Online shopping
Chapter:1 Overview of E-business:
Before moving with the main topic lets just have the scenario of e-business in our country as e-shopping is an activity of e-shopping.
The Indian private sector recognizes economies of e-business. Clearly, the opportunity (and the need) for Indian businesses to get onto the e-business power curve is really quite high. Needless to add, that the potential exists. The size of the transactions over the net piddling size when compared to world. Unlike in the past, Where existing attitudes have posed major challenges to adopting a new way of life, with the internet it has been rather a smooth sailing, thanks to the extraordinary levels of internet awareness in the country. As a result of this, companies have been more open to taking studied chances. As a result of this, companies have been more open to taking studied chances, as is evident. Here, we are not just talking of companies that have static web sites but those which conduct commerce on the net like color Plus, India Bookshop, bababazzar, Rediff-on-the\net and shoppers stop, Bazee.com, Auctionindia.com, India plaza.com, selling from books and shirts to vegetables and soaps, from electronic goods to the old second hand non performing assets of companies to other companies. The lack of infrastructure was a serious impediment, but bottlenecks are soon being removed. With several private value-added networks(VANs) coming up and with the reach of internet expanding, this is becoming less of a problem. In fact, collective experience indicates that firms can deploy e-commerce solutions over the current infrastructure and realize significant benefits from them. To be fair, this is one area that has received focus from the highest levels and there is feverish activity to build bigger bandwidth and crucial payment gateways, which will enable online care authorization.
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Online shopping The needs to get its legal, legislative, regulatory, infrastructure and manpower ready for e-business. Already some of this readiness can be seen, and hence, India is ready to boom in e-business While the air of optimism persists, the fact remains that in India Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has not really taken off. Therefore, doubts persists whether corporate and government in specific will adopt this as quickly as is made out. One of the main reasons is high entry cost of EDI because of which companies fight shy of trying out.
1.1 The Actual E-Business Operation Can Be Described As Follows. 1) The client uses the web browsers on the local terminal to connect to the ecommerce site via the internet/intranet.
2) The site presents the client with the products/ services offered . usually a smart
website flashes some new product in their website so that consumers or visitors have a access to it. The site provides with various option, important option which buyer have is search as they can search the product which they want and can a pleasure of accessing the site. Whereas for seller there is option known as click to sell to sell their product.
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Online shopping
3. The client chooses to make online transaction, and the e-Commerce sire requests the client browsers to enable an SSL-protected link. This link-tolink encryption offers an SSL-protected link. This link-to-link encryption offers high level security to the entire process.
4. The E-commerce site (also called the server), requests personal and financial information from the client that is relevant to the authentication and validation of the transaction in process. This is sent for validation to a transaction server connected to all database of all the supporting financial institution. (foe E.g. , the authentication database of Mastercard, American Express or Visa), or the internal authentication database of an internet. Depending on the values returned to the transaction server by the authentication database, the client’s transaction process is further processed.
E-business really means the extension of business systems and providing an easy to use interface between the external world and the organization, while increasing reach. Where one can complete the transaction online and integrate the supply into transaction management process.
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Online shopping Chapter:2
History of online shopping
Since about 1990, online shopping has emerged into every corner of life, linking people to the culture of capitalism in frequent and daily ways. It lets us buy what we want, when we want at our convenience, and helps us to imagine ourselves buying, owning, and having positive outcomes by the goods available out there on the web. Shopping has been a way of identifying oneself in today's culture by what we purchase and how we use our purchases. Online shopping has always been a middle to high class commodity since its first arrival on the internet in society History of Online Shopping starts not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee created "The World Wide Web Browser" in 1990. In1994 few other developments took place. Online bank , the first of its kind opened in year 2005-2006. Another development was opening of online pizza shop by pizza hut. In the same year Netscape introduced SSL encryption to enable encryption over the data transferred online. This later became the necessity of online shopping. In 1995, Amazon started operation, one of the largest online shopping mall now. Then in 1996 eBay started its online shopping portal. 1998 witnessed use of electronic postage stamps, where people can download and print postal stamps after paying nominal fee. In 1999 the first online shop in UK launched. Years later, people started reviewing products and then it became obvious that web can also be used for selling goods. Instead of writing reviews, marketers started writing with “sales pitch” (copywriting), which is still one of the important aspects of e commerce. The important years in e-commerce history. 1994 : Pizza Hut opened its Online Shop.
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1994 : Netscape introduced the SSL system, which became the necessity for every online transaction. 1995 : Amazon.com launched its operations. 1996 : eBay started its services. 1999 : First online shop in UK launched. 2000 : Dot.com Burst 2003 : Amazon.com’s first year of profit.2005 : Google became the dominant search engine to find and buy goods and service.
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Online shopping Chapter:3 What is online shopping?
Online shopping, internet shopping or web shopping is the process of buying and selling done over the web. With the help of Internet, now you can buy things online from the comfort of your home. You can compare products, check prices, read reviews and make decision in fraction of time than that you normally need when you do the real world shopping. Just like in real-world shopping, you need to have a shop or mall for people to come and buy things. In online world, the shop is a website called online shopping site or simply online shopping mall. Online mall in reality is a catalog of products available for shopping. These catalog contains products arranged to categories, prices and brands. You can select the products of your interest and add to the “Virtual Basket” called online shopping cart. When you finish shopping, you can checkout and pay for the products using your credit card or bank account. Online shopping does not necessarily be concentrated on products, in fact online shopping can also be done for services. For example, insurance services can be bought
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Online shopping online. Online shopping is the one part of e commerce revolution, where every business is finding its online presence more profitable and easily manageable. Features: 1. Digital convergence: The digital revolution has made it possible for digital
devises to communicate with each other there is a massive growth of networking which has made it possible to navigate on internet. As today we can see many transactions takes place through network connected globally. Smooth and efficient transactions take place because of digital availability.
2. Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime: E-commerce; to be in more deep, is made available to anyone, anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, a consumer do not feel barrier of any kind that can restrict him from buying the goods online until and unless there is a network breakdown.
3. Increasing pressure on operating costs and profit margins: Global competition and the proliferation of products and services worldwide have added unusual pressure on operating costs and profit margins. E-commerce addresses these concerns quickly and efficiently at lower costs.
4. Changes in organization: Today, the trend is toward parterning owners and managers across department to develop chain of relationships that adds value to the enterprise by maintaining relationship with the customers.
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Online shopping 5. Demand for customized products and services: Today, the customer have become more choosy and demand higher quality and better performance, includinga customized way of producing, delivery and paying for goods and services.
6. Information sharing, convience and control: E-commerce improves information sharing between merchants and customers and promotes quick, just-in-time deliveries. Customer and merchants save time as they order at anytime of the day. Instead of banks controlling the relationship with the customers, the latter can have more control of their banking needs via websites
7. .Collaborative Working: Ecommerce facilitate the various business partners, customers from different geographical locations and suppliers to work in a collaborative manner in order to manage, allocate and improve project work without any geographical location barriers.
8. Comparison between products: E-shopping provides customer to make comparisons between different brands by going through customer reviews, so it helps a consumer to make the choice or preferences of the product and ultimately it helps them to make their buying decision.
Advantages 1. Convience: The major advantage of online shopping is the convenience it offers. By sitting back at home you can now shop anything from candles to vehicles by several clicks of mouse buttons. The worry you may have on traveling, traffic blocks and parking constraints in real world shopping can be
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Online shopping avoided while shopping online. With online shopping, you need not have to worry about weather conditions as well.
2. Time Flexibility: Another big advantage of online shopping is the flexibility of shopping. Unlike offline shops, online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problems. You can shop 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Is n't that amazing to have a shop open always ?
3. Price and quality comparison: One of the advantage of online shopping is the facilities available for product, price comparisons. Since so many companies have come up with the facilities of online shopping, the price comparison and quality comparison of the products and services are possible. Some online malls also provide customer reviews about each product, thus you can easily find out what other customers think about the product or services before buying it.
4. Amazing Offers: You can efficiently use these facilities to decide whether a product or service is worth the price quoted. If you are lucky you will be also getting amazing offers from different online stores that will effectively reduce the price than buying offline.
5. Information provided: online shopping provides ample information regarding the product which the consumer expect about the product such as for car it covers the company name, mileage, manufacturing date, etc.
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Online shopping 6. Payment Credit Period: In E-shopping consumer do not need to make tangible payment of their goods as the consumer need to pay it after some period which gives consumer a better time period to make arrangement for the payment.
7. No Geographical Barrier: Ecommerce facilitate people to carry out their business without any geographical barrier because all the business transaction of buying and selling has to be done over the internet which implies no geographical barrier.
Disadvantages to consumers: 1. Lack of personal interaction: In online shopping consumer is supposed to buy the goods with the help of information provided by the website about the respective product, here it is assumed that with these information the is convinced to buy the product. there is no salesman to provide information about the product. 2. Tangibility factor: in online shopping there is absence of tangibility factor. . Seeing the picture of a product is far inferior to that of seeing it in real world. When you go for real world shopping, you can actually touch, feel or sense it with different means, but for online shopping you can only view the electronic catalogues. Eventhough this problems has been rectified to certain extent by use of 3D product catalogues, some online malls still uses the old fashioned images in product catalogues. 3. Shipping cost: If the shipping cost is more than the actual product cost, then in such situation it becomes senseless and meaningful to make purchase through online shopping.
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Online shopping 4. No scope for bargaining: In online shopping the consumer do not have any scope for bargaining he has to get convinced with what the displaying price of the product. Except for online auction. 5. Time factor: Once the customer places an order then he has to wait long, in order to get delivery of his product, since it is a long procedure it normally takes 10-15 days to actually reach the product to the consumer. 6. Security factor: While making online shopping the consumer should have to be conscious about the usage of his credit cards, so that it gets prevented from any unauthorized users such as hackers, so security concern becomes another deterring factor for the consumer while going for online shopping. 7. Not suitable for all categories of products: The consumer become more physical oriented for some goods such as perfumes, clothes etc because they can be purchased by the customer only having a good fragrance, good quality etc.
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Online shopping Chapter:4 Traffic of consumer
Overall, the Shopping & Classifieds category received 25% of traffic referred from search. While the number may seem low, keep in mind that many of the product categories received a higher share of traffic from search while the Auctions & Classifieds are less reliant upon search (15% and 14%) but represent nearly 35% of the visits within the Shopping & Classifieds category.
It is interesting to know that many consumers are going for online shopping to purchase the GROSSERY items. Because of the convenience the consumer get of sitting home and shopping. People of India generally metropolitan cities residing consumers go for online grocery shopping. Groceries are different from many other products, such as music and books, that are commonly purchased online. Many grocery products are perishable and therefore timesensitive in terms of their delivery needs. In addition, groceries are a replacement product, i.e., the same basket of products is more-or-less purchased on a regular basis. Finally, groceries are high-touch items, meaning that consumers like to inspect the
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Online shopping quality of items they are purchasing. Nearly five years ago the business of online shopping was not that much accelerated as it is now as it was just the initial stage of grocery purchasing online. Apart from these even people were not aware about purchasing online. Slowly, Slowly internet shopping started penetrating in the minds of consumers and so purchasing of online grocery also. ). This growing market had attracted an number of "pure-plays" - companies that focused exclusively on selling through the Internet, and attempted to replace traditional bricks-and-mortar supermarkets. Most of these pureplays failed spectacularly. Today, traditional bricks-and-mortars stores are increasingly entering the online market in an attempt to leverage both brand awareness and create distribution efficiencies. Many seller i.e. online sellers started going foe Bricks And Clicks selling where the consumer can get the delivery of his product at the nearby store by placing online order. One of the Most popular website for purchasing grocery online is indiaplaza.com Which provides over 1500 products that you can purchase online where almost all the drands all available such as BRU, Amul ,MDH, Horlicks ,Bournvita etc. The Food Marketing Institute (or FMI) is an organization that conducts research, education and public affairs programs for food retailers and wholesalers. FMI's membership consists of approximately 1,500 companies in 50 countries, ranging from large chain stores to independent supermarkets. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has identified reasons that people, generally speaking, choose to shop online (FMI, 2000). FMI research revealed that 86 percent of consumers go online or access their computer on a daily basis. Of these individuals, 70 percent use the Internet frequently for shopping. Those consumers between the ages of 25 to 34 are most likely to use the Internet for shopping. FMI also identified how respondents locate online shopping sites. The two main methods are looking in the Web site of a familiar store and doing a keyword search on a browser; Table 1. as we saw in table 1. which clearly indicates that consumer while going for grocery shopping will go for those website where they are experienced with or very well aware about the website. By accessing or going through it clearly indicate that
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Online shopping stores with a bricks-and-mortar presence have an advantage in attracting new users to their sites. as majority will access to the website of familiar store. Consumer’s Decision for Going Online At first the consumer decides on certain aspects, and then it influences him/her whether to go for online grocery shopping or not. There are many traditional Retail shops, supermarkets from where the consumer can easily buy the grocery products. It is but obvious that consumer will compare between various factor and then arrive ultimately at the final decision of buying. The decision to purchase groceries online occurs after consumers evaluate the benefits and costs of this decision versus using a traditional brick-and-mortar versus a straight online store. There are five critical elements that determine whether a consumer shops online or in a traditional grocery store . 1. Price; 2. Ambiance; 3. Convenience; 4. Service; 5. Product variety Many of the bricks-and-mortar formats vying for consumers' attention are focused primarily on two of these elements, namely price and variety. However, owing to service fees incurred when shopping online, traditional grocery stores typically experienced a comparative price advantage over e-grocers. Online grocery shopping involves certain service charges which get skipped in traditional purchase of online shopping. . E-grocers were found to be comparable to their bricks-and-mortar counterparts in terms of product variety, and were viewed more favorably on the dimensions of ambience, convenience and service. With regard to service and convenience, the following observations were made:
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Online shopping While service is often mentioned as an attribute offered by retailers, consumer perceptions of the service levels offered is quite different and not highly valued. Convenience offerings are limited to distance and the product must be available or not available over there. The appeal of e-grocery services is also influenced by many consumers findings grocery shopping a stressful activity. Many consumer find that purchasing a grocery is a stressful task to do. Mainly it might be due to they need to carry huge weighing burden with them or they are more accustomed towards the Ambiance of Malls, etc. On these pretext it can be said that; Crowding is disliked because it frustrates customers achieving their task as easily as they would like ... It may also invoke feelings of claustrophobia in some people ... Queuing is a function of crowding and adds to the feeling of frustration and the distress this causes" . Well on grocery shopping there are also certain other factors which deters the consumer for going grocery shopping and make favorable them online grocery shopping. The
factors such as:
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Online shopping ? Time Constraints: In many house there is dual-income family structure. A study reveals out that 50% of e-grocery consumers earn more than US$50,000 per year .Mainer times the lady of the house don’t get enough time to go physically and purchased the Grocery which is a keen essential commodity. Now here their preference towards online grocery shopping make it easy for them as they can just access the internet and get the grocery of their choice just sitting at their home or office or even in car. ? Disabilities related to age: In a study conducted by Finland, Heikkila on these topic discovered that the elder persons and disabled persons are second most consumer who go for shopping of grocery online. It is basically because of their age it is not possible for them to physically go and buy grocery. Majority of them live alone so buying online is the best preferred choice by the elder citizens. even if they order on telephone they are not able to get the price of each and every product other than these ? Price comparison and variety.: Well another of consumer is the one who just sit at home and with the help of E-Shopping they are able to see the varieties of product can compare between the prices of two products. Due to ample of varieties availability these make a preference for them to go for online shopping. Purchasing of grocery Sr.no Malls, supermarkets internet 1 Here even though the products Here a consumer can sit at are arranged as per the his place can hear a soft category, but it irritates as we music and can access on the see a long shelves where these products smoothly . are arranged and looking for every category and every product 2 is a tired some activity. Always carrying basket while Just need to add the product
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Online shopping shopping and its weight in the shopping cart. Which
getting increase along with the also gives detail of the bugs also creates a frustration products purchased and total 3 for the consumer. While making cost till now. payment Here the consumer will just
waiting for the long queue is click on check-out . another tired some job in traditional shopping
At the same time their has also been increase in the alcohol sector, consumer mainly prefers to buy online alcohol because they are able to see different varieties available and accordingly go for their purchase of online shopping of alcohol. A consumer can find ample alcohol such as Echinacea Extract Alcohol Free 4 Oz Immune System,etc. 5.1 House And Garden House and garden is third most products which has been sold out in the year 2008, nearly the sales in these sector has been increased by almost 30%. The consumer prefers these products because these are the daily user products of the consumers. The products which are available under these sector are 1. Inside the Home:- These Sub-category of House and Garden involves all those products which are required at home and almost which are essential to put into the basket. The products such as Bath,Bedding,Food & Wine, Furniture, Home Décor & Accents, Housekeeping & Organization Kitchen Dining & Bar Lamps, Lighting & Ceiling Fans, Major Appliances, Rugs & Carpets. It includes smallest of the smallest product of our home under window treatment which includes curtain rods and hardware, curtain drapes, shutters, so with these products available online consumer prefers to go online.
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Online shopping 2. Pet supplies:- It is surprising to know that even pets are sold online, the pets such as parrot fish, dogs, cats etc, with a number of varieties available. There are more than 1000 to 2000 varieties available for online shopping. The products under Pet categories involves Aquarium and fish, Cat, Dog, Bird, Reptile, Horse etc.Also even smallest of the smallest product required for these products is available such as cage for birds, belts for dogs, even pedigree. Thermometer and Heaters for animals and birds etc.
3. Tools and Home improvement:- These category includes the products which keeps our home up to the mark and which arte essential in our home such as hardware, air cooling and Heating Equipment, Home security E.g. Camera outside the door, Plumbing and Fixtures E.G. bath Tub, Hand Shower, Taps etc. Tools i.e. the devices which are usually required by the carpenters, plumbers.ets E.g. Drill machine, Air compressor, power generator etc. other than these it also involves magnifying glass, safety products for carpenter, welders etc.
4. Weeding and Party supplies:- Under these we can the products such as Flowers and bouquets, where you a beautiful artificial flowers catching your eyes. Apart from these it also involves Greeting cards for various occasion. In these category the Seller usually puts ample number of products say he can put more than 20000 products. Generally every other web host try to put innovative products under because consumer like innovative kind of products for weeding moments and so they access internet in search of some unique and innovative kind of products. 5. Yard, Outdoor living and garden:- The products which requires for your garden are available in these category, Artificial products to keep your garden decorated for e.g. papyrus plants etc. Here the consumer will get everything right from, Bird & Wildlife Accessories, Garden Décor , Garden Structures & Fencing, Gardening &
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Online shopping Plants, Lawnmowers, Outdoor Cooking & Eating , Outdoor Lighting, Outdoor Power Equipment, Patio & Garden Furniture,. With these Various number of products available right from kitchen, plumbing equipments to pets, even smallest and cheapest curtain drapes etc. the category House And Garden remains at 3rd position with regards to number of sales. 5.2 Health and Beauty: These is the fourth most category of the product which has increased by almost 29%. As the name suggest there are many number of consumers who go for shopping their products online in these category. Over here we can see the products that are used by everybody. The products such as Bath oil’s, Bath lotions, Bath powders, soaps etc are available in these category. Expert suggest that there are consumers who are well conscious about their Health and looks. in respect with their Heavy busy schedule, People tend to like good always and see nice well in these busy crowd. So consumers just sitting at their home, office can access to these category and get the choices of their product with ample number of varieties. There are various categories we can see over here. Hair Care, Hair Oil. Hair and shaving removal etc will be made available over here. Apart From these there are the products such as spa, Diet pills which helps in reducing the weight, Gum mint etc is available online. So consumer can take advantage of these. There are also the products which take care of your vision so a person having a low sight can take a good care of his vision. lenses ,good quality of spectacles are there which a use it. The products such as Facial steamer , Spa herbal etc these are the products which takes care of your skin. Many online consumers browse these sub-category of Health and Beauty. as here ayurvedic skin care products are also available. There are ample number if products available online in these category, Lets take for E.g. If consumer browses to ebay.com and look out for these category. Then the products
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Online shopping available are as follows, Next to the sub-category there is a numerical which indicates the total umber available items in that respective category. For E.g. In Bath and body there are 23604 products available of different brands and different varieties such as Bath oil’s, Bath lotions, Prostrate massager. Etc ? Bath & Body(23604) ? Coupons(2389) ? Dietary Supplements, Nutrition(16284) ? Fragrances(62197) ? Hair Care(28334) ? Health Care(13956) ? Makeup(78754) ? Massage(5115) ? Medical, Mobility & Disability(14073) ? Nail Care & Polish(15800) ? Natural & Homeopathic Remedies(7362) ? Oral Care(4576) ? Over-the-Counter Medicine(2180) ? Shaving & Hair Removal(8892)
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Online shopping ? Skin Care(57222) ? Tanning Beds & Lamps(371) ? Tattoos & Body Art(9495) ? Vision Care(11608) ? Weight Management(10186) ? Wholesale Lots(2126) Owing to the increasing conscious of people towards themselves and availability of such huge stocks it makes more and more consumer to go for this kind of product to physically use such innovative and different brands product conveniently. And so basically the reason for increment of consumer by almost 29% as compare to last year (2007) 5.3 Appliances and CE: In these category a consumer can buy Appliances that are required at home the Appliances such as Stoves knobs, Stylishness. knobs for ovens,. The traffic of online appliances shopping is more in Australia. The products are appliances such as Refrigerators with a varieties available in that viz
Fridge - Top Freezer Fridge - Bottom Freezer Side by Side Fridges 3 & 4 Door Fridges Bar Fridges Pigeon Pair / Upright Chest Freezers Wine Fridges Wine Storage
Consumer has a option to go for the product ,the variety, model of their choices, since having these much types of refrigerator available online gives the consumer a satisfaction by looking at these much varieties of the appliances. Also the features of every appliances is displayed in a proper manner which is easily accessible for the consumers.
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Online shopping Apart from refrigerator the other product which are sold under these category are as follows Laundry products, ovens, vacuum cleaners, Dishwashers etc. With
even these products available it is bound that consumer traffic is to increase for these category of products as even the smallest product is available of each category is available. Taps with an ascetic look which grab the attention of everyone at your home, small posh, and decent Taps fitted and required for homes etc could be seen. Cook tops and Rangehoods are also a best seller among these category. Cook tops with different colors is available online. Rangehoods which is commonly known as Chimney in India available with different varieties. Such as canopy, Retractable, Fixed and under rangehoods etc. Expert suggest that in next few year appliances category will be booming as many new players are entering in these category which provides for a good opportunity and several schemes for the consumers and so consumers likely to go for it. Traffic in these category increased by 20% primarily because of refrigerators available online as they are the highest seller amongst these category. The reason behind selling refrigerators is that seller have a good knowledge of refrigerator they just need to see a new model or variety is available so that they can have a look for it, even the most attractive thing which is often there in online shopping the discounts provided to buyers. Most important one is that refrigerator is product which requires a home delivery either you purchase it from 22
Online shopping local retailer or buy it online, so taking these point into consideration consumer like to shop conveniently sitting at his home, and surfing net looking for the product and behind that product an attractive discount, gifts etc.
The best sites for purchasing appliances online includes ? www.appliancesonline.com, ? www.artman.com Due to these all factors and consumer changing behavior towards purchase of the goods is the reason for good increment of these category by almost 20%. 5.4 Rewards and Directories In these category there are just rewards which are given to consumers such as say20% cash back on purchase on certain category. Now consumer could be seen purchasing more and more under these category mainly because they get a good rewards on purchase of something and it is but obvious that the consumer will like to shop more and more under these to save their money and grab the best opportunity out of that. There is an increment of about 15% in these sector which reveals that many consumers like to go for online shopping which gives them certain aspects or benefits of purchasing. Grocery Company at the advantage Many company who go for online selling of the grocery products are at the advantage. Primarily because looking at the current statistics it can be said that many E-grocery will be the next bigger segment in which consumer likely to go for in online shopping. The company should do a good and attractive advertisement of its product to attract the consumer.
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Online shopping The study reveals out that that consumer who buy online the repeat their order i.e. with good experience they prefer to go for online shopping again. so the company must provide a good service to them in order to retain their consumers.
Chapter:5 Process of e-shopping
At first the consumer need to decide that whether he would like to go for online shopping or not then he may proceed. In today’s world there are many web sites available for the customers for people such as ebay.com, rediff.com, ezee.com etc. so they can get access to any one of these and they may decide what product whether they would like to purchase… these websites provides consumers with number of products from which a buyer can have his choice purchasing products or services. At first the consumer need to visit online malls.i.e. website in internet language these online malls are nothing but the the website, from where you will be making online buying of goods and services. for
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Online shopping The consumer must select a proper and good website for purchasing product such as eay.com., baazi.com etc. after accessing and getting connected to a respective website, a consumer need to go for selection of particular category of products. There are huge number of categories available right from antiques products, maps of the country to internet games, fine jewellery etc.. if we go for each category then it will take entire day to look for all the products available for buying. Now take one example, if any customer selects motor category where in automobiles are there for selling. then the consumer shall required to click on motor category, then he will see many sub-categories such as cars and trucks, powersports,motorcycles(two-wheeler), boats, other vehicles which includes uses, military vehicles, race cars etc. now among each of these sub-categories the consumer will have various products available for them such as in cars and trucks category the consumer will have different models of cars along with their entire details including price image of the model etc.then from these the consumer can make decision regarding buying or not. After looking at the product then consumer will take the decision that whether he will buy the product or not. If consumer decides to buy the product then consumer shall place the product in virtual shopping cart i.e. consumer will just add the product on the shopping cart .in other words shopping cart is just like basket in physical shopping terms. Where you will take or keep all those products which you decided to buy. The next step is to login using a username and password. Many online malls first require you to register with them before allowing you to pay for the bought items. Enter the address to which you want the product to be delivered. You might also want to select the payment modes for payment here. After choosing the mode of payment there will other boxes to fill your billing address or the payment details. Some online malls even asks for your email, phone numbers etc. Then wait for the confirmation of your order, you can also modify the order by adding or removing items. You can also cancel order if needed.
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Online shopping Keep the printed copy of the purchased order and confirmations for records. In the event of any disputes, you will need to show these documents for verification. After some days the order will be placed at your door step and you can have the actual product or service that you have ordered and just need to check that whether the product purchased is as per your wish. Now well if any consumer want to buy tickets online then
At first the consumer need to select the category or event of which he intended to buy then he may proceed further. Consumer can also type a particular search for his ticket. Your search will show all the relevant info needed to enter a bid or Buy-it-Now, including section and row information. Utilize the venue maps within the listings which show you exact venue seating layout. Also, check out our team and concert tour schedule pages which allow you to easily manage ticket search results by team or artist, event date and location. These schedules are available for popular teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Heat and Lakers, artists like the Rolling Stones and Coldplay, and leagues such as the NFL and NCAA Football. You can book your ticket and then you can have it at your by making payment to the online seller through credit cards. If incase the event cancels due to any reason or it never takes place then in such a situation it is not refunded. But if the event does not take place then in such a situation it depends upon the policy of the seller whether to refund it or not.
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Online shopping There are many websites which provides for the guidance of newcomer as to how he should buy the ticket and about all related stuff. The sellers online ticket places their advertisement well before an month advance. The sellers in order to attract the buyer gives various preferences or information related to the subject. For E.g. The site which sells tennis tickets it also gives information about top ten men, women, doubles, mix etc. Chapter:6 Online Shopping Mode of Payments
Payment by credit card is the widely accepted method of payment for online shopping. However the other methods, like using e checks, paypal & bank transfer are also common. The method of payment is decided upon the mutual trust and familiarity between online merchant and the customer. Various methods of payment are described below.
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Credit Cards:- A consumer can make payment by using credit cards, buyer is supposed to give his Credit card number then seller will check whether it si valid or not and accordingly debit his account. Credit card also has its limit only till that amount a credit can be taken.
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Online shopping
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Debit Cards:- A similar transactions as like Credit Card but only the difference is here already the amount will be there in buyers account and he can make a purchase only up to the available balance amount.
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Cheque Payment:- Just mail or courier the cheque to the sellers place with the relevant or invoice amount.
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Money Order :- The consumer actually physically make the payment of goods. He send it through post and then cash is received by the seller. Consumer gets a acknowledgement of his payment which assures him that his payment has reached to the seller.
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Electronic money:- In electronic cash consumer is supposed to pay via internet. Consumer must pay to his bank then the bank gives certain numerals for payment which the consumer gives through internet to seller and then the buyer bank will send supply the he money is withdrawn from a consumer's account in the form of a certificate and transferred into the vendor's account for purchases. Like paper money, it can be reused as long as there's money in the bank to back it up
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Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores):- These is offered by few sellers only as there is always a risk(In case if consumer refuses to pay the entire amount and get involves in unnecessary bargains) involved in these where is consumer is supposed to pay his money at the delivery of his product to the company official.
•
PayPal:- Paypal is an subsidiary of E-bay from where you can make online payment using credit cars, debit cards,. Here for more protection Paypal gives a security code, PayPal introduced an optional security key as an additional precaution against fraud. A user account tied to a security key has a modified login process: he enters his login ID and password, as he normally would, but then he is prompted to press the button on the security key and enter the six-digit number generated by it. This two-factor authentication is intended to prevent an account from being compromised by a malicious third party without access to the
28
Online shopping physical security key. However, if a user loses his key, he can alternatively authenticate by providing the credit card or bank account number listed on his account.
•
Google Checkout:- Google Checkout is an online payment processing service provided by Google aimed at simplifying the process of paying for online purchases. Users store their credit or debit card and shipping information in their Google Account, so that they can purchase at participating stores at the click of a button. Google Checkout also offers fraud protection, as well a unified page for tracking purchases and their status. Making transactions using Google Checkouts is banned in ebay , ebay insist its buyer to go for paypal. • 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% of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent. Now once we make payment then, the seller should accept it. Accepting online payments Accepting online payments is an indispensable feature for your e-commerce store. If there is something that you sell online, you will require a payment mode in order to instantly accept payments from your website customers. PayPal is the most widely popular and common mode of online payments. A more direct and practical way is to accept credit cards. This implies that that the web owner would require a merchant account from a bank or other financial institution that accepts Internet transactions.
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Online shopping
Chapter:7 Delivery of the products
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.
30
Online shopping ? In-store pickup: The customer orders online, finds a local store using locator software business model .
•
In the case of buying an admission ticket one may get a code, or a ticket that can be printed out. At the premises it is made sure that the same right of admission is not used twice.
In the event of a problem with the item - it is not what the consumer ordered, or it is not what they expected - consumers are concerned with the ease with which they can return an item for the correct one or for a refund. Consumers may need to contact the retailer, visit the post office and pay return shipping, and then wait for a replacement or refund. Some online companies have more generous return policies to compensate for the traditional advantage of physical stores. For example, the online shoe retailer Zappos.com includes labels for free return shipping, and does not charge a restocking fee, even for returns which are not the result of merchant error. (Note: In the United Kingdom, Online shops are prohibited from charging a restocking fee if the consumer cancels their order in accordance with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Act 2000. One of the hardest areas to deal with in online shopping is the delivery of the products. Most companies offer shipping insurance in case the product is lost or damaged; however, if the buyer opts not to purchase insurance on their products, they are generally out of luck. Some shipping companies will offer refunds or compensation for the damage, but it is up to their discretion if this will happen. It is important to realize that once the product leaves the hands of the seller, they have no responsibility (provided the product is what the buyer ordered and is in the specified condition).
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Online shopping
Chapter:8 Security in E-shopping
Privacy, Security & Safety Online
Privacy Online Many online malls use cookies to track the user activity for showing relevant results to maximize the shopping experience. It can also be used to track your personal details. Thus before you pass your personal information, ensure the credibility of the online merchant. Good companies post their privacy policy ( that is how they are going to use the personal information about you ) on the website. Read carefully!
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Online shopping Security & Safety Online The important considerations after privacy are the security and safety features used by online malls. Remember that good websites are made in compliance with industrial standards such as SSL (secured socket layer). These standards use encryption technology to transfer information from your computer to online merchant's server. Encryption is a procedure that involves a mathematical transformation of information into scrambled gobbledygook, called "cipher text." The computational process (an algorithm) uses a key--actually just a big number associated with a password or pass phrase--to compute or convert plain text into cipher text with numbers or strings of characters. The resulting encrypted text is decipherable only by the holder of the corresponding key By using SSL the information you sent are scrambled, this means it is not possible to get details without encryption code. Since this is done automatically in merchants server, it can be ensured that your personal details are secure. Thus make sure that you always do payment over SSL. When the company you want to deal is new to you, try to get maximum information about them before making any orders. Keep your password secret and make it in such a way that other may not be in a position to guess it. Credit card transactions are considered to be the safest mode of payment for online shopping. Make yourself understood with the company's policies especially on how they are going to keep your financial and personal data secured. Keep printed copies of purchase order and confirmation details, so that it can be used in the event of disputes. There are some tips which are given by experts for online security and safety transactions.
33
Online shopping 1. Use a secure computer for all transactions: While this rules out cybercafes, know that even your desktop PC may not be secure. A secure computer must have a licensed, regularly updated anti-virus program and a functional firewall. Even with these, your computer could be compromised if it is used for illegal/free music/software/video downloads from the web. Use a ’clean’ PC always. 2. Keep a separate ’low limit’ credit card for internet transactions: A client in the credit card industry shared this tip with me. You may feel safer if you dedicate a lowlimit credit card for your online purchases. Use as low a limit as you are comfortable with, and which will cover your monthly purchases. That way, you will know that even in case of misuse, your losses are cut. 3. Look for the security indicators: These are - a yellow/ green bar in Mozilla/ IE in the URL window and a ’lock’ signA Verisign authentication on the site A URL beginning with https:// when you are taken to the payment gateway Verified by Visa/ Master Card Secure Code - these are the latest protocols developed to protect users from fraudulent transactions. 4. NEVER make an offline deal with an individual you find online: E-Bay says this and It is a good general rule to apply - Always transact only through a site, which will then be accountable/ responsible if you are de-frauded. 5. There are no ’irresistible deals’: I am happy to get a 10-15% saving in most cases. I would be very suspicious of anyone offering something 50% cheaper online than it actually costs. When you find such deals, be aware that they are risky and take cautions accordingly (call up the site, get hold of a person, a phone number, an e-mail ID of someone you can catch later if things go wrong).
Now some general tips.. Using International shopping sites: In case of disputes and frauds, you may not be protected under Indian law and are at the mercy of the retailer. So if you must, buy only from reputed sites like Amazon, or direct from the manufacturer. Use international sites 34
Online shopping only for ’immediate delivery’ items such as a software download. Also, most credit card providers levy a ’hidden’ 3.5% surcharge on international transactions, which of course adds to your purchase cost. Check this with your credit card provider.
Don’t mistrust small/ less known sites on principle: Some of the best and most professional dealings that have had have been with smaller/non-advertised sites. use a standard procedure to check on a new site that you are transacting with. a) Check user feedback on the site by googling blogs and forums. b) Send an email query and use the speed/ quality of response to form c) Restrict the first purchase to Rs.1000 or below. judgement
In case of disputes e-mail, don’t just call: It had bad experiences for many consumers usually with with both SifyMall and Dell India. In both cases consumers sent regular e-mails – they even used to recap each telephone interaction with cust service and send it as an e-mail Eventually, both responded after 6-7 e-mails. E-mails also act as evidence of dispute in case legal action becomes necessary. ………………………………………………………………………
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Chapter:9 online auction In the Busy and crowded world, today one can even buy the products of his preferences online through auction. Generally auction is carried on for all those goods which have a high demand but are scarce, so a consumer who do online shopping can also get entered into online auction which is normally termed as E-Auction.
What are e-Auctions? E-auctions are events where bidding takes place only over the internet. lots can be physically inspected before the e-Auction and each lot is available for preview in an
36
Online shopping online catalog, often with recent digital photos. Lots remain open for bidding for several days and close on a specific date and time. To auction something on the internet, here’s what one needs to be mindful of. How e-auction works? E-Auction work in the following manner1. .Brochures containing information and photos of the equipment for sale are available via mail and viewable online so that it becomes convenient for the buyer or intended buyer to go through the terms and conditions and also details regarding product. 2. Lots became available for preview online two weeks before the e-Auction. Buyers can get a list of equipment by finding the e-auction they are interested in on website, or by doing a keyword search. 3. lots are open for bidding several days before the specified closing time. 4. Buyers can submit bids and/or proxy bids. The e-Auction lot goes into overtime bidding if a buyer bids within the last 2 minutes of the closing time. The time remaining is reset at 2 minutes. 5. The lot closes at a specific date and time. An invoice with payment instruction is faxed to the winning buyer. buyer pays via wire transfer with in 24 hours. 6. Buyer receives an authorization to pick up for all lots and arranges for load out with each yard. E-Auctions: When to play, how to play, how to win Like it or not, electronic auctions are here to stay. Management loves them and large numbers of corporations are quietly putting big chunks of their annual spend on the electronic block. Do e-Auctions threaten supplier relationship? Absolutely! But there are plenty of big spend categories where relationship matters very little. And even where it
37
Online shopping makes sense to partner with suppliers for long haul, the astonishing price reductions achieved in some electronic auctions are causing many purchasing execs to wonder if the love they feel for their supplier partners might really be unrequited. With a nod to the often repeated caveats that, ? Reverse e-Auction are just one item in a fast- expanding array of technology options for strategic sourcing and procurement. ? Auctions should not be deployed without careful strategizing, and ? Auctions should be used in conjunction with attempts to permanently drive costs out of supply chains, purchasing has called upon a group of experts to reveal some of the lessons they have learned in lazing the e-Auction trail. Because reverse electronics auctions are so new-- and because they are gaining acceptance any slowly-- much of the learning is still focused on strategy-- when to use reverse electronic auction technology and what are the best process steps for doing so. Growing fast, however, is a body of tactical auction knowledge. These are lessons learned, often by trail and errors, about how buyers can win at the auction game without sacrificing their ethics or damaging their companies’ public mages. They cover how many suppliers make a market; how to obtain adequate supplier participation; how to set starting, ceiling and reserve prices; how much and what information to reveal to bidders; how to schedule e-auctions, how to ensure an auction achieves the greatest price compression in the shortest period of time; how to preserve integrity as an auctioneer; how to keep suppliers coming back for future auctions; and how to behave professionally during the auction event Contributors to the first E-Auction playbook represents both purchasing professionals and suppliers Who have participated in reverse auctions, technology developers, marker makers, management consultants and other e-Auction facilitators.
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Online shopping Why wait till Diwali? You can probably do better than that.; Try putting the goods up for sale on an auction site and you might be surprised at the number of bleary-eyed people out there mouse in hand – who will stay up till midnight for a chance to add it to their personal collection. It sure makes makes you wonder if auction sites are actually going to be the shopping malls of the future. Thousands of people around the world have started to shop for everything from objects and arts to ordinary travel packages at these sites. And there are businessman out there who are not only too willing to bet their venture capital on the fact that their will soon be a huge community of Indians wanting to do their buying and selling via auctions. There is little evidence of Indians paying a visit to international auction sites. Yet the number of Indians websites that are in the auction space is slowly and steadily going up. Bazee.com already has around 15,000 registered users and the site has over 25,000 bids every month. If his claim is correct then it appears that it takes only a gentle push-highdecibel advertising actually- for Indians sellers to take a shoe at putting their personal belongings and whatever else they want to get rid of under the virtue gavel. The Indian sites are also not charging anybody anything yet though sometime they will slap a small fee for the seller. For many people who bid on the internet it is more fun than bargaining in a shop as they tend to feel on top of the world when they outbid others from particular item. Indian sites have taken a page out of ebay- the online answer to Sotheby’s- when it comes to content. These sites offers the range available on any international auction site.:: art & antiques, automobiles, mobile phones, books, collectibles, apparel, computers, electronics, jewellery, movies, collectibles are sold at the same place that the domain name Hrithiksucks.com is on sale. Neat ploy. Wonder who bids fair for it: Hrithik roshan’s fan club or his detractors? Perhaps the star himself? Whoever it is, the bidders should find out which type of auction is he participating in. most sites offer two kinds of auctions at the moment. There is normal auction where bids are ranked in order of price, quantity and time. The auction starts at the starting price that the seller selects..
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Online shopping
Low prices attract more bidders and more activity tends to result in higher closing prices. The second type is like the former except the seller selects a reserve price in addition to a starting price. Buyers can bid below the reserve price to the seller is under no obligation to sell unless a bib matches, or is more than, the reserve price. If the reserve price is not met when the auction closes, it closes without a winner. The more complicated dutch auction is not available on Indian sites. In a dutch auctipon, the winner has to pay only as much as the lowest bid amount. However, the chances of getting the limited items on offer are more if you bid higher – a nearly foolproof way of making sure there is no collusion between buyers. “To bid or not to bid” The upside 1. Lower prices for buyers. 2. items those are not available else where are available on e-Auction 3. it makes convenience to the buyers to operate from their home/office etc. 4. Sellers can get more value for throwaways. The Downside 1. One may bid more than the fair prices. 2. Possibility of fraud is greater. 3. Inconvenient timings 4. One may end up with defective items. Expect these auction to start only Indians have been assilimilated into the auction culture. So what are people actually buying on the auction sited? There are Mellow Mix compact discs for Rs 220 From an auction site, at almost 50% off on the maximum retail price.
40
Online shopping And there are Singapore cruise for 50% off on the hefty Rs 50,000 tag. As it evident, it is not just raddi and seconds that can go under the hammer. Consumer durables and travel packages seem to be doing pretty well. The possibility of price discounts is a major attraction and there some business-to-business activity on the sites as well with companies conducting clearance sales online Tips for bagging a bargain online 1. Don’t start bidding until you’ve done some research on the items you are looking for. 2. Get your bid in early. 3. Don’t bid too high. 4. Talk online with other buyers to find out about trends, and get an idea of which objects could sell well the future. 5. Make sure you’re bidding with a powerful computer so you can respond quickly if you get a rival bid. 6. Investigate the categories that are available online – you might find you’re sitting on something valuable. 7. Carefully consider all, free insurance offers to cover anything you buy online. 8. Investigate any special secure payment services provided by the online auction houses. 9. If you’re planning to use a robot to bid for you in an online auction, remember to set sensible bidding limits. ??Ebid
41
Online shopping This is a busy site and it can e quite difficult to find one’s way around it if you’re a first time there’s a good choice, but it’s a bit like spaghetti junction it’s hard to know where to and to join in. ??QXL Another excellent site it’s clearly laid out and the security is very good QXL’s safe pay service. As a buyer, you pay to a central service; no money exchanges hands until QXL arranges for the item to be safely delivered to you. The editor’s auction choice is handy and highlights some interesting bargains – its quick way to find out what’s up for grabs.
??Yahoo! Yahoo started life as a simple web-based directory and now boastsa an impressive range of auction categories. There’s an excellent search engine facility to help find bargains. ??How to bid online auctions? It’s easy to buy items online .The process is Straight forward and the sites usually give newcomers plenty of help. Let’s take ebay an example even other auction site has the same procedure. 1. To start bidding you’ll need to register as an ebay member. Once you’ve done this you can start looking for things that are available for bidding. And that you are looking to bid for. 2. You can find some amazing details about the seller including how many things they’ve sold the bidding that took place and comments from the buyers. You can even ask the seller questions by email if you want more detail about the item.
42
Online shopping 3. You bid by scrolling down the page of the itemyou’re interested uin and submitting your user ID. Password and the amount you want to bid. Click on place bid and you’ll see whether or not you are the highest bidder. 4. While you waait for the auction to close (usually several days latter) you will receive a daily email telling you whether you are the high bidder or if you have been outbid by another eBay member. Remember that some bidders wait until, the last minute to place the bids. 5. If you are the highest bidder at the end of an auction you must contact the seller within three working days. You are under the contract to pay your last bid plus shipping cost it this was specified in the item listing. The sellers are under contract to send the products/ items to the customer.
Scams and complaints It is interesting to know that the complaints of the consumers for shopping online with auction accounts for nearly 68% whereas all other accounts for just 32% Following is bifurcation consumer complaints about the internet come from. 1. Auctions 2. General Merchandise 3. Computer hardware/software 4. Internet related services 5. Work-at-home schemes 6. Business opportunity 68% 17.7% 03.4% 03.3% 01.6% 01.1%
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Online shopping 7. Pyramid schemes 8. Issuing credit card 9. Advance- fee loans 10. Job offers 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4%
It could be seen that many frauds and complaints emerges from Auction is basically the seller fails to deliver the product or buyer does not make the payment of the goods. So overcome with these complaints and frauds many online auction sites have come up either a solution that the seller must be displayable to all the buyers along with the entire details of the sellers such as Name, contact no, address.ets. The condition remains the same for the buyer, while he log in, in a particular website along with his name address even he is displayable to the seller. Two good Website where one can arm oneself against online auction fraud is the FTC’s Internet Auction: A guide for buyers and Sellers, “ available with other useful tips, at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menuinternet.htm, starters are: ? Auctions are not difficult to run or learn. ? Auctions Drive speed into decision-making process. ? Each commodity requires a separate auction strategy ? In early auctions, avoid sources that will require substantial retooling, as the costs associated with that are difficult to calculate. One of the success stories in online B2C and C2C auction is Bazee.com. They sell everything from art and collectibles to music CDs to mobile phones and also personal computers and laptops. and AuctionWatch.com , at http://www.auctionwatch.com. Some of the points to be remembered y the e-auction
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Chapter:10 online shopping scams
E-auction & shopping scams?
It is possible to buy almost anything over the internet these days. Unfortunately, scammers can use the anonymous nature of the internet to rip off unsuspecting shoppers.
45
Online shopping Scammers can pretend to be selling a product—often very cheaply—just so they can steal your credit card or bank account details. Similarly, they may take your money but send you a faulty or worthless product instead—or even nothing at all. Most online auction sites put a lot of effort into spotting scammers, which is why scammers will often try to get people to make a deal outside the auction site. They may claim that the winner of an auction that you were bidding in has pulled out, and then offer the item for sale to you. Once they have your money, you will never hear from them again and the auction site will not be able to help you. Another common trick is for an online auction to be rigged by the scammers. If you are selling a product, the scammer can enter a low bid followed by a very high bid under another name. Just before the auction closes, the high bid will be withdrawn and the scammer’s low bid will win. If you are buying a product, the scammer can arrange for ‘dummy bidders’ to boost the price up. Other online shopping scams involve the sale of a product —such as a miracle cure or weight loss product—that does not live up to its claims. It can be very difficult to get your money back in these situations, especially if the other party is based overseas. If you buy or sell online, you should also be aware of cheque overpayment scams.
Warning signs
• • • • • A product is advertised at a very low price. The seller and any initial bidders have a very poor rating on an auction site. The other party wants to complete the sale outside of the auction site (if you do this, you lose any protections that the site operator offer to their users). The other party insists on immediate payment, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service. The online shopping website does not provide adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details.
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Protect yourself from online shopping & auction scams
• • •
Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam. You can contact your local office of fair trading. Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
•
Make sure that cheque have been cleared by your bank before transferring or wiring any refunds or overpayments back to the sender.
• •
Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them. Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.
•
Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email.
As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams. Do your homework Ask yourself if the claims made about the product are reasonable or just too good to be true. Be suspicious of online shopping websites that do not give their full contact details (physical or street address as well as phone and fax numbers). Be very careful about paying by credit card and make sure the website used for payments is secure. Look for an unbroken key or lock at the bottom of the browser window, or a web address beginning with ‘https//:’ Also check to see if the website has a refund or returns policy and if so, if its policies sound fair. The better online shopping and auction sites have detailed complaint or dispute handling processes in place in case something goes wrong. If the auction site uses a feedback rating system, check all the comments about the seller you are considering buying from.
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Decide
If you have any doubts about the product in question, or the person selling it, don’t go ahead with the deal. Online shopping and auction scams can cost you money and time in trying to sort out the mess. If the offer looks genuine (and is not ‘too good to be true’), and the online store or auction service is trustworthy, then you can go ahead with the purchase. You may want to use an ‘escrow’ service if you are buying something at auction. This is a service that collects the payment from you, and only releases it to the trader or seller when you have confirmed that the product has arrived and is what was paid for. There is usually a small fee for this service. Only use a reputable escrow service (online auction sites may provide a list of recommended providers).
Report them
If you have bought something online and there is a problem, you should first try to contact the trader or auction service. There may be a legitimate reason for the problem. If you are not satisfied with this, and suspect that it may be a scam, you can report it through the SCAM watch website. If you have paid by credit card, you may be able to arrange a charge-back through your bank or credit union if there has been some sort of fraud involved. This will effectively reverse the transaction. You should also warn your family and friends about the suspected scammer. Have you been scammed? What to do if you've been scammed; Scams & the law; Report a scam
Similar scams:
Domain name renewal scams 48
Online shopping Scams that send you a fake renewal notice for your actual domain name, or a misleading invoice for a domain name that is very similar to your own Spam (junk mail) offers Spam emails usually offer free goods or ‘prizes’, very cheap products or promises of wealth. Responding to spam emails can result problems for you computer and your bank account. ‘Free’ offers on the internet ‘Free’ offers displayed on the internet often turn out to be scams. They might offer you free access to an otherwise restricted site, free shares, free downloads, free trials of certain products or even a free holiday. They can appear as annoying pop-ups while you are on the net or as ads at the tops or margins of websites. Sometimes entire websites could be set up to advertise a ‘free’ offer. Usually, the offers either require you to provide credit card, bank account or other personal details, or they require you to pay an upfront fee to claim your ‘free’ prize or product. Of course, there are many sites on the internet that legitimately offer free products or services and that are not scams. The warning signs below can help you decide if an offer is likely to be a scam or not. • When you try to find out more about a free offer, you are directed to a different website with more advertising. • The website offering the ‘free’ product does not appear to load up correctly or not all its links work. • The website offering the ‘free’ product may require you to register your credit card or bank account details.
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Online shopping • To claim the free product or service, you are asked to pay some sort of fee or charge. Modem jacking Modem-jacking scams secretly change the phone number dial-up modems use to access the internet to an overseas or premium rate phone number. You could pay hundreds of dollars extra. Spyware & key-loggers Spy ware is a type of software that spies on what you do on your computer. Key-loggers record what keys you press on your keyboard. Scammers can use them to steal your online banking passwords or other personal information Cheque overpayment scams You are sent a cheque for something you have sold, but it is for more than the amount agreed. The scammer hopes you will refund the extra money before you notice that their cheque has bounced. Up-front payment scams You are asked to send money upfront for a product or ‘reward’. You will end up with something much less than you expected, or nothing at all. Credit card scams There are many types of scams that aim to steal your credit card details, either by taking the card itself or by tricking you into giving them the card’s details. Requests for your account information ('phishing' scams) Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money. 50
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Requests for your account information ('phishing' scams) Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money.
Chapter:11 Preferred sites: Top 8.
Overstock.com
Specialty:
This is the reigning champ in bargain sites, thanks to the
breadth of its merchandise and the great prices. Overstock specializes in hawking excess merchandise from other retailers, which means their inventory is diverse and constantly changing. It's worth stopping here if you're unsure what you're buying (when you're looking for a gift, say) or you're not committed to a particular model. Also, Overstock is continually expanding its product categories, and now sells handcrafted goods from across the world and cruises, among other things. (The site also says it will soon sell deals on flights, rental cars and hotels).
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SmartBargains
Specialty:
This
is
another
general
discount
site,
similar
to
Overstock.com, where you'll find deals on everything from clothing and MP3 players to diamond earrings. SmartBargains doesn't seem to have quite the quantity or breadth of deals that Overstock has, but it's no slouch. Many consumers purchased Waterford crystal candle holders here at about half their usual retail price. High-end wool coats, including Donna Karan and Kenneth Cole labels, were anywhere from 35% to 65% off.
Deal aggregators/coupon sites………………………………………………………………..
Sites in this category act as a home page for a wide variety of coupons (also called promotional codes) and discounts across the Internet. These sites lead you to retailers, rather than selling you the merchandise directly as the general discounters above do.
Wow-Coupons
Specialty:
Wow-Coupons focuses on providing both online coupons and
the printable variety to use in person at general retailers. The site also offers food and restaurant coupons, though when we checked, the selection was limited to a handful of chains (Baskin Robbins and Hardee's,
.
for
example)……………………………………….
CurrentCodes.com
Specialty:
CurrentCodes.com seems to do a better job than many of its
competitors in maintaining a focus on coupons rather than on sales and other discounts. Its home page states that it exclusively focuses on coupons, although in the event a coupon code isn't available for a merchant, the site does list other sale and discount information.
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Online shopping CurrentCodes.com didn't list any coupons for Best Buy, for example, but it did tell you the retailer was holding a number of sales, including one on all portable DVD players and recorders. This approach is fine if you're using the site as a starting point, but if you've come here to do a last-minute check for a promotional code before checking out at a retailer, you'll likely already know of any such sales. Still, the list of coupons is usually long. FatWallet
Specialty:
FatWallet lists deals and coupons from all over the Web and
makes them easy to find by category, by retailer, by popularity or by expiration date for the deal. One of FatWallet's best features: an active user forum that seems to have taken over some of the functions the rest of the site used to cover well, particularly in coupons. You also have the option of earning cash back from hundreds of retailers such as REI, Barnes & Noble and Eddie Bauer, though you have to sign in and shop through the links on the FatWallet "Stores" page. FatWallet's price-comparison tool is actually the well-respected shopping bot PriceGrabber. Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate)
Specialty:
Shopzilla, formerly known as Bizrate, has been a longtime
leader in including user ratings and feedback in search results. It sees its mission as twofold: to surface great deals while providing consumers with information on the merchants offering those deals. Like the other bots, you're not buying things from Shopzilla, you're just using it as a way to surface sites that have what you want……………………………………………..
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Shopping.com (formerly Deal Time)
Specialty:
Shopping.com combines the bot power of DealTime with the
useful consumer reviews of a site like Epinions.com. You can see reviews of the products and the retailers. PriceGrabber.com
Specialty:
PriceGrabber reliably surfaces great deals and great product information, so
you can get a real sense for what you're buying. In addition to user reviews, it includes "expert" reviews written by product reviewers for various publications .
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Online shopping
Chapter:12 India’s Current Scenario in e-shopping
Today (2006-07) the figures are touching Rs. 2200 crore, but are expected to increase by 150 percent by 2007-08 40%. The race for new retail outlets and skyline-altering malls notwithstanding, Mumbaikars’ legendary love for shopping is slowly but surely shifting to the Internet, if an industry analysis is any indication. The recent survey conducted by Nielsen, India has emerged as the 3rd biggest nation when it come to online shopping and using a credit card online. Drawn by the facilities offered by the Web and the diversity of products available on it, Indian citizens have emerged as the third biggest credit card users globally for online purchasing, next only to the Turkey and Ireland. The survey shows more than 85 per cent of Internet users in the world are purchasing goods or services online, with credit cards as the most used method of payment • Books are the hottest selling item on the internet (no messing around with quality here!). In fact most products bought and sold off online are: electronic gadgets e-sales will touch Rs 5,500 cr with Mumbai accounting for
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Online shopping 53%, Computers & Peripherals 42%, Home Appliances 35%, these are the top three categories in Indian online shopping . However, people are also buying clothes, , books, railway tickets. grocery, gifts, computer and peripherals, and a few are buying home tools and products, home appliances, toys, jewelry, beauty products and health and fitness products. 4.1 Mumbai and Delhi In fact, the population of ‘e-shoppers’ in just two Indian metros of Mumbai and Delhi was 24 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of all the Citizens that made an online purchase in 2006-07. the reason behind these : convenience must be the major reason. Both the cities are spread out over a large area and the best stores in both these cities are often concentrated in certain ‘posh’ areas. In Mumbai for example there are certain items you get only in Crawford market which is at the other end of town in South Mumbai. And demographics show that the population of Mumbai is now concentrated in the suburbs. Of course, huge malls have come up in the suburbs as well, and one of India’s biggest mall Nirmal Lifestyle is in far-flung Mulund…but often you find a better choice of sizes and styles choice in other malls, say Phoenix (central Mumbai). And though both Mumbai and Delhi have transport systems…few people like to travel for two hours just to get to a shop at the other end of town. Clearly the transport systems leave much to be desired. In Delhi, safety is also an issue for women traveling alone in the evenings. 4.2 Metros contribution to online shopping Actually, a major reason why metros are contributing to e-shopping growth are literacy rates…and the cities’ internet savvy population. Most cities in India have a higher literacy rate as compared to the national average of 64.8 percent. In fact Mumbai has a highest literacy even amongst the cities (86 per cent). Delhi too has a high literate population (81.2 per cent). Oddly, although Bangalore has a higher literacy rate than Delhi, at 83 per cent, the city’s share of e-commerce is not very high. Kolkatta too has a literacy rate (80.8 per cent) and so does Chennai (80.1 percent.) If one compares these rates to literacy rates of cities like Patna (62.9 percent), Jaipur (67 percent), Indore (72 56
Online shopping percent) or Warangal (73 percent) its clear why its the metros which are going to continue to lead e-shopping. Another reason for such traffic of online shopping in these cities is the population Mumbai’s population is about 18 million (2006), Delhi’s 13.7 million (2001), Kolkata’s 4.5 million (2001), Bangalore’s 6 million (2005), Patna’s 1.8 million (2001), Jaipur’s 2.3 million (2001) and Warangal’s about .5 million(2001). Therefore if Mumbai’s share of the e-shopping pie is about four times that of Bangalore, its because its population is about three times! Population cannot explain all the difference, but certainly its a very important factor……………………………………………………………………………. Items that featured at top on their e-shopping lists were electronic gadgets 53%, Computers & Peripherals 42%, Home Appliances 35%, these are the top three categories in Indian online shopping, designer and even simple apparel along with tickets for railways, airlines and movies, are also in high demand. 4.3Online airline tickets are also picking up its business in India. Airline ticket customers formed 40% of online shoppers in India in the six months to June 30 2008. This was followed by books comprising with 29% and music at 24% of the total purchases. An increase in Indian low-fare carriers such as IndiGo and GoAir; and Internet travel sites all of which sell tickets through their web pages, encouraged online sales. Economic growth and rising incomes of a 300-million-strong middle class are also helping air travel in the country, putting it in line with the rest of the world. Visa said airline tickets comprised the biggest category of Internet purchases globally. …………………………………………………………….sources- Visa card…………… "Consumers in India are clearly following the global trend as airline tickets continue to remain the most popular choice among consumers for online purchases,'' as per Indian Consumer Report study, conducted by AC Nielsen. The number of online shoppers in India rose 7% to 3.49 million in the first half of 2008 from 3.27 million a year earlier…………………………………………………………………………………
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Access to faster Internet connections is also encouraging online sales. High-speed connections in India more than doubled to 1.92 million at the end of October from 690,000 in the year earlier, according to the Indian telecommunications regulator. India had 37 million Internet users at the end of September, according to a study by researcher IMRB for Internet and Mobil Association of India, up from 33 million at the end of March. ……………………………………………………………………………… India was set to become the fastest-growing air travel market in the next decade,. The South Asian country's air travel market would grow at an average annual 7.7% pace until 2025 compared with China's 7.2% and the global average of 4.8%, sources - Airbus………. 16.27 lakh rail tickets booked online till the first half of 2008 which ultimately suggests that many Indian consumers are making use of online to book their tickets. A tremendous growth.......................................................................................................
What’s more, the paper predicts that, with e-shopping gaining in popularity all the time, the total value of products and services lapped up online by citizens is likely to grow by 150 per cent to touch Rs 5,500 crore this fiscal year. This is over and above the Rs 2,200 crore notched up last fiscal year. Share of Delhi eshoppers will go beyond 30 per cent but Mumbai’s share would be even better at 40 per cent. This expansion in e-shopping would be on the back of changing lifestyles and shopping habits, supported by a large number of people and merchants becoming net-savvy. Products that will gain in popularity on online shopping sites would include gems and jewellery, books, accessories, apparel, gift products, music and movies, hotel room bookings besides tickets for transportation.
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Of all online shoppers, Chennai accounted for 7 per cent in 2006-07, which is projected to go up to 11-12 per cent in the current fiscal year ASSOCHAM Predicts that these time e-shopping during diwali season likely to catch up by 130% With such a booming Indian market for online shopping many company have come-up with these such as future group has launched futuregroup.com. 4.4 Some Facts and figures • A piece of jewellery sells every 3 minutes in an online marketplace. • A mobile handset sells every 4 minutes. • An MP3 player sells every 14 minutes. • A watch sells every 15 minutes. • A book sells every 20 minutes. • A digital camera sells every 28 minutes. 4.5 Major players in India for online business
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
eBay India
Rediff
Indiatimes
Yahoo
Others
E-bay due its popularity among many individuals and also due to word of mouth, advertisement publicity it is amajor player in Indian online business with a share of nearly 43%, followed by rediff 23%, indiatimes 18%, yahoo 4% , while others such as baaze, ezeego have a share of 14% altogether 59
Online shopping 4.6 Consumer for online shopping In general, shopping has always catered to middle class and upper class women. Shopping is fragmented and pyramid-shaped. At the pinnacle are elegant boutiques for the affluent, a huge belt of inelegant but ruthlessly efficient “discounters” flog plenty at the pyramid’s precarious middle.At its base are the world’s workers and poor, on whose cheapened labor the rest of the pyramid depends for its incredible abundance. Shopping has evolved from single stores to large malls with different services such as offering delivery, attentive service and store credit and accepting return.These new additions to shopping have encouraged and targeted middle class women. Table 1: How Respondents Locate Online Shopping Sites
Source: Food Marketing Institute, 2007.
How Respondents Locate Online Shopping Sites Web site of a familiar store Keyword search in a Web browser Word of mouth Read about a Web site Advertisements on television Advertisements in magazines Radio Other Billboards
Percentage 67 67 54 49 47 47 19 18 11
The above table clearly suggests that those consumers who are familiar with the stores are preferred first. Keyword search are also taken into consideration by many consumers,
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Online shopping by browsing through search engine. Word of mouth as many consumers find it more convenient, to hear from the mouth of good or experienced person. Also advertisement on Television, Radio,Magzines are also preffered by many respondents
Chapter:13 Case Study: Satyam.com 61
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It is better known as India’s first private Internet Service Provider as well as the second Indian company to be listed on the Nasdaq. A subsidiary of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Satyam Infoway has been at the forefront of the e-biz wave. But, there has been little talk about its shopping channel – [email protected]. A close examination, however, reveals that this absence of hype is deliberate, part of a strategy to walk the talk rather than spew bombast and later fail to deliver. In an arena that still has a only a few players, range of
[email protected]
offers
comprehensive
products, and the company says its objective is to be “a definitive provider of e-commerce services.” [email protected] has something for everyone – music, books, computers – it’s all there. At present, the site has over 18 major categories to choose from, with some categories having several subclassifications, and more shops likely to come on board in the near future. The channel has gone in for tie ups with individual merchants for sourcing the products on offer, while the logistics angle is being 62
Online shopping taken care of by DHL (Air Freight Ltd), and the credit verification is through Citibank. Using DHL’s reach, shopping@satyamonline is able to guarantee deliveries to over 280 locations across the country. A typical transaction So, how does a transaction at [email protected] work? Nothing very complicated actually, but for ease of understanding it can be divided into the following stages: 1. Rita Kumar is looking for a gift for her husband. She browses through the various categories and decides that some biker-wear from Royal Enfield is just what her husband would like. She clicks on it to add it to her shopping cart. She continues to browse, and picks up some books and music too. All these are added to her shopping cart and it’s now checkout time. 2. As soon as she clicks on the checkout icon, a form appears, where she has to fill in details about herself such as her postal address, e-mail address and so on, give the address to which the package has to be delivered and, of course, her credit card details. If Rita is already registered at Satyam, all she has to do is click on a separate icon, enter her login name and password and all the necessary details are automatically filled in. All this information on the order is processed by Satyam’s server, which sends a request to Citibank to check that sufficient credit is available to cover the value of the purchase. The bank then blocks this amount, but does not charge Rita’s account. So, the payment is not yet made. As soon as Satyam is informed that Rita can pay for her purchases, it starts processing the order. This credit verification process happens in a matter of minutes.
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3.
Satyam sends the details of the order to the different merchants who
typically will have the order ready in four-seven days. Parallel advice is sent to DHL giving details of the consignment and where it is to be picked up from, and who the consignee is. When the order is ready, the merchant informs his local DHL contact who then arranges for the package to be picked up. Though DHL delivers most products bought at Satyam, some purchases, especially perishables are delivered by local couriers. This, however, is likely to change very soon, according to K.R.Chandrashekaran, Vice-President-Retail, Satyam Infoway Ltd. 4. Once DHL has picked up the parcel, an airway bill is prepared and the package can be tracked on DHL’s trace and track system. At this juncture, DHL sends a confirmation to Satyam shipment. 5. As per the current delivery system, DHL will call Rita to arrange a suitable delivery time. In case such an arrangement cannot be worked out, DHL will attempt delivery during normal business hours. In the event that the delivery cannot be carried out, DHL will make a second try, and if the delivery still cannot be made, DHL’s agent will leave a DHL card and contact number at the customer’s premises requesting them to contact DHL. Once the delivery has been carried out, the courier informs Satyam. 6. On confirmation of delivery, Satyam sends a requisition for settlement to Citibank, which then pays out the money to Satyam and charges the customer’s account. Only then does Satyam pay the merchant. Troubleshooting 64 about him product’s
Online shopping Things usually work out all right. But what happens when something goes wrong? Suppose the merchant does not have the goods Rita ordered? This situation typically arises in the case of books and music, when the item ordered is not in stock. Satyam then keeps the customer posted about the likely delay and also offers the customer the option of canceling the order. Similarly, if all attempts at delivery fail and the customer also fails to get in touch with DHL, the courier informs Satyam, which then e-mails the customer about the delivery failure and the reasons for it. Another problem that can arise is damage to the product. Whenever possible, the courier tries to get the recipient to confirm that there is nothing wrong with the goods. But in the event of any complaint, shopping@satyamonline has a ‘no questions asked’ replacement policy. Revenues The Web site has two revenue streams: 1. Listing fees: These are paid by the shops or brands that are showcased on the mall. This is usually an annual fee, the value of which depends on the size of the store, the design and the extent of showcasing. 2. Commission on sales: Typically, this is a percentage of the sales that happen online. It is akin to the retail margin earned by brick-andmortar showrooms, department stores and supermarkets. The exact percentage is generally determined by the category. Why? For the merchant, the Web site offers anew channel and greater access and thus a chance to boost revenue. This is especially true of smaller organizations that cannot afford the marketing costs of reaching out to a larger market. Satyam gives such organizations the reach they need with its background, infrastructure and back-end 65
Online shopping systems. For the customer, Satyam is able to offer a discount because of some savings in overheads, and the customer thus gets the goods at a slightly lower price. There is also the advantage of being able to buy goods that may not be available through regular channels. An example is being able to buy Hindustan Lever’s leather bags, which are normally not available through regular channels except on certain occasions. These products are available at shopping@satyamonline right through the year. The Web site also offers the customer better security of payment through its tie-up with Citibank, also ensuring security of personal customer details by restricting access to its database.
Issues
Some issues still remain to be addressed. One is the extent of penetration of credit cards in the country. It is clear that only a small section of the country’s population possesses credit cards. Though the number of credit cardholders is growing, it is still a major drawback, especially when Satyam’s main competitor Rediff.com offers customers the option of paying by cheque and demand draft, and even by VPP in the case of books and music. This immediately makes Rediff appeal to a much larger audience. Another issue, and one that is common to all players in this market, is sales tax. Working out how products bought online should be taxed is a major headache for all etailers. Right now, Satyam has worked out an uniform rate of 10 percent CST into its prices, but the issue will have to be clarified soon. The absence of uniform rules could be another hitch. The recently introduced IT bill may redress this though.
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Online shopping Delivery is another danger zone, especially since logistics in the country are not yet of international standards. The problem of delivery, however, is common to most e-tailers. For all its advantages, though, [email protected] is a little unfriendly to the first-time user. For someone who has never shopped online before, it can be slightly daunting. There is assistance available at the help-desk, but the help icon is rather small and does not immediately catch the eye. Rediff, on the other hand, has a very clearly marked ‘how to order’ link on its shopping page. The future With online shopping growing by the day, [email protected] seems well set to be right there on top. It has a nearly-mover advantage as well as some solid backing. Given this, and the channel’s Commitment to providing exceptional customer service, the Web site appears set to be a winner. _
Chapter:14 Conclusion In recent Shopping online is here to stay, and online sales growth is explosive. In addition, online entertainment will be a $15.7 billion market in 2007 , only approximately 22 percent of that total will come from digital goods and services. Shopping online is something anyone can do, with a bit of coaching, a bit of training, and the right tools. You can find what you want at the price you want to pay. This is no exception. In fact,
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Online shopping with the sophistication and speed of online shopping tools, consumers are spending more and more on shopping mall sites. Shopping online is a fabulous time and money saver and with promotional coupon codes saves you even more. It is also far more convenient, as you do not have to leave your home or office. The simple act of shopping online through a member organizations online Marketplace helps that member organizations grow, prosper, and continue to serve the people of their community. In years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class. In order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer, a bank account and a debit card. Shopping has evolved with the growth of technology. According to research found in the Journal of Electronic Commerce, if we focus on the demographic characteristics of the in-home shopper, in general, the higher the level of education, income, and occupation of the head of the household, the more favourable the perception of non-store shopping.[4]. It should be remembered that an influential factor in consumer attitude towards non-store shopping is exposure to technology, since it has been demonstrated that increased exposure to technology increases the probability of developing favorable attitudes towards new shopping channels. Well, the major factor remains the lack of user friendly shopping portals in India. Most of the times the business giants tend to forget that the psychology of the Indian shoppers differs from the rest of the world. It is not always that the shoppers decide to buy something and log on to the shopping portals. An Indian shopper like to roam around and if anything particular of interest catches their attention they think of buying it. So there has to be user friendly sites with categories explicitly defined and managed. The more cluttered the sites would be, more the users will tend to alienate from the entire process. Then there should be options for comparative and group shopping as we Indians like to discuss and talk to friends and relatives about the product before buying
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Glossary
Shopping cart Online shopping cart allow customers to "place" items in the cart. Upon "checkout" the e-shopping cart typically calculates a amount of your purchase. When you will click on checkout it means you have decided to purchase all those items kept in shopping cart, then it will display you the amount you are supposed to pay along with shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) and taxes. In other words shopping cart is just like basket in physical shopping terms. 69
Online shopping Encryption technology Encryption is a procedure that involves a mathematical transformation of information into scrambled gobbledygook, called "cipher text." The computational process (an algorithm) uses a key--actually just a big number associated with a password or pass phrase--to compute or convert plain text into cipher text with numbers or strings of characters. The resulting encrypted text is decipherable only by the holder of the corresponding key SSL (Secured socket By using SSL the information you sent are scrambled, this means layer) it is not possible to get details without encryption code. Since this is done automatically in merchants server, it can be ensured that your personal details are secure. Thus make sure that you always do payment over SSL.
Locater software
Locator software is an electronic commerce software module on a website that allows a visitor to find nearby stores and business locations. In its most common form, a visitor inputs a ZIP code and the locator returns all locations in a database within a specified radius]; and picks the product up at the closest store. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks.
Bibliography
? Marketing Mastermind magazine (July 2007 edition)
? Appliance Magazine (July 2008 magazine)
Webiliography ? www.marshallward.co.uk ? www.mercent.com ? www.eshoppingindia.com
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Online shopping ? ? ? ? ? ?
www.facebook.com www.ebay.com www.allbusiness.com www.ezinearticles.com www.writeedge.com www.scamwatch.gov.au
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doc_734767564.doc
Chapter:1 Overview of E-business:
Before moving with the main topic lets just have the scenario of e-business in our country as e-shopping is an activity of e-shopping.
The Indian private sector recognizes economies of e-business. Clearly, the opportunity (and the need) for Indian businesses to get onto the e-business power curve is really quite high. Needless to add, that the potential exists. The size of the transactions over the net piddling size when compared to world. Unlike in the past, Where existing attitudes have posed major challenges to adopting a new way of life, with the internet it has been rather a smooth sailing, thanks to the extraordinary levels of internet awareness in the country. As a result of this, companies have been more open to taking studied chances. As a result of this, companies have been more open to taking studied chances, as is evident. Here, we are not just talking of companies that have static web sites but those which conduct commerce on the net like color Plus, India Bookshop, bababazzar, Rediff-on-the\net and shoppers stop, Bazee.com, Auctionindia.com, India plaza.com, selling from books and shirts to vegetables and soaps, from electronic goods to the old second hand non performing assets of companies to other companies. The lack of infrastructure was a serious impediment, but bottlenecks are soon being removed. With several private value-added networks(VANs) coming up and with the reach of internet expanding, this is becoming less of a problem. In fact, collective experience indicates that firms can deploy e-commerce solutions over the current infrastructure and realize significant benefits from them. To be fair, this is one area that has received focus from the highest levels and there is feverish activity to build bigger bandwidth and crucial payment gateways, which will enable online care authorization.
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Online shopping The needs to get its legal, legislative, regulatory, infrastructure and manpower ready for e-business. Already some of this readiness can be seen, and hence, India is ready to boom in e-business While the air of optimism persists, the fact remains that in India Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has not really taken off. Therefore, doubts persists whether corporate and government in specific will adopt this as quickly as is made out. One of the main reasons is high entry cost of EDI because of which companies fight shy of trying out.
1.1 The Actual E-Business Operation Can Be Described As Follows. 1) The client uses the web browsers on the local terminal to connect to the ecommerce site via the internet/intranet.
2) The site presents the client with the products/ services offered . usually a smart
website flashes some new product in their website so that consumers or visitors have a access to it. The site provides with various option, important option which buyer have is search as they can search the product which they want and can a pleasure of accessing the site. Whereas for seller there is option known as click to sell to sell their product.
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3. The client chooses to make online transaction, and the e-Commerce sire requests the client browsers to enable an SSL-protected link. This link-tolink encryption offers an SSL-protected link. This link-to-link encryption offers high level security to the entire process.
4. The E-commerce site (also called the server), requests personal and financial information from the client that is relevant to the authentication and validation of the transaction in process. This is sent for validation to a transaction server connected to all database of all the supporting financial institution. (foe E.g. , the authentication database of Mastercard, American Express or Visa), or the internal authentication database of an internet. Depending on the values returned to the transaction server by the authentication database, the client’s transaction process is further processed.
E-business really means the extension of business systems and providing an easy to use interface between the external world and the organization, while increasing reach. Where one can complete the transaction online and integrate the supply into transaction management process.
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Online shopping Chapter:2
History of online shopping
Since about 1990, online shopping has emerged into every corner of life, linking people to the culture of capitalism in frequent and daily ways. It lets us buy what we want, when we want at our convenience, and helps us to imagine ourselves buying, owning, and having positive outcomes by the goods available out there on the web. Shopping has been a way of identifying oneself in today's culture by what we purchase and how we use our purchases. Online shopping has always been a middle to high class commodity since its first arrival on the internet in society History of Online Shopping starts not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee created "The World Wide Web Browser" in 1990. In1994 few other developments took place. Online bank , the first of its kind opened in year 2005-2006. Another development was opening of online pizza shop by pizza hut. In the same year Netscape introduced SSL encryption to enable encryption over the data transferred online. This later became the necessity of online shopping. In 1995, Amazon started operation, one of the largest online shopping mall now. Then in 1996 eBay started its online shopping portal. 1998 witnessed use of electronic postage stamps, where people can download and print postal stamps after paying nominal fee. In 1999 the first online shop in UK launched. Years later, people started reviewing products and then it became obvious that web can also be used for selling goods. Instead of writing reviews, marketers started writing with “sales pitch” (copywriting), which is still one of the important aspects of e commerce. The important years in e-commerce history. 1994 : Pizza Hut opened its Online Shop.
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1994 : Netscape introduced the SSL system, which became the necessity for every online transaction. 1995 : Amazon.com launched its operations. 1996 : eBay started its services. 1999 : First online shop in UK launched. 2000 : Dot.com Burst 2003 : Amazon.com’s first year of profit.2005 : Google became the dominant search engine to find and buy goods and service.
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Online shopping Chapter:3 What is online shopping?
Online shopping, internet shopping or web shopping is the process of buying and selling done over the web. With the help of Internet, now you can buy things online from the comfort of your home. You can compare products, check prices, read reviews and make decision in fraction of time than that you normally need when you do the real world shopping. Just like in real-world shopping, you need to have a shop or mall for people to come and buy things. In online world, the shop is a website called online shopping site or simply online shopping mall. Online mall in reality is a catalog of products available for shopping. These catalog contains products arranged to categories, prices and brands. You can select the products of your interest and add to the “Virtual Basket” called online shopping cart. When you finish shopping, you can checkout and pay for the products using your credit card or bank account. Online shopping does not necessarily be concentrated on products, in fact online shopping can also be done for services. For example, insurance services can be bought
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Online shopping online. Online shopping is the one part of e commerce revolution, where every business is finding its online presence more profitable and easily manageable. Features: 1. Digital convergence: The digital revolution has made it possible for digital
devises to communicate with each other there is a massive growth of networking which has made it possible to navigate on internet. As today we can see many transactions takes place through network connected globally. Smooth and efficient transactions take place because of digital availability.
2. Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime: E-commerce; to be in more deep, is made available to anyone, anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, a consumer do not feel barrier of any kind that can restrict him from buying the goods online until and unless there is a network breakdown.
3. Increasing pressure on operating costs and profit margins: Global competition and the proliferation of products and services worldwide have added unusual pressure on operating costs and profit margins. E-commerce addresses these concerns quickly and efficiently at lower costs.
4. Changes in organization: Today, the trend is toward parterning owners and managers across department to develop chain of relationships that adds value to the enterprise by maintaining relationship with the customers.
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Online shopping 5. Demand for customized products and services: Today, the customer have become more choosy and demand higher quality and better performance, includinga customized way of producing, delivery and paying for goods and services.
6. Information sharing, convience and control: E-commerce improves information sharing between merchants and customers and promotes quick, just-in-time deliveries. Customer and merchants save time as they order at anytime of the day. Instead of banks controlling the relationship with the customers, the latter can have more control of their banking needs via websites
7. .Collaborative Working: Ecommerce facilitate the various business partners, customers from different geographical locations and suppliers to work in a collaborative manner in order to manage, allocate and improve project work without any geographical location barriers.
8. Comparison between products: E-shopping provides customer to make comparisons between different brands by going through customer reviews, so it helps a consumer to make the choice or preferences of the product and ultimately it helps them to make their buying decision.
Advantages 1. Convience: The major advantage of online shopping is the convenience it offers. By sitting back at home you can now shop anything from candles to vehicles by several clicks of mouse buttons. The worry you may have on traveling, traffic blocks and parking constraints in real world shopping can be
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Online shopping avoided while shopping online. With online shopping, you need not have to worry about weather conditions as well.
2. Time Flexibility: Another big advantage of online shopping is the flexibility of shopping. Unlike offline shops, online shops have no holidays, closing times or any other problems. You can shop 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Is n't that amazing to have a shop open always ?
3. Price and quality comparison: One of the advantage of online shopping is the facilities available for product, price comparisons. Since so many companies have come up with the facilities of online shopping, the price comparison and quality comparison of the products and services are possible. Some online malls also provide customer reviews about each product, thus you can easily find out what other customers think about the product or services before buying it.
4. Amazing Offers: You can efficiently use these facilities to decide whether a product or service is worth the price quoted. If you are lucky you will be also getting amazing offers from different online stores that will effectively reduce the price than buying offline.
5. Information provided: online shopping provides ample information regarding the product which the consumer expect about the product such as for car it covers the company name, mileage, manufacturing date, etc.
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Online shopping 6. Payment Credit Period: In E-shopping consumer do not need to make tangible payment of their goods as the consumer need to pay it after some period which gives consumer a better time period to make arrangement for the payment.
7. No Geographical Barrier: Ecommerce facilitate people to carry out their business without any geographical barrier because all the business transaction of buying and selling has to be done over the internet which implies no geographical barrier.
Disadvantages to consumers: 1. Lack of personal interaction: In online shopping consumer is supposed to buy the goods with the help of information provided by the website about the respective product, here it is assumed that with these information the is convinced to buy the product. there is no salesman to provide information about the product. 2. Tangibility factor: in online shopping there is absence of tangibility factor. . Seeing the picture of a product is far inferior to that of seeing it in real world. When you go for real world shopping, you can actually touch, feel or sense it with different means, but for online shopping you can only view the electronic catalogues. Eventhough this problems has been rectified to certain extent by use of 3D product catalogues, some online malls still uses the old fashioned images in product catalogues. 3. Shipping cost: If the shipping cost is more than the actual product cost, then in such situation it becomes senseless and meaningful to make purchase through online shopping.
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Online shopping 4. No scope for bargaining: In online shopping the consumer do not have any scope for bargaining he has to get convinced with what the displaying price of the product. Except for online auction. 5. Time factor: Once the customer places an order then he has to wait long, in order to get delivery of his product, since it is a long procedure it normally takes 10-15 days to actually reach the product to the consumer. 6. Security factor: While making online shopping the consumer should have to be conscious about the usage of his credit cards, so that it gets prevented from any unauthorized users such as hackers, so security concern becomes another deterring factor for the consumer while going for online shopping. 7. Not suitable for all categories of products: The consumer become more physical oriented for some goods such as perfumes, clothes etc because they can be purchased by the customer only having a good fragrance, good quality etc.
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Online shopping Chapter:4 Traffic of consumer
Overall, the Shopping & Classifieds category received 25% of traffic referred from search. While the number may seem low, keep in mind that many of the product categories received a higher share of traffic from search while the Auctions & Classifieds are less reliant upon search (15% and 14%) but represent nearly 35% of the visits within the Shopping & Classifieds category.
It is interesting to know that many consumers are going for online shopping to purchase the GROSSERY items. Because of the convenience the consumer get of sitting home and shopping. People of India generally metropolitan cities residing consumers go for online grocery shopping. Groceries are different from many other products, such as music and books, that are commonly purchased online. Many grocery products are perishable and therefore timesensitive in terms of their delivery needs. In addition, groceries are a replacement product, i.e., the same basket of products is more-or-less purchased on a regular basis. Finally, groceries are high-touch items, meaning that consumers like to inspect the
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Online shopping quality of items they are purchasing. Nearly five years ago the business of online shopping was not that much accelerated as it is now as it was just the initial stage of grocery purchasing online. Apart from these even people were not aware about purchasing online. Slowly, Slowly internet shopping started penetrating in the minds of consumers and so purchasing of online grocery also. ). This growing market had attracted an number of "pure-plays" - companies that focused exclusively on selling through the Internet, and attempted to replace traditional bricks-and-mortar supermarkets. Most of these pureplays failed spectacularly. Today, traditional bricks-and-mortars stores are increasingly entering the online market in an attempt to leverage both brand awareness and create distribution efficiencies. Many seller i.e. online sellers started going foe Bricks And Clicks selling where the consumer can get the delivery of his product at the nearby store by placing online order. One of the Most popular website for purchasing grocery online is indiaplaza.com Which provides over 1500 products that you can purchase online where almost all the drands all available such as BRU, Amul ,MDH, Horlicks ,Bournvita etc. The Food Marketing Institute (or FMI) is an organization that conducts research, education and public affairs programs for food retailers and wholesalers. FMI's membership consists of approximately 1,500 companies in 50 countries, ranging from large chain stores to independent supermarkets. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has identified reasons that people, generally speaking, choose to shop online (FMI, 2000). FMI research revealed that 86 percent of consumers go online or access their computer on a daily basis. Of these individuals, 70 percent use the Internet frequently for shopping. Those consumers between the ages of 25 to 34 are most likely to use the Internet for shopping. FMI also identified how respondents locate online shopping sites. The two main methods are looking in the Web site of a familiar store and doing a keyword search on a browser; Table 1. as we saw in table 1. which clearly indicates that consumer while going for grocery shopping will go for those website where they are experienced with or very well aware about the website. By accessing or going through it clearly indicate that
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Online shopping stores with a bricks-and-mortar presence have an advantage in attracting new users to their sites. as majority will access to the website of familiar store. Consumer’s Decision for Going Online At first the consumer decides on certain aspects, and then it influences him/her whether to go for online grocery shopping or not. There are many traditional Retail shops, supermarkets from where the consumer can easily buy the grocery products. It is but obvious that consumer will compare between various factor and then arrive ultimately at the final decision of buying. The decision to purchase groceries online occurs after consumers evaluate the benefits and costs of this decision versus using a traditional brick-and-mortar versus a straight online store. There are five critical elements that determine whether a consumer shops online or in a traditional grocery store . 1. Price; 2. Ambiance; 3. Convenience; 4. Service; 5. Product variety Many of the bricks-and-mortar formats vying for consumers' attention are focused primarily on two of these elements, namely price and variety. However, owing to service fees incurred when shopping online, traditional grocery stores typically experienced a comparative price advantage over e-grocers. Online grocery shopping involves certain service charges which get skipped in traditional purchase of online shopping. . E-grocers were found to be comparable to their bricks-and-mortar counterparts in terms of product variety, and were viewed more favorably on the dimensions of ambience, convenience and service. With regard to service and convenience, the following observations were made:
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Online shopping While service is often mentioned as an attribute offered by retailers, consumer perceptions of the service levels offered is quite different and not highly valued. Convenience offerings are limited to distance and the product must be available or not available over there. The appeal of e-grocery services is also influenced by many consumers findings grocery shopping a stressful activity. Many consumer find that purchasing a grocery is a stressful task to do. Mainly it might be due to they need to carry huge weighing burden with them or they are more accustomed towards the Ambiance of Malls, etc. On these pretext it can be said that; Crowding is disliked because it frustrates customers achieving their task as easily as they would like ... It may also invoke feelings of claustrophobia in some people ... Queuing is a function of crowding and adds to the feeling of frustration and the distress this causes" . Well on grocery shopping there are also certain other factors which deters the consumer for going grocery shopping and make favorable them online grocery shopping. The
factors such as:
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Online shopping ? Time Constraints: In many house there is dual-income family structure. A study reveals out that 50% of e-grocery consumers earn more than US$50,000 per year .Mainer times the lady of the house don’t get enough time to go physically and purchased the Grocery which is a keen essential commodity. Now here their preference towards online grocery shopping make it easy for them as they can just access the internet and get the grocery of their choice just sitting at their home or office or even in car. ? Disabilities related to age: In a study conducted by Finland, Heikkila on these topic discovered that the elder persons and disabled persons are second most consumer who go for shopping of grocery online. It is basically because of their age it is not possible for them to physically go and buy grocery. Majority of them live alone so buying online is the best preferred choice by the elder citizens. even if they order on telephone they are not able to get the price of each and every product other than these ? Price comparison and variety.: Well another of consumer is the one who just sit at home and with the help of E-Shopping they are able to see the varieties of product can compare between the prices of two products. Due to ample of varieties availability these make a preference for them to go for online shopping. Purchasing of grocery Sr.no Malls, supermarkets internet 1 Here even though the products Here a consumer can sit at are arranged as per the his place can hear a soft category, but it irritates as we music and can access on the see a long shelves where these products smoothly . are arranged and looking for every category and every product 2 is a tired some activity. Always carrying basket while Just need to add the product
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Online shopping shopping and its weight in the shopping cart. Which
getting increase along with the also gives detail of the bugs also creates a frustration products purchased and total 3 for the consumer. While making cost till now. payment Here the consumer will just
waiting for the long queue is click on check-out . another tired some job in traditional shopping
At the same time their has also been increase in the alcohol sector, consumer mainly prefers to buy online alcohol because they are able to see different varieties available and accordingly go for their purchase of online shopping of alcohol. A consumer can find ample alcohol such as Echinacea Extract Alcohol Free 4 Oz Immune System,etc. 5.1 House And Garden House and garden is third most products which has been sold out in the year 2008, nearly the sales in these sector has been increased by almost 30%. The consumer prefers these products because these are the daily user products of the consumers. The products which are available under these sector are 1. Inside the Home:- These Sub-category of House and Garden involves all those products which are required at home and almost which are essential to put into the basket. The products such as Bath,Bedding,Food & Wine, Furniture, Home Décor & Accents, Housekeeping & Organization Kitchen Dining & Bar Lamps, Lighting & Ceiling Fans, Major Appliances, Rugs & Carpets. It includes smallest of the smallest product of our home under window treatment which includes curtain rods and hardware, curtain drapes, shutters, so with these products available online consumer prefers to go online.
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Online shopping 2. Pet supplies:- It is surprising to know that even pets are sold online, the pets such as parrot fish, dogs, cats etc, with a number of varieties available. There are more than 1000 to 2000 varieties available for online shopping. The products under Pet categories involves Aquarium and fish, Cat, Dog, Bird, Reptile, Horse etc.Also even smallest of the smallest product required for these products is available such as cage for birds, belts for dogs, even pedigree. Thermometer and Heaters for animals and birds etc.
3. Tools and Home improvement:- These category includes the products which keeps our home up to the mark and which arte essential in our home such as hardware, air cooling and Heating Equipment, Home security E.g. Camera outside the door, Plumbing and Fixtures E.G. bath Tub, Hand Shower, Taps etc. Tools i.e. the devices which are usually required by the carpenters, plumbers.ets E.g. Drill machine, Air compressor, power generator etc. other than these it also involves magnifying glass, safety products for carpenter, welders etc.
4. Weeding and Party supplies:- Under these we can the products such as Flowers and bouquets, where you a beautiful artificial flowers catching your eyes. Apart from these it also involves Greeting cards for various occasion. In these category the Seller usually puts ample number of products say he can put more than 20000 products. Generally every other web host try to put innovative products under because consumer like innovative kind of products for weeding moments and so they access internet in search of some unique and innovative kind of products. 5. Yard, Outdoor living and garden:- The products which requires for your garden are available in these category, Artificial products to keep your garden decorated for e.g. papyrus plants etc. Here the consumer will get everything right from, Bird & Wildlife Accessories, Garden Décor , Garden Structures & Fencing, Gardening &
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Online shopping Plants, Lawnmowers, Outdoor Cooking & Eating , Outdoor Lighting, Outdoor Power Equipment, Patio & Garden Furniture,. With these Various number of products available right from kitchen, plumbing equipments to pets, even smallest and cheapest curtain drapes etc. the category House And Garden remains at 3rd position with regards to number of sales. 5.2 Health and Beauty: These is the fourth most category of the product which has increased by almost 29%. As the name suggest there are many number of consumers who go for shopping their products online in these category. Over here we can see the products that are used by everybody. The products such as Bath oil’s, Bath lotions, Bath powders, soaps etc are available in these category. Expert suggest that there are consumers who are well conscious about their Health and looks. in respect with their Heavy busy schedule, People tend to like good always and see nice well in these busy crowd. So consumers just sitting at their home, office can access to these category and get the choices of their product with ample number of varieties. There are various categories we can see over here. Hair Care, Hair Oil. Hair and shaving removal etc will be made available over here. Apart From these there are the products such as spa, Diet pills which helps in reducing the weight, Gum mint etc is available online. So consumer can take advantage of these. There are also the products which take care of your vision so a person having a low sight can take a good care of his vision. lenses ,good quality of spectacles are there which a use it. The products such as Facial steamer , Spa herbal etc these are the products which takes care of your skin. Many online consumers browse these sub-category of Health and Beauty. as here ayurvedic skin care products are also available. There are ample number if products available online in these category, Lets take for E.g. If consumer browses to ebay.com and look out for these category. Then the products
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Online shopping available are as follows, Next to the sub-category there is a numerical which indicates the total umber available items in that respective category. For E.g. In Bath and body there are 23604 products available of different brands and different varieties such as Bath oil’s, Bath lotions, Prostrate massager. Etc ? Bath & Body(23604) ? Coupons(2389) ? Dietary Supplements, Nutrition(16284) ? Fragrances(62197) ? Hair Care(28334) ? Health Care(13956) ? Makeup(78754) ? Massage(5115) ? Medical, Mobility & Disability(14073) ? Nail Care & Polish(15800) ? Natural & Homeopathic Remedies(7362) ? Oral Care(4576) ? Over-the-Counter Medicine(2180) ? Shaving & Hair Removal(8892)
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Online shopping ? Skin Care(57222) ? Tanning Beds & Lamps(371) ? Tattoos & Body Art(9495) ? Vision Care(11608) ? Weight Management(10186) ? Wholesale Lots(2126) Owing to the increasing conscious of people towards themselves and availability of such huge stocks it makes more and more consumer to go for this kind of product to physically use such innovative and different brands product conveniently. And so basically the reason for increment of consumer by almost 29% as compare to last year (2007) 5.3 Appliances and CE: In these category a consumer can buy Appliances that are required at home the Appliances such as Stoves knobs, Stylishness. knobs for ovens,. The traffic of online appliances shopping is more in Australia. The products are appliances such as Refrigerators with a varieties available in that viz
Fridge - Top Freezer Fridge - Bottom Freezer Side by Side Fridges 3 & 4 Door Fridges Bar Fridges Pigeon Pair / Upright Chest Freezers Wine Fridges Wine Storage
Consumer has a option to go for the product ,the variety, model of their choices, since having these much types of refrigerator available online gives the consumer a satisfaction by looking at these much varieties of the appliances. Also the features of every appliances is displayed in a proper manner which is easily accessible for the consumers.
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Online shopping Apart from refrigerator the other product which are sold under these category are as follows Laundry products, ovens, vacuum cleaners, Dishwashers etc. With
even these products available it is bound that consumer traffic is to increase for these category of products as even the smallest product is available of each category is available. Taps with an ascetic look which grab the attention of everyone at your home, small posh, and decent Taps fitted and required for homes etc could be seen. Cook tops and Rangehoods are also a best seller among these category. Cook tops with different colors is available online. Rangehoods which is commonly known as Chimney in India available with different varieties. Such as canopy, Retractable, Fixed and under rangehoods etc. Expert suggest that in next few year appliances category will be booming as many new players are entering in these category which provides for a good opportunity and several schemes for the consumers and so consumers likely to go for it. Traffic in these category increased by 20% primarily because of refrigerators available online as they are the highest seller amongst these category. The reason behind selling refrigerators is that seller have a good knowledge of refrigerator they just need to see a new model or variety is available so that they can have a look for it, even the most attractive thing which is often there in online shopping the discounts provided to buyers. Most important one is that refrigerator is product which requires a home delivery either you purchase it from 22
Online shopping local retailer or buy it online, so taking these point into consideration consumer like to shop conveniently sitting at his home, and surfing net looking for the product and behind that product an attractive discount, gifts etc.
The best sites for purchasing appliances online includes ? www.appliancesonline.com, ? www.artman.com Due to these all factors and consumer changing behavior towards purchase of the goods is the reason for good increment of these category by almost 20%. 5.4 Rewards and Directories In these category there are just rewards which are given to consumers such as say20% cash back on purchase on certain category. Now consumer could be seen purchasing more and more under these category mainly because they get a good rewards on purchase of something and it is but obvious that the consumer will like to shop more and more under these to save their money and grab the best opportunity out of that. There is an increment of about 15% in these sector which reveals that many consumers like to go for online shopping which gives them certain aspects or benefits of purchasing. Grocery Company at the advantage Many company who go for online selling of the grocery products are at the advantage. Primarily because looking at the current statistics it can be said that many E-grocery will be the next bigger segment in which consumer likely to go for in online shopping. The company should do a good and attractive advertisement of its product to attract the consumer.
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Online shopping The study reveals out that that consumer who buy online the repeat their order i.e. with good experience they prefer to go for online shopping again. so the company must provide a good service to them in order to retain their consumers.
Chapter:5 Process of e-shopping
At first the consumer need to decide that whether he would like to go for online shopping or not then he may proceed. In today’s world there are many web sites available for the customers for people such as ebay.com, rediff.com, ezee.com etc. so they can get access to any one of these and they may decide what product whether they would like to purchase… these websites provides consumers with number of products from which a buyer can have his choice purchasing products or services. At first the consumer need to visit online malls.i.e. website in internet language these online malls are nothing but the the website, from where you will be making online buying of goods and services. for
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Online shopping The consumer must select a proper and good website for purchasing product such as eay.com., baazi.com etc. after accessing and getting connected to a respective website, a consumer need to go for selection of particular category of products. There are huge number of categories available right from antiques products, maps of the country to internet games, fine jewellery etc.. if we go for each category then it will take entire day to look for all the products available for buying. Now take one example, if any customer selects motor category where in automobiles are there for selling. then the consumer shall required to click on motor category, then he will see many sub-categories such as cars and trucks, powersports,motorcycles(two-wheeler), boats, other vehicles which includes uses, military vehicles, race cars etc. now among each of these sub-categories the consumer will have various products available for them such as in cars and trucks category the consumer will have different models of cars along with their entire details including price image of the model etc.then from these the consumer can make decision regarding buying or not. After looking at the product then consumer will take the decision that whether he will buy the product or not. If consumer decides to buy the product then consumer shall place the product in virtual shopping cart i.e. consumer will just add the product on the shopping cart .in other words shopping cart is just like basket in physical shopping terms. Where you will take or keep all those products which you decided to buy. The next step is to login using a username and password. Many online malls first require you to register with them before allowing you to pay for the bought items. Enter the address to which you want the product to be delivered. You might also want to select the payment modes for payment here. After choosing the mode of payment there will other boxes to fill your billing address or the payment details. Some online malls even asks for your email, phone numbers etc. Then wait for the confirmation of your order, you can also modify the order by adding or removing items. You can also cancel order if needed.
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Online shopping Keep the printed copy of the purchased order and confirmations for records. In the event of any disputes, you will need to show these documents for verification. After some days the order will be placed at your door step and you can have the actual product or service that you have ordered and just need to check that whether the product purchased is as per your wish. Now well if any consumer want to buy tickets online then
At first the consumer need to select the category or event of which he intended to buy then he may proceed further. Consumer can also type a particular search for his ticket. Your search will show all the relevant info needed to enter a bid or Buy-it-Now, including section and row information. Utilize the venue maps within the listings which show you exact venue seating layout. Also, check out our team and concert tour schedule pages which allow you to easily manage ticket search results by team or artist, event date and location. These schedules are available for popular teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Heat and Lakers, artists like the Rolling Stones and Coldplay, and leagues such as the NFL and NCAA Football. You can book your ticket and then you can have it at your by making payment to the online seller through credit cards. If incase the event cancels due to any reason or it never takes place then in such a situation it is not refunded. But if the event does not take place then in such a situation it depends upon the policy of the seller whether to refund it or not.
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Online shopping There are many websites which provides for the guidance of newcomer as to how he should buy the ticket and about all related stuff. The sellers online ticket places their advertisement well before an month advance. The sellers in order to attract the buyer gives various preferences or information related to the subject. For E.g. The site which sells tennis tickets it also gives information about top ten men, women, doubles, mix etc. Chapter:6 Online Shopping Mode of Payments
Payment by credit card is the widely accepted method of payment for online shopping. However the other methods, like using e checks, paypal & bank transfer are also common. The method of payment is decided upon the mutual trust and familiarity between online merchant and the customer. Various methods of payment are described below.
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Credit Cards:- A consumer can make payment by using credit cards, buyer is supposed to give his Credit card number then seller will check whether it si valid or not and accordingly debit his account. Credit card also has its limit only till that amount a credit can be taken.
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Online shopping
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Debit Cards:- A similar transactions as like Credit Card but only the difference is here already the amount will be there in buyers account and he can make a purchase only up to the available balance amount.
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Cheque Payment:- Just mail or courier the cheque to the sellers place with the relevant or invoice amount.
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Money Order :- The consumer actually physically make the payment of goods. He send it through post and then cash is received by the seller. Consumer gets a acknowledgement of his payment which assures him that his payment has reached to the seller.
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Electronic money:- In electronic cash consumer is supposed to pay via internet. Consumer must pay to his bank then the bank gives certain numerals for payment which the consumer gives through internet to seller and then the buyer bank will send supply the he money is withdrawn from a consumer's account in the form of a certificate and transferred into the vendor's account for purchases. Like paper money, it can be reused as long as there's money in the bank to back it up
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Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores):- These is offered by few sellers only as there is always a risk(In case if consumer refuses to pay the entire amount and get involves in unnecessary bargains) involved in these where is consumer is supposed to pay his money at the delivery of his product to the company official.
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PayPal:- Paypal is an subsidiary of E-bay from where you can make online payment using credit cars, debit cards,. Here for more protection Paypal gives a security code, PayPal introduced an optional security key as an additional precaution against fraud. A user account tied to a security key has a modified login process: he enters his login ID and password, as he normally would, but then he is prompted to press the button on the security key and enter the six-digit number generated by it. This two-factor authentication is intended to prevent an account from being compromised by a malicious third party without access to the
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Online shopping physical security key. However, if a user loses his key, he can alternatively authenticate by providing the credit card or bank account number listed on his account.
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Google Checkout:- Google Checkout is an online payment processing service provided by Google aimed at simplifying the process of paying for online purchases. Users store their credit or debit card and shipping information in their Google Account, so that they can purchase at participating stores at the click of a button. Google Checkout also offers fraud protection, as well a unified page for tracking purchases and their status. Making transactions using Google Checkouts is banned in ebay , ebay insist its buyer to go for paypal. • 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% of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent. Now once we make payment then, the seller should accept it. Accepting online payments Accepting online payments is an indispensable feature for your e-commerce store. If there is something that you sell online, you will require a payment mode in order to instantly accept payments from your website customers. PayPal is the most widely popular and common mode of online payments. A more direct and practical way is to accept credit cards. This implies that that the web owner would require a merchant account from a bank or other financial institution that accepts Internet transactions.
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Online shopping
Chapter:7 Delivery of the products
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.
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Online shopping ? In-store pickup: The customer orders online, finds a local store using locator software business model .
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In the case of buying an admission ticket one may get a code, or a ticket that can be printed out. At the premises it is made sure that the same right of admission is not used twice.
In the event of a problem with the item - it is not what the consumer ordered, or it is not what they expected - consumers are concerned with the ease with which they can return an item for the correct one or for a refund. Consumers may need to contact the retailer, visit the post office and pay return shipping, and then wait for a replacement or refund. Some online companies have more generous return policies to compensate for the traditional advantage of physical stores. For example, the online shoe retailer Zappos.com includes labels for free return shipping, and does not charge a restocking fee, even for returns which are not the result of merchant error. (Note: In the United Kingdom, Online shops are prohibited from charging a restocking fee if the consumer cancels their order in accordance with the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Act 2000. One of the hardest areas to deal with in online shopping is the delivery of the products. Most companies offer shipping insurance in case the product is lost or damaged; however, if the buyer opts not to purchase insurance on their products, they are generally out of luck. Some shipping companies will offer refunds or compensation for the damage, but it is up to their discretion if this will happen. It is important to realize that once the product leaves the hands of the seller, they have no responsibility (provided the product is what the buyer ordered and is in the specified condition).
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Online shopping
Chapter:8 Security in E-shopping
Privacy, Security & Safety Online
Privacy Online Many online malls use cookies to track the user activity for showing relevant results to maximize the shopping experience. It can also be used to track your personal details. Thus before you pass your personal information, ensure the credibility of the online merchant. Good companies post their privacy policy ( that is how they are going to use the personal information about you ) on the website. Read carefully!
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Online shopping Security & Safety Online The important considerations after privacy are the security and safety features used by online malls. Remember that good websites are made in compliance with industrial standards such as SSL (secured socket layer). These standards use encryption technology to transfer information from your computer to online merchant's server. Encryption is a procedure that involves a mathematical transformation of information into scrambled gobbledygook, called "cipher text." The computational process (an algorithm) uses a key--actually just a big number associated with a password or pass phrase--to compute or convert plain text into cipher text with numbers or strings of characters. The resulting encrypted text is decipherable only by the holder of the corresponding key By using SSL the information you sent are scrambled, this means it is not possible to get details without encryption code. Since this is done automatically in merchants server, it can be ensured that your personal details are secure. Thus make sure that you always do payment over SSL. When the company you want to deal is new to you, try to get maximum information about them before making any orders. Keep your password secret and make it in such a way that other may not be in a position to guess it. Credit card transactions are considered to be the safest mode of payment for online shopping. Make yourself understood with the company's policies especially on how they are going to keep your financial and personal data secured. Keep printed copies of purchase order and confirmation details, so that it can be used in the event of disputes. There are some tips which are given by experts for online security and safety transactions.
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Online shopping 1. Use a secure computer for all transactions: While this rules out cybercafes, know that even your desktop PC may not be secure. A secure computer must have a licensed, regularly updated anti-virus program and a functional firewall. Even with these, your computer could be compromised if it is used for illegal/free music/software/video downloads from the web. Use a ’clean’ PC always. 2. Keep a separate ’low limit’ credit card for internet transactions: A client in the credit card industry shared this tip with me. You may feel safer if you dedicate a lowlimit credit card for your online purchases. Use as low a limit as you are comfortable with, and which will cover your monthly purchases. That way, you will know that even in case of misuse, your losses are cut. 3. Look for the security indicators: These are - a yellow/ green bar in Mozilla/ IE in the URL window and a ’lock’ signA Verisign authentication on the site A URL beginning with https:// when you are taken to the payment gateway Verified by Visa/ Master Card Secure Code - these are the latest protocols developed to protect users from fraudulent transactions. 4. NEVER make an offline deal with an individual you find online: E-Bay says this and It is a good general rule to apply - Always transact only through a site, which will then be accountable/ responsible if you are de-frauded. 5. There are no ’irresistible deals’: I am happy to get a 10-15% saving in most cases. I would be very suspicious of anyone offering something 50% cheaper online than it actually costs. When you find such deals, be aware that they are risky and take cautions accordingly (call up the site, get hold of a person, a phone number, an e-mail ID of someone you can catch later if things go wrong).
Now some general tips.. Using International shopping sites: In case of disputes and frauds, you may not be protected under Indian law and are at the mercy of the retailer. So if you must, buy only from reputed sites like Amazon, or direct from the manufacturer. Use international sites 34
Online shopping only for ’immediate delivery’ items such as a software download. Also, most credit card providers levy a ’hidden’ 3.5% surcharge on international transactions, which of course adds to your purchase cost. Check this with your credit card provider.
Don’t mistrust small/ less known sites on principle: Some of the best and most professional dealings that have had have been with smaller/non-advertised sites. use a standard procedure to check on a new site that you are transacting with. a) Check user feedback on the site by googling blogs and forums. b) Send an email query and use the speed/ quality of response to form c) Restrict the first purchase to Rs.1000 or below. judgement
In case of disputes e-mail, don’t just call: It had bad experiences for many consumers usually with with both SifyMall and Dell India. In both cases consumers sent regular e-mails – they even used to recap each telephone interaction with cust service and send it as an e-mail Eventually, both responded after 6-7 e-mails. E-mails also act as evidence of dispute in case legal action becomes necessary. ………………………………………………………………………
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Online shopping
Chapter:9 online auction In the Busy and crowded world, today one can even buy the products of his preferences online through auction. Generally auction is carried on for all those goods which have a high demand but are scarce, so a consumer who do online shopping can also get entered into online auction which is normally termed as E-Auction.
What are e-Auctions? E-auctions are events where bidding takes place only over the internet. lots can be physically inspected before the e-Auction and each lot is available for preview in an
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Online shopping online catalog, often with recent digital photos. Lots remain open for bidding for several days and close on a specific date and time. To auction something on the internet, here’s what one needs to be mindful of. How e-auction works? E-Auction work in the following manner1. .Brochures containing information and photos of the equipment for sale are available via mail and viewable online so that it becomes convenient for the buyer or intended buyer to go through the terms and conditions and also details regarding product. 2. Lots became available for preview online two weeks before the e-Auction. Buyers can get a list of equipment by finding the e-auction they are interested in on website, or by doing a keyword search. 3. lots are open for bidding several days before the specified closing time. 4. Buyers can submit bids and/or proxy bids. The e-Auction lot goes into overtime bidding if a buyer bids within the last 2 minutes of the closing time. The time remaining is reset at 2 minutes. 5. The lot closes at a specific date and time. An invoice with payment instruction is faxed to the winning buyer. buyer pays via wire transfer with in 24 hours. 6. Buyer receives an authorization to pick up for all lots and arranges for load out with each yard. E-Auctions: When to play, how to play, how to win Like it or not, electronic auctions are here to stay. Management loves them and large numbers of corporations are quietly putting big chunks of their annual spend on the electronic block. Do e-Auctions threaten supplier relationship? Absolutely! But there are plenty of big spend categories where relationship matters very little. And even where it
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Online shopping makes sense to partner with suppliers for long haul, the astonishing price reductions achieved in some electronic auctions are causing many purchasing execs to wonder if the love they feel for their supplier partners might really be unrequited. With a nod to the often repeated caveats that, ? Reverse e-Auction are just one item in a fast- expanding array of technology options for strategic sourcing and procurement. ? Auctions should not be deployed without careful strategizing, and ? Auctions should be used in conjunction with attempts to permanently drive costs out of supply chains, purchasing has called upon a group of experts to reveal some of the lessons they have learned in lazing the e-Auction trail. Because reverse electronics auctions are so new-- and because they are gaining acceptance any slowly-- much of the learning is still focused on strategy-- when to use reverse electronic auction technology and what are the best process steps for doing so. Growing fast, however, is a body of tactical auction knowledge. These are lessons learned, often by trail and errors, about how buyers can win at the auction game without sacrificing their ethics or damaging their companies’ public mages. They cover how many suppliers make a market; how to obtain adequate supplier participation; how to set starting, ceiling and reserve prices; how much and what information to reveal to bidders; how to schedule e-auctions, how to ensure an auction achieves the greatest price compression in the shortest period of time; how to preserve integrity as an auctioneer; how to keep suppliers coming back for future auctions; and how to behave professionally during the auction event Contributors to the first E-Auction playbook represents both purchasing professionals and suppliers Who have participated in reverse auctions, technology developers, marker makers, management consultants and other e-Auction facilitators.
38
Online shopping Why wait till Diwali? You can probably do better than that.; Try putting the goods up for sale on an auction site and you might be surprised at the number of bleary-eyed people out there mouse in hand – who will stay up till midnight for a chance to add it to their personal collection. It sure makes makes you wonder if auction sites are actually going to be the shopping malls of the future. Thousands of people around the world have started to shop for everything from objects and arts to ordinary travel packages at these sites. And there are businessman out there who are not only too willing to bet their venture capital on the fact that their will soon be a huge community of Indians wanting to do their buying and selling via auctions. There is little evidence of Indians paying a visit to international auction sites. Yet the number of Indians websites that are in the auction space is slowly and steadily going up. Bazee.com already has around 15,000 registered users and the site has over 25,000 bids every month. If his claim is correct then it appears that it takes only a gentle push-highdecibel advertising actually- for Indians sellers to take a shoe at putting their personal belongings and whatever else they want to get rid of under the virtue gavel. The Indian sites are also not charging anybody anything yet though sometime they will slap a small fee for the seller. For many people who bid on the internet it is more fun than bargaining in a shop as they tend to feel on top of the world when they outbid others from particular item. Indian sites have taken a page out of ebay- the online answer to Sotheby’s- when it comes to content. These sites offers the range available on any international auction site.:: art & antiques, automobiles, mobile phones, books, collectibles, apparel, computers, electronics, jewellery, movies, collectibles are sold at the same place that the domain name Hrithiksucks.com is on sale. Neat ploy. Wonder who bids fair for it: Hrithik roshan’s fan club or his detractors? Perhaps the star himself? Whoever it is, the bidders should find out which type of auction is he participating in. most sites offer two kinds of auctions at the moment. There is normal auction where bids are ranked in order of price, quantity and time. The auction starts at the starting price that the seller selects..
39
Online shopping
Low prices attract more bidders and more activity tends to result in higher closing prices. The second type is like the former except the seller selects a reserve price in addition to a starting price. Buyers can bid below the reserve price to the seller is under no obligation to sell unless a bib matches, or is more than, the reserve price. If the reserve price is not met when the auction closes, it closes without a winner. The more complicated dutch auction is not available on Indian sites. In a dutch auctipon, the winner has to pay only as much as the lowest bid amount. However, the chances of getting the limited items on offer are more if you bid higher – a nearly foolproof way of making sure there is no collusion between buyers. “To bid or not to bid” The upside 1. Lower prices for buyers. 2. items those are not available else where are available on e-Auction 3. it makes convenience to the buyers to operate from their home/office etc. 4. Sellers can get more value for throwaways. The Downside 1. One may bid more than the fair prices. 2. Possibility of fraud is greater. 3. Inconvenient timings 4. One may end up with defective items. Expect these auction to start only Indians have been assilimilated into the auction culture. So what are people actually buying on the auction sited? There are Mellow Mix compact discs for Rs 220 From an auction site, at almost 50% off on the maximum retail price.
40
Online shopping And there are Singapore cruise for 50% off on the hefty Rs 50,000 tag. As it evident, it is not just raddi and seconds that can go under the hammer. Consumer durables and travel packages seem to be doing pretty well. The possibility of price discounts is a major attraction and there some business-to-business activity on the sites as well with companies conducting clearance sales online Tips for bagging a bargain online 1. Don’t start bidding until you’ve done some research on the items you are looking for. 2. Get your bid in early. 3. Don’t bid too high. 4. Talk online with other buyers to find out about trends, and get an idea of which objects could sell well the future. 5. Make sure you’re bidding with a powerful computer so you can respond quickly if you get a rival bid. 6. Investigate the categories that are available online – you might find you’re sitting on something valuable. 7. Carefully consider all, free insurance offers to cover anything you buy online. 8. Investigate any special secure payment services provided by the online auction houses. 9. If you’re planning to use a robot to bid for you in an online auction, remember to set sensible bidding limits. ??Ebid
41
Online shopping This is a busy site and it can e quite difficult to find one’s way around it if you’re a first time there’s a good choice, but it’s a bit like spaghetti junction it’s hard to know where to and to join in. ??QXL Another excellent site it’s clearly laid out and the security is very good QXL’s safe pay service. As a buyer, you pay to a central service; no money exchanges hands until QXL arranges for the item to be safely delivered to you. The editor’s auction choice is handy and highlights some interesting bargains – its quick way to find out what’s up for grabs.
??Yahoo! Yahoo started life as a simple web-based directory and now boastsa an impressive range of auction categories. There’s an excellent search engine facility to help find bargains. ??How to bid online auctions? It’s easy to buy items online .The process is Straight forward and the sites usually give newcomers plenty of help. Let’s take ebay an example even other auction site has the same procedure. 1. To start bidding you’ll need to register as an ebay member. Once you’ve done this you can start looking for things that are available for bidding. And that you are looking to bid for. 2. You can find some amazing details about the seller including how many things they’ve sold the bidding that took place and comments from the buyers. You can even ask the seller questions by email if you want more detail about the item.
42
Online shopping 3. You bid by scrolling down the page of the itemyou’re interested uin and submitting your user ID. Password and the amount you want to bid. Click on place bid and you’ll see whether or not you are the highest bidder. 4. While you waait for the auction to close (usually several days latter) you will receive a daily email telling you whether you are the high bidder or if you have been outbid by another eBay member. Remember that some bidders wait until, the last minute to place the bids. 5. If you are the highest bidder at the end of an auction you must contact the seller within three working days. You are under the contract to pay your last bid plus shipping cost it this was specified in the item listing. The sellers are under contract to send the products/ items to the customer.
Scams and complaints It is interesting to know that the complaints of the consumers for shopping online with auction accounts for nearly 68% whereas all other accounts for just 32% Following is bifurcation consumer complaints about the internet come from. 1. Auctions 2. General Merchandise 3. Computer hardware/software 4. Internet related services 5. Work-at-home schemes 6. Business opportunity 68% 17.7% 03.4% 03.3% 01.6% 01.1%
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Online shopping 7. Pyramid schemes 8. Issuing credit card 9. Advance- fee loans 10. Job offers 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 0.4%
It could be seen that many frauds and complaints emerges from Auction is basically the seller fails to deliver the product or buyer does not make the payment of the goods. So overcome with these complaints and frauds many online auction sites have come up either a solution that the seller must be displayable to all the buyers along with the entire details of the sellers such as Name, contact no, address.ets. The condition remains the same for the buyer, while he log in, in a particular website along with his name address even he is displayable to the seller. Two good Website where one can arm oneself against online auction fraud is the FTC’s Internet Auction: A guide for buyers and Sellers, “ available with other useful tips, at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menuinternet.htm, starters are: ? Auctions are not difficult to run or learn. ? Auctions Drive speed into decision-making process. ? Each commodity requires a separate auction strategy ? In early auctions, avoid sources that will require substantial retooling, as the costs associated with that are difficult to calculate. One of the success stories in online B2C and C2C auction is Bazee.com. They sell everything from art and collectibles to music CDs to mobile phones and also personal computers and laptops. and AuctionWatch.com , at http://www.auctionwatch.com. Some of the points to be remembered y the e-auction
44
Online shopping
Chapter:10 online shopping scams
E-auction & shopping scams?
It is possible to buy almost anything over the internet these days. Unfortunately, scammers can use the anonymous nature of the internet to rip off unsuspecting shoppers.
45
Online shopping Scammers can pretend to be selling a product—often very cheaply—just so they can steal your credit card or bank account details. Similarly, they may take your money but send you a faulty or worthless product instead—or even nothing at all. Most online auction sites put a lot of effort into spotting scammers, which is why scammers will often try to get people to make a deal outside the auction site. They may claim that the winner of an auction that you were bidding in has pulled out, and then offer the item for sale to you. Once they have your money, you will never hear from them again and the auction site will not be able to help you. Another common trick is for an online auction to be rigged by the scammers. If you are selling a product, the scammer can enter a low bid followed by a very high bid under another name. Just before the auction closes, the high bid will be withdrawn and the scammer’s low bid will win. If you are buying a product, the scammer can arrange for ‘dummy bidders’ to boost the price up. Other online shopping scams involve the sale of a product —such as a miracle cure or weight loss product—that does not live up to its claims. It can be very difficult to get your money back in these situations, especially if the other party is based overseas. If you buy or sell online, you should also be aware of cheque overpayment scams.
Warning signs
• • • • • A product is advertised at a very low price. The seller and any initial bidders have a very poor rating on an auction site. The other party wants to complete the sale outside of the auction site (if you do this, you lose any protections that the site operator offer to their users). The other party insists on immediate payment, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service. The online shopping website does not provide adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details.
46
Online shopping
Protect yourself from online shopping & auction scams
• • •
Use your common sense: the offer may be a scam. You can contact your local office of fair trading. Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
•
Make sure that cheque have been cleared by your bank before transferring or wiring any refunds or overpayments back to the sender.
• •
Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam): delete them. Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is genuine.
•
Never send your personal, credit card or online account details through an email.
As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams. Do your homework Ask yourself if the claims made about the product are reasonable or just too good to be true. Be suspicious of online shopping websites that do not give their full contact details (physical or street address as well as phone and fax numbers). Be very careful about paying by credit card and make sure the website used for payments is secure. Look for an unbroken key or lock at the bottom of the browser window, or a web address beginning with ‘https//:’ Also check to see if the website has a refund or returns policy and if so, if its policies sound fair. The better online shopping and auction sites have detailed complaint or dispute handling processes in place in case something goes wrong. If the auction site uses a feedback rating system, check all the comments about the seller you are considering buying from.
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Online shopping
Decide
If you have any doubts about the product in question, or the person selling it, don’t go ahead with the deal. Online shopping and auction scams can cost you money and time in trying to sort out the mess. If the offer looks genuine (and is not ‘too good to be true’), and the online store or auction service is trustworthy, then you can go ahead with the purchase. You may want to use an ‘escrow’ service if you are buying something at auction. This is a service that collects the payment from you, and only releases it to the trader or seller when you have confirmed that the product has arrived and is what was paid for. There is usually a small fee for this service. Only use a reputable escrow service (online auction sites may provide a list of recommended providers).
Report them
If you have bought something online and there is a problem, you should first try to contact the trader or auction service. There may be a legitimate reason for the problem. If you are not satisfied with this, and suspect that it may be a scam, you can report it through the SCAM watch website. If you have paid by credit card, you may be able to arrange a charge-back through your bank or credit union if there has been some sort of fraud involved. This will effectively reverse the transaction. You should also warn your family and friends about the suspected scammer. Have you been scammed? What to do if you've been scammed; Scams & the law; Report a scam
Similar scams:
Domain name renewal scams 48
Online shopping Scams that send you a fake renewal notice for your actual domain name, or a misleading invoice for a domain name that is very similar to your own Spam (junk mail) offers Spam emails usually offer free goods or ‘prizes’, very cheap products or promises of wealth. Responding to spam emails can result problems for you computer and your bank account. ‘Free’ offers on the internet ‘Free’ offers displayed on the internet often turn out to be scams. They might offer you free access to an otherwise restricted site, free shares, free downloads, free trials of certain products or even a free holiday. They can appear as annoying pop-ups while you are on the net or as ads at the tops or margins of websites. Sometimes entire websites could be set up to advertise a ‘free’ offer. Usually, the offers either require you to provide credit card, bank account or other personal details, or they require you to pay an upfront fee to claim your ‘free’ prize or product. Of course, there are many sites on the internet that legitimately offer free products or services and that are not scams. The warning signs below can help you decide if an offer is likely to be a scam or not. • When you try to find out more about a free offer, you are directed to a different website with more advertising. • The website offering the ‘free’ product does not appear to load up correctly or not all its links work. • The website offering the ‘free’ product may require you to register your credit card or bank account details.
49
Online shopping • To claim the free product or service, you are asked to pay some sort of fee or charge. Modem jacking Modem-jacking scams secretly change the phone number dial-up modems use to access the internet to an overseas or premium rate phone number. You could pay hundreds of dollars extra. Spyware & key-loggers Spy ware is a type of software that spies on what you do on your computer. Key-loggers record what keys you press on your keyboard. Scammers can use them to steal your online banking passwords or other personal information Cheque overpayment scams You are sent a cheque for something you have sold, but it is for more than the amount agreed. The scammer hopes you will refund the extra money before you notice that their cheque has bounced. Up-front payment scams You are asked to send money upfront for a product or ‘reward’. You will end up with something much less than you expected, or nothing at all. Credit card scams There are many types of scams that aim to steal your credit card details, either by taking the card itself or by tricking you into giving them the card’s details. Requests for your account information ('phishing' scams) Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money. 50
Online shopping
Requests for your account information ('phishing' scams) Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money.
Chapter:11 Preferred sites: Top 8.
Overstock.com
Specialty:
This is the reigning champ in bargain sites, thanks to the
breadth of its merchandise and the great prices. Overstock specializes in hawking excess merchandise from other retailers, which means their inventory is diverse and constantly changing. It's worth stopping here if you're unsure what you're buying (when you're looking for a gift, say) or you're not committed to a particular model. Also, Overstock is continually expanding its product categories, and now sells handcrafted goods from across the world and cruises, among other things. (The site also says it will soon sell deals on flights, rental cars and hotels).
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Online shopping
SmartBargains
Specialty:
This
is
another
general
discount
site,
similar
to
Overstock.com, where you'll find deals on everything from clothing and MP3 players to diamond earrings. SmartBargains doesn't seem to have quite the quantity or breadth of deals that Overstock has, but it's no slouch. Many consumers purchased Waterford crystal candle holders here at about half their usual retail price. High-end wool coats, including Donna Karan and Kenneth Cole labels, were anywhere from 35% to 65% off.
Deal aggregators/coupon sites………………………………………………………………..
Sites in this category act as a home page for a wide variety of coupons (also called promotional codes) and discounts across the Internet. These sites lead you to retailers, rather than selling you the merchandise directly as the general discounters above do.
Wow-Coupons
Specialty:
Wow-Coupons focuses on providing both online coupons and
the printable variety to use in person at general retailers. The site also offers food and restaurant coupons, though when we checked, the selection was limited to a handful of chains (Baskin Robbins and Hardee's,
.
for
example)……………………………………….
CurrentCodes.com
Specialty:
CurrentCodes.com seems to do a better job than many of its
competitors in maintaining a focus on coupons rather than on sales and other discounts. Its home page states that it exclusively focuses on coupons, although in the event a coupon code isn't available for a merchant, the site does list other sale and discount information.
52
Online shopping CurrentCodes.com didn't list any coupons for Best Buy, for example, but it did tell you the retailer was holding a number of sales, including one on all portable DVD players and recorders. This approach is fine if you're using the site as a starting point, but if you've come here to do a last-minute check for a promotional code before checking out at a retailer, you'll likely already know of any such sales. Still, the list of coupons is usually long. FatWallet
Specialty:
FatWallet lists deals and coupons from all over the Web and
makes them easy to find by category, by retailer, by popularity or by expiration date for the deal. One of FatWallet's best features: an active user forum that seems to have taken over some of the functions the rest of the site used to cover well, particularly in coupons. You also have the option of earning cash back from hundreds of retailers such as REI, Barnes & Noble and Eddie Bauer, though you have to sign in and shop through the links on the FatWallet "Stores" page. FatWallet's price-comparison tool is actually the well-respected shopping bot PriceGrabber. Shopzilla (formerly Bizrate)
Specialty:
Shopzilla, formerly known as Bizrate, has been a longtime
leader in including user ratings and feedback in search results. It sees its mission as twofold: to surface great deals while providing consumers with information on the merchants offering those deals. Like the other bots, you're not buying things from Shopzilla, you're just using it as a way to surface sites that have what you want……………………………………………..
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Online shopping
Shopping.com (formerly Deal Time)
Specialty:
Shopping.com combines the bot power of DealTime with the
useful consumer reviews of a site like Epinions.com. You can see reviews of the products and the retailers. PriceGrabber.com
Specialty:
PriceGrabber reliably surfaces great deals and great product information, so
you can get a real sense for what you're buying. In addition to user reviews, it includes "expert" reviews written by product reviewers for various publications .
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Online shopping
Chapter:12 India’s Current Scenario in e-shopping
Today (2006-07) the figures are touching Rs. 2200 crore, but are expected to increase by 150 percent by 2007-08 40%. The race for new retail outlets and skyline-altering malls notwithstanding, Mumbaikars’ legendary love for shopping is slowly but surely shifting to the Internet, if an industry analysis is any indication. The recent survey conducted by Nielsen, India has emerged as the 3rd biggest nation when it come to online shopping and using a credit card online. Drawn by the facilities offered by the Web and the diversity of products available on it, Indian citizens have emerged as the third biggest credit card users globally for online purchasing, next only to the Turkey and Ireland. The survey shows more than 85 per cent of Internet users in the world are purchasing goods or services online, with credit cards as the most used method of payment • Books are the hottest selling item on the internet (no messing around with quality here!). In fact most products bought and sold off online are: electronic gadgets e-sales will touch Rs 5,500 cr with Mumbai accounting for
55
Online shopping 53%, Computers & Peripherals 42%, Home Appliances 35%, these are the top three categories in Indian online shopping . However, people are also buying clothes, , books, railway tickets. grocery, gifts, computer and peripherals, and a few are buying home tools and products, home appliances, toys, jewelry, beauty products and health and fitness products. 4.1 Mumbai and Delhi In fact, the population of ‘e-shoppers’ in just two Indian metros of Mumbai and Delhi was 24 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of all the Citizens that made an online purchase in 2006-07. the reason behind these : convenience must be the major reason. Both the cities are spread out over a large area and the best stores in both these cities are often concentrated in certain ‘posh’ areas. In Mumbai for example there are certain items you get only in Crawford market which is at the other end of town in South Mumbai. And demographics show that the population of Mumbai is now concentrated in the suburbs. Of course, huge malls have come up in the suburbs as well, and one of India’s biggest mall Nirmal Lifestyle is in far-flung Mulund…but often you find a better choice of sizes and styles choice in other malls, say Phoenix (central Mumbai). And though both Mumbai and Delhi have transport systems…few people like to travel for two hours just to get to a shop at the other end of town. Clearly the transport systems leave much to be desired. In Delhi, safety is also an issue for women traveling alone in the evenings. 4.2 Metros contribution to online shopping Actually, a major reason why metros are contributing to e-shopping growth are literacy rates…and the cities’ internet savvy population. Most cities in India have a higher literacy rate as compared to the national average of 64.8 percent. In fact Mumbai has a highest literacy even amongst the cities (86 per cent). Delhi too has a high literate population (81.2 per cent). Oddly, although Bangalore has a higher literacy rate than Delhi, at 83 per cent, the city’s share of e-commerce is not very high. Kolkatta too has a literacy rate (80.8 per cent) and so does Chennai (80.1 percent.) If one compares these rates to literacy rates of cities like Patna (62.9 percent), Jaipur (67 percent), Indore (72 56
Online shopping percent) or Warangal (73 percent) its clear why its the metros which are going to continue to lead e-shopping. Another reason for such traffic of online shopping in these cities is the population Mumbai’s population is about 18 million (2006), Delhi’s 13.7 million (2001), Kolkata’s 4.5 million (2001), Bangalore’s 6 million (2005), Patna’s 1.8 million (2001), Jaipur’s 2.3 million (2001) and Warangal’s about .5 million(2001). Therefore if Mumbai’s share of the e-shopping pie is about four times that of Bangalore, its because its population is about three times! Population cannot explain all the difference, but certainly its a very important factor……………………………………………………………………………. Items that featured at top on their e-shopping lists were electronic gadgets 53%, Computers & Peripherals 42%, Home Appliances 35%, these are the top three categories in Indian online shopping, designer and even simple apparel along with tickets for railways, airlines and movies, are also in high demand. 4.3Online airline tickets are also picking up its business in India. Airline ticket customers formed 40% of online shoppers in India in the six months to June 30 2008. This was followed by books comprising with 29% and music at 24% of the total purchases. An increase in Indian low-fare carriers such as IndiGo and GoAir; and Internet travel sites all of which sell tickets through their web pages, encouraged online sales. Economic growth and rising incomes of a 300-million-strong middle class are also helping air travel in the country, putting it in line with the rest of the world. Visa said airline tickets comprised the biggest category of Internet purchases globally. …………………………………………………………….sources- Visa card…………… "Consumers in India are clearly following the global trend as airline tickets continue to remain the most popular choice among consumers for online purchases,'' as per Indian Consumer Report study, conducted by AC Nielsen. The number of online shoppers in India rose 7% to 3.49 million in the first half of 2008 from 3.27 million a year earlier…………………………………………………………………………………
57
Online shopping
Access to faster Internet connections is also encouraging online sales. High-speed connections in India more than doubled to 1.92 million at the end of October from 690,000 in the year earlier, according to the Indian telecommunications regulator. India had 37 million Internet users at the end of September, according to a study by researcher IMRB for Internet and Mobil Association of India, up from 33 million at the end of March. ……………………………………………………………………………… India was set to become the fastest-growing air travel market in the next decade,. The South Asian country's air travel market would grow at an average annual 7.7% pace until 2025 compared with China's 7.2% and the global average of 4.8%, sources - Airbus………. 16.27 lakh rail tickets booked online till the first half of 2008 which ultimately suggests that many Indian consumers are making use of online to book their tickets. A tremendous growth.......................................................................................................
What’s more, the paper predicts that, with e-shopping gaining in popularity all the time, the total value of products and services lapped up online by citizens is likely to grow by 150 per cent to touch Rs 5,500 crore this fiscal year. This is over and above the Rs 2,200 crore notched up last fiscal year. Share of Delhi eshoppers will go beyond 30 per cent but Mumbai’s share would be even better at 40 per cent. This expansion in e-shopping would be on the back of changing lifestyles and shopping habits, supported by a large number of people and merchants becoming net-savvy. Products that will gain in popularity on online shopping sites would include gems and jewellery, books, accessories, apparel, gift products, music and movies, hotel room bookings besides tickets for transportation.
58
Online shopping
Of all online shoppers, Chennai accounted for 7 per cent in 2006-07, which is projected to go up to 11-12 per cent in the current fiscal year ASSOCHAM Predicts that these time e-shopping during diwali season likely to catch up by 130% With such a booming Indian market for online shopping many company have come-up with these such as future group has launched futuregroup.com. 4.4 Some Facts and figures • A piece of jewellery sells every 3 minutes in an online marketplace. • A mobile handset sells every 4 minutes. • An MP3 player sells every 14 minutes. • A watch sells every 15 minutes. • A book sells every 20 minutes. • A digital camera sells every 28 minutes. 4.5 Major players in India for online business
45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
eBay India
Rediff
Indiatimes
Yahoo
Others
E-bay due its popularity among many individuals and also due to word of mouth, advertisement publicity it is amajor player in Indian online business with a share of nearly 43%, followed by rediff 23%, indiatimes 18%, yahoo 4% , while others such as baaze, ezeego have a share of 14% altogether 59
Online shopping 4.6 Consumer for online shopping In general, shopping has always catered to middle class and upper class women. Shopping is fragmented and pyramid-shaped. At the pinnacle are elegant boutiques for the affluent, a huge belt of inelegant but ruthlessly efficient “discounters” flog plenty at the pyramid’s precarious middle.At its base are the world’s workers and poor, on whose cheapened labor the rest of the pyramid depends for its incredible abundance. Shopping has evolved from single stores to large malls with different services such as offering delivery, attentive service and store credit and accepting return.These new additions to shopping have encouraged and targeted middle class women. Table 1: How Respondents Locate Online Shopping Sites
Source: Food Marketing Institute, 2007.
How Respondents Locate Online Shopping Sites Web site of a familiar store Keyword search in a Web browser Word of mouth Read about a Web site Advertisements on television Advertisements in magazines Radio Other Billboards
Percentage 67 67 54 49 47 47 19 18 11
The above table clearly suggests that those consumers who are familiar with the stores are preferred first. Keyword search are also taken into consideration by many consumers,
60
Online shopping by browsing through search engine. Word of mouth as many consumers find it more convenient, to hear from the mouth of good or experienced person. Also advertisement on Television, Radio,Magzines are also preffered by many respondents
Chapter:13 Case Study: Satyam.com 61
Online shopping
It is better known as India’s first private Internet Service Provider as well as the second Indian company to be listed on the Nasdaq. A subsidiary of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, Satyam Infoway has been at the forefront of the e-biz wave. But, there has been little talk about its shopping channel – [email protected]. A close examination, however, reveals that this absence of hype is deliberate, part of a strategy to walk the talk rather than spew bombast and later fail to deliver. In an arena that still has a only a few players, range of
[email protected]
offers
comprehensive
products, and the company says its objective is to be “a definitive provider of e-commerce services.” [email protected] has something for everyone – music, books, computers – it’s all there. At present, the site has over 18 major categories to choose from, with some categories having several subclassifications, and more shops likely to come on board in the near future. The channel has gone in for tie ups with individual merchants for sourcing the products on offer, while the logistics angle is being 62
Online shopping taken care of by DHL (Air Freight Ltd), and the credit verification is through Citibank. Using DHL’s reach, shopping@satyamonline is able to guarantee deliveries to over 280 locations across the country. A typical transaction So, how does a transaction at [email protected] work? Nothing very complicated actually, but for ease of understanding it can be divided into the following stages: 1. Rita Kumar is looking for a gift for her husband. She browses through the various categories and decides that some biker-wear from Royal Enfield is just what her husband would like. She clicks on it to add it to her shopping cart. She continues to browse, and picks up some books and music too. All these are added to her shopping cart and it’s now checkout time. 2. As soon as she clicks on the checkout icon, a form appears, where she has to fill in details about herself such as her postal address, e-mail address and so on, give the address to which the package has to be delivered and, of course, her credit card details. If Rita is already registered at Satyam, all she has to do is click on a separate icon, enter her login name and password and all the necessary details are automatically filled in. All this information on the order is processed by Satyam’s server, which sends a request to Citibank to check that sufficient credit is available to cover the value of the purchase. The bank then blocks this amount, but does not charge Rita’s account. So, the payment is not yet made. As soon as Satyam is informed that Rita can pay for her purchases, it starts processing the order. This credit verification process happens in a matter of minutes.
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3.
Satyam sends the details of the order to the different merchants who
typically will have the order ready in four-seven days. Parallel advice is sent to DHL giving details of the consignment and where it is to be picked up from, and who the consignee is. When the order is ready, the merchant informs his local DHL contact who then arranges for the package to be picked up. Though DHL delivers most products bought at Satyam, some purchases, especially perishables are delivered by local couriers. This, however, is likely to change very soon, according to K.R.Chandrashekaran, Vice-President-Retail, Satyam Infoway Ltd. 4. Once DHL has picked up the parcel, an airway bill is prepared and the package can be tracked on DHL’s trace and track system. At this juncture, DHL sends a confirmation to Satyam shipment. 5. As per the current delivery system, DHL will call Rita to arrange a suitable delivery time. In case such an arrangement cannot be worked out, DHL will attempt delivery during normal business hours. In the event that the delivery cannot be carried out, DHL will make a second try, and if the delivery still cannot be made, DHL’s agent will leave a DHL card and contact number at the customer’s premises requesting them to contact DHL. Once the delivery has been carried out, the courier informs Satyam. 6. On confirmation of delivery, Satyam sends a requisition for settlement to Citibank, which then pays out the money to Satyam and charges the customer’s account. Only then does Satyam pay the merchant. Troubleshooting 64 about him product’s
Online shopping Things usually work out all right. But what happens when something goes wrong? Suppose the merchant does not have the goods Rita ordered? This situation typically arises in the case of books and music, when the item ordered is not in stock. Satyam then keeps the customer posted about the likely delay and also offers the customer the option of canceling the order. Similarly, if all attempts at delivery fail and the customer also fails to get in touch with DHL, the courier informs Satyam, which then e-mails the customer about the delivery failure and the reasons for it. Another problem that can arise is damage to the product. Whenever possible, the courier tries to get the recipient to confirm that there is nothing wrong with the goods. But in the event of any complaint, shopping@satyamonline has a ‘no questions asked’ replacement policy. Revenues The Web site has two revenue streams: 1. Listing fees: These are paid by the shops or brands that are showcased on the mall. This is usually an annual fee, the value of which depends on the size of the store, the design and the extent of showcasing. 2. Commission on sales: Typically, this is a percentage of the sales that happen online. It is akin to the retail margin earned by brick-andmortar showrooms, department stores and supermarkets. The exact percentage is generally determined by the category. Why? For the merchant, the Web site offers anew channel and greater access and thus a chance to boost revenue. This is especially true of smaller organizations that cannot afford the marketing costs of reaching out to a larger market. Satyam gives such organizations the reach they need with its background, infrastructure and back-end 65
Online shopping systems. For the customer, Satyam is able to offer a discount because of some savings in overheads, and the customer thus gets the goods at a slightly lower price. There is also the advantage of being able to buy goods that may not be available through regular channels. An example is being able to buy Hindustan Lever’s leather bags, which are normally not available through regular channels except on certain occasions. These products are available at shopping@satyamonline right through the year. The Web site also offers the customer better security of payment through its tie-up with Citibank, also ensuring security of personal customer details by restricting access to its database.
Issues
Some issues still remain to be addressed. One is the extent of penetration of credit cards in the country. It is clear that only a small section of the country’s population possesses credit cards. Though the number of credit cardholders is growing, it is still a major drawback, especially when Satyam’s main competitor Rediff.com offers customers the option of paying by cheque and demand draft, and even by VPP in the case of books and music. This immediately makes Rediff appeal to a much larger audience. Another issue, and one that is common to all players in this market, is sales tax. Working out how products bought online should be taxed is a major headache for all etailers. Right now, Satyam has worked out an uniform rate of 10 percent CST into its prices, but the issue will have to be clarified soon. The absence of uniform rules could be another hitch. The recently introduced IT bill may redress this though.
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Online shopping Delivery is another danger zone, especially since logistics in the country are not yet of international standards. The problem of delivery, however, is common to most e-tailers. For all its advantages, though, [email protected] is a little unfriendly to the first-time user. For someone who has never shopped online before, it can be slightly daunting. There is assistance available at the help-desk, but the help icon is rather small and does not immediately catch the eye. Rediff, on the other hand, has a very clearly marked ‘how to order’ link on its shopping page. The future With online shopping growing by the day, [email protected] seems well set to be right there on top. It has a nearly-mover advantage as well as some solid backing. Given this, and the channel’s Commitment to providing exceptional customer service, the Web site appears set to be a winner. _
Chapter:14 Conclusion In recent Shopping online is here to stay, and online sales growth is explosive. In addition, online entertainment will be a $15.7 billion market in 2007 , only approximately 22 percent of that total will come from digital goods and services. Shopping online is something anyone can do, with a bit of coaching, a bit of training, and the right tools. You can find what you want at the price you want to pay. This is no exception. In fact,
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Online shopping with the sophistication and speed of online shopping tools, consumers are spending more and more on shopping mall sites. Shopping online is a fabulous time and money saver and with promotional coupon codes saves you even more. It is also far more convenient, as you do not have to leave your home or office. The simple act of shopping online through a member organizations online Marketplace helps that member organizations grow, prosper, and continue to serve the people of their community. In years, online shopping has become popular; however, it still caters to the middle and upper class. In order to shop online, one must be able to have access to a computer, a bank account and a debit card. Shopping has evolved with the growth of technology. According to research found in the Journal of Electronic Commerce, if we focus on the demographic characteristics of the in-home shopper, in general, the higher the level of education, income, and occupation of the head of the household, the more favourable the perception of non-store shopping.[4]. It should be remembered that an influential factor in consumer attitude towards non-store shopping is exposure to technology, since it has been demonstrated that increased exposure to technology increases the probability of developing favorable attitudes towards new shopping channels. Well, the major factor remains the lack of user friendly shopping portals in India. Most of the times the business giants tend to forget that the psychology of the Indian shoppers differs from the rest of the world. It is not always that the shoppers decide to buy something and log on to the shopping portals. An Indian shopper like to roam around and if anything particular of interest catches their attention they think of buying it. So there has to be user friendly sites with categories explicitly defined and managed. The more cluttered the sites would be, more the users will tend to alienate from the entire process. Then there should be options for comparative and group shopping as we Indians like to discuss and talk to friends and relatives about the product before buying
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Glossary
Shopping cart Online shopping cart allow customers to "place" items in the cart. Upon "checkout" the e-shopping cart typically calculates a amount of your purchase. When you will click on checkout it means you have decided to purchase all those items kept in shopping cart, then it will display you the amount you are supposed to pay along with shipping and handling (i.e. postage and packing) and taxes. In other words shopping cart is just like basket in physical shopping terms. 69
Online shopping Encryption technology Encryption is a procedure that involves a mathematical transformation of information into scrambled gobbledygook, called "cipher text." The computational process (an algorithm) uses a key--actually just a big number associated with a password or pass phrase--to compute or convert plain text into cipher text with numbers or strings of characters. The resulting encrypted text is decipherable only by the holder of the corresponding key SSL (Secured socket By using SSL the information you sent are scrambled, this means layer) it is not possible to get details without encryption code. Since this is done automatically in merchants server, it can be ensured that your personal details are secure. Thus make sure that you always do payment over SSL.
Locater software
Locator software is an electronic commerce software module on a website that allows a visitor to find nearby stores and business locations. In its most common form, a visitor inputs a ZIP code and the locator returns all locations in a database within a specified radius]; and picks the product up at the closest store. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks.
Bibliography
? Marketing Mastermind magazine (July 2007 edition)
? Appliance Magazine (July 2008 magazine)
Webiliography ? www.marshallward.co.uk ? www.mercent.com ? www.eshoppingindia.com
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Online shopping ? ? ? ? ? ?
www.facebook.com www.ebay.com www.allbusiness.com www.ezinearticles.com www.writeedge.com www.scamwatch.gov.au
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