You can shop the biggest malls in the world and their merchandise will pale compared to the selection available on the World Wide Web. It is selection, price and convenience that are catapulting shoppers online instead of standing in line at their favorite store.The number of online shoppers is growing quickly. By 2008, more than 875 million consumers had shopped online – a 40 percent increase in just two years. These online shoppers live all over the world. South Korea has the largest number of online shoppers, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and the United States. The most popular items they are buying are books, followed by clothing, videos/DVDs/games, airline tickets and electronic equipment.So what is bringing all these people to the Internet? Convenience for starters. It is very convenient to shop 24 hours a day from the comfort of your computer. No reason to bundle up and go out in the cold – or even get out of your pajamas for online trips. You won’t have to circle the parking lot, waiting for a shopper to leave so you can snag a prime parking spot. But there are other reasons, too. For example, it is fairly easy to compare products and prices online. The offering of third-party shopping Web sites force merchants to be competitive, helping to ensure good prices and bargains for you, the shopper. There are also some simple reasons for shopping online. There’s no schlepping big packages home from the store. Sites ship it to your home – sometimes at no cost to the consumer.Of course online shopping has some drawbacks. You cannot touch the merchandise you’re thinking of buying. And there’s no salesperson to answer your questions – although those aren’t Air Swimmers always available in brick and mortar stores either. But Web sites have improved their customer service features in recent years. Some sites, for example, offer online videos to demonstrate product features. Others allow you to immediately chat with a store representative so you can get your questions answered. You might click on the wrong button and order the wrong product, but who hasn’t gotten home from a store only to find they picked up the wrong size? Some say there is a slightly higher chance your credit card may fall prey to fraud, but the introduction of the CVV2 code on the back of credit cards has done a lot to solve this problem. When shopping online, be sure you Ipod accessories read over the delivery terms carefully. Many online retailers require 30 days to deliver the product. If that’s the case – and the gift-giving occasion is later in the week – you need to pay for overnight shipping or head to the mall.There are tricks to successful online shopping that will allow you to join the millions of other successful Internet shoppers.First, be sure you do your homework on the product you’re buying. There are plenty of reliable product reviews online. Simply type “the product name + reviews” into your preferred search engine. You can easily find out if the kitchen gadget you want is more of a novelty than a real help. The reviews will tell you if that vacuum cleaner you want has been the source of numerous recalls. This is where online shoppers have a big advantage over traditional shoppers who may buy the first blender they see. The online shopper can actually compare all brands of blenders to find the best model and then order it from the retailer with the best terms.When ordering for the first time from a lesser-known retailer, check out the details. Look for product reviews to ensure they have made deliveries. And make sure the Web site offers a postal address and an e-mail address, both of which are required by law. Also, look for the padlock symbol on the order page or “https” in the Web address (as opposed to http), which helps ensure a secure Web site.Review the terms and conditions so you’re confident of how you will be billed and how the product will be delivered. If you won’t be at home, ask that it be delivered to your work address.Be sure you keep a copy of all your online transactions, including the online receipt, order confirmation and transaction number. Start a folder in your e-mail file for online orders. Place confirmations and correspondence from the retailer there. Understand the retailer’s return policy and procedures. You may have to return the goods and it would be nice if Handbags the retailer could make that easy for you with shipping labels, packing materials or free shipping. Shopping online may not be the way your mother shopped, but she probably would have given it a try too if she knew how easy today’s merchants are making the whole online experience.
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