Online Shopping Increasingly popular with adults and young people, online shopping gives you 【1】______to various products and

The Internet offers some significant advantages to shoppers, and is becoming increasingly popular with both adults and young people. It can give you access to products and services which are not available in your local stores. It can save time, and help you avoid crowds. It can save you money, as some kinds of products are substantially cheaper in other countries. It can help you research product details and make comparisons of prices and-features, before you physically visit a store for a demonstration.
  Purchase by credit card is the usual method of payment, which has restricted the ability of young people to shop online. Recent developments in the introduction of pre-paid payment cards that can be credited with money by adults, are likely to stimulate suppliers to target more products and marketing at a youth market, fuelling a rapid growth in children buying goods online.
  There are some common problems of shopping online. Finding the product, and choosing a supplier, can be hard, as there are so many websites and online retailers. Careful searching using brand names or the names of types of products may save you time checking out lots of sites. One good place to start may be to use the online service of a high-street store that is well known to you. This has the additional advantage that you can complain in person or return goods if necessary. Listen to others’ advice and recommendations about good sites to use and about their experiences. There are many good online retailers with no high street stores, but remember to check that there are proper contact details including postal address and phone number so that you can get in touch ff you have doubts or questions about their service.
  Your ISP may have allied with certain retailers to give their operations a prominent position on their web- site, but this does not mean that those retailers offer you the best deals. Shopping directory sites, such as www.british-shopping.com may help you to find UK-based online retailers. There are also services that can help you find bargains, as sites like www. checkaprice .com compare prices from a range of different online retailers.
  Safety and security during online ordering and payment are vital to consumers, and a lack of confidence, e about security among many people has held back the growth of online shopping. The news media sometimes has stories of commercial websites being infiltrated by computer hackers, or credit card numbers being stolen online. However it is likely that frauds are less likely to get hold of your credit card details over the Internet than they are over the phone, through the post or in a restaurant. If you take some simple precautions you can enjoy shopping online with a high degree of security.
  Make sure you are on a "secure" site before you give your name, address or credit card details. Look for a padlock or a key symbol, which are usually in the bottom corner of your screen. On a secure site, your in- formation is scrambled into code, (encrypted) before being sent over the internet, and stored on a secure database. If the company wants to pass on your details to other companies, it should give you the fight to say no. Look for a tick box on the site, and make a choice about disclosing your details.
  Do not send your credit card details in an email. This is not a secure means of transmitting information and can be copied easily to others. Check your credit card statements for suspicious entries, If you spot any- thing shady, query the transaction and consider cancelling that card. Keep records of all your transactions. Print details from the webpage you used, write down records of order numbers and billing address. Keep copies of any emails you exchange with the supplier.
  Think before you buy. If the online advertisement or junk email offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Remember the hidden extras, which can push up the price of your online purchase. Postage and pack- Lug costs, VAT and Customs charges for goods from overseas can add greatly to the final cost.
  If you do have problems with an online purchase, contact your local council’s Trading Standards office for their specific advice. You can involve the police too if a fraud has taken place.