Shopping With Your Mouse
You can buy just about everything on the Internet. Web sales are already chipping away at retail stores. Last year, shoppers spent more than $3.5 billion on the Net during the holiday season and a total of $8 billion for the whole year, up $2.4 billion from 1997. TRACY JOHNSON spoke with consumers about their experiences with online shopping.
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HANK DOLIM
55, engineer, Rancho Palos Verdes
I’ve purchased camera equipment, software, hardware, books, flowers and greeting cards online. The biggest advantage of shopping online is not having to go anywhere and being able to comparison shop without driving all over town. It’s faster.
I’ve never liked salespeople hovering over me. I’d rather do my research online and buy the item myself.
Shopping online is easy, but I don’t think it will ever replace going to the mall. Many people shop for recreation.
People still have some trepidation about shopping online because they worry about the safety of their credit cards. But you have no idea how many copies of your credit card slip the waiter is making in the back room when you go out to eat and people don’t think twice about giving out their credit card number on the phone.
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BETTY ROE
28, receptionist, Van Nuys
I never had a bad experience buying online until Christmas when it took almost three months to get a Sony PlayStation I ordered. When it finally came, it was missing a console. I called them 11 times and sent lots of e-mails. Everyone always said they’d get right back to me but they never did. Every time I spoke to someone, they couldn’t answer my questions. I finally reported it to the Better Business Bureau.
The whole thing was very frustrating because the Web site obviously didn’t have the product. If you go into a department store and they don’t have something, you can go somewhere else; but the Web site was showing they had it even when they had run out of it.
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DAVID KROVITZ
30, Marina del Rey, entertainment industry
Shopping online is easier, cheaper and I have more control at my fingertips than when I’m in a store. And when I give my credit card, I know that it’s being processed correctly. I don’t miss the customer service you get in stores because I’d rather be riding my bike than waiting in line.
The only bad experience I’ve ever had online was when I booked an airline ticket. I had locked in a fare of $198 but by the time the computer processed it, the fare had gone up to $400. Since I was dealing with a machine instead of a person, the only one I could complain to was my modem.
Eventually I think online shopping will put some retailers out of business. If it’s cheaper to buy books or Frosted Flakes online, why go to the store? I can see myself eventually buying everything online with the exception of fruit. I’d never buy fruit online.
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GILAD ELBAZ
28, computer consultant, Hollywood Hills
It’s a nightmare to drive anywhere in Los Angeles, so one of the reasons I shop online is to avoid traffic. There is clearly a price advantage shopping online as many companies sell at cost or even a loss to impress analysts with booming revenues. I bought a laptop for $750 that would have cost $1,100 in the store.
The negative side of online shopping is less reliable customer service, but good products tend to work and I trust the 30-day refund policies. Of course, shopping online means waiting up to a week for delivery, but some companies do offer two-day shipping at a very reasonable rate.
I see online shopping becoming much more pervasive as the experience gets simpler.
