Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sometimes it seems as if the whole world goes out on a Saturday afternoon to shop. Shopping has become more of a hobby to some youths than a practicality. In today's culture where the shopping centre is the main focus of the city, youths are easily drawn into the social aspects of this past time. Experts have anticipated that shopping on the internet will transform the lives of youths, bringing groceries to their front door, booking tickets to see their favourite bands at the touch of a button and choose and pay for a holiday without visiting a travel agent or browsing a brochure once. It all sounds ideal, but why does online shopping comes last in youths’ lists??? It wouldn’t be fair to say that youths aren’t more enthusiastic about adopting new technology. They do too love engaging themselves in new technology but it lacks in the case of online shopping.









From the charts above, Generation Y as in youths simply loves the idea of new technology. Young people are much more likely to utilize these services than their elders, despite the fact that people of all ages use new technology. Part of this is probably due to the fact that the user interface for data services requires a keen eye and a steady hand, something less likely to be found in older people. But it's also a willingness of younger users to adopt new forms of communication. Therefore, it’s an utter shock when researchers found out that youths, despite their love for new technology, do not agree on the term of online shopping. Are there any particular reasons why youths prefer high street or mall shopping instead of online shopping??? Evidently, there are various reasons leading to these findings that are so unlikely to be considered true as follows:-

1) Access to credit card
- Younger youths from age 13-18 find it hard to purchase through the internet without a credit card.
2) Preference for ‘actual shopping’
- Youths enjoy handling merchandises they buy and the fun of hanging out with friends accompanied by their advice of goods’ purchases.
3) Frauds
- When youths uses credit card to pay for the goods they purchased, they run the risk of being conned (unsecured sites).
4) Hidden costs
- Hidden costs like unexpected delivery charges or a product that isn't exactly what youths had in mind may come into picture.
5) Identity theft
- Some sites might use youths’ personal information for marketing purposes resulting in lack of privacy.
6) Item issues
- Some products have no warranty (damaged) or are not returnable. So, purchasers may have to suffer the consequences.
7) Delivery time
- Through online shopping, purchasers have to take extra time before they can receive their products.

WILL ONLINE SHOPPING GROW THROUGH TIME???

As the world adapts itself to the technological advances that have brought people into the next century, youths are growing more and more comfortable with searching for products on the net and shopping online. It is agreed that the online shopping industry is growing in numbers as the years progressed as it is gaining acceptance to youths worldwide.

Youths are on a paradigm shift where they are starting to adopt the behaviours of online shopping. They are starting to realize that online shopping is accessible round the clock. They can buy whatever they want even at 3 a.m. in the morning. They can choose from a wider variety of things available for them to shop which may not be available in the local brick and mortar stores. They also have the benefit to do all from the comfort of their own home.

When youths buy from online store they have the comfort to take their own sweet time while checking for the things of their choice. This will lead them to a simple and quick way to perform price comparison unlike the dissatisfied and hurried shopping they do in the local stores. Below are some proven articles where youths from Asian countries, Singapore are making their way into online shopping where youths are starting to play their part as well instead of the other adopters:-

PROVEN ARTICLES

THEY ARE CREATING BUZZ ABOUT ONLINE SHOPPING

By Liew Hanqing

LIKE many of her working peers, Miss Shannen Ang, 26, spends most of her time in the office. But the accounts executive also spends almost 20 hours a week on a small online business, where she sells handmade jewellery. The self-confessed shopaholic carefully assembles each piece by hand, photographs her work and uploads the pictures on her blog, where she sells them.

She makes about $100 a month from her blog shop, Sweet Nothings Accessories, which she runs as a hobby. Miss Ang is among an increasing number of small online local retailers who run blog shops, or websites selling personalised items. Some of them will be participating in the E-biz exhibition, an online shopping bazaar tomorrow and Saturday at Singapore Management University's School of Economics and Social Sciences.

The exhibition, a first, aims to raise awareness of the local online shopping scene. Some retailers will be selling their products at the exhibition, in addition to showcasing them. Miss Ang herself will be sponsoring prizes and promoting her creations at the exhibition.

The event's organisers, Miss Hooi Ren Yi and Miss Li Ru, both 19, said they came up with the idea for the exhibition while chatting about a mutual friend who had recently set up an online business selling personalised gifts.

'We felt what he was doing was interesting, but little seems to be known about online shopping here,' said Miss Li. Miss Hooi and Miss Li, both former students of Hwa Chong Institution, decided to organise the exhibition instead of taking up part-time jobs like most of their peers, while waiting to enter university.

Said Miss Li: 'Online shopping here is growing, but the market is still relatively immature. We hope we can heighten awareness of online shopping, especially among those who don't really shop online.'

Miss Hooi added that the allure of small online retailers here is the huge variety of personalised gifts and accessories which are available. 'Also, unlike real-life bazaars, most of the products sold online are accompanied with detailed descriptions,' she said.

SHOWCASING GOODS

Among the items showcased at the exhibition are imported clothes, shoes and organic skincare products. Some 35 online sellers will be showcasing their products at the exhibition.

One of them is Miss Lee Wei Ling, 22, who runs an online handicraft business. Her most popular items include photo frames and handmade flowers. She makes between $50 and $100 a month selling items on her website, which was set up about a year ago.
She said: 'I've always enjoyed making handicrafts, so I decided to start selling them.'

Like Miss Ang, she has a day job in a company selling camping equipment, but devotes her spare time to maintaining her craft website, which her boyfriend helped her set up. She will be manning a booth at the exhibition, showcasing handmade items like crystal gifts, photo frames and keychains.

Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to attend talks on how to set up an online business, how to shop online safely, and how to use the Internet for marketing. With the help of online entrepreneur Shaun Stanislaus Lau, 21, one of the founders of youth lifestyle club nEBO, the organisers managed to secure $5,000 to fund the event.

They hope to attract about 1,000 visitors to the exhibition.

RESOURCES:

They are creating buzz about e-shopping
Study shows youth embracing technology even more than before
Online Shopping - Advantages and Disadvantages
Teenagers and on-line shopping

Labels: online shopping, youths