Steps when buying online 
From Singapore Hotels & Singapore Lifestyle
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- Browse product categories using a web browser
- Put items into virtual shopping cart (or market basket).
- Just as in a physical store viewing the contents of the cart can be done at any time.
- Quantaties of products can be changed or deleted.
- Checkout
- Log in or register by choosing a username and a password.
- Enter personal data.
- Billing address
- Shipping address (can be different from the billing address)
- Phone number
- E-Mail address (usually optional)
- Choose means of payment
- Choose delivery speed and method (post, courier and logistics service, etc.)
- Confirm order
- After editing the personal data a confirmation page is displayed so that the online shopper can approve, change or abort the order.
- Logout
In addition to a shopping cart system a recurring user could be recognized again by storing a "Cookie" on his computer. That way he can purchase an item by just clicking on it without having to login and enter the credit and shipping information again. Amazon.com was granted the United States Patent Number 5,960,411 for this method - the famous Amazon "One-Click Patent".
Means of payment
Online shoppers commonly use their Credit card for making payments, however some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as
- Debit card
- All kinds of Electronic money, Ecash (or digital money)
- Cash on delivery (C.O.D.)
- Cheque
- Money transfer / delivery on payment
- Postal money order
Once a payment has been accepted the goods or services can either be downloaded from the internet or delivered to the consumer via traditional means.
Security issues
- User and payment data is encrypted by SSL when it is transferred on the Internet.
- Quality seals can be placed on the Shop webpage if it has undergone an independent assessment and meets all requirements of the company issuing the seal. The purpose of these seals is to increase the confidence of the online shoppers; the existence of many different seals foils this effort to a certain extent.
- Privacy of personal information is a big issue. In spite of Privacy Guidelines of the OECD, for example, privacy violations still occur and hamper eCommerce from developing to its full potential.
