Know The Facts And Shop Online With Confidence
If you shopped online this year, youre in good company
. In 2008, more than 875 million shoppers throughout the world logged on to make a purchase. As bricks-and-mortar stores continue to struggle, the number of Internet shoppers has increased 40 percent over the last two years.
The countries with the most Internet shoppers are:
South Korea, with 99 percent of its Internet users shopping online
United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, with 97 percent of Internet users shopping online
United States, with 94 percent of its Internet users shopping online
So what are they purchasing? The most popular items purchased in one three-month period in order of their popularity are:
books
clothing, including accessories and shoes
small electronic items like videos, DVDs and games
airline tickets
electronic equipment
Research has broken down these categories even further to identify the hot products being sold online, based on 2008 online sales over 2007 online sales at the holiday time:
Womens boots, with sales up more than 200 percent
Watches, up 202 percent
Blu-ray/HD-DVD players, up 147 percent
Women's sleepwear, up 415 percent
Games and puzzles, up 151 percent
The most popular products sold during that time include:
Nintendo Wii Console
Ugg Australias classic short boot
Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-Ray disc player
Samsung LN52A650 52-inch LCD TV
Nintendo Wii Fit
Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42-inch plasma TV
Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones
Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit
Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 notebook
Canon PowerShot A590 IS black digital camera
Of the more than 1 million retail stores operating in the United States in early 2008, approximately 148,000 of them closed during the year. Online retailers are picking up the slack, offering new ways to shop and making some improvements that benefit the consumer. For example, when the big electronic chain Circuit City folded, online retailers realized they had to improve their customer service. Many shoppers depended on experienced sales people in the showroom to explain the products to them. This was something missing on many online sites. As a result, some online retailers have expanded their videos and tutorials on their Web sites, giving shoppers more of a showroom experience.
Online shopping has become so mainstream that it has impacted the shopping calendar. While the Friday after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving is now called Cyber Monday. The idea is that Black Friday kicks off in-store shopping and helps retailers put their accounts in the black. But on Cyber Monday, when shoppers are back in the office and in front of their computers, theyll shop for the products they couldnt find. Actually, Cyber Monday isnt the biggest online shopping day of the year. That comes later in the holiday season, usually during the first or second weeks in December.
Tips for saving online
While online retailers try to offer deals and low prices, there are ways you can boost your savings even more.
If you have a favorite store, be sure to sign up to receive news of its sales and special offers. And when it is your birthday, many stores will send you birthday greetings and $10, $20 and sometimes bigger discounts on merchandise.
Look for discounted or free shipping charges. Some stores will waive shipping charges if you agree to pick up the merchandise at the local store.
Always check for coupons before you place an online order. Simply Google the name of the store and the word coupon. A host of offerings will come up. Be careful as some may have expired, but it is worth a quick look to see what discounts are available.
Safety first
Online retailers have taken steps to ensure their payment system is safe. But just as shoppers should not leave credit cards out in the open, there are precautions you should take to protect yourself online.
First, shop on secure Web sites which encrypt credit card information so computer hackers cannot access it. The credit card numbers will not be unscrambled until they get to the person with access privileges. You can tell that a site is secure if it has an s at the beginning of the web address. It should say https:// in the address line. The s may not appear until you get to the order page. You can also look for symbols indicating a secure site, such as closed padlock, toward the bottom of the screen.
Some people keep one credit card they use just for online orders. When the bill comes in, you can quickly scan it to see if there was any unauthorized use. And credit cards offer protection under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, which limits your liability to $50 if your card is stolen and used. Debit and ATM cards do not carry the same protection.
by: Shopping12
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