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Nearly everything available on the high street or in shopping centres can also be found online. For example, supermarkets offer home delivery of goods ordered through their website.

Digitaldownloads are now common too. Items previously sold on physical media (CDs, DVDs, books) can instead be downloaded directly to a customer's computer or handheld device.

Buying goods online

The process for buying goods online commonly involves:

1. browsing through the online catalogue
2. adding items to the virtual basket
3. visiting a virtual checkout
4. choosing payment and delivery method
5. order confirmation
6. shipping confirmation (via email or SMS)

Advantages

• Convenience - shop from any computer with an internet connection any time while avoiding the need to travel, pay for parking, queue in-store etc.
• Greater variety - more shops online than any high street or shopping centre.
• Cheaper goods - increased competition between retailers (for some on a global scale) brings down prices.
• Accessibility - those with a disability that limits their mobility can choose to have goods delivered.
• Comparability - using the internet it's easy to research products or services very thoroughly, comparing prices and product details in order to get the best deal.

Disadvantages

• Security concerns surrounding payment by credit card over the internet.
• Not being able to physically inspect the goods before purchase.
• Goods getting damaged during transport.
• Goods not arriving in time or at all.
• Concerns over what information retailers are storing about customers, eg buying habits.