Because the supplier does not have the expense of printing and maintaining hard copies of product information, more information is likely to be available. Suggestions for product use can be added to the minimal technical data. The information is more likely to remain current when a company does not have to scrap brochures and catalogs. Thus the consumer can get the latest updates as soon as they become available. The information is the same for all consumers regardless of their race, gender, or ethnicity.
Many consumers shop on the Internet because global price competition can result in lower prices.
Lower transaction costs for the supplier can also save the consumer money. The cost of handling Internet orders is a fraction of the cost of telephone sales or sales in a retail store, and most orders can be made any time of the day or night, all week long. As Internet shopping has become more common, protections are emerging for the consumer. In many ways the pioneering spirit of help and cooperation that marked the beginnings of the Internet continue today. Another area of commercialism affecting education are the sites sponsored by corporations with a wide variety of services for education.