Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet. An online shop, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, webshop, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping mall. The metaphor of an online catalog is also used, by analogy with mail order catalogs. All types of stores have retail web sites, including those that do and do not also have physical storefronts and paper catalogs. Online shopping is a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. The term "Webshop" also refers to a place of business where web development, web hosting and other types of web related activities take place (Web refers to the World Wide Web and "shop" has a colloquial meaning used to describe a place of business, the place where one's occupation is carried out).
Payment: Online shoppers commonly use their credit card for making payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as: Debit card Various types of electronic money Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores) Cheque Wire transfer/delivery on payment Postal money order PayPal Moneybookers Reverse SMS billing to mobile phones Gift cards Direct Debit in some countries Some sites will not allow international credit cards and billing address and shipping address have to be in the same country in which site does its business. Other sites allow customers from anywhere to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction might be processed in real time (for example, letting the consumer know their credit card was declined before they log off), or might be done later as part of the fulfillment process. While credit cards are currently the most popular means of paying for online goods and services, alternative online payments will account for 26% of e-commerce volume by 2009 according to Celent.
Delivery: Once a payment has been accepted the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways. Download: This is the method often used for digital media products such as software, music, movies, or images. Shipping: The product is shipped to the customer's address. Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who ships the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer's physical location to save time, money, and space. In-store pickup: The customer orders online, finds a local store using locator software and picks the product up at the closest store. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks business model.
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