There's a number of reasons why, but the fact is, people will shop online if they can save money. Take the airlines, for example. Early on, airlines realized the Net offered them a perfect way to liquidate unused inventory. Each week, most airlines offer deeply discounted last minute web specials on under booked flights. The program has been a tremendous success.
Airline tickets are now one of the most purchased consumer items on the Internet.
Occupancy on flights has risen dramatically. At some point, more e-tailers are going to have to take advantage of central warehousing, bulk buying and more efficient business models to pass along real savings to the consumer. When that happens, we'll buy. More and more large organizations are moving to exclusive net based purchasing program, taking advantage of the inherent administrative and cost saving benefits. First of all, on large scales, shopping on the Internet is much more convenient and efficient.