Eliminating the unknown from online shopping

The convenience of online shopping means that the days of having to brave the hordes at crowded malls on a Saturday morning are no longer the only option.

Online shopping has become more and more popular over the past few years as greater numbers of South Africans gain access to the Internet, specifically to broadband connections.

According to the Internet Access in South Africa 2010 study, conducted by World Wide Worx, sponsored by Cisco, the number of South African Internet users has passed the 5-million mark for the first time, finally breaking through the 10% mark in Internet penetration for the country.

It is easy to determine why online shopping has become so favoured among the South African public - online stores are open 24 hours a day, so there is no longer any need to fight peak-hour traffic in order to make it to a shop before it closes.

“Time is a precious commodity in the lives of today’s pressured consumers, and there just seems to be less of it available to amble around massive malls in order to buy day-to-day items and financial service products,” remarks Bradley Du Chenne, spokesperson for Dial Direct Insurance.

“In addition, online shopping allows for pricing comparisons to be made without having to drive from one shop to another in order to check,” explains Du Chenne.

Almost any product you desire is available for purchase on the Internet, and research has shown that areas showing the largest growth in terms of online sales are services such as insurance and holidays.

It is important to be vigilant when opting to do your shopping online, and the following tips should be considered when making a purchase:

• Use websites that have a secure means of payment - these would show a padlock at the bottom of the screen when filling in payment details. The web browser is a very powerful tool when it comes to protecting yourself online as it can warn of threats, block malicious pop-up windows and alert you when you may be compromising your security by mistake.
• Use retailers and services you know about, or that have been personally recommended to you.
• Trust your instincts - if you don’t feel comfortable buying an item by means of the Internet, don’t do it. If you feel pressured to place your order immediately, it might be a good idea not to do so.
• Shop around - the product you are looking for may be on offer somewhere else and it could be cheaper. However, beware of prices that appear to be too good to be true.
• Make sure you know the online store’s full address, especially if it is based internationally.
• Bear in mind the shipping, postage and packing costs and weigh them up against what you would have to pay in travelling costs when buying them from a shopping centre.
• Establish whether the company has a privacy statement, and read it to find out what information the seller is gathering from you, and how this personal information may be used.
• Use a credit card to pay for an order - this is the safest way to pay on the Internet.

“If one could sum up the three most important principles of online shopping, they would be the following: train yourself to spot scams, learn about browser security and use your common sense,” Du Chenne concludes.