Tip Sheet for Comparison Essay
Use the following information to develop a comparison relating the pundits and pitfalls of online shopping . You may choose to write an essay, prepare a speech, show the results of a survey in a poster or graph, perform a skit, or even sing a song. Just be sure to follow the guidelines for comparison writing to make sure you have not left any room to doubt your position or your research.
The
pros and cons of shopping online
THE PROS
Online
shopping is convenient. You can shop from your home or office, at any hour.
Online shopping can save time.
Online shopping can expand shopping horizons. The Internet allows cybershoppers
to talk to like-minded surfers, compare prices, shop from remote locations, or
overcome physical disabilities that impair mobility.
Shoppers can tap into an immense range and selection of merchandise and open up
an international world of shopping.
By "opting in" on some Web sites, online shoppers allow merchandisers
to alert them to products and services for which they have indicated a
preference.
THE CONS
The
Web site can show photos of the merchandise, but the shopper can't feel, smell,
taste or try on products.
It can be inconvenient. Long technical delays and/or a slow modem can cause
frustration while waiting for screens to load--especially when Internet traffic
is heavy or there are a lot of photos and graphics to download. Your home
computer system can go down or crash just when you want to shop.
Cybershoppers can waste hours wading through screen after computer screen,
looking for the right information.
It can be difficult to find out when items ordered will arrive. Forty percent of
the orders placed by 30 Consumer Reports online shoppers gave no indication of
when the item would arrive.
So far, the Internet provides few bargains. Although selling their wares through
the Internet may cut manufacturers' costs, there are few price breaks on the
Web. A recent study found that only 31 percent of businesses with an online
presence are planning to drive their sales with aggressive price breaks.
It may be hard to search for the right site, especially for first-time online
shoppers. People may be unfamiliar with the various ways to search--Search
Engines, Shopping Bots, and Virtual malls, for example--and shopping is
organized on the Web in primitive ways. Not all search methods are known to all
cybershoppers.
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