Online shopping quietly becomes a way of life

"This picture frame is good. I like the color and style," said Yao Yan, a postgraduate law student at Liaoning University. Taking it from the deliveryman and examining it closely, she was apparently satisfied with this little purchase from an online shopping site, which is a birthday gift for her good friend. "Such delicate little things are difficult to find on the market, and I'm sure she will like it," she said.

"Currently, there are two major kinds of online shopping targeting individual consumers, B2C (business to consumer) and C2C (consumer to consumer)," Yao said, seeming quite the expert on e-commerce. "With a computer, a wire, you just click and then you can browse, order and pay. Then, all you need to do is to wait."

Online purchasing a new fashion

Online shopping has become a trend in recent years along with the development of the Internet and its increasing role in people's lives. More and more people have formed the habit of roaming around cyber shops, some in search of rare goods. Online shopping sites like eBay, Taobao, dangdang and joyo, have never been more appealing and crowded, and equally busy are various online community websites where collective purchases and second-hand deals are made.

According to statistics, the total trade volume of Taobao.com, a major Chinese auction website, was valued at more than 16.9 billion yuan in 2006, more than the turnover of the Lotus Supercenters and Wal-Marts in China (10 billion yuan and 9.93 billion yuan). Taobao receives roughly six million visitors per day, equivalent to the total visitor volume of 200 supermarkets in the same period.

According to a 2006 survey report on China's C2C online purchasing habits conducted by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of March 2006, there were 2 million C2C shoppers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with the penetration rate among Internet users reaching 16.2 percent. The rate was highest in Shanghai where it was 18.5 percent; it was 17.5 in Beijing and 11.5 percent in Guangzhou.

Convenient: shopping unlimited by time and space

One reason for the fast development of online shopping is its wide coverage. "Online shops are bigger than physical ones and stock items unavailable on the market," said Ms. Zhao, a media worker. "I often roam around the Net for small articles like books, disks and gifts, spending more than 200 yuan on them most months."

For busy office workers, online shopping saves the time and trouble involved in getting out. Ms. Lu, an administrative worker, is accustomed to buying some daily necessities and cosmetics from the Net. "I only buy simple cosmetics, and they are cheaper than in real shops." Holding an Olay face cream and a stainless steel apple cutter, she added, "It's also easy and convenient. You don't need to drag yourself from one shop to another, loaded with bags. You only need to choose online, click and wait."

There is no time limit for online purchasing, since cyber shops are open 24 hours a day. Product information is updated promptly and prices can be changed at any time.

There are disadvantages, of course. In cyber shops products can only be viewed; they are not three-dimensional and cannot be touched and felt. "For clothing and big things I still go to traditional shopping centers where I can look, appreciate and enjoy the pleasure of shopping," said Zhao.

Credibility the biggest concern

Of Internet users who have never been online shopping, statistics show that 62.4 percent don't trust websites, 47.7 percent worry about product quality and 42.3 percent doubt the security of online deals.

Both sellers and buyers consider credibility to be the biggest question in the transaction process. In terms of the payment method used by shoppers, 43.2 percent pay by remittance, 41.8 percent pay online and 34.7 pay cash on delivery. In other countries, most buyers pay on online using their credit cards, said Wang Hanhua, president of joyo.com. However, on his website, no more than 15 percent of customers opt for this method of payment and most choose to pay cash on delivery.

Apparently, security and credibility are keeping potential buyers away. The advantages of online shopping only be fully enjoyed when these worries are addressed.

By People's Daily Online