Instead of choosing a typical form of technology, I choose to dive into the topic of online shopping. It is not seen as a revolutionary form of technology in our day because it has become extremely common for even teenagers to use.
In 2007 the number of Canadian people aged 16 and over using shopping online grew to 8.4 million (1). These numbers are enormous considering that the average shopper places 8.3 orders and spent $183 on each(1). The online shopping business is its own market place where thousands of people can come and shop from the safety of their own homes. Online shopping now encompasses every form of purchasing, from cars to jewelry. Even groceries can be delivered straight to your house while all you do is click the items you need and add them to your “cart”.
This technology greatly succeeds in completing its function of allowing customers to be comfortable while shopping, yet hindrances still occur. Idealistically online shopping will be a place where consumers spend as much money as they would if in a store, but in reality this isn’t the case. Even though customers will be at home where they do not feel rushed or watched, they are still weary of giving their credit card information online.
Stores realize that online shopping can help their business tremendously, even when customers are not purchasing items online. In 2007 43% of Canadians went online to “window shop.” Some may not see this as a helpful percentage but when 64% of those customers come into the store and purchase because of what they see online, it makes having an online website very lucrative.
Although this technology is very helpful to the daily person, it can also become an impediment. This allows people to stay inside where no form of personal contact occurs leaving them isolated. It also has a negative affect on the environment as amount of cardboard and shipment wrapping increases to meet the demand. In the end I see online shopping as a positive technology to our society but it still doesn’t beat physically going into the store to get what you want.
Works Cited
1. McKeown, Larry. "E-commerce: Shopping on the Internet." Statistics Canada. 14 Nov. 2008. Government of Canada. 9 Oct. 2009 http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/081117/dq081117a-eng.htm#tab1ftnote2
No comments:
Post a Comment