So many Americans are exercising the fast lane in life, and not just on the freeway. Instant satisfaction, it's the American way... so what a big surprise it is that the ease and speed computers have added to our daily lives has lead us to grow so increasingly dependant on them. Purchasing online, which as recently as only a few years ago was extremely risky and uncomfortable to do, is now done by many, many Americans of all demographics. The fact is, people demand convenience, and though online purchasing had many challenges to overcome in it's early stages, it is now a heavily accepted part of our everyday way of living.
So the question for each of us to ask ourselves is, "what are we comfortable and NOT comfortable buying online, and why"? For me, while I don't necessarily make many purchases online, I do handle most of my bill paying and transferring of funds between accounts online. For purchases, I tend to be a little more on the uncomfortable side.
A number of key factors are generally part of my case by case decision making, but the top four question I ask myself are:
1. How mandatory is this purchase? Do I really need to do it online?
2. What source of validation do I have for the site? (domain, referral, prior use, etc.)
3. What type of payments are accepted?
4. Do I trust that I will receive my product?
I'm basically checking to see if I believe the site to be legit, payment friendly (fees?) and overall instinctive comfort level about the purchase. In many cases, it strongly depends on the type of transaction. As an example, for a private party, I would be much, much more cautious than if dealing with a corporate entity.
In my opinion, while I am impressed with the growth of the online buying market and it's ability to overcome concerns of security, delivery, satisfaction, etc. over the past decade, I think many people still have some concerns when it comes to buying online. At the same time, I would agree that the comfort level is still growing rapidly as people gain more and more trust and understanding in the Internet.
So the question for each of us to ask ourselves is, "what are we comfortable and NOT comfortable buying online, and why"? For me, while I don't necessarily make many purchases online, I do handle most of my bill paying and transferring of funds between accounts online. For purchases, I tend to be a little more on the uncomfortable side.
A number of key factors are generally part of my case by case decision making, but the top four question I ask myself are:
1. How mandatory is this purchase? Do I really need to do it online?
2. What source of validation do I have for the site? (domain, referral, prior use, etc.)
3. What type of payments are accepted?
4. Do I trust that I will receive my product?
I'm basically checking to see if I believe the site to be legit, payment friendly (fees?) and overall instinctive comfort level about the purchase. In many cases, it strongly depends on the type of transaction. As an example, for a private party, I would be much, much more cautious than if dealing with a corporate entity.
In my opinion, while I am impressed with the growth of the online buying market and it's ability to overcome concerns of security, delivery, satisfaction, etc. over the past decade, I think many people still have some concerns when it comes to buying online. At the same time, I would agree that the comfort level is still growing rapidly as people gain more and more trust and understanding in the Internet.
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