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Makomborero Marumisa OyOsMusic Entertainment
There is no denying that online purchasing has become part of our everyday lives.
Its popularity growth recently can be attributed to its speed, heavy cut-down on overhead costs and availability on 24-hour websites and online stores.
It is overly efficient be it for business or for personal use. One might be wondering how to get involved in this simple step by step process and will probably be surprised upon finding that online purchasing is indeed as simple as it may sound.
To start off one will need to get their hands on a debit/credit card to get themselves going. Already got one? Great. For those who do not have one within their grasp yet this either has to be a Mastercard or Visacard which grants you the requisite buying power online.
Although other options may be available, these brands are undeniably the most popular in the online business and extremely reliable.
Local banks have these on offer to their clients and in Zimbabwe one can get their hands on an Ecocash or Telecash debit card which serves equally to perform the task of online buying. Ecocash also offers what is called an Ecocash virtual card which can be generated from your Ecocash menu and be used within 14days. As soon as this has been established, everything else should be a breeze.
Once you begin your online browsing the one common internet term you may want to be familiar with is the online shopping basket. For what it’s worth it is extremely close to the real thing. It is highly useful for buyers who happen to want to obtain multiple items.
The simplicity of this tool is in that once you’ve chosen to view an item and clicked on “Add to Basket/ Cart” you have expressed interest in, it will be placed into this virtual carrier and once you are ready to pay you will be able to advance the money all at once.
Before you are able to access your goods you will be faced with what appears to be a miniature tab requesting for your details. This is yet another copy-and-paste scenario as the required details are already on your card. These include personal details such as your account number and probably the most important detail which is the CVV number at the back of your card. This is merely a 3-digit code that is used to authorise the purchase.
Other not-so-obvious details you may have to watch out for are things such as shipping details, if you are buying something overseas, delivery details, if this is a physical product such as a car or book and lastly payment options choice. In case you do not want to pay using the conventional method offered by your card, third party alternatives are offered which include Ecocash, Telecash, Zimswitch, Paypal, Flopay, Paynow and so forth.
The information required is fairly similar except for the mobile payment options (Ecocash, Telecash) and once you have entered the requisite info, your money will be channelled towards the chosen route and you will be notified on whether the transaction has been successful.
Online stores however do not come with all these payment options integrated. This is where you need a web developer to integrate your preferred ones. ZIMHOST Web designers, a 14 time ICT Award winning web developing company can seamlessly integrate any of these online payment options to your existing online store or even build a new one for you which comes as an out of the box complete store within 48hrs.
Finally, you have finished the process and you are now ready to access your paid goods or merchandise. You should be redirected to a page which notifies that your payment has been successful.
If your payment has not been successful, it may be due to lack of sufficient funds or because of connectivity problems, both of which you may check independently. If you are purchasing virtual goods such as music, video or application, the download should begin shortly.
Mrs Precious Mumbure, one of the ZIMHOST Webdesigners had this to say about the online stores, “Online Stores are the in thing in this day and age. The Internet has revolutionised the way we shop. Because of the numerous advantages and benefits, more and more people these days prefer buying things online over the conventional method of going into stores. Having an online store for your business is the best move you could ever make in this fast advancing tech era. You can get global clients and this is a sure way of propelling your business to even greater heights. We at ZIMHOST are always ready to offer an out of the box online store for just $50.”
If you are purchasing physical goods which require delivery or shipping, you will be notified as to where to pick up these fore-mentioned and enjoy your product shortly!
ZIMHOST Webdesigners, 1st Floor, Angwa Hse, Cnr Angwa/ G. Silundika, 0771 111 222, 04 796528, [email protected], www.zimhosts.com
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter