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IELIFE
THE BATTALION
Page 3
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Lazy and thrifty consumers find haven online
BY KELLY PREISER
The Battalion
I t seems as though technology is
slowly taking over every aspect of
American lives. People have re
mote controls for everything, includ
ing their televisions, stereos and even
their cars.
People have the option of ordering
food from their homes for delivery and
buying exercise machines that do the
work for them and now they do not
even have to leave the house to pur
chase their groceries.
With Websites likeAlbertsons.com
and Walmart.com, one can purchase the
bare essentials and have them delivered
to their doorstep. American’s daily
practices have been revolutionized.
Nielsen/NetRatings found that the
number of Internet users increased 22.7
percent in 1999, bringing the total num
ber of users from 97 million to 1 ^mil
lion. It is possible that this rise is be
cause the Internet allows users to
search for the latest and cheapest in
technology, gives them a chance to
compare prices online and saves them
time by avoiding busy shopping malls
and long lines.
Online shopping is quickly becom
ing one of the most favored ways to
shop. According to an eMarketer sur
vey conducted online, among 541
shoppers at eMarketer.com, 90 percent
rated the Web better than catalogs and
stores, and 72 percent said they would
shop online throughout 2000.
Despite problems such as items be
ing out of stock or delivered late, 73
percent were more satisfied with the In
ternet than with stores.
Why are people turning to the Inter
net to make their purchases? One might
think it is because people do not want
to leave the convenience of their
homes. Jeremy Carpenter, a junior in
dustrial engineering major, said he
agrees w ith this theory.
“Americans [shop online because
they] are inherently Jazy,” he said.
However, not everyone agrees.
Courtney Buie, a temporary campus
representative, has a different view.
“Some people shop online when
they can't find what they need at con
ventional outlets and others shop online
because they can find better prices,
don’t have to wait in lines and can have
"I don't like to
shop online be
cause I don't trust
anything I can't
do in person/'
— Jeremy Carpenter
Texas A&M junior
the items delivered to their doorstep,”
Buie said.
Jodi Gershoni, Communications Di
rector for VarsityBooks.com, said, “I
believe the Internet has brought effi
ciencies to inefficient markets.”
David Holland, a junior engineering
technology major, chose to buy his
books online this semester.
“It was pretty easy and straightfor
ward, they delivered it on time. It was
a good experience,” he said.
Holland thinks people shop online
because of convenience. He chose to
buy his books online because the prices
of the books he was looking for were
going to be cheaper.
Many people choose to shop online
because of the competitive prices.
“Shopping online not only provides
purchasers with more choices, but it pro
vides a level of price-saving that is at
tractive to most people,” Gershoni said.
“Online shopping does get you a
better deal. Since their overhead is low
er, they can charge lower prices. They
usually don’t charge sales tax, and most
companies don't charge shipping with
a minimum purchase,” Buie said.
Online shopping also gives the con
sumer a chance to find the best deal
without having to go from store to
store. People can compare prices with
the click of a button. Buie adds, “Shop
ping online can be a huge time-saver
when you need to look around and
compare prices — you can do all that
sitting at your computer.”
There are sites on the Web dedicat
ed to comparative shopping. Gershoni
suggested students looking for a good
deal could go to special site to find com
parisons of online book companies.
Many sites offer a variety of items
such as apparel, books, health and
beauty supplies, consumer electronics
and groceries. Certain sites offer a com
parison of credit card rates to help con
sumers find the best rate for them and
can also help one in calculating the cost
of their debt.
In contrast to all the benefits of on
line shopping, there may also be some
See Internet on Page 4.
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