Of those who had, only 12 percent made a purchase. About 62 percent said shipping or delivery charges made them not want to cybershop, while 46 percent said that they didn't like the idea of not being about to touch or see items they might want to purchase. Dolores Bova of Milford is also turned off by the fact that most Internet grocers require users to charge items to a credit card. Besides, there's nothing like picking out your own pear or tomato. There are also privacy issues.
Online shoppers have no such option.
Everything they buy is logged and in most cases the information is easily accessible by manufacturers. Ms. Paduda's main gripe is with the limited number of brands available from some online sites and the amount of time it takes to search different categories to place an order, not to mention having to deal with slow modems and site glitches from time to time. But Joe Porricelli Sr., vice president of the Porricelli food stores, sees the Internet as an unavoidable part of his business. He updates his Web site with weekly specials. The stores have also had to learn how to adapt to Priceline.