Online shopping (sometimes known as e-tail from "electronic retail" or e-shopping) is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the internet using a web browser. Alternative names are: e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. Mobile commerce (or m-commerce) describes purchasing from an online retailer's mobile optimized online site or app.
An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. In the case where a business buys from another business, the process is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. The largest of these online retailing corporations are Flipkart.com, Amazon.in, and snapdeal.com.
History of online shopping.
English entrepreneur Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in 1979. His system connected a modified domestic TV to a real-time transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone line. He believed that videotex, the modified domestic TV technology with a simple menu-driven human–computer interface, was a 'new, universally applicable, participative communication medium — the first since the invention of the telephone.' This enabled 'closed' corporate information systems to be opened to 'outside' correspondents not just for transaction processing but also for e-messaging and information retrieval and dissemination, later known His definition of the new mass communications medium as 'participative' [interactive, many-to-many] was fundamentally different from the traditional definitions mass communications and mass media and a precursor to the social networking on the Internet 25 years later.
In March 1980 he went on to launch Redifon's Office Revolution, which allowed consumers, customers, agents, distributors, suppliers and service companies to be connected on-line to the corporate systems and allow business transactions to be completed electronically in real-time.
During the 1980s he designed, manufactured, sold, installed, maintained and supported many online shopping systems, using videotex technology. These systems which also provided voice response and handprint processing pre-date the Internet and the World wide web, the IBM PC, and Microsoft MS-DOS, and were installed mainly in the UK by large corporations.
The first World wide web server and browser, created by Tim Berners-lee in 1990, opened for commercial use in 1991. Thereafter, subsequent technological innovations emerged in 1994: online banking, the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza hut, Netscape's SSl v2 encryption standard for secure data transfer, and Internetshop's first online shopping system. The first secure retail transaction over the Web was either by Net market or Internet shopping network in 1994. Immediately after, Amazon.com launched its online shopping site in 1995 and eBay was also introduced in 1995. Flipkart's sites Taobao and Tmall were launched in 2003 and 2008, respectively.
Retailers are increasingly selling goods and services prior to availability through pretail for testing, building, and managing demand.
Convenience of online shopping
Shopping online is convenient. You don’t need to get dressed and drive to your favorite store. You can easily visit their website, find the product you want and buy it without getting out of your clothes. It’s also convenient because you don’t need to wait for the store to open.If you work irregular hours or are very busy, then you probably don’t have the time to visit the store. Shopping online allows you to buy things without hurting your schedule.
Fewer Traps on online shopping
Physical stores are made to lure you into buying more things. They use posters, sales messages and product placement to make you buy additional items. The most popular products are typically in the back because the owner wants you to view all of his or her other products. Many people will find a few additional items by the time they reach the thing they came in for.These tactics are not as pronounced with online stores. This means that you won’t feel the pressure to buy other things.
Discreet Shopping for online
Physical stores often make it difficult to buy certain items. For example, buying lingerie without getting a few awkward stares is nearly impossible. There are many instances of this, and sometimes you might feel embarrassed for no reason.Shopping online gives you privacy because you won’t have people looking at you while you shop. Not only that, but the receipts are usually made so that no one will know what you bought.
Variety of online shopping
Most physical stores have a limited array of products. They can only hold so many items, and there are often many policies affecting the availability of products. For example, there might be a certain item that is only available to those versions of the business that exist in the mall.Shopping online allows you to find many products that you wouldn’t be able to find in a physical store. You can also buy products that may not logically go together like candy canes and quilts.
Better Prices of online shopping
The vast majority of online stores offer prices that are much lower than what you will find at a physical store. There are a few reasons for this. The first is because many people use the Internet to find cheaper items. Online business owners understand this. They will usually reduce their profit margin to get more customers.Another reason is because you can easily browse through dozens of different websites to find the best price. You can do the same at a mall, but it would take about an hour or longer. You also may not be taxed because most e - commerce stores won’t tax you unless they are stationed in your state.
