Friday, February 19, 1999
Point, Click, Buy
From clothes to CDs to cars, on-line shopping is becoming more
popular, but some students still like to go to the mall
By Nick Williams
Daily Bruin Contributor
Nearly $6 billion will be spent this year – not in stores,
malls, boutiques or shops – but through computer terminals all over
the world.
According to researchers, the amount of money spent on on-line
shopping doubles every year, making it the newest shopping
craze.
"On line, you can buy anything," said Emily Wu, a second-year
sociology student.
Spending a few minutes on line, shoppers can buy books, clothes,
CDs, videos, video games, computer programs, cars, houses, plane
tickets and nearly anything with a price tag.
One major reason people give for shopping over the Internet is
convenience. The ease of sitting at home at any hour and selecting
products on a screen appeals to many.
"It can be very convenient; you just click on something you like
on the screen and it comes to your house in a few days or weeks,"
Wu said.
Like the Internet itself, though, on-line shopping has its
critics.
Although some shopping sites offer sales and discounts on
merchandise bought on line, high shipping and handling charges
discourage some on-line shoppers.
"I bought three jackets and spent $30 on shipping and handling,"
said Jessica May, a first-year design student.
Shipping and handling charges range from usually around $3 for
CDs and books to more than 15 percent of the total price on larger
purchases.
Many sites offer various shipping and handling plans, including
a per-weight charge for regular postal service to overnight private
courier services, which cost considerably more.
Another reason Internet shoppers spend on line is the selection
available.
"It’s such a sense of accomplishment to find something good to
buy on line, there is just so much to choose from," said Eduardo
Puelma, a first-year undeclared student.
Variety of selection is another reason for the high volume of
Internet sales. Certain CD and book sites claim millions of titles
to choose from.
In addition to offering a large selection, clothing sites often
offer items not available in stores. This becomes a problem,
however, when consumers try to return the item to the store that
runs the web site. Some stores will not take back items bought on
line.
Many consumers are also wary of purchasing from a
two-dimensional screen.
"The clothes look good on the screen but when you put it on,
it’s nasty," Wu said.
"I don’t know the guarantees behind it. I find it easier to see
what I’m buying in person and not on a screen," said Printu Patel,
a first-year biochemistry student who has never bought anything on
line.
Another concern for would-be on-line shoppers is security. Most
sites require consumers to enter their credit card number onto the
screen and submit it to the company. Computer hackers have the
ability to intercept these transmissions and steal credit card
numbers.
The on-line shopping industry has made strides recently to
prevent this by placing credit card order forms on secure servers
making them more difficult or impossible to intercept. Consumers
can also call the company and give credit card information over the
phone.
"I don’t worry about my credit card getting stolen on line
because I’ve placed orders before and nothing has happened, and it
seems pretty secure," Puelma said.
The most popular and reputable shopping sites for college
students tend to be clothing and entertainment sites including the
on-line bookstore Amazon.com and Gap.com, according to the
agency.
A new option for college students has been on-line textbook
shopping.
"Even though I’m computer illiterate, I would buy my books on
line rather than standing in the lines at Ackerman," Patel
said.
On-line textbook sites can offer advantages that on-campus
stores can’t, said Jodi Gershoni, communication director at
VarsityBooks.com.
"We have sold books to tens of thousands of students at over
1,000 campuses (including) UCLA," Gershoni said.
Another option for on-line shoppers is on-line auctioning. On
sites like Ebay.com, merchants place items up for sale and
consumers bid on them. Ebay claims to have had 48 million items for
sale and 179 million bids to date.
The problem with on-line auctioning, according to Consumer
Reports, is that items are not guaranteed and may not be what the
consumer bargained for.
"A friend told me about a particular shopping site. I looked it
up and it was so much fun. Every once in awhile, I think I’ll check
and see what they have," May said.
Although billions of dollars are being spent each year on line,
only 1.6 percent of all on-line shopping experiences end in a sale.
This figure comes from the number of times a site is visited
compared to the number of times an item is purchased.
The reason for such a low percentage is people often stumble
unexpectedly upon shopping sites and leave without purchasing
anything.
Because of the low instances of actual sales, the future
popularity of on-line shopping is unknown.
"I don’t think it has a really bright future because I just like
shopping in stores too much," Puelma said.
"Within three to five years, 50 percent of textbooks will be
bought on line," Gershoni said.
Although there are pros and cons to shopping on line, it
ultimately comes down to personal preference. Shopping on line may
be convenient, but consumers cannot feel, taste or smell the
product.
"I prefer shopping (in stores) much better – it’s the whole ‘get
out of the house and do something’ idea," Puelma said. "I like to
be able to see what I’m buying."
Pamela Coddington, public relations manager at reel.com, a site
devoted to the sale VHS and DVD movies, disagreed.
"It’s not going to replace regular shopping, but electronic
commerce is definitely here to stay," she said.
This past holiday season, the company, which offers over 100,000
movie titles, experienced sales 13 times greater than the same
period the year before.
Coddington attributed the site’s success to the comprehensive
movie summaries offered with every title, in addition to their
competitive prices and quick delivery.
With on-line sales increasing every year, it appears as though
more people will be turning to the computer screen for their
purchases, leaving the malls to frozen yogurt lovers.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]