The holidays are coming and with them the shopping season.
In terms of convenience and the sheer variety of potential gifts, Internet shopping is hard to beat?sometimes.
An international survey of Internet shopping conducted by Consumers International found some improvement, but concluded that Internet businesses still had a long way to go to improve reliability and displaying basic information.
Robert Mayer, a professor of family and consumer studies for the University of Utah, was among researchers hailing from 14 countries who made Internet purchases around Christmas-time last year. The study followed a similar one conducted about the same time two years ago.
Of the 412 orders placed, researchers made about 150 across national borders.
?There are certain things the Internet is especially good at,? Mayer said.
Because it exists as a worldwide medium, the Internet can offer unique gifts and cheaper prices.
For example, a European can purchase books more cheaply from a U.S.-based Web site, he said.
However, this global marketplace has yet to live up to its full potential. Many sites still fail to provide basic information?whether an item is in stock, where it can be shipped, a clear total cost and so forth, Mayer said.
Six percent of the items ordered never showed up, and in a few cases, the researcher was charged anyway.
The failure to deliver most likely occurs when a purchase is made across national borders, through a business unprepared to deal with international orders, Mayer said. Information about where a company will do business with is not always clearly stated.
Different countries conduct Internet commerce by different rules, also presenting a challenge to cross-border shoppers.
In Europe, a consumer is guaranteed a refund within a limited amount of time?not the case in the United States. But while European policy may be more protective in terms of privacy and returns, getting help if a problem does occur is more difficult for a foreign shopper.
The study also found that in 9 percent of cases, retailers failed to send refunds on returned goods. A portion of refunds that were sent, arrived more than a month afterward.
?In the long run, we want a market place where consumers can buy from any country and not have to worry,? Mayer said. ?We?re not even close at this point.?
But since the first study, sites have become easier to navigate and generally do include more information, he said.
Internet sales increased from $13 billion in 1998 to $50 billion in 2000, according to Mayer.
?I definitely don?t think it has reached its full potential,? he said.
Some consumers hesitate because they worry that Internet shopping is not secure. But through the course of the two studies, involving hundreds of purchases, no researcher has had a credit card number stolen, Mayer said.
This year Internet sales have grown little, a trend which may continue for awhile, he said.
In a weakened economy, people are less inclined to buy the presents and leisure items that makeup a large portion of Internet sales. In addition, the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks has hit the Internet?s biggest business, travel, particularly hard, he said.
Also, the novelty of Internet shopping has begun to wear off. Consumers have tailored their Internet shopping to specific areas, and businesses offer fewer promotions to attract customers.
But further down the road, sales will continue growing, Mayer said.