Online shopping: Superhighway robbery?

I came this close to spending an awful amount of money on the inthebag Web site the other day - I was trying to convince myself that I desperately needed a copy of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", regardless of the cost.

Luckily, I chickened out of the purchase, which including delivery charges would have cost me a cool R150. Considering the number of brick-and-mortar options open to me (there are branches of CNA and Facts & Fiction just five minutes away from me), it seems foolish to pay R30 extra to have it delivered - especially when one may have to wait three to five working days before being able to get one`s grubby paws on a much desired item.

Pure play e-tailers are a step ahead on understanding what makes online shoppers tick.

Basheera Khan, Journalist, ITWeb

It`s not just books that come with a hefty delivery charge when buying online. Depending on what you purchase, where you live and when you`d like the products delivered, South African e-consumers can expect to pay anything between R30 and R200 for fulfillment. Were I situated deep in the many less urban areas to be found in SA, I`d accept the delivery charge with grace and forbearance.

But when you consider that in many instances, people who shop online from far-flung corners of SA are charged just a little bit extra, or not serviced at all, it seems that a lot of online stores are missing the point of one of the original drivers of e-commerce - providing a new delivery channel that would make things easier for those unable to get to brick-and-mortar shops in a hurry.

Then there`s the option that sprung up in answer to those difficult, demanding, never easily satisfied shoppers such as myself - in-store delivery of products purchased online. I think this is a fabulous idea. Now, if only I can find a retail store that makes me want to make use of the option.

I tried it out through Truworths a while back, with disastrous consequences (True blue online shopping?).Other established retailers such as Edgars and Musica have also tried to work this into the online offering.

Buy CDs online from Musica, and within three to five days, you can pay R10 for the privilege of walking into a store and picking them up. It gets more painful with Edgars; if you`re willing to wait seven working days, you get to pick up your purchases for a service fee of a mere R20. If you`d like your purchases delivered to you over the weekend, it`ll cost anywhere between R105 and R199.

I simply can`t fathom the business logic behind a decision of that nature. People choose to buy online for a number of reasons - but primarily, the motivator is either a cost saving on the product, or quicker delivery than if you were to physically shop for whatever it is you`re after.

Pure play e-tailers are a step ahead on understanding what makes online shoppers tick. EnergyZone, for example, motivates consumers to buy more than they may have originally intended with their promise of free delivery on purchases over R180.

But in the battle for good products, at reasonable prices and with that ultimate of online shopping gratification, free delivery, TheShoppingMatrix.com wins, hands down. It delivers anywhere in SA, and more often than not, within two days of a customer having made his or her purchase.

What I can`t understand is why more businesses apparently don`t understand the implications of making e-commerce so expensive, inefficient and cumbersome to boot. To be successful, an e-commerce offering has got to be attractive to both existing and new customer bases.

One has to understand that increasingly, those customers will not necessarily be comfortable with the thought of buying online. For a very short time, it`ll be something new, and different, and not a little disconcerting - and maybe then, e-tailers will be able to convince them to fork out through the nose to have their goods delivered.

But as the number of stores grow, and the range of offering broadens, e-tailers that don`t offer attractive delivery rates will begin to feel the pinch - that is, if their sometimes extortionate delivery costs don`t stunt the growth of the market first.