COM125 Week 2: Online Shopping

In 1994, shopping malls arrive on the Internet. Pizza Hut started the service of ordering pizzas online. The first cyberbank, First Virtual opened for business. There were also attempts to offer flower delivery and magazine subscriptions online. (Hobbes' Internet Timeline, 2007) 1994 can probably be considered the year that the online shopping technology had a major head start.

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce (e-commerce), which is known as "the buying and selling of goods and services, and the transfer of funds, through digital communications." (Wikipedia, 2007) Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products and services over the Internet. It mostly represents business-to-consumer electronic commerce (B2C). (Wikipedia, 2007)



Today, 13 years later, online shopping has grown massively on the Internet. Many Internet users have shopped online at least once. Some are regular online shoppers. It is obvious that online shopping works, albeit not for all online retailers. There are a few reasons why online shopping works. One of the main reasons is because of the many advantages to both consumers and retailers. First, operating an online business is relatively low cost compared to operating a physical store. With lower operating cost, some retailers are able to lower the prices of their products and services, giving consumers a better selling price.

Second, consumers can shop in the comfort of their homes, usually at any time of the day. There is the ease of use, convenience and speed when it comes to shopping online. In addition, consumers can compare prices easily and read product reviews to enable better decision making. Consumers also have the choice of getting their products delivered straight to their homes, which is an attractive plus to busy consumers with no time to collect their purchases personally.

Third, consumers can purchase products which are unavailable to them in their own countries. This can be very appealing to consumers who want to buy a particular product in another country. They will only need to pay the extra shipping cost for the product to be shipped over to them, without the need of any traveling. This is advantageous to the retailer as well, as retailers can reach consumers worldwide with their products.

Of course, there are also certain disadvantages to online shopping. One of its main concerns is the security issue. Despite the many improvements to credit card security issues made in the recent years, many users are still apprehensive about giving out their credit card information online due to fear of fraud case. Non-technological disadvantages are also impeding the growth of online shopping. Traditional consumers still prefer to browse products in its physical state instead of just viewing them online, via a computer screen. There is also the issue of discrepancies in color and size when viewing a product online compared to seeing it in its physical state.

However, despite the disadvantages, online shopping has grown tremendously in these 13 years. From 1994 where Pizza Hut started offering the service of ordering pizzas online. Now, countless of pizza chains have already made their delivery service available online. In 1994, where the first online bank, First Virtual opened for business to now, 2007, when online banking are used by almost every major bank in the world. In 1994, where shopping malls first arrive online and now where online shopping are seen virtually everywhere.

The Internet of today is filled with the advertisements, of both online and offline shopping. Mailboxes are filled with junk mails of advertisements, special offers and discounts. The possibilities of consumers spending money on the Internet has grown from an innovation to a norm. As the number of internet users increase, products and services can potentially reach more people. The Internet became an extremely marketable channel for retailers. Consumers themselves saw the lucrative market. They started setting up their own websites to sell their products and services or selling them in auction sites like eBay.com.

The modes of payment online have also increased. Typically, the most common mode of payment online shoppers use is still the credit cards. Some online retailers now provide other options like Paypal, various types of electronic money, checks, cash on delivery and other various methods.

Online shopping is constantly improving its services and efficiency, while also reassuring internet users of the security and convenience of internet shopping. Online shops are so common now we sometimes don’t even bother taking a second look at them. With online shops having a stronger web presence than ever, the bigwigs like Amazon.com and eBay.com are likely to survive and do even better online than ever. Especially with their strong reputation and large variety of products available to the consumers.

References

E-commerce (October 29, 2005). M/Cyclopedia of New Media. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/E-Commerce

Hobbes' Internet Timeline v8.2 (November 1, 2006). Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/

Online shop (2007). Wikipedia.org. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shop

Virtual Shopping (2007). Wikipedia.org. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_shopping

the many sides to her

Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that I will be doing mandatory blogging for a course in school. Frankly, I'm having mixed feelings towards this. Before I forget, my name's Shelwyn, or u can call me Shel.

Unlike many of my classmates, blogging is no stranger to me. I first came into contact with blogging in 2002, when blogging wasn't even widely known in Singapore yet. I had a couple of domains but I was never a serious or professional blogger. I only blogged about random thoughts and updates of my life. I still blog sometimes, but I don't think of myself as a blogger anymore.

Most friends don't know this, but I actually have quite a diverse range of interests. I'm one of the few girls who is into guys stuff, and yet has a soft spot for girly stuff. Hmm, let's see. I like technology like gadgets, computers and the Net. I'm a very online person. My lappie is usually on the moment I reach home till before I go to bed. I shop quite abit online too, but mostly for girly products like accessories, skincare, nail polishes, etc. I simply adore accessories especially earrings. I consider myself a collector because I update my earrings collection quite regularly. I make my own jewelry too but less often now. The photo below is part of my lovely collection.



I loved gaming. It started with the Sega Genesis when I was really young, then PS, and finally the PS2. No intentions of getting PS3 since I no longer spend much time gaming. I'm officially retired after Final Fantasy XI (MMORPG). In my opinion, MMORPGs can be really dangerous if you don't exercise self-control coz they are so addictive. I once felt that I was almost losing grasp of reality. Here's a screenshot of FFXI I took when I was still very much into the game.



I'm also crazy about Stitch from Disney's Lilo & Stitch. I think he's so adorable I don't mind having him as a pet! The reason why I like him isn't just because of how cute he is, but also because of his personality. He's such an unique Disney character who started out as an anti-hero. He is arrogant, rude, charming, funny, cute, intelligent and powerful, all rolled into one! Here's my first medium-sized stitch plush that I bought online!



What else.. Right, I am a hopeless tv and movie junkie. I love superheroes blockbusters as well as corny romantic comedies. I try to watch some tv even when I'm really busy. When I watch tv or movies, I get so engrossed, it takes me away from the real world for a while. I think that keeps me sane. Music is another huge part of my life. I listen to pop, rock, R&B, jazz, and more recently, bossa nova. I play the piano but I don't think I'm really good at it. I guess I just don't practice enough. And I hope to learn the violin one day.

Ok, enough of my interests. I'm majoring in communication because I'm fascinated with the media. I think it's amazing how influential the media can be. PR is also a field I'm interested in. I heard its tough and I'm unsure if the PR industry is really suitable for me, but I figured I'll never know until I give it a try.

Gosh, this is like the first time I revealed that many details about myself at one shot. Haha. Oh well. And one last thing, I hope to get lots of As this semester! Wish me luck!