That way, shoppers can continue browsing the site rather than having to pay for each product before selecting the next one on that site. And merchants, such as Amazon and L.L. Bean, are using passwords to preserve billing and credit-card information so that once shoppers register at a site, they don't have to fill in that data again. E-merchants also are making headway in figuring out how to grab Web surfers' attention. Many online merchants have begun using the heavily trafficked Net search engine sites as a springboard to their sites. Even with the improvements, shopping online isn't always a breeze.
Consumers still have to type in order forms at each separate site.
Still, they include only a few hundred merchants. Technology that can scour the entire Web and the thousands of shops out there isn't available yet. I'm waiting for the online avatar that can make suggestions and show me how things look on me,'' says Harold Wolhandler, director of research at ActivMedia Inc., a technology consultant based in Peterborough, N.H. Concerns also linger about security, especially among those consumers who are new to the Web. Technology developed by Visa USA Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. That could help put the Internet on any savvy shopper's list of places to shop till they drop.