Yo! After a month off, I’ve missed my fellow surfing dudes
and dudettes. But have no fear --
I’M BAAAAAAAAACK.
It doesn’t take an Einstein to predict
that this Christmas will usher in more online shopping than
the world has ever seen. Of course, next year will be bigger
yet (if the world as we know it doesn’t collapse on January
1, that is), but let’s not worry about that now. I’m
hoping to charge up my credit cards and have Y2K wipe out the
balances, you know . . .
With all the hype about skyrocketing online
sales, I like to go against the grain and say that online sales
are still just a small part of the total economy. Sure, Americans
are going to spend over $20 billion over the Internet in 1999,
but when you compare that figure to our trillion-esque economy,
that’s merely chump change.
Even in the year 2004, when online sales
are expected to hit $200 billion, people will still be buying
goods the old fashioned way. So don’t feel that you’re
being left behind if you aren’t one of those “progressive”
Christmas shoppers who exclusively uses the Internet. It’s
still OK to go to a store. You don’t have to wear a bag
over your head in shame -- yet.
‘Net Surfer Dude was looking at the
November issue of Consumer Reports (yes, his Surfdom still reads
printed media) and saw where they compared 25 mail order catalogs
and their corresponding web sites (for clothing, food, home
furnishings, sporting gear, and gadgets). With few exceptions,
both the mail order catalogs and the web sites delivered the
goods - as ordered and on time. However, 12 of the 25 web sites
were not worth the bother. Among the problems encountered:
- Lack of information
about security, return policies, and shipping costs
- Skimpy product
offerings
- Organization that
made shopping tedious
- Inconvenient ordering
procedures
Last Christmas, Mrs. Surfer Dude did quite
a bit of her Christmas shopping over the Internet. “I saved
a lot of time,” she said. “With a baby surfer dudette
in tow, it would have been quite challenging to go shopping
the conventional way. But when I shopped on the web, I could
buy Christmas presents when the papoose was zonked out at night.”
But what Mrs. Surfer Dude is not telling
you is that several of her online purchases came weeks after
Christmas. It’s kind of a bummer going to your family’s
house for Christmas and telling them, “Oh, you’ll
be getting your gifts later.”
‘Net Surfer Dude suggests doing your
online shopping as early as possible, and always have a Plan
B in case a gift does not arrive in time. He also suggests starting
your online shopping at www.MedinaMall.com, where you can find
links to all the great online retailers on the web. Later.
