What Exactly are E-commerce’s Advantages for Consumers?

With e-commerce, the consumer is in the driver’s seat. Once again, this gives consumers power that they never had before. According to the Pew survey, 81 percent of Internet users have used the Web to research a product they’re considering buying. In the past, you simply went to the store, looked at what they had, talked to a salesperson and bought what seemed like the best choice. Now you can read endless reviews by amateurs and professionals, compare prices from hundreds of vendors and even watch videos and interactive demos about the products you’re considering. If you put in the time, you can find the best deals on the widest variety of products and services in the world.

A well-designed, well-written Web site can do double (or triple) duty as a marketing and advertising tool, a salesperson and a cashier, all wrapped up in one. Plus the Internet never closes. This means that your Web site is working for you 24/7. People can read your marketing materials, test drive your products and buy them outside of normal business hours. With an e-commerce Web site, anything that the customer does for himself — like searching for airline flights, entering his billing information and signing up for an e-mail confirmation — is work that paid customer service representatives don’t have to do.

You click send. In less than an hour, you’re all done. E-commerce, the buying or selling of goods and services over the Internet, is changing the way that we shop. According to a September 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, 49 percent of Americans have bought a product online and 60 percent rely on the Internet to conduct product-related research. And, you didn’t have to get dressed or leave the house. On an increasing basis, consumers turn to the Internet to purchase and research items like dishwashers, cars, stocks, travel and even clothing.

Ohmigosh. . .You jump out of bed. You see a purse, a vase and then you find it — the perfect pair of earrings. It’s 3 a.m., and you forgot that your mom’s birthday is only three days away. You place them in your shopping cart, enter your credit card and shipping information. You mother’s guaranteed to love them. You scroll through your favorite site. You head over to the computer and start surfing.

E-commerce’s advantages aren’t just for consumers; retailers also find there are advantages to selling online. Customers can shop in their own time, and an online store doesn’t require live salespeople. And, what are those advantages for retailers? What exactly are e-commerce’s advantages for consumers? Now for many, it’s become a way of life. Read on to find out. When CompuServe created its Electronic Mall in the 1980s, few consumers had even dreamed of an online shopping environment.