and services through websites are looking at smaller cities for expanding business. Use of e-commerce, which primarily refers to buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products or services over Internet and other computer networks, has taken off in India. Though not big enough currently compared to peer markets, e-commerce is expected to grow in near future.
Abhishikth Vuppala, a young entrepreneur says, “the convenience of online shopping has forced me to setup an online account. Online shopping is fun, but my advice is to be safe, smart enough and make sure you are buying a product from a reputed website. Do your research like you would do to any other store”
Some of the prominent online shopping stores that one might want to try include Amazon, eBay, eBiz, Fashion and You, westyle, retail mart, naaptol, shopperstop and many more. Most prominent deals of the day are available at Snap-deal, Future Bazaar, online marts, desi-time, deals and you, baggittoday. indiaplaza etc
Recent survey says Germans and British come on top for using online shopping with 74 per cent of respondents in both countries having bought something online in the past three months and in India, people who buy online is 50 percent.
So get ready to change your shopping experience… HAPPY SHOPPING!