Specifications

make a decision now. The more time you give people to reconsider a purchasing decision, the
more likely they are to shop around or change their mind. If a customer wants your product, it
is in your best interests to make the purchase as quick and easy as possible. Forcing people to
hang up their modem and call a phone number or visit a store places obstacles in their way. If
you have online advertising that has convinced a viewer to buy, let them buy now, without
leaving your Web site.
Taking orders on a Web site makes sense for many businesses. Every business wants orders.
Allowing people to place orders online can either provide additional sales, or reduce the work-
load of your salespeople. There will obviously be costs involved. Building a dynamic site,
organizing payment facilities, and providing customer service all cost money. Try to determine
whether your products are suitable for an e-commerce site.
Products that are commonly bought using the Internet include books and magazines, computer
software and equipment, music, clothing, travel, and tickets to entertainment events.
Just because your product is not in one of these categories, do not despair. Those categories are
already crowded with established brands. However, you would be wise to consider some of the
factors that make these products big online sellers.
Ideally, an e-commerce product is nonperishable and easily shipped, expensive enough to make
shipping costs seem reasonable, yet not so expensive that the purchaser feels compelled to
physically examine the item before purchase.
The best e-commerce products are commodities. If you buy an avocado, you will probably
want to look at the particular avocado and perhaps feel it. All avocados are not the same. One
copy of a book, CD, or computer program is usually identical to other copies of the same title.
Purchasers do not need to see the particular item they will purchase.
In addition, e-commerce products should appeal to people who use the Internet. At the time of
writing, this audience consists primarily of employed, younger adults, with above-average
incomes, living in metropolitan areas.
2
With time, though, the online population is beginning to
look more like the whole population.
Some products are never going to be reflected in surveys of e-commerce purchases, but are still
a success. If you have a product that appeals only to a niche market, the Internet might be the
ideal way to reach buyers.
E-commerce and Security
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ART III
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2
Use of Internet by Householders, Australia, Feb. 2000 (Cat. No. 8147.0) Australian Bureau of Statistics
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