Online shopping is really a fast growing kind of e commerce. It involves buying straight from the seller over the web without the need of an authorized - the intermediary service. An eshop, e-store, online store etc. are just some of the words utilized to describe the websites that sell products.
Even though shopping online has evolved in a very fast pace over the past couple of years, it still has a good way to go. Especially because internet remains to be not available through the developing world. Accessing internet isn't easy in a lot of developing countries - and even where it is, people want to use it for emails and general stuff.
Also, shopping online is still viewed with suspicion with a large band of the population. Most of the people wish to know exactly what they are buying. They want to hold it inside their hands, or feel it or observe how big it can be (in the event that, say, of a teddy bear) and when it is often a matter of clothes - people choose to wear and look and the size and observe how it looks - all of this is not possible online. Customers also like to haggle, try and make the vendor pull down the rates.
But that doesn't mean all is lost. A growing group pf people prefer internet shopping to real-world shopping. Those are often people who are pushed for time. It makes much more sense for them to click in a website and order flowers for the forgotten anniversary at lunch time in the office than rush for the shops after work in the event it might be past too far. Youngsters too, like to see various options online - a lot of which might not be available within their city. For example, online book stores are usually well-stocked than the best of libraries or book shops in the small cities. Such, yet others are part of an ever-growing population of people which spend more time clicking away online then bag-hauling offline. Of course, people still won't buy groceries online, but online shopping has learnt to outpace its baby steps and is also fast striding towards a brighter future.