Online businesses are trying their best to make sure that the experience of online shopping matches in-person shopping experiences. While online shoppers are more likely to use voice recognition and mobile devices to shop, in-person shoppers are more likely to be found in traditional retail stores.
While the traditional retail stores have been struggling with customer service complaints, the online retail businesses have been coming out on top in customer satisfaction with their online experience. Amazon has the highest customer satisfaction ratings and Wal-Mart comes in second place.
These two online retailers don’t just excel in customer satisfaction, they also have the lowest prices. Amazon has an average price of $19.87 per book while Wal-Mart prices books at $13.47 and not only that, if you visit the https://www.raise.com/coupons/walmart website you’ll also be able to find some coupon codes to get a discount on your purchase.
When it comes to technology, consumers like it both on the computer and the phone. Seventy percent of people have a smartphone. Smartphones are becoming so commonplace that many consumers don’t even have to think about it. In terms of technology used to shop, the majority of shoppers will use a phone to make a purchase and 50 percent are using a phone to do so. However, the majority of online shoppers prefer to shop with tablets and computers, according to survey conducted by the United Kingdom-based research company Inven Global. For example, one third of internet shoppers shop on tablets and 54 percent use computers and laptops to make a purchase. Amazon is known for its free shipping and shipping is always free on Amazon.com. Other items online retailers offer include electronics, home and car furnishings and household items. In the United Kingdom, in 2014, online shopping accounted for 11 percent of spending on goods, according to the International Data Corporation. In the United States, the industry was estimated to have increased from $40 billion in 2004 to $94 billion in 2013, according to industry research firm Technavio. For more about shopping online, visit the Consumer Trends page.
Social media and online shopping Social media and online shopping have been around for a while, but has recently become a big deal for online shoppers. Many shops now offer free shipping or promotions to get people to buy on their sites, and many now use technology to track their products. While shopping online is popular, it also brings up many of the same concerns that people face at the checkout, according to the United States Food and Drug Administration. The FDA cautions about the dangers of buying things that are not what they say they are and asks people to be wary of “stealth marketing.” More than 60 percent of online shoppers say they do not have a way of tracking online purchases, according to a 2009 survey.
In light of these issues, one has to wonder why a government agency, or anyone else, would try to regulate the behavior of online shoppers.
“The problem with trying to regulate people in the internet age is that everyone is doing it online,” said John Lettieri, senior fellow at the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.
Indeed, with online retail, one could just as easily buy something online and have the item delivered to one’s house. However, a company could never be sure of a buyer’s identity in the age of anonymity, so this approach wouldn’t protect buyers from fraud.
