Five years ago, people were surfing
web.Three years ago, people started to use Internet to buy and sell goods. Two years ago, during 1998 holiday season, over 1 million AOL members bought at least one item online.
This gave us a small hint of how big online shopping might get.
In 1999's holiday season, e-commerce exploded in all directions, taking its toll on traditional malls and shops. This year, even stores like Kmart and Walmart are spending millions to promote online shopping, bringing more people than ever on board shopping wave of future.
Although all of us can see what's happening, only a small percentage of general population is actually capitalizing on Internet shopping revolution. E-commerce is here to stay. How long will it be before rest of us get on board? Why haven't we joined revolution?
For many of us, answer to that question is that we simply don't know where to start or what to do once we begin.
Most of us probably think we need to have expertise in world of web design and HTML, or perhaps an MBA. However, there are plenty of experts out there who specialize in building web sites and making everything work. And you don't need an MBA, all you need is a goal and a plan of action.
To help get you started, there are some basic things you will need. First of all, you'll need a professional-looking web site with a secure shopping cart and ability to accept credit cards. This is important, because most Internet shoppers are picky about security, and 80% of them prefer to use their credit card.
