The Online Craze!

It's no big secret anymore that the internet is huge! In the early days, everything was new and terms that are now a common part of everyday language were unheard of. Terms such as: web address, websites, online business, etc. were unheard of. Now, with computers and the internet, it is just as normal as the sun rising in the morning. In the last 30 years, things have changed a lot. Anyone born between 1990 and 1995 might be familiar with vinyl records. By 1995, Cd's were common place and had virtually replaced vinyl records. The old LP's and 45 records are still around, but usually found in attics and basements in storage. Anyone who was a kid in the 1970's can tell you how different their childhood was as compared to today's generation.

Computers used to be the domain of giant corporations. They would usually take up several hundred square feet of floor space and take a team of people to run them. Sometimes, they would take up several floors depending on what they were designed to do. The cost to business just to assemble these units was huge! Add to that the month to month cost of running and maintaining these machines, it's clear that computers were not for the faint of heart business owners. Personal computers, or, PC's, as they are now affectionately called, were unheard of by the general public.

Futurists, not to be confused with fortunetellers, were among a small group of people who were heralding the day the computer would be as common in the home and work place as furniture. And to think that something called the internet would link people and business together all over the world and allow us to do the things we are doing today on them, is nothing short of amazing!

Internet marketing has become a multi-billion dollar a year business! There are many advantages to doing ones shopping online. It's the only time in history that people in one part of the world can go from can go from one store to another, from one city to another, or even, one country to another anywhere in the world, in the comfort of their own home or business, to do their shopping! Commute times to these stores? No problem! From ones sofa to the desk and off we go! Think of the time and fuel that saves everyone. No more frayed nerves, no more going out in extreme weather, no traffic to worry about.

The access to goods and services online has  never been easier! Stores are eager to take advantage of this online access to let the consumer know of what they have to offer, and it seems the consumer is even more  eager to find these goods and services as the stores are to offer them. Here are some interesting stats by some analysts. Online shopping will increase in 2012 for one in five shoppers. One survey finds that 28% of U.S. consumers plan to spend less as food and gas prices rise. One research group found that by 2016, U.S. consumers will spend an estimated $327 billion dollars online! That's a huge 62%! And that's just in the United States alone! And without the online presence that companies need today, they could well see their business go under. Not good news for a country that needs a serious injection of cash to get things moving again. The future calls for the trend in online purchasing to continue and grow ever bigger!

An online presence gives business, big and small alike, the ability to reach more potential customers then they otherwise would have access to. This allows business to be very creative in increasing their products and services they can offer, and it drives the price down and creates bargains for the consumer. For business, it  lowers the over head, for the consumer, it lowers the prices. A win win for everyone!