Topic 4 - Home Business

Many people search for and order services and products using the internet. Online stores have databases of their goods and services that you can access. You can browse or search for a specific thing.

Some Online Shops:

• Amazon
• eBay
• Play.com
• Game
• Waitrose
• Asda
• iTunes

Customers browse online catalogues and they add items to their virtual shopping basket/trolley. When they go to the checkout they enter their card details and other details, which are encrypted for security reasons.

Advantages For Online Customers

• No opening hours - goods/services can be bought 24/7
• Goods are delivered to your home - ideal if people cannot get out because they are elderly or disabled
• Worldwide marketplace - you can order goods from anywhere in the world
• Goods are cheaper because of lower costs from internet business
• ]Wider range of goods to choose from
• You can shop from the comfort of your own home and there is no fuel charges

Disadvantages For Online Customers

• If you order off a fake website you can get your money stolen
• You can't actually try anything on
• It may get lost or broken in the post
• It is sometimes a hassle to send back

Advantages of Online Shopping To Stores

• Can sell goods 24/7 - no opening times
• Do not need to work long hours like in a shop
• Can site warehouse anywhere where rental is cheap
• Cheaper to keep in contact with customers as you can email them
• No shoplifting
• High volume of goods sold, so they can negotiate good discounts with suppliers

Disadvantages of Online Shopping To Stores

• Unemployment - staff in traditional shops lose their jobs so redundancy payments are made.
• If something goes wrong customers won't be able to access the site
• Postage charges can put some people off
• Danger of hackers - personal data kept about customers could be stolen

Advantages of Online Booking Services

• Book from the comfort of your own home
• More time to look for holidays than when at a travel agent
• Make savings when booking online because there is no travel agen commision to pay
• Read reports of other people who have been on the same holiday
• Arrange your own travel and accommodation
• Find out about the resort before you go

Disadvantages of Online Booking Services

• You have to enter credit/debit card details and these may not be kept safe
• People could hack into the site and know you were away and burgle your house
• There is no personal service like at a high street travel agent

Verification of Bookings

• You are responsible for entering booking details
• You need to carefully verify data entered
• This is done by a visual check (i.e. proof reading)
• You would have to verify names, addresses, dates of birth, dates of booking, all credit or debit card details