Holiday shoppers this year are realizing the value of
the Internet as a commerce tool and will spend $2.35 billion for the 1998
holiday season, according to a new report from market reseacher Dataquest Inc..
Its study, “The Web Shopping Trip: Are We There Yet?,” examines the current
state of online retailing.
E-commerce success is in part a result of a greater trust in vendors by
customers, the report states. Security issues, once a primary concern of
online shoppers, have dwindled as the industry matures.
“Shoppers have seemingly gotten past the major security issues, especially
with the major credit card players getting heavily into ad campaigns that
implies their approval of online shopping with credit cards,” said Allen
Weiner, director and chief industry analyst for Dataquest’s Internet and
Enterprise Strategies Worldwide and Digital Commerce Worldwide programs.
“Some shopping portals have also guaranteed the security of credit card
usage on their sites, adding to consumer confidence.”
The creation of online comparison shopping and increased Web site promotion
also helped to spur the e-commerce boom, according to the study. Yahoo! is an example.
“Yahoo! is one portal site that provides a huge taxonomy of products and a
central checkout stand that truly allows a consumer to let his or her
fingers do the walking,” Weiner said.