In the few weeks prior to Christmas, 2006, 350 million people made 250 billion dollars in purchases – online. This is a 24% increase from a decade ago, and double the figures for theChristmas season, 2005. Shopping online has become one of the most profitable ways to get a product to the consumer.

The introduction of SSL certificates, PayPal, and the support of Credit Card companies and banks have turned online shopping into the fastest growing market in the world.

At one time, the only option for shoppers included brick-and-mortar retail stores and catalogue ordering. This turned the Christmas season into an exercise in patience and stamina as shoppers waited in long lines, travelled from store to store looking for the right item, and sometimes ordering items months in advance.

Very few people enjoyed the luxury of comparing prices, shopping at liquidation centers, and buying products at wholesale. The Internet changed all that. Now, not only can people shop online, but many businesses can offer ‘secondary sale' items at 1/2 retail. Just purchase a lot from a liquidation center, and sell it from your site using Paypal.

The Internet made shopping at home a breeze. However, any work at home business needs to understand the ‘dark side' of online shopping if they want to succeed.

Phishing

Many people are afraid to make a purchase from a small website because many ‘fake' websites are phishing websites. These sites collect banking information from victims and then use it for fraudulent purchases – even loan applications.

Credit Card Fraud and Identity theft are an ever increasing problem both on the ‘net' and in the ‘real world.'

That is why most online vendors use Paypal instead of their own shopping cart. Yes, it may ‘look' basic, but programmers can make the Paypal site mimic any web site. This streamlines the process. Many consumers will appreciate the attention to security.

1) Tell purchasers ‘not' to save their passwords or banking information on their PC. Most know this, but posting a warning makes the shopping cart appear ‘secure.' Image is everything.

2) Remind clients that Paypal has a buyer protection plan. This will increase sales. After three years on the net, I've only been ‘ripped off' twice.

3) NEVER ask for additional information. Many purchasers will see this as a ‘red flag' that might indicate a phishing site. Many marketers love to collect information. It may seem simple to ask people where they came from, what brought them to the site, why thy made a purchase, or where they live – but it will cost sales.

4) Show purchasers your security with statements like “Only purchase online through secure order pages which are indicated by a small, yellow, “Padlock” image located near the bottom of the internet browsers window.

Posting an image of the padlock used by IE and Firefox will increase sales by showing that your site uses the padlock.

5) Tell clients that no information from the purchase is used for mailing lists by this business, or partner businesses. Include a disclaimer that this business never sells, shares, or trades contact information with third parties.

6) One of the first things shoppers do is look for a business address. If the address is not located in the USA, and they cannot find a business number in the national phone book, then they won't make a purchase.

It is sad that many phishing sites are run from Russia or Asia where there are not regulations, and no way to legally confront these companies. Until there is an international legal blanket, the only way to increase sales on a website is to reassure shoppers that you are concerned with their security.