How Has The Internet Changed Consumers? Marketers?

The Internet has had an extraordinary effect on the way that we shop. In order to get the things that we need from supermarkets, clothes shops, bookshops and anything else without leaving the comfort of our own homes. Being able to display products over the Internet has also had an effect on the finances of business as, theoretically, online shopping and in store shopping could double the amount of customers they receive.

• What this means for businesses.

The growing medium of online shopping could soon mean that shops and supermarkets that you physically walk into and buy products from could soon be useless. In the future it may even mean that shops disappear and everything is done online over the Internet without us even needing to leave the house.

• Online shopping.

Shopping over the Internet has become an extremely convenient and the most preferred medium of shopping for hundreds if not thousands of people. It is possible for people to buy any kind of good over the Internet from home, work and even on the go on mobile phones and have them delivered straight to your doorstep.

Not only can online shopping increase the income of businesses, it can also save them money because advertising on the Internet costs a lot less than running a shop, electricity, new displays and people to work in the shops.

• Controversy.

The expansion of Internet shopping has not been taken to lightly by a lot of businesses, even though it has been embraced by the majority. For example, music can now be bought over the Internet either in mp3 format from legitimate and legal websites such as iTunes, but music sharing over the Internet has lead to increased activity of illegal file sharing.

This decreases the profits made by the singers and bands who produce the songs because they do not receive the royalties for their hard work, dedication and time.