As the name implies online shopping is happening over through internet. In this case consumers buy goods or services directly from sellers without an intermediary service. But there can be present intermediate service, then that is called as electronic commerce. There are two forms of e-commerce as Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) online shopping. In B2C you are able to buy products or services from online shop and in Business-to-Business (B2B); online shopping is a business buy from another business.Today more and more people use the internet to do their online shoppingdue to the technological advance. Today, online shopping is more popular and the customerswillbe able to access through a computer, a bank account or a debit card. At the beginning, the main target customer of online shopping was young men with high level education and occupation. But nowadays it has become more popular within middle class men and women. The demand for the online shopping is also increased with favorable attitudes towards new shopping channels.
Customers are able to find interested products by visiting the websites of the retailer directly or by searching different vendors using a shopping search engine. Thereis software called shopping cart software, which is used by retailers that helps the customer to get multiple items and adjust quantities. This process is very similar to filling your shopping cart in a conventional store. Then ‘checkout’ process will start after selection of goods and this is same as counting things at a conventional store before pay. Then in the next step customer will be able to pay. This can be done through payment methods such as credit cards, Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores),Checks ,Debit cards, Electronic money of various types, Gift cards,Postal money order and Wire transfer or delivery on paymentetc. But this payment of method will vary according to the online shopping site. Normally the consumer receives an e-mail of confirmation after the transaction is completed. When the transaction is completed, product delivery step will start. Through downloading, drop shipping, in store pickup and shipping etc. delivery will be done to the customer.
Online shopping has both disadvantages and advantages. The advantages are the ease and convenience due to availability24 hours a day, the easiness of reviewing information and availability of selection with different range of prices. The main disadvantage is that sometimes you cannot ensure security and privacy in the payment. It is very important to keep in mind to follow safety precautions to avoid the probable of a scam. There are some tips such as, try to shop from a computer that is fully secure and don’t use computers in net café. They can steal your password and user name by spy-ware in those public computers. Also, it is very important to check the merchant's shipping and return protocols before making that final purchase. You have to just ensure the fine prints and disclaimers are read properly or not. There you must keep a printed copy of each confirmation email or receipt that you have received. With all these things you will be able to have a wonderful shopping through online shopping web portals.
