Fast forward 30 years and the situation has completely changed.  Now the Internet is King and everyone is buying their items online, turning online shopping into a major industry in itself.  Amazon rules in a lot of areas but there is still room for other heavy hitters such as supermarkets who offer home delivery for groceries, eBay for that hard to find item and Groupon for that last minute unbelievable deal.  You can download a lot of stuff too – all that’s needed is a fast Internet connection, some patience and a credit card.  The shopping experience has been turned upside down and it’s bricks and mortar stores that are suffering as a result.

Our infographic today comes courtesy of Grovo and it displays some staggering figures such as the total amount spent online in 2010 ($143 billion!), the rising influence of mobile phones in online shopping, who dominates which retail sector, and finally what kinds of stuff people tend to buy the most online.

Let us know what you think of it. How much of your stuff do you buy online?  Do you ever go out to a “real shop” anymore or is everything bought on a computer with a credit card?  How do you see online shopping progressing in the future?  Let us know in the comments below.

Infographic Source: Grovo
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May 6th will see the opening of the first Apple mini-store inside a Target. It’s part of a larger store-in-a-store idea that Target is giving a whirl. The chain hopes that this concept will drive excitement among customers and give people who might not normally visit Target a reason to step inside.

However, other companies scheduled to enter Target are doing so on a rotating basis. The Apple centers should be permanent, at least so long as they prove capable of pushing Apple products.

Though Target has never participated in a program like this before, there is precedent for this idea. Many Best Buy locations host an Apple display where customers can try out not only the tablets (which are found at many retailers) but also MacBooks and sometimes iMacs. That partnership has been ongoing for several years, so there is reason to believe that Target’s endeavor will see some success.

Will we see any special deals on Apple products grow from the partnership? It’s too early to tell. Some retailers have discounted certain iPad versions lately, but even that is often restricted to only the most expensive versions. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Source: New York Times

The app is called Google Catalogs, and as the name implies, it seeks to bring a traditional catalog experience to your tablet and combine it with the instant gratification of online shopping.

Instead of having to call a number or drive to a store, items in the app’s catalogs can be purchased by tapping them, which directs the user to the brand’s online store.

Over 400 individual catalog issues are currently available from brands such as Nike and Nordstrom. Features of the app include notification of new issues, zoom (to examine product photos more closely) and the ability to create product collages for fun or to create a sort of wishlist.

Strangely, this app already debuted in August on the iPad, and only just now is coming to Android tablets. It is limited to Android versions 3.1 and above. Google also recommends an active Wi-Fi connection when using the app. It is, of course, free to download and browse.

Source: Slashgear

What are you heading out to buy this year? Electronics? Clothes? Depending on who you’re shopping for, maybe you’re looking for something unique or interesting. Well, if you happen to be interested in vintage or one-of-a-kind handmade goods, I think I just may be able to save you a trip to the store.

In this article, I’m going to show you how you can utilize Etsy for your mobile device. Mobile shopping is sure to be a hit this year, so luckily for you, browsing your favorite handmade goods site just got easier.

What Is Etsy?

If you’re unfamiliar with Etsy, the website, then allow me to take this opportunity to get you up to speed. Or read Ryan’s excellent summary from last year.

Etsy is “the world’s handmade marketplace”. It’s an e-commerce site that is focused entirely on handmade or vintage items and art and craft supplies. Items cover a wide range, including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, beauty products, knick-knacks, etc. All vintage items must be at least 20 years old, and range from old boats and ice skates to dresses, hats, and scarves. Sellers also have personal storefronts where they list their goods, not unlike how Amazon or eBay functions.

Whether you’re already a longtime fan of Etsy or I’ve just introduced you to your new favorite shopping site, you should be pleased to know that your experience with this site just got a whole lot easier, because Etsy has gone mobile.

By visiting the mobile site or using the new iPhone app (more information on both here) you can now buy directly from independent, creative businesses, and explore over 11 million unique (and I mean unique) items from small businesses all over the world.

Etsy’s iPhone App

The Etsy app for iPhone gives you one-touch access to all of the items I’ve mentioned above. Overall, the app integrates well with your cart, favorites, purchase history, and shop, which really gives you most of the functionality you would have if you visited the website.

As a buyer, you can search for handmade/vintage items, browse Treasury Lists, and make purchases right from your mobile device. Etsy’s search function works really well, also. If you search for “dresses”, for instance, you’ll get a lot of listings that you can scroll through and filter by location, price, relevance, or most recent.

The app also incorporates social sharing features. You can share items you find via Twitter, Facebook, email, or SMS. The app encourages you to sign in with your Etsy account so that you can favorite items and add them to your cart.

If you’re a seller, you can access your listings and latest orders, as well as use merchant tools to manage your business more easily.

Conclusion

I think coming out with a mobile solution for users just in time for the Holiday shopping season was a really smart move for Etsy, who should definitely see additional sales being made because of the ease of use of this new app. Now users can shop on Etsy from anywhere, even from another store that they also happen to be shopping at. How useful!

What do you think about Etsy’s new app and mobile e-commerce?

The Offers website has been in beta since May and focused first on Portland, Oregon. In July, the beta expanded to New York and San Francisco. As of the release of this app, Offers supports 17 cities including Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia and Austin. As you’d expect, a large number of other cities are “coming soon”.

Using the app is easy. Once installed, you “subscribe” to your city, and the app is populated with offers. If you see an offer you like, you purchase it directly from the app. The number of people who can grab an offer is often limited by time or number of purchases, so you have to act fast.

So far, the number of offers available is limited. I checked several cities and found that one or two options were available at each location. To be successful, the app will need to offer more, well, offers – but I have little doubt that more will become available over time.

In a bit of irony (or perhaps intentional ribbing) the release of this app coincides with Groupon’s IPO. Google tried to buy Groupon for six billion dollars in 2010, and was snubbed. Will Google Offers be able to compete? That’s up for you to decide, so check it out and let us know what you think.

Source: AndroidGuys

Many finance experts, geeks, and fans of Internet security have been watching BitCoin developments enthusiastically, trying to see whether the system really will work. As for actually making use of BitCoin, most people who want to give it a go have found the process confusing and just given up. So, what’s the deal? Will BitCoin ever find a place amongst respected currencies?

The Difficulty With BitCoin

Despite many useful guides written on how to use BitCoin, there seems to be an element of confusion and difficulty present. Even if potential users do understand the complex system they’re often thwarted when they attempt to purchase or mine BitCoins. People who don’t get hold of any currency straight away tend to lose interest.

BitCoin Limits: Buy, Mine & Trade BitCoins

Once you’re set up to use BitCoin, you can buy, mine and trade BitCoins with other people in the system. But you’ll have to use specialist BitCoin markets and software so that the transactions are verified in the BitCoin system. This isn’t a currency that can be converted at your local Bureau de Change.

For instance, a tourism operator in Asia might consider accepting Pounds Sterling or US dollars for their wares as they know they can exchange the currency to their own local currency later and it means that they make the sale on the spot. This is just not possible with BitCoins as users need to be in the system before they can accept payment. Once a person owns BitCoins they can exchange to their local currency, but only via specialised markets and only if there’s a BitCoin buyer willing to exchange. This severely limits BitCoin’s usefulness outside of its own ecosystem.

BitCoin May Face Government Opposition

Due to BitCoin’s anonymity, BitCoin has become the currency of choice for illegal trade, including at least one brazen site dealing in pharmaceuticals. The same anonymity could also cover the tracks of people moving funds internationally. Governments worldwide are likely to consider the currency itself as a threat because of this power, and will therefore look at ways to shut it down or make trade using anonymous currency illegal.

Who would put their trust into a currency that could be easily made inaccessible to them with the stroke of a pen?

The BitCoin Exchange Rate

In recent days, the BitCoin exchange rate has suffered a huge drop in value. This happened once before due to a scam which devalued the currency. As of yet, it’s not clear what’s causing this current devaluation.

However, it is clear to many observers that this new BitCoin currency just doesn’t have the gold backing of most currencies, nor does it have the public trust required for the value to remain constant.

The BitCoin setup has been carefully managed to avoid hyperinflation, but this will never stop the currency being devalued the instant the public loses confidence in the BitCoin’s worth. Some say it’s a form of fiat money – and in many respects it’s exactly that. BitCoin enthusiasts and pedants would claim this is untrue, but the similarities are clearly there to be seen.

Should We Use BitCoin?

There are a number of great reasons to support an anonymous, peer-to-peer traded currency rather than our regular banking, but the questions still linger: Is it safe? Is it a scam? Will it suddenly devalue out of existence? Is BitCoin mining worth it when you factor in power costs? Given that risks have been identified, is it worth investing in this currency?

Let’s pass this debate over to the readers. Do you use BitCoin? What do you see as the biggest risks of the system? What could BitCoin do to make the system easier for first-time users? Do you think governments will try to stop BitCoin use? What do you think will happen to BitCoins over the next 5 years? Do you have confidence in the value of the BitCoin? Why or why not?

And look out soon for MakeUseOf’s official manual on BitCoin, including how to set up an account, getting free Bitcoins, mining, and more.

Check out these four more ways to make your Craigslist browsing just a little easier by letting you search all of craigslist at once.

Allofcraigs

Allofcraigs has a posh landing page that offers a textbook execution of a GIF, but the question is this – does it actually work? Well, I’m happy to tell you that besides it being just a pretty face, the site does exactly what it is supposed to do. Just punch in what you are searching for, and sure enough, Allofcraigs will search all of Craigslist and then present to you your search results from all over the country (or in a specific region).

Besides scouring Craigslist, Allofcraigs will actually run searches in Craig’s competitors, such as Kijiji and Backpage. Furthermore, the site offers a Firefox add-on and a Chrome extension among a few other items.

AllofCraigslist.org

AllofCraigslist.org has quite the similar title to the first site that I mentioned in this post, and as you might guess, it does basically the same thing. I guess the only question that you need to ask yourself is whether or not you want to give someone ad revenue. Using Google Custom Search, AllofCraigslist.org allows users to search nationwide for items of interest.

Granted, it functions a little like a watered-down version of Allofcraigs, but it does allow users to search in the traditional classes (“for sale”, ”community”, “gigs”, etc.)

Dailylister

Dailylister is a lot like the sites shown here, but it lets you search in the formal categories that Craigslist has to offer. For instance, I could search for a Chevy Camaro in the category of “cars+trucks – by owner”, but it still searches for items nationwide. The site uses Google Custom Search (much like the others).

It does have quite a few ads clogging up the white space of your search results. However, they have to pay for the site somehow, right?

Craiggers

We’ve discussed Craiggers before on MakeUseOf, but perhaps the site should be given a second look. Out of all the sites shown here, I believe that Craiggers is the prettiest to look at. Even while browsing, the user interface is clean-cut and incredibly easy to use, and although I am someone that believes in function over form, I’ll admit that this site’s appearance was what made me want to use it.

Beyond appearances, Craiggers does exactly what you would expect it to, and it does it with style. The site claims to be better than Craigslist, and I’m beginning to think that this might be true.

Conclusion

These sites simply make Craigslist-browsing a little less frustrating, and if you’re up for seeing the site in a different light, you should try them out. Granted, you may be like Craigslist (who has kept the same style design since 2001) and appreciate the same old thing that you know and love. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

What other sites have you used to search all of Craigslist? Have you ever used the ones shown here?