Online Shopping is a
form of commerce that allows a customer to purchase a certain good or service
over the Internet. Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in 1979 with the
idea to use technology as a way to provide for the consumer. Nowadays, anyone
with access to the internet and a valid method of payment can complete a
transaction online. Most people use credit cards or a PayPal account that
contains personal information to pay for the purchase and the item is then
delivered in a certain amount of days.
As seen in the chart below, in regards to Internet Privacy concerns, shopping online has a higher percentage than that of other online activities such as using social networks, banking online, email, and mobile apps. People fear that it could be very easy for criminals to hack into their online shopping accounts and steal private information such as: credit card numbers, name, address, etc. The names and email addresses of many different online shoppers and credit card users have been accessed illegally and used for various different things. People worry about identity theft, or that someone can steal all of their information. There are even a few cases of people actually being tracked through the information that was made available. The market of online shopping is growing rapidly and keeping the privacy of personal information through online shopping has become a very important issue that people need to be made aware of. What are your thoughts? Do you often online shop and if so, are these issues addressed in your mind?
Written By: Ahmed Almusa Sources:
1. http://trends.e-strategyblog.com/2013/01/29/americans-online-privacy-concerns/7737
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shopping#Privacy
As seen in the chart below, in regards to Internet Privacy concerns, shopping online has a higher percentage than that of other online activities such as using social networks, banking online, email, and mobile apps. People fear that it could be very easy for criminals to hack into their online shopping accounts and steal private information such as: credit card numbers, name, address, etc. The names and email addresses of many different online shoppers and credit card users have been accessed illegally and used for various different things. People worry about identity theft, or that someone can steal all of their information. There are even a few cases of people actually being tracked through the information that was made available. The market of online shopping is growing rapidly and keeping the privacy of personal information through online shopping has become a very important issue that people need to be made aware of. What are your thoughts? Do you often online shop and if so, are these issues addressed in your mind?
Written By: Ahmed Almusa Sources:
1. http://trends.e-strategyblog.com/2013/01/29/americans-online-privacy-concerns/7737
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shopping#Privacy
Personally, I am a fan of online shopping. Its convenient, easy and most of the time cheaper. There are usually more deals online and most often free shipping. I have not yet had any issues with identify theft due to online shopping but I am very careful where I enter my credit card information. I only shop with secured websites and will never enter information to a site I am unsure about.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I find it true that you can always find better deals online and that is another reason why people are shopping online more often. And if you add few extra dollars, you can get it shipped to you overnite which makes it even more convenient.
DeleteI as well use online shopping frequently, however I make sure that the website is secure. You can see if a website is secure by looking at the url. If the url is https:// it is secure.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of ways to make sure that a website is secured and trusted. The one you mentioned is the easiest and most common I guess.
DeleteOne thing that I am wary of, even on secure sites, are the options to save credit card information. That information has to be stored somewhere, and someone has to have access to the information. A breach in the security of the storage of that information could be very problematic.
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DeleteI totally agree with you. I still don't save my credit card information anywhere after I make a purchase. I would rather just type in my credit card information everytime I buy something.
DeleteI shop online frequently and have never had an issue with stolen card information. When I shop online however, I only shop on trusted websites. The only problem I have encountered was when there was a computer glitch with one of my purchases and it ended up charging my card 3 times. I had to call the company and my bank to get it all figured out, and it took 8 days for the money to appear back into my account. That made me a little weary about shopping online anymore, but now I just try to be very careful. I also never save my card information on any of the websites, even if I shop that website frequently.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like it was stressful. It is unfortunate that no matter how careful you are shopping online we are all at risk for computer glitches. Sometimes a similar thing happens when you click more than once to purchase.
DeleteI shop online more than I shop in stores. It's time saving, and hassle free, and most of the times it's cheaper online. I think it all depends on where you shop online. I always make sure the website is secured. Haven't had issues with online shopping.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it is great to hear that you have not had any issues with privacy while shopping online. You are lucky that it has been a hassle free experience for you, but sadly that is not true for everyone.
DeleteI shop online very often, and prefer it for most things, like electronics. Instead of driving and going to the store I can watch a few review videos on Youtube and decide if I want to make the purchase. I never really worry about identity theft, but I also make sure sure to only buy from reputable sites, and use PayPay for protection when available.
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely save time and gas by shopping online. I agree with you and prefer to make product decisions at home rather than have someone else influence my choice. Sticking with reputable sites and Paypal is a smart way to shop online.
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ReplyDeleteI do a lot of online shopping. It is really convenient. Sometime I can not find something that I am looking for in the store. however, I can easy to get it online. I am often to go amazon to buy something. I can find everything here and sometime it can be cheaper than buy in store.
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