Glossary
Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods and services from merchants interactively over the Internet. With the emergence of World Wide Web selling over internet has become quite easy. Consumers can visit the required websites and do shopping by just sitting in front of a computer.
Auto Responder
A program which sends automated response to incoming emails or text messages.
Banner
Banners are online advertisements that appear on a web page in the form of a graphic image.
Cookie
Cookie refers to a piece of information sent by a Web Server to a browser. The Browser software is expected to save them and it sends them back to the server whenever the browser owns the same site.
Credit card
This is a card issued by a financial company and gives the holder an option to borrow funds normally at point of sale. Online credit card facilities are easier to use and is faster than the actual procedures of cash transactions.
Bargain Hunter
A bargain hunter looks for discount and sale prices when they do shopping. They search for bargains to save money. There is no limit in bargaining as it can range from a bottle of dish soap to a large household appliance or a vehicle.
Electronic payment
Payment and receipt of a sale via internet.
Encryption
These are mathematical algorithms which encodes data to protect it from unauthorized use. These involve use of public and private keys.
FAQ
FAQ is the acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. Almost every site will have this to help users to know more about the options available and consumer’s questions. It gives answers to the questions which users have.
Forum
Forums are online discussion group where users discuss about general and specific topics and also comment on it.
Hackers
Hackers are people who use and create computer software to gain access to information illegally. They usually spend long hours to trace the structure of a system.
Impression Fraud
This is the act of deliberately creating impressions of an advert with no intention of clicking on the advert.
Link
A link is a URL embedded on a webpage, which redirects the user to page on clicking the link.
Link exchange
Link exchange is an advertising initiative where the businesses involved promote each other’s services and websites on their own domain for an exchange rather than a paid basis.
Login
This refers to an account that a user can have with the shopping site. Every account will have a username and password. Password is used for authentication.
Mail Bombing
Another form of e-mail attack in which an attacker routes large quantities of e-mail to the target.
Malware
These are malicious software which includes viruses and spyware to theft personal information, commit fraud, and send spam. The havoc can be reduced caused by the malware and electronic information can reclaimed. They are normally sent via e-mail.
Merchant
Merchant is the owner of the product that is being marketed. The merchant has the rights to decide the price for the product.
Online merchant
An online merchant is one who in exchange for goods or services over the Internet usually accepts payment in the form of credit cards. Merchant accounts are often created with companies processing the credit card which enables the merchant to accept online payments. Merchants have to pay a fee to the processing company for the online payment service.
Online pressroom
It’s a part of the website which provides journalists with apt corporate information.
Pharming
Pharming is the redirection of legitimate web traffic to an illegitimate site for the purpose of obtaining private information.
Phishing
Phishing is an attempt to gain personal or financial information from an individual, usually by posing as a legitimate entity. They send spam or pop-up messages to do this.
Reporting Fraud
If consumers have problems during a transaction they can work them out directly with the seller, buyer and site operator or file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Search Engine
A system used to search information available on the web to get the precise product. Users have to enter relevant keywords to make their search easier.
SERP
Search Engine Results Page shows the results for a search on a search engine.
Shopping cart
It is online software used for shopping which allows users to add chosen product offerings on a site to the cart. Also users can add, delete and purchase the merchandise in the cart. Generally called as shopping basket.
Spam
Spam refers to unwanted or unsolicited commercial e-mail. These are usually sent out in bulk.
Sniffer
A sniffer is a program or device that can monitor data traveling over a network.
Spear phishing
It refers to highly targeted phishing attack where a spear phisher sends a message to a small group or even one specific person. This attack is sometimes used to target those who use a certain product or web site
Spoofing
This technique is used to gain unauthorized access to computers, where intruder sends messages with a source IP address that has been forged to indicate that messages are coming from a trusted host.
Spyware
Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about person or organization without their knowledge. It is secretly installed on a user’s computer
URL
Uniform Resource Locator indicates the unique address of a website.
Viral marketing
This spreads the message quickly across the Internet by “word-of mouth”. Viral Marketing is widely used because it yields a good ROI if successful. Also it is more effective than any other marketing.
Virtual dressing room
The virtual dressing room is to shop for clothing which is relatively new and fun to deal with. This software allows the user to select a body type from a menu or to enter data with which the software creates a virtual model to try on any clothing the user may wish. Various companies have added this feature where it has helped to stimulate online shopping.
Word of mouth
Here the information is passed between people rather than from a company to people.
