Shopping online

Nearly everything available on the highstreet or in shopping centres can also be found online. For example, supermarkets offer home delivery of goods ordered through their websitewebsite: a web page or group of web pages hosted on one web server and viewed in a web browser.

Digitaldigital: data measured at discrete intervals, eg a digital watch typically moves from displaying one second to the next without displaying the values in-between downloadsdownload: the transfer of a file or files from one computer connected to the Internet to another are now common too. Items previously sold on physical media (CDsCompact Disc (CD): used to store data, eg music CD, DVDsDigital Versatile Disc (DVD): used to store data, eg a movie, books) can instead be downloaded directly to a customer's computer or handheld device.

Buying goods online

The process for buying goods online commonly involves:

1. browsing through the online catalogue
2. adding items to the virtual basket
3. visiting a virtual checkout
4. choosing payment and delivery method
5. order confirmation
6. shipping confirmation (via emailemail: electronic mail - a message written or typed on a computer and sent electronically rather than by post or sms)

Advantages

• Convenience - shop from any computer with an Internet connectionInternet connection: a computer's or another internet-enabled device's connection to the Internet any time while avoiding the need to travel, pay for parking, queue in-store etc.
• Greater variety - more shops online than any highstreet or shopping centre.
• Cheaper goods - increased competition between retailers (for some on a global scale) brings down prices.
• Accessibility - those with a disability that limits their mobility can choose to have goods delivered.
• Comparability - using the Internet it's easy to research products or services very thoroughly, comparing prices and product details in order to get the best deal.

Disadvantages

• security concerns surrounding payment by credit card over the InternetInternet: a global network connecting millions of computers
• not being able to physically inspect the goods before purchase
• goods getting damaged during transport
• goods not arriving in time or at all
• concerns over what information retailers are storing about customers, eg buying habits