The Internet has become a money-making portal for companies all over the world. Whether it’s on eBay, a personal web page, or a traditional corporate site, the Internet has translated into the perfect way to make quick cash. Buyers are benefiting from its convenience, too. Readily available at the click of a button, shopping online has made searching, finding, and comparing prices for everything you want that much easier. But has this e-commerce thing gotten out of control? Are people paying for things they’ve never paid for before? Have online retailers taken advantage of the Internet’s ability to sucker people in?
The amount of money people are spending on the web is without a doubt more than ever before. InternetNews.com reports, “Customer spending on Cyber Monday totaled $608 million, up 26 percent versus the same day last year.” And that’s just one day. For all of 2006? Says an Enclick blog, “In 2006 as a whole, online sales were up 40% from the previous year.” Forty percent! The world of e-commerce is exploding.
The reasons e-commerce is so successful are perfectly clear. Robin of Appeal Media comments, “You can research things that you may have not had the opportunity to before and you're exposed to a great variety of everything.” More than that, it’s totally and completely accommodating to the user. Shop when you want, where you want, and have it shipped to whom you want. In fact, it’s so accommodating that, as Santino of Appeal Media comments, “Because of this, we are all more prone to spending money on things we don't need.”
He could not be more correct. Santino continues, “E-commerce has gotten out of hand. People are spending absurd amounts of money not only on tangible goods and services, but on digital media & information that never manifests itself any further than the computer screen.” Take for example SpotScout.com. The online service charges people for public parking information, meaning instead of driving around for a spot, people will sell information on when they may be leaving their public parking space. An ‘I won’t leave until you pay me’ type of deal. Somewhat reminiscent of a bully who makes a kid pay to avoid a swirlie, this site makes you pay for information that, before e-commerce explosion, would’ve been free.
Boxbe.com did something similar. While sending emails to a friend would’ve been scotch free before, the web service invites registered users to charge a fee to incoming e-mailers.
On the bright side of things, there are still a couple freebies out there: toolbars, e-cards, instant messenger services, etc. Samples and coupons are easily available through the net too, and although their purpose is to encourage sales and use of their company, they often come with no strings attached. Either way, “online sales are not slowing down,” as Tasso of Appeal Media writes, and the e-commerce craze is here to stay. |
