Trends and Predictability in Online Shopping

One third of people that shop online use a search engine to find what they are looking for and about one fourth of people find websites by word of mouth. Word of mouth has increased as a leading way that people find websites to shop from. When an online shopper has a good first experience with a certain website sixty percent of the time they will return to that website to buy more.

Books are one of the things bought most online, however clothes, shoes and accessories are all very popular things to buy online. Cosmetics, nutrition products and groceries are increasingly being purchased online. About one fourth of travelers are buying their plane tickets online because it is a quick and easy way to compare airline travel and make a purchase. Online shopping provides more freedom and control than shopping in a store.

According to sociological perspective online shopping is arguably the most predictable way to shop. One knows exactly what website to go to, how much the product will cost, and how long it will take for the product to reach them. Online shopping has become extremely routine and predictable, which is one of its great appeals to the consumer.

Logistics

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).

Payment

Online shoppers commonly use credit card to make payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:

Direct debit in some countries

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 percent of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent

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.
•Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who ships the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer's physical location to save time, money, and space. •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.