Tired of paying over the odds in your neighbourhood store? Looking for a broader range of goods than are typically available locally? Of all recent innovations in retailing, internet shopping holds the greatest promise for cutting prices and expanding choice for the consumer.
Over 700,000 people bought goods or services online last year, a 22 per cent increase on the previous year. With over 90 per cent saying they experienced no problems and broadband penetration increasing steadily, it's clear online shopping is here to stay as part of our choices.
However, no less than any other area of shopping, there are pitfalls associated with the internet for the unwary shopper. And because of the nature of the medium as well as its relative newness, the internet poses specific dangers not found in other forms of retailing.
The European Consumer Centre office in Dublin says it has received more complaints about shopping online in the first half of this year than in the whole of last year (467 against 407 last year). About 40 per cent of cases relate to delivery problems and according to the ECC's Tina Leonard, it's hard to ascertain whether the problems are due to incompetence or deliberate breaches of the law.
And because the ECC only deals with cases arising within the EU, we don't know how many internet purchase made outside Europe give rise to problems.
However, Aileen O'Toole of the consultancy firm Amas say Irish people's experience of internet shopping has been broadly positive. "It's become a tool of empowerment for many consumers by allowing them to shop around and compare prices across borders."
Internet competition has created challenges for Irish retailers but the experience isn't always a negative one. "You'll get people trying on jeans in a shop, say, and then buying them online once they know their size. But equally people use the net to find out what's available, what the spec and price is, and then, armed with this information, they go and buy locally."
In some respects, consumer protection is actually stronger on the internet than for conventional purchases, O'Toole points out. "A shop is not obliged to take back a pair of shoes but online you can buy something, decide you don't like it and you are completely within your rights to send it back within seven days."
Where faulty goods are supplied, the buyer should not have to bear the cost of returning them, though in practice this can be difficult to police. Leonard makes the important point that consumer protection laws don't apply to auction sites such as eBay so users are advised to follow the prescribed security precautions and to obtain payment protection when purchasing high-value items.