Does online shopping have an effect on small business?

Question

Does online shopping have an effect on small business?

Answer 1

yea but the small business can go online too

Answer 2

Some company's may be willing to barter a bit, others will not and many will lose sales to the Internet stores.

Answer 3

Australia & New Zealand, eh.  I can only answer generally, not specifically to the economy on your continent.  It think it could have both good and detrimental affects--obviously, some on line businesses wouldn't exist were it not for the internet and those individuals would not have a business.  But on the other hand, it could take away from the profitability of main street businesses because, for example, some people may prefer the great selection or convenience of using their home computers to shop for certain things that would be delivered directly to their front doors.  The answer is, "It depends."  My opinion.

Answer 4

I'm sure it does.  People are going to shop online since it is more convenient, and that takes away from small businesses that offer the same products.  However, in some cases it may be cheaper to actually by from the small business and save on shipping.  So it's convenience versus price.

Answer 5

HE Dubble hocky sticks yes!!!

Answer 6

no it does not

Answer 7

No, not that I know of.

Answer 8

you might be surprised at how much $$ some of these "small" business bring in!

Answer 9

Not NEAR as bad as Walmart, Target, Sams Club, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes and Big Lots...........

Did you know that Walmarts marketing /tracking systems are second ONLY to the pentagon?

SERIOUS. I saw it on an MSN Investigates special once. I was SHOCKED.

Corporate has EVERY detail of what you bought within 15 minutes of your transaction.

People don't trust online shopping as much.

Consumers are made up of OLD and YOUNG and MANY of the older baby boomer generation are not computer literate or internet saavy. And those ones who are - are still not as trusting as Generation X......... But in time - the next 30 years may prove otherwise.........

Some states get deprived of sales tax from online purchases too.

If there is one entity that embodies everything wrong with corporate America, it is Wal-mart. Make no mistake about it: Wal-mart is a vast criminal enterprise, responsible for worker exploitation, maliciously driving up prices, illegal monopoly practices, tax scams, censorship, and above all, fraud, for making you believe this monopolistic monolithic monstrosity is really nothing more than a wholesome retail chain.

Let’s start with the basics: Wal-mart is the world’s largest retail chain. With 3,300 stores in the United States and another 1,200 around the world, the corporation walks off with $220 billion a year, with $7 billion of that being pure profit, a gross product that rivals some countries—including this one! Wal-Mart's computer database is second only to the Pentagon's in capacity. When he died in 1992, founder Sam Walton the richest man in history at the time. His son, Sam Walton, Jr. (commonly known as Rob)., currently rivals Bill Gates as one of the wealthiest man in the world, with $18.8 billion. If we’ve learned anything after Enron and the slew of corporate Sherwoodism, we’ve learned that you don’t get to be number one by playing fair.

It’s well known that Wal-mart systematically destroys the economy of small towns. First, one Wal-mart arrives, then a second, giving the illusion of competition. Inevitably, local businesses can’t compete – it’s like racing on foot against a car, it just isn’t fair – and when that happens, former business owners usually have no choice but to become valued Wal-mart employees, at minimum wage, of course. Then one of the Wal-marts closes down, leaving an empty shell of an ugly building and an oversized parking lot. With a local monopoly, Wal-mart starts raising prices. It’s like something out of a bad science fiction movie.

Wal-mart aggressively keeps their prices low by underpaying their workers. The average Wal-mart “associate” makes $7.50 an hour. This is not just kids working part time between classes but adults, trying to eke out a living with $20,000 a year. Wal-mart managers will hire two part-time employees instead of one full-time employee so they don’t have to give benefits. They often lock employees in after closing until the day’s clean-up is done. A common practice is to have the employee rushed to his or her post as soon as he or she arrives, not even getting a chance to punch in properly until an hour or two later. The Wal-mart health plan is a joke. In order to be eligible at all, you must work for two years at Wal-mart, and the premium is so high, most workers can’t afford it.

Sam Walton was an innovator when it came to union busting. Wal-mart even has an anti-union hotline. Workers attempting to form a union will be fired under the pretense of the tiniest infraction, such as eating a five-cent banana before paying for it.

Lest I forget, Wal-mart is sued roughly 47,000 times every year. Cases range from injured customers, injured/killed employees due to negligence, child labor, sexual harassment, health care benefits, you name it. Wal-mart has roughly 10,000 lawsuits pending against it every day. Wal-mart hefts its weight around by stretching out the suit as long as possible until the plaintiffs can’t afford the legal bills and have to settle. Wal-mart routinely destroys or denies the existence of evidence, even when said evidence has been used in previous lawsuits. Although Wal-mart gets slapped with sanctions, it has a system that would make Arthur Anderson proud—it actually gets a tax break. Under tax law, by reserving the cost of litigation in advance, a corporation can write it off as a business expense. Wal-mart estimates what it thinks a suit will cost and sets aside that amount.

Wal-mart is the retail version of Goliath. So with that in mind, I offer you this slingshot: don’t shop there. Any money spent on Wal-mart or Sam’s Club will make its way up and go to support Wal-mart’s current plan of expansion. When you shop at local, independent stores in your area, you’re giving money back to your own community. Needless to say, don’t work for them either. You can also start a protest. If you happen to be in a town that doesn’t have a Wal-mart yet, keep them out. Make some noise at your local zoning board. If you’re part of those 10,000 lawsuits, don’t give in. If you work there, find out about your worker’s rights, you poor soul. Wal-mart won’t be stopped by this article, in fact it probably can’t be stopped at all. Just remember, when they come to your town, do what you do every time a monster comes to town – stay away.

For more information, be sure to check out:

In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story Of Sam Walton and How WalMart Is Devouring America - 1998 book by author Bob Ortega on the enormity of WalMart's success and the dirty tricks that got it so far.

Transnationale.org - comprehensive website for information on multi-national corporations and how their actions affect you locally.

Mcspotlight.org - Fighting WalMart isn't enough for you? Join the battle against everyone's other favorite multi-national Bad Guy...

Walmartwatch.com - For all your "WalMart is Evil" Factoids and the latest news in the battle against the Behemoth.

Retail Wholesale Department Store Union Website - The WalMart Dispute -What's wrong with WalMart from the worker's point of view.

Answer 10

It depends on where you are shopping. On ebay and amazon.com there are some small businesses selling things, so you might actually be supporting them.

Answer 11

yes it does...reduce the cost and time....

abhishek

http://www.habinfotech.com