Role of Online Shopping in Personal Finance

In today’s Computer Era , Online Shopping has become an important and fast growing process , which can greatly help in handling Personal Finances of an individual or a family . Online Shopping is the procedure through which consumers can directly purchase services or goods over the Internet , without the need of having any middle party service . It is a type of Electronic or E – Commerce Facility . The two most prevalent types of Online Shopping Models are B2C or Business-to-Consumer , where a consumer interacts with a Business Entity online ; where as B2B or Business-to-Business is where a business entity interacts with another Business Entity online . B2B Commerce is also known as B2B Hub for Online Market Exchange .

            Online Shopping started during the E – Commerce 1 Period also known as “Dot Com Era” , between the year 1995 and 2000 . During that time , Amazon.com, Inc. was probably the First Multinational Company in the world to launch it’s Online Shopping Website in 1995 . Then in 1996 , eBay Inc. which is a C2C Enterprise launched it’s Online Shopping and Auction Website in 1996 . In this way many other multinational companies also known as MNCs of  USA and other countries have launched their Online Shopping Websites over the past fifteen years .

            There are various advantages of Online Shopping over Traditional or Physical Shopping for consumers be it individuals or families . Consumers can save upon their time , money and energy as Online Shops are open for twenty four hours a day and many consumers can access them through their Internet Connections , from their home or workplace . Expense and time on a visit to a conventional shop is saved in this case . Some online shopping sites also have more flexible return policies to compensate rather than the physical retail shops .

            There are various disadvantages of Online Shopping over Traditional or Physical Shopping for consumers be it individuals or families . There is a lack of ability to inspect an Online Shopping Site before purchase , consumers are at a higher risk of fraud because of an online merchant than in a physical shop . Online Merchants also take the risk of fraudulent purchases using stolen credit cards at times .

            The procedure of Online Shopping is quite simple for consumers . Here , first the consumer has to visit the particular online shopping site , where various goods and services are usually listed in categories . Then the consumer has to chose a specific category , where items can be listed further into sub categories . Then from a sub category , the consumer has to choose a particular item of his or her choice to buy . After choosing that item , a list of similar items will be displayed in front of the consumer to choose . Then it’s up to the consumer to avail that service or product through online auction or instant buying . After choosing that payment option , the consumer may be required to register with that shopping site by opening a user account over there . Then further , the consumer can go ahead with the online credit or debit card payment method and finally purchase the particular item or service from the shopping website .

            In this way , we can see that Online Shopping has become a method of modern Electronic Commerce procedures . Thus , it's becoming very prevalent among people be it individuals or families in handling their Personal Finances , when it comes to shopping expenditure .