Customers are increasingly turning to computer networks and the Internet in particular, to locate and purchase goods and services. So-called 'online' shopping involves the location and purchase of goods and/or services by way of a network. Increasingly, mobile phones and other wireless devices are being employed to this end.
One problem with conventional online shopping techniques is that they typically involve payment by way of credit or debit cards. To consummate such transactions, sensitive customer financial data is communicated between the customer and the vendor and may be stored electronically by the vendor. This subjects the financial information to theft vulnerabilities. For example, the information may be intercepted by unscrupulous third parties when it is communicated from a computer system of the customer to a computer system of the vendor.
Thieves may also penetrate the security of the vendor's computer system where the financial information is stored to obtain the financial information of large numbers of customers. In networked computers environments where customers purchase from many vendors, the security risk quickly multiplies as a customer's financial information is communicated and stored among an ever greater number of computer systems.
One prior art approach has attempted to address these shortcomings by centralizing the billing function (whereby the customer is charged and remits payment for goods and/or services purchased) at the customer's Internet Access Provider (ISP).. A drawback of this approach is that it does not reflect the natural manner, in which most customers are accustomed to shopping, and it places the ISP in the awkward role of charging for and disbursing funds for a wide variety of goods and/or services that have nothing to do with the ISP's core function of providing Internet access. When considering the consumer in relation to an online store, various ideas and notions need to be considered and reviewed.
All consumers are generally risk averse, and will always attempt to try to reduce risk during the purchasing process. This is no different when dealing with an e-commerce customer. Therefore there is a need for some mediators to consider and deal with areas that help to reduce risk or perceived risk in the eyes of the consumer.
Guaranteeing customer satisfaction and ensuring that brand loyalty begins to grow will help to reduce the likelihood of a consumer worrying about risks. Also, if a customer is satisfied with all aspects of the service provided whilst they are shopping in an e-commerce store then there is not much of an incentive to risk trying to find an alternative and the customer is therefore likely to return and continue buying from this store. If they can maintain this ongoing relationship with their current provider then their perceived risks of online shopping will drop and they will be more likely to make larger and more frequent purchases from the supplier they are already happy with.
Another important way to reduce risk is to try and build up a marketing strategy and technique involving personal communication and word of mouth recommendations rather than company communication. This can only really be achieved by delivering risk free and quality service to every customer. This will then encourage existing customers to spread the word about the site and this helps to reduce the purchase tension in new customers.
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