Online Goods and Services

Online Goods and Services

1. online shopping

   • advantages
     • 24/7 availability
     • don't have to leave house
     • comparisons between products
   • disadvanages
     • need internet access
     • have to pay for delivery
     • can't use cash to pay
     • submit personal details

2. online auctions

   • allows individuals to buy and sell goods from all over the word
     • e.g. Ebay
   • third party payments - secure
   • large number of sellers competing for business, which drives down prices

3. streaming

   • internet needed
     • press play and programmes is continually sent from the server over the internet

4. downloading

   • user downloads entire file from server to their device
     • no internet needed to play

5. operating online

   • advantages
     • don't need to send goods to shops
     • inexpensive way to reach new markets
     • can be located wherever it likes
   • disadvantages
     • ensuring payment security is difficult
     • need a delivery service
     • customers limited to those who have internet and can pay online

6. what transactional data is collected

   • details of item purchased
   • personal information from online account
   • unique reference number given to each transaction
   • date and time of purchase
   • transactional data is collected to understand customers' buying habits and produce a more personalised experience

7. internet advertising

   • can be targeted at particular customers
   • cheaper than traditional advertising (TV adverts)
   • reaches a wide range of customers and much faster

8. viral marketing is when an organisation create interesting and entertaining content that makes people want to 'pass it on'

9. targeted marketing is about concentrating online advertising on the groups of customers who are most likely to buy a product

   • to avoid - don't share personal information
     • delete cookies

10. credit card - customers borrow money and pay it back later

11. debit card - money comes straight out of the account

12. payment systems

    • third party payment
      • PayPal
    • online bank transfer
    • online coupons and eVouchers

13. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a contactless payment service which allows devices to communicate when close together. NFC cards can be used to make payments.

    • advantages
      • good security
      • don't have to keep entering payment details
      • if you lose it you only lose the credit in the account
    • disadvantages
      • can only pay for small amounts (£30 max)
      • need to protect against accidental payments
      • If the NFC card is lost, anyone can use the credit on it

14. cooling off period

    • orders placed online can be cancelled, for any reason, up to seven working days after receiving the items and a full refund must be made
      • applies to everything except
        • personalised goods
        • perishable goods such as food and flowers
        • CDs and DVDs where the seal has been broken
        • reading material except books
        • gaming, betting and lotteries

15. Locally installed software

    • advantages
      • works without being online
      • you hold the license to use the software
      • you control access to the computer so security is good
    • disadvantages
      • takes up a large amount of file space
      • must download and install upgrades and patches to fix bugs
      • all data is stored locally so it must be backed up

16. Hosted software

    • advantages
      • software doesn't take up file space
      • allows different users from different parts of the world to work on the same document at the same time
    • disadvantages
      • cannot work without an internet connection
      • not as secure- hosting company might be targeted by online hackers
      • response time depends on network speed

17. Hosted software or SaaS (software as a service) is when you run applications in a web browser. The applications are not installed on your local computer

18. local storage

    • control over access to files
    • data can be accessed quickly
    • you are responsible
    • you have to back up your data

19. online storage

    • internet is available wherever you are so can access files wherever you are
    • easy to share data with others
    • may not be reliable
    • less control over your data as you do not know where your data is stored

20. search techniques

    • add key words
    • use more than one search engine
    • search by date/language
    • use speech marks