~ ONLINE STORES

 

What Is an Online Store?

 

You can think of an online store like a combination of a traditional brick-and-mortar store, warehouse, and consumer magazine. You are able to browse and search for items, as you would in a regular store; there is a wider range of products, sizes, and colors of products, as you would find in a warehouse; and most online stores contain reviews of products by people who have already purchased and tried out the product.

 

Online stores have been around since 1994, right after the birth of the Internet. One of the most famous online-only retailers, Amazon.com, launched in 1995. Over $142 billion was spent on online retail sales in the United States in 2010. Clothing is the most commonly purchased item on the Internet, followed by jewelry.

 

Most traditional stores also have an online version of their store (For example, Walmart also sells products through www.walmart.com). However, you should be aware of some of the very well-known and trusted online-only retailers.

 

Amazon.com: Amazon started out as an online book retailer, but today the site sells everything from books and DVDs to kitchen appliances and groceries. Amazon is the creator and sole seller of the Kindle eBook reader. It is the world’s largest online retailer.

 

Zappos.com: When Zappos started in 1999, it only sold shoes, but quickly grew, in part because of its free shipping both ways (i.e., free returns up to 365 days later) policy. Today, Zappos sells clothing and shoes, and has become famous for their customer service.

 

Etsy.com: Etsy is a marketplace for handmade, DIY, and vintage items. You can find everything from handmade clothing, photographs, and bath products to craft supplies and antique housewares.

 

eBay: The most well-known auction site on the Internet, eBay allows you to bid on anything from playing cards to cars. eBay now also offers a “Buy-It-Now” feature, making it much more like a traditional retail site. eBay was the first site to use PayPal as a means of payment; we will talk about this service and its pros and cons later in this handout.

 

Groupon: If you love a bargain, Groupon offers daily deals that you can buy to local businesses. They also sell discounted limited-length sale items, like electronics or other luxury items. Deals are delivered to your e-mail inbox daily, so that you don’t miss out on any of the latest deals!

 

 

Browsing for Items

 

Just like you would in a regular store, you can either look for a particular item or browse around in an online store.

 

If you already know what item you are looking for, you can go ahead and search for that particular item. On most shopping websites, a search tool will be located at the top of the screen. Type in the item name and press “Go,” “Search,” or a similar word. The example below comes from Amazon.com.

 

If you do not have a specific product in mind, you may either browse by department, usually located on the left-hand side of the screen, or search for a very broad category of item, like “toys.” If you know you are in the market for a new TV, for example, you might search for “television” in the search box, which would then show you all the different types of TVs that Amazon carries. You could also browse in the “Electronics & Computers” department. Most departments also have subcategories when you click on them; for example, the “Electronics & Computers” department includes “TV & Video,” “Laptops, Tablets, & Netbooks,” “Appliances,” and more.

 

Often, you might get an overwhelming number of results when you search, so you can narrow down your results by smaller categories (for example, HDTVs, 3D TVs, specific brands of TVs). These suggested refinements and links might be at the top or left-side of the screen, depending on the website.

 

To find out more information about a product, you may either click on the picture of the item, or the name of the item. To return to the list of items, simply use the back button on your browser.

 

You can always change the department where you are browsing or refine your search at any point in the process. Simply enter a new or more specific word in the search box at the top of the screen and click “Search.” You can always get back to your previous search by using the back button on your browser. Likewise, you can simply click on a new department to change where you are browsing.

The Shopping Cart

 

When you find an item that you like and you are ready to buy it (or at least seriously consider buying it—just like putting an expensive grocery item in your cart, you can always return it to the shelf before you check out), you simply click on the “Add to Cart” or “Add to Shopping Cart” button at the top of the product page. The “Shopping Cart” is also sometimes called the “Shopping Bag.” You can also usually specify how many of the item you would like purchase at this point.

 

Items will automatically go into your cart after you click the “Add” button; you can view your cart at any time. There is usually a little picture of a cart in the top right corner of any shopping page—click on this to view what you have placed in your cart.

 

When you click on the shopping cart icon, you will be able to review all of the items that you have placed in there—you are not obligated to purchase anything simply because you have put it in your cart. You are only financially liable for items remaining in your cart after you click on the “Check Out” or “Pay Now” buttons and enter your payment information.

 

From the shopping cart page, you can change the number of a particular item you would like to purchase, “delete” or take an item out of your cart, review the specifics of the items in your cart by clicking on the item name or picture, and see a running subtotal of the cost of your items.

 

 

Paying for Your Items

 

When you have decided on what you would like to purchase, you can complete your transaction by clicking on the “Checkout,” “Proceed to Checkout,” or a similarly named button in the shopping cart.

 

 

Many online shopping websites require you to create an account before you can check out—generally, all you will need to do is enter your e-mail address and create a password. These businesses ask for this so that they can send you advertisements and deals to your e-mail inbox, as well as keep a record of all of your purchases—the cost of the convenience of online shopping!

 

For most shopping websites, you will need to input, at a minimum, your name and e-mail address, as well as create a password, in order to check-out with your items. If you think that you might forget your username or password, then entering your mobile phone is probably a good idea. It also allows you to get text messages about item deliveries to your phone, which may be helpful or annoying.

 

In order to receive your items, you will need to enter an address for where you would like the products to be shipped. This may or may not be the same as your billing address. You may also choose to ship your items to other people.

 

Depending on the website that you are using, this step might look slightly different, and ask for slightly different information.

 

 

 

You generally have several options of payment methods when purchasing items online. The most common way to pay online is with a credit card; you almost never want to pay for items online with cash or cash-like methods (e.g., debit cards, money orders, personal checks). Credit cards offer some additional protections from fraud, including zero-liability policies (you are not held responsible for purchases made with your stolen card) and credit protector services that alert you to fishy activity. Importantly, credit cards are not directly linked to your bank account, so no money will be withdrawn from your account until you pay your monthly bill.

                                

 

Some people prefer to pay for their online purchases through online payment services, like Google Checkout and PayPal. These services act like middlemen in the online shopping world—you give your credit card information to one of these services, then they will disguise your information to the merchant. This way, your credit card information is only shared with one company. There is no cost for you to pay with these services, but there is a small charge for vendors. Many larger companies and companies that appreciate that customers would feel more comfortable with these services offer them, but not all companies do. All eBay purchases, for example, are conducted via PayPal (more on this in a moment).

 

PayPal and other payment websites will never ask for your credit card number or other personal information by e-mail, so never trust e-mails that request this information, even if it appears the e-mail looks like it came from PayPal or Google Checkout. Don’t click any of the links in the e-mail if it requests this sort of information—it’s probably a scam.

Examples of Captchas

Many shopping websites now include an additional security measure called a “captcha.” This is a photograph of a word that might look a little bit blurry or hard to read and is meant to prove that you are a human and not a robot. These can be tricky to decipher and, depending on the website, sometimes you can have the words read out loud to you or get more than one chance to enter it correctly.