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© LennyLemon

The Sydney Morning Herald had a very interesting report which gave me an insight into the added cost of online shoes shopping after checking out the preferred sample in the neighborhood retail store. I identified myself with probably hundreds of people, indulging in online shoes shopping after trying out different sizes and fits, at the shoe stores and then buying them at cheaper rates on the web. Customers are definitely trying to benefit at the expense of retail outlet owners.

The news clip reports the protests by the shop keepers who are tired of perspective buyers indulging in trying on ski shoes without any intention of purchase. This act has compelled them to levy a fitting charge which is subtracted from the final bill if the customer proceeds to seal his decision to buy from the store rather than go in for online shoes shopping later.

The retailers are facing a major recession with the sales plunging everyday. The volume of online sales has gone up tremendously with customers preferring the comfort of their homes and easier online payment modes to travelling to brick and mortar stores that incur time, energy and fuel costs. A simple example of online shoes shopping proves that more boots, sandals, ski boots, floaters and footwear accessories are sold online through the e-retail outlets than through the establishments of the same companies in malls or stand alone stores resulting in a very hard time for shop owners.

© dpstyles™

The eradication of intermediary services in commercial transactions seems to be in the offing- as online shopping of products and services is on its way to becoming one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy.

Online shopping websites like www.ebay.com, www.amazon.com ,etc have become one stop shops for the current generation who would like to research, buy and pay online in their own comfort zone. Retail companies have had a tough 2011 as far as the annual turnover is concerned but online shopping has been among the top sectors that have shown marked improvement in performance.

Online shopping has managed an increase of 10.2 % which is roughly around $10.4 Billion as per released statistical figures. This escalation in earnings through online shopping by consumers represents 5 % of the total income of the retail industry. Biotechnology, Motor vehicles manufacturing, gemstones and diamonds mining are some of the other sectors that have recorded growth along with online shopping.

Online shops have managed to take advantage of the changing purchasing habits and preferences of the shoppers who are getting hooked on to the ease of upgraded technology usage in making their purchase decisions. This has added to the growing popularity of online shopping and the numerous online malls, forums, e-shops, virtual stores, e-malls which are fast replacing the conventional brick and mortar stores. Online shopping is here to stay as the retail marketing sector struggles to cope up with the changed scenario.

© GuySie

E-commerce has taken off dramatically, and globally, with more and more internet users joining the online shopping community. It is not just buyers, but also, e-tailers that are pouring in. it is becoming more and more crowded as even brick and mortar shops start their online portals to add to their revenue channels. E-commerce portals can be of the generic kind which sells anything, a collector's card to a fully built house, from anyone; the other kind is specialized, like one watches at watchsea24. Nowadays consumers are increasingly going online shopping to find bargain deals. They love the convenience of shopping anytime from anywhere. Free shipping of goods, thanks to the increased competition, further makes their decision to shop online that much easier. The earlier concerns of privacy and transaction security have also been significantly addressed with the help of new and enhanced technology solutions.

The coming year is expected to be great for online retail with some key trends to watch out for. Some of the larger stores add in-store pickup for orders placed online. Some are even experimenting with home delivery. Small retailers are developing a network of designated collection points to counter the larger stores. Mobile apps are increasingly being used to target consumers with deals and bargain promotions. Some e-tailers are even asking customers to upload videos of their purchases, in effect, adding reviews and enhancing product visibility. Social networking sites, like Facebook, have really been some of the most active venues for e-commerce as nearly all retailers compete to engage potential consumers through various promotional activities like events and polls.