a) what experiences have you had with online shopping?
I have probably only started venturing through online shopping about a year ago, but since then i have become a persistant online shopper. It mostly consists of browsing, comparing prices, checking prices online before i go into the phyiscal store or even purchasing content online instead of buying it throught the physical store. I am yet to have a bad experience with online shopping which solidifies that the sites i visit and trustworthy and creditable.
b) describe a good experience.
I have consistenly had good experiences with jb-hi-fi's online store. If ballarat doesnt have the product i want in stock, which can more than sometimes be the case, i just go on to their online store and it is at my door within a couple of days. If the product isnt in stock online either, it explains that the order may take a little longer due to having no stock which is the better way to do it rather than expect it to come when it won't.
c) what did you like about the online store that you used?
It is really easy to navigate and find exactly what you are looking for. Paying for the items is just as easy as it has step by step instructions and a thing i really liked was that you can picl up your ordered items in your local store or have them delivered to your door.
d) describe a bad experience.
As i mentioned before i am yet to have a bad online experience, touch wood, however i have heard of my friends having bad experiences. One tried selling a brand new phone on ebay and found a buyer that agreed to the price offered, and stated that they had sent the money to them. However it was a hoax, and the money hadn't been sent through, they clearly tried to trick them into giving them the phone for free. My friend fortunately didnt fall for it, but not everyone is like that and i'm sure they have conned many before and many after.
f) what problems did you have with the online store?
I have never bought something off of ebay, however the friend i mentioned before said because the company isn't selling the products, its between the individual seller and buyer, the best thing they could do is ban the user. I am sure ebay have a process of identifying these con-artists but it is still so easy to be tricked on this site.
g) what features make an online store less appealing?
For me, layout of a site either indicates whether i am going to use it or not. It also needs to be in relation to the products they are selling, for example if it were a vintage store, having bright colours with modernised features contradicts the purpose of buying vintage. One of the most important features is the method of payment. I you get that wrong and make it difficult or not straight forward, you are already losing out.
h) should we expect the prices of goods and services to rise and fall due to the migration of consumers online?
I think online stores have more freedom or advantage in rising their prices now because of the influx of online shoppers v physical shoppers. With that said they need to be sure they are offering discounts, specials and fair pricing to compete with the physical stores. The way things are going in our current society online stores would be inclined to rise prices due to more traffic whereas physical stores with no online stores would be more inclined to lower prices to attract more customers. It also comes down to whether the goods and normal or inferior.
Question 2
a) The dispersion of prices (the spread between lowest and highest price of a product) will narrow.
I believe this statement to be true because of the competitveness and sustainability of rival companies. We have already seen the dispersion of prices of confectionary narrow between home brand and family brands such as starburst or cadbury, due to having to become sustainable for the future. Products that are home brand have seen prices increases due to the instability of the market and the strength of the Australian dollar.
b) the importance of brand names will decrease.
Brand names such as Prada or Louis Vuitton will not decrease because of their impact and specialty in luxury goods. I think brands that sell luxury goods with high prices will continue to be strong because its what a customer desires to purchase. I think brands that sell normal goods or things that are essential like groceries will gradually decrease because of the consumer trying to save as much money as possible with necessity items such as food and drink so that they can still desire luxury goods of brand names.
c) price competiton will make all products cheaper.
I agree that most products with competiton will become cheaper but not all. Today consumers have so many choices for a single product that they are most likely to seek out the cheapest and most beneficial item to buy. There are alternatives to this such as purchasing land or buying a home. More competition means that consumers are willing to pay more for a standard of living than they are for a new car.
d) Digital Markets will become dominated by a handful of mega-sites, like Amazon.
I agree with this statement with the exception of unique or specialty stores. There are mega-sites such as Asos that has no close competion in offering both an extensive and collected range of both male and female wears. You do have stores such as general pants that offer that as well, but not at the same level or extent as Asos. There will always be independent stores that have success due to the subject of their items. Consumers are willing to pay the bucks for specialty and unique goods which can keep independant online business afloat.
e) How do you think the balance of power between buyers and sellers will change?
Buyers already have an extensive amount of power when it comes to business with sellers. They have the power to send an item back and get their payment for it, in supermarkets there is a 200% guarantee on fresh produce. I also think that the power buyers have is dangerous. Sellers can be taken advantage for and can really miss the benefit of providing goods to customers.
f) prices are clustered online.
I think prices online are very similar when comparing products. The things when it comes to pricing consumers have to look for, is when stores are offering discounts, or when their specials or stocktake is beginning. When a new item comes out, prices can be almost exactly the same no matter where you go, so consumers need to look at things that will alter the competitve price in the future.
g) Online prices are elastic.
Online prices are very much elastic as product price is an amount that is affected by both interal and external factors. Demand and supply are the key factors when it comes to elasticity of a product. Some examples that can change supply and demand are technicological changes, shortages of materials, tastes, competitor prices, price of manufacturing the product.
Question 3
a) What types of m-commerce services does your cell phone provider offer?
Like most people today i have a smartphone, an iphone on a monthly plan that allows me 2gb of mobile data and hundreds of dollars worth of phone calls and texts. There are plenty of hidden costs that come with phone plans such as things that arent covered in your data such as international texts/phone calls and data usage above the given 2gb.
b) Which of these services do you use?
I constantly use online banking to transfer funds from one account to another. I surf the web using my data allowance of 2gb but if connected can use wireless. I download music, watch youtube videos and download apps to play and utulise with my every day life.
c) What types of transactions do you make through your cell phone or wireless device?
The only transaction i make using a wireless device is to check my bank account or to buy music or apps. I do not buy online from a wireless device, i do browse, but i have a thing about only using a computer to purchase goods online, i feel safer doing so.
d) What types of transactions would you like to be able to perform, but are unable to do?
I am sure if there were any i wanted to do, someone would have invented it already. That is one of the benefits of growing up in a technological aware generation. People can find solutuions, and give you resources to find them yourself.
e) What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?
Mobile marketing is so annoying. Things like company messages advising you of specials and discounts are very quickly deleted out of inbox, most of the time without reading them. We want texts from people not companies. I think that is why we have emails. Mobile marketing for me is not worth it, when an email is more likely to be read and acted upon.
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