joannejacobs.net

That sounds right. But I have never shopped online. I think though that you wouldn't get much retail therapy online compared to in the 'real world'.

When I shop online, I can use search engines to find the best price for the item I want. You can also easily do a search for the item to see what other people are saying about it and narrow your choices down.

Doing so in the real world is a PITA (people very rarely go from shop to shop and check out prices/features on an item), so to some extent there is a captive audience once you have someone in a shop and they've already started buying items.

Then again, I'm more of a hunter shopper. I only shop for things I know I need, I locate my prey and club it to death.

(And the most important reason to shop online is to avoid pushy sales people ... especially when buying entertainment items).

Your comments - then the word - Discuss.
You have been setting too many examination papers!! I thought it was last week, and that I was still invigilating for Monash University examinations. I hope the two previous contributors passed:):)

The problem with shopping on-line (apart from the security issues many people have a problem with) is that you can not touch, feel, smell, or try the product before you purchase. In other words, you increase the risk of post-purchase dissonance through not being able to experiement with the product before you purchase. In all purchases there are functional, sensory, financial, social, temporal and pyschological risks involved. On-line shopping can increase the chance of these risks, except for temporal I suppose, as you are less likely to have time wasted by staff however you do have to wait for the product to be delivered.

If I am buying a high involvement product, I am more likely to hunt for the best price, go to different shops and see what is available. I agree that the web can certainly cut down the time on the information search stage of your purchase process but I would still be unlikely to actually purchase on-line as I don't know what I am getting and can't take it home with me there and then.

Also, I do have to agree that apart of shopping is the social aspect. Your mood and the environment can certainly change the shopping experience. I dislike Christmas shopping due to the crowds and the rush of it all. But then I do leave it to the last minute, when I do have a chance I love listening to the carol singers and enjoying the atmosphere of Christmas - on-line shopping would never bring the Christmas spirit to the shopping experience.

Just my thoughts!

Online shopping is a method of getting to a known product from sources beyond my reach. For example, I see a garment, try it on, have a think, go back and my size is gone. Order it from the website instead. DVDs, CDs, books are great products for online shopping, esp in terms of 2nd hand resources. Red EYe records in Sydney have their entire stock online. There is no requirement to touch, feel or smell them. I can also access private sellers on Amazon.com with their 2nd hand system.

Online shopping requires innovation for it to attract shoppers, that is, using the technology to provide services that real life shopping doesn't/can't do. Ability to compare items such as the specs for digital cameras in an apples and apples way, rather than relying on brochures that are in different formats. Comments from customers (zappos.com sells shoes and allows users to complete a survey [as described, felt true to size etc] and then add their own words). Similar products (either chosen by staff or as on Amazon.com shows what people who purchased a particular item also purchased - tapping into assumed tastes).