Use+of+Online+Information+By+Consumers

=Use of Online Information By ConsumersConsumers Use of Online Information= Many consumers have started using the internet as source of information. This is an increasing trend in the western world or developed countries for that matter. However, consumers in third world Countries are also catching up on this trend. Consumers use the internet to get information about products and services. As Glenn Urban illustrates how, customer behavior is in the midst of a major paradigm shift. Primarily as a result of easily accessible on-line product data, customers now know as much or more about the goods they buy as the retailers that sell them. toc

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ADVANTAGES
Cyberoptimists see the internet as a great resource for consumers.Online information has proved to be a great advantage to consumers in the following ways:
 * Getting prices of goods and services by just a few clicks, has made it easy for consumers to compare prices. This in return helped consumers make better purchase decisions.
 * Having product information online has also encouraged consumer online shopping, for by using that information they can make better consumption decision with greater confidence. As the Marketing Week journal indicates, The surge in online shopping is also being driven by consumers using the internet for background research, either through price-comparison sites, chat rooms or "peer review," where they can seek and exchange information.
 * By using online information, consumers can make better jugdements in regards to purchasing decisions that they make without having to depend entirely on experts' guidance. This is because, the experts might at times be biased or even put their own interests ahead of the consumers' interest.

Examples
Consumers use the internet to gain a wide range of information to help them with their day to day purchases to their bigger purchase decisions. - Use of internet to gain health care information - Use of online information to get insurance prices and price comparisons e.g [|Quotesmith.com]- Use of online information to by a car e.g [|Autotrader.com] As the New Media Age journal shows, more than half of UK car buyers purchase vehicles they initially find on the Internet, says research from [|Autotrader.co.uk] - Use of online information to make a wise and educated decision in purchase of a big investment such as a house without pressure from agents. A good example of an informational internet site to help home buyers and home sellers is [|mls.ca]

DISADVANTAGES
Cyberpessimist on the otherhand view the internet as a tool used by corporations to get people to spend more. The use of online information by consumers also has some disadvantages.
 * Expertise on collecting online information and search costs. As Quag-Pin Chiang reports, personal factors such as domain and system expertise as well as system factors such as information load and interruptions impose certain search costs on consumers and influence online information search.
 * Internet costs and internet access. Costs of having access to the internet are high. This plays as an important factor in terms of whether or not a consumer values and is capable of getting online information. Many consumers do not have access to the internet because of the problems related to global and digital divide.
 * Lack of trust when making online purchases. As Jonna Jarvelainen shows that, research has proposed that one of the most important reasons for not using an online channel for purchasing is the lack of trust: unfamiliar vendors as well as insecurity of transactions and personal information.

Recommended Informational Websites for Consumers
 * [|About.com]
 * [|Amazon.com]
 * [|reference.com]