Money Matters II

Money Matters

     It is clear that money does matter when it comes to gaining access to technology, but how have technological advances changed the way we spend our money? By this I don’t mean what does your money buy you, like the latest and newest smart phone or video game, but rather how have advances in technology changed the way we shop?

     Shopping today is entirely different due to new available technologies, but more specifically the Internet. It seems that while many still refer to the traditional means of in-store shopping, many more have turned to the internet to make many of their purchases from electronics to clothing, or even groceries. According to eMarketer.com , online shopping rates have risen to include 71.1%, or the equivalent of 140.8 million people who are Internet users who shopped online in the year 2010. Those numbers have increased from 2009 where in which 69.2%, or 132.8 million Internet users shopped online. It is projected that that number will rise even more by the year 2015 where 76.3% or 173.3 million Internet users will shop online.

While those numbers reflect the number of people who have made purchases online, it does not take into account other ways in which the Internet plays a role in the purchase of a product. There are many ways in which the Internet may be used or involved throughout the entire process of shopping and purchasing a good. For instance, a consumer may learn about a new product through and online advertisement or other marketing. Also, while people may have turned to The Consumer Report to research or compare brands, now the Internet has made the magazine available online, along with many other sites that provide reviews on products. The Internet, in this way, has widely changed how we as consumers go about making our purchases.

     It is not hard to understand why the Internet has such a large effect on our shopping. Many find a variety of advantages in comparison with traditional in store shopping. For the most part, the Internet helps consumers save money, and probably more importantly, a lot of time. People are able to research a product and do price comparisons while sitting in the same spot and with a click of a button, rather than having to go from store to store. I guess for most that this has a lot to do with the convenience of online shopping, which one of the top 10 reasons that people have found online is shopping to be advantageous according to the post Top 10 Benefits of Online Shopping.  The article also brings up the idea of privacy, and how now instead of having to go into the store, facing people you may know and having direct interaction with store clerks or sales people, consumers are able to buy whatever they may want while having the feeling on confidentiality.

     With the many advantages to online shopping, it is easy to understand why the Internet has had such a major effect on our shopping habits today. It is true that when people shop today, our experience is entirely different with the introduction of the internet and the rise in e-commerce  when comparing it to our past and traditional means of shopping in the store and in person.