 Gift Buying Online
First Published: November 1999
Last Update: April 2002
Author: Computer Partners
Last year was the first year that consumers did any serious
shopping online. Matthew Nelson reported in Info World Electric in January that
shoppers spent $1.96 billion from Nov. 26, 1998, to Jan. 3, 1999. This holiday
season the GartnerGroup predicts that consumer e-commerce sales worldwide will
top $12.2 billion.
Grocery Shopping Net news who reported the finding last
month, said the GartnerGroup is also predicting that more than 3 out of 5
Internet users who intend to buy over the coming holiday season, will spend up
to 1/4 of their gift budgets online. Nearly a half of all people spending online
will be first time buyers.
Nelson reported that after the 1998 Holiday season most IT
managers realized they had " to bring Internet commerce into their core
operations, and be prepared for success, all the way from the order-entry system
to the shipping department."
According to Nelson, at the peak of holiday shopping, some
companies like the auction site eBay had server problems. The worst problem for
consumers was getting their orders filled and shipped.
Suzette Henry, a product manager at BizRate.com
was quoted as saying that, "In preparation for 1999, you have to have
access to an inventory, tell people if you are out of stock, and alert them to
delivery times." BizRate.com collects direct feed back from millions of
actual online customers to determine which websites are the most efficient.
In his article, Nelson also quoted Christopher Lochhead,
chief marketing officer at Scient, a systems integrator in San Francisco, as
saying that, "for a lot of people, e-commerce is still an appendage to
their core business…Despite whatever happened this year, the good, the bad,
and the indifferent will be dramatically amplified next year."
So how do things look for this year's holiday season? Paul
Greenberg reported in the October issue of the E-commerce Times that
"Although analysts are predicting a stellar holiday season in the world of
e-commerce, e-tailers are nervously waiting to find out if their operation will
make the grade or fall by the wayside."
He quoted Michael Wolf of Booz-Allen & Hamilton as saying
that, "This Christmas will be a defining moment for a lot of Internet
retailers. In fact, some companies will likely be swallowed up by bigger
competitors if holiday sales don't hold up."
Greenberg said that, "part of the challenge will be to
limit potential buyers' online surfing." He reported the findings of a PC
Data survey, which indicated that consumers visit an average of two to four
sites to do comparison-shopping before making a purchase.
"We were surprised at just the strength of buying
activity," he quoted Cameron Meierhoefer, Internet analyst at PC Data
Online as saying, "The myth is true: Competition is steeper on the Internet
because it's easier to compare prices and check out the competition."
The Consumer Report
magazine site encourages shoppers to use "bookmarks" to compare
products. "If you've found an item you like but you're not sure you want to
buy it, place it in the site's virtual shopping basket. Then bookmark the page
so you can easily return after you've considered other possibilities, or open a
new window on your browser to continue your shopping on other sites," it
said.
Greenberg reported that according to the PC Data survey of
5000 Internet users, 26 percent of the respondents said that they had already
begun their holiday shopping. PC Data had asked respondents to indicate what
types of merchandise they had recently purchased. Almost 70 percent of those who
had bought toys said that they had purchased gifts.
Twenty six percent of the respondent had also purchased
computer software, 23 percent music, 18 percent books, 13 percent videos and 12
percent computer hardware.
According to Business Week the highest-profile online
showdown this Christmas will be played out in the toy department. This holiday
season toys are expected to be a $250 million online business. Some of the big
players in the competition will be Toys 'R' Us
Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. But
according to Business Week analysts expect the real battle this year to be
between Amazon.com and eToys
Inc.
It reported that eToys' was projected to do better since it
had been around longer. The three-year-old Santa Monica, California company has
been an online pioneer selling everything from teddy bears to Barbies. In 1998
it had revenues of $29.9 million.
Business Week also reported that of the 30 million Americans
who plan to do holiday shopping online, many will be women, teens, and senior
citizens. This is a change from the past when it was twenty something guys who
did most of the shopping.
Whatever the outcome, there will be lots of variety out there
for shoppers. However, there are a few things you should watch for when making
online purchases.
In a 1998 USA Today article Sam Vincent Meddis provided some
online shopping advice taken from Preston Gralla's book, The Complete Idiot's
Guide to Online Shopping. These tips still apply today.
- The most important one is to remember to buy only through sites that
feature secure or encrypted transactions. Your browser will notify you
that you are entering a secure site. You should be able to see the
locked lock at the bottom of your browser.
- Grallas also recommends that you refuse to buy from a site that has no
valid mailing address or phone number posted.
- To be wary if you're asked for personal data such as your social
security number or if your are Canadian, your social insurance number.
- "Avoid using debit cards when paying online since credit cards
provide more protection, including a typical $50 liability limit if you
get scammed."
- "Check return policies and warranties before buying. If a site
won't tell you what to expect, don't buy there.
- Insist on confirmation of all your orders via e-mail and remember to
print out your order page."
- Expect up-front notice about all hidden costs such as shipping, handling
and restocking fees, as well as possible state or provincial taxes.
Here are a few other online gift giving sites that you may
find useful.
Below are some Books You May Find Interesting.
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