May

19

Shopping on the Internet [we’ve come a long way baby]

Filed Under Business & Marketing, Shopping | Leave a Comment

Thank you to BING for sponsoring my writing today. To learn more about BING Shopping Rewards, click here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

My first trip into shopping on the internet was Christmas of 1999.I ordered practically every present from amazon.com or gap.com. It was easy to order. It was close to Christmas so I was hopeful that everything would be fine. It wasn't Let's just say that only about half of the items arrived on time, but I knew it had promise.


Back then, most people were too freaked out by the thought of giving their credit card numbers to companies that sold on online to even try online shopping. Plus, the cost of shipping often made it less expensive to just go to the mall to buy whatever was on the shopping list.


Not so today. In fact, I can order something from a web shopping powerhouse like Amazon tonight at 5 PM and have it in my hands well before noon tomorrow. And, it's more likely than not less expensive than I could find it in a store down the block.


There was some movie in the 90s where the internet bubble was poked fun at by having the main characters running an internet site that sold diapers. Diapers? Are you kidding? Who would buy diapers online? Fast forward to 2011 *not* buying diapers online is the exception not the rule in my house.


The web makes shopping experience very pleasurable when you are searching for a product. No salesboys pressuring you to buy that product that gets him the extra bonus this month. You can discover what real people think about a whole range of products. Bing makes finding that product at a great price that much easier. You can shop by category or brand, and once you find a product, you can read customer reviews and find the lowest price.


I'm currently using Bing to do a little camera shopping. I know I am interested in a digital SLR camera like the Canon Rebel or the Nikon series, but I'm not positive which camera I want to buy.


So, first I take a look at Bing.



Then I type in my search words.



I can thing filter the responses by brands, price range, and specifications of the camera I want. Then I select a product to learn more. This is where I can read customer reviews, detailed specifications, and see who has the product for sale (and for how much).



Not only is it easy to shop, but there is a great bonus to shopping on Bing. You earn points for searching and exploring on Bing. Then you can turn in those points for gift cards and/or products. Register for the rewards program here. Once you are logged in, you'll see how many points in your toolbar in the upper right hand corner of the screen as you search. Here's a quick look at what that toolbar looks like.



What was your first purchase online?