Online shopping: some advantages and shortcomings

Abstract

As we live in the century of rapid development of information technologies, it is very difficult to meet people who haven't heard of online shopping. Hundreds of thousands of Internet users daily resort to services of virtual shops. Internet trade gains steam both in Russia, and all around the world. This paper overviews some advantages and shortcomings of online shopping over shopping malls. Time and money saving possibilities, wide range of goods, convenient delivery and method of payment, and stressless gift-buying on holiday and pre-holiday days may be regarded as major pros of virtual shops, whereas insufficient demonstration of goods, difficulties in delivering to remote regions, risk of loss or damage, necessity of money conversion, obligatory registration procedure before shopping online are the main disadvantages.