Online Shopping: What It Is and Its Importance for Your Personal Development

Learn How to Do Online Shopping Securely from South Sudan Today!

17^th April 2023

In this article, we are going to look at what it means to shop online and its types, the steps you need to take, how it relates to personality types, your take on it, and finally, how important it is to learn how to purchase things online, especially when you live in the third world countries such as South Sudan. With that said, let’s get started.

What Is Online Shopping?

One of the very simple, yet worrisome question people ask me all the time when I mentioned anything to do with online business is this: how do you buy things online? I don’t blame these people. They just don’t know because they never heard of it. They have no idea how to buy anything online. They thing online means nothingness.

“Online shopping or e-shopping is searching for and purchasing goods and services over the Internet through the use of a web browser. The main allure of online shopping is that consumers can find and purchase items they need (which are then shipped to their front door) without ever leaving the house.” ~ ComputerHope.com.

However, online shopping is simply shopping on the Internet. There are websites where you can see your product or service details, and then you can choose to purchase it. You also need a payment method such as credit card. When you pay for the product or service, the owner charges your bank or eWallet, and the product or service is then sent to you.

Ah, did I just describe the process instead of giving a definition? I think that’s what I did. But when you buy anything online using your smartphone or computer, this is what we mean by online shopping or online business. We also refer to this kind of virtual business as ecommerce. It’s electronic commerce.

African countries are third world countries. However, many of them at the time of this writing have been making use of technology in many ways. I wrote this while in Juba, South Sudan, and I have been using ecommerce ever since 2015. That means if I can do it in Juba, you can do it, too.

However, you need to be informed, and this is why this article is here to help you out. This is because it’s easier to become a victim to online scam and hacking if you are not aware of these pitfalls. You need to know what website you are visiting. You need online protection. Your antivirus might do most of the work, but you have to be careful.

Types of Online Shopping

You can either shop for services or products. These are the only two types I am aware of at the time of this writing. Products can also be either physical or digital. My eBook is a digital product. You can click here to find all my 60 books in PDF formats now.

Okay, a service can either be distance or in person. That means after purchasing, you can either meet the person behind that service on a screen on person. In most cases, online courses are part of digital services, but they are still categorized as courses instead.

Physical products must be shipped after purchase, and they mostly cost more than digital products. For example, when you buy antivirus software online, you don’t need shipping. The author can simply send it to your email address and you only need to click a few buttons to download it. Then you can install and activate the antivirus and you are ready to go.

When it comes to online courses once again, in most cases, you only pay for the course, and then you are granted access to its contents. These course contents can be in text, video, audio, or in an interactive online format. Interactive online content refers to content where you interact with the learning system as if you would in a physical class.

In all these things, online learning and shopping work best with some personality types, which is why we are going to have time looking at personality types below in this article. This means some people find it easy to buy things online, where others don’t enjoy it regardless of their age.

Yes, technology works best with younger generations starting from mine. My generation is known as Millennial especially in the Western world. I was born somewhere in the early 1980s even though I can’t tell if it was 80, 81, 82, 83, or even 84. However, technology goes with personalities as mentioned above, not just age.

In short, you can shop for digital services online or digital products. You can also shop for physical items that must be packed and then shipped to you. You can also shop for online courses, which are another type of digital or virtual products and services.

Online Shopping Steps

Here are the steps once again, but in more details now than before. You need these simple processes in order for you to buy anything online. But as warned already, make sure you know where you are shopping. Some people create websites that resemble the authentic ones just to mislead you.

First step: Know The Shopper’s Website. Make sure you know the website and the business or person behind it. For example, my name is John Monyjok Maluth, and my website address is johnshalom.com. It’s not difficult for a thief to type something like johnsshalom.com to mislead you into thinking that this is my website. So be warned!

Knowing the correct website address as explained above will save you from scammers who are there only to steal money from online shoppers like you. This means there are bad people online just as there are bad people in the real offline world. Bear in mind also that the online world is just a virtual world. The same real people, just like you and me, are the online using computers and other communication devices to share information with each other. I hope this makes it easier now. You now know what online actually means. It’s not a different world.

Second step: Know the product(s). One of the very important things about shopping online is to know what you are looking for. Knowing your product or service will help you get prepared beforehand. Know if it’s a digital product or a virtual service.

If it’s a physical product, how then will you receive it? Does it ship to Juba? How much is the shipping costs? You might get all these details on the product page, or by asking the seller or vendor. If it’s a digital product, which email address will you use? This is because it will be sent to that email address automatically.

Make sure you have access to that email address. Make sure you have access to that postal service, in case you are purchasing a physical product such as a print book. Yep, Amazon prints and ships my books to readers in two formats: Hardcover and Paperback.

Third step: Have a payment option. You can pay using a Visa card, MasterCard, or any other credit card that your online shop supports. My digital book store supports all kinds of credit cards, and you can use any of these to buy books and other services. In some cases, you need your bank account details.

Your name must be your legal name. Your name must be in the exact order as it is on your legal documents, such as passport, national ID, driver’s license, etc. this is for legal reasons. Also, you need to know your card number. You need to know when it’s expiring. You need to know its 3-digit security code.

Recommended bank: Equity Bank South Sudan

Ask the branch manager that you need to open an account in USD, not in SSP at the time of this writing. This is because by then, none of the online banking systems accepted our South Sudanese Pound as a tender. Ask him also to enable your visa card for online transactions. This is very important!

Lastly: Go Shopping. As mentioned in step one above, you need to know the correct website address. Now, visit the website and start the buying process. In most cases, there is a button to click to add the product or service to cart before you proceed to checkout page.

On the checkout page, fill it all the required details such as your name and physical address. You must also provide your phone number and email address, in most cases. Then select your payment option from the site deepening on what they have. For my website, PayPal is the only payment option at the time of this writing. However, you will be asked to pay with a credit card afterward, in case you don’t have a PayPal account. I’m sorry to tell you that PayPal is not the best option these days, especially in East Africa. I had an issue with them. There are many freelancers having tens of thousands of dollars suspended for no apparent reason. So be warned!

Now, when all the payment details are entered, click to place your order. The system will charge your card, PayPal wallet, or bank account. Soon, you will see a confirmation message on the screen. Depending on what you are buying, you can then download it, or wait for it to be shipped to your destination.

I encourage you to buy digital products in you live in the third world like South Sudan. This is because most physical products either cost a lot, or they delay, or they never arrive in some cases. You can click here to check out some of the best digital products and services I recommend. I will get a small commission if you purchase them.

Online Shopping and Personality Types

As mentioned earlier, some of us are flexible for everything, including but not limited to shopping online. However, this doesn’t automatically apply to each and every human being at all. This means some people are too careful to buy anything online. I am not even being judgmental here because this is a harsh reality.

You need some kind of intuitiveness in order to survive in the online world. This is because you need that security and safety at the same time. Security is not only external but it is internal as well. If you feel insecure, you will not be at peace about buying things online, even if the website is safe and secure.

Experience is also important. For me, I have been buying my own books on Amazon, both physical and digital books. This gives me some level of confidence. However, even when I did it for the first time in 2012, I was convinced it was safe. This is because of my intuitive personality type.

We intuitive introverted empaths sometime seem to know things even if nobody tells us about them. We seem to know about situations on our own. We are the prophets without being sent. Anyway, I am making a good joke here, am I not?

If you feel like you don’t feel secure, just never force yourself to buy anything online. Your guts are always right. However, you also need to do research on the topic. There is always a better way. You will always find that better way from the people who have been there ahead of you. This is why I am here to tell you about buying things online. These can be e-courses on the Alison.com website. But if you are still insecure even after reading this article, don’t force yourself. You might ask me for help.

Online Shopping and You

Knowing your personality type as discussed above is very important, but you still need to decide, yourself. This is why we have come to this point. This is not a repetition in any form. I am here to drive the point home. For example, are you sure you don’t feel secure to buy anything online even after reading this article?

If the answer the above question is a big yes, then you don’t have to read on. You just need to stop reading, or ask me or someone you trust, how to go about it. I assume you really need to buy something online. If so, then know that it is secure and safe. I can help you do it. But you will have to pay a commission.

Sometime you just need to boost your Facebook page, or increase likes, or generate leads. I can help you do all this if you look into my Facebook Marketing Services and select one that suits you and your budget. This means I will take care of the online thing. You will pay me in cash.

However, I believe you can do this, yourself, if I can only coach you on how to do it. Still, you will buy a cup of coffee for this! Anyway, I hope you got it.

The message is the same. If you don’t like it, don’t force it, okay?

The Importance of Online Shopping

Is it important to shop online? I can give you time and a chance to answer this question, yourself. Is it important to you, personally? That’s what it’s all about. That’s what matters the most.

Let’s say you want to buy the best antivirus software online, and you know this is very important for your business, or for your computer. Would that be important for you to learn how to do it yourself? Would that be important to pay me the cash so I can do it for you?

It all depends on your personality type. Some people feel good if they do things by themselves, for themselves, instead of paying someone like me to do things for them. You still have to decide.

Is it important for you to buy your Alison.com certificates and diplomas that have been sitting there for a year or more? I think it is important. You can then choose to either buy them, yourself, as I have shown you above, or contact me here for help. It’s all your free choice. You are welcome to the online world where life happens.

For me, it’s very important to buy things online, and I have been doing it for the last ten years and counting. I have been buying my own books on Amazon. I have been paying online affiliate companies so that I can get into their systems. I have been buying security programs online ever since. I have been buying for myself and for other people. This is how important it is: you can even earn money doing it. It’s a business opportunity for you if you love the process. I said this because if you don’t love the process, don’t bother yourself with it. Loving the process means it’s your career.

Summary

In short, you have read all I have for you about online shopping, what it is, its types, steps, how this relates to personality types including yours, and how you think about it in person. Then we have seen how important it is for you to learn how to purchase products and services online.

I would like to hear from you regarding this article. I knew I wrote it for the 3^rd World readers, but who knows. Even people in the 1^st and 2^nd World might need this information. I might be biased in some way, but please let me know what you think in the comment below.

I will respond to your views as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!

Hastags: #digitalmarketing #lifecoaching #selfpublishing #technology