PRESENTER: Hello, and welcome to "Morning Magazine". In the studio today we have Martin Moore, a leading retail website designer, and Caroline Barton, a market research analyst, to discuss the pros and cons of online shopping, or "e-tailing', as it's otherwise known. Martin, if I may start with you ... how do you feel about online shopping? MARTIN: I'm all for it. It's quick, easy, can be cheaper than the alternative, and is accessible 24 hours a day. Its increasing popularity here in the UK is demonstrated by the fact that, in 2000, 23% of Christmas shopping was done over the Internet, compared to only 14% in 1999. PRESENTER: Caroline? CAROLINE: While there has been an increase in this form of shopping recently – it's only to be expected, with more than one third of all adults in Britain regular Internet users – I'm not sure I'd describe online shopping as 'quick and easy'. Research has shown that 63% of 'shopping carts" used on the sites are abandoned before they reach the 'till'. The sites are too full of complicated, confusing graphics to make sense to the user. MARTIN: It's true that, while the technology is very straight-forward, many websites are appallingly designed. I rely on simple, minimalistic graphics that don't confuse the user. CAROLINE: Well, I'm glad to hear it. After all, if 63% of all shopping carts in real supermarkets were being abandoned in the aisles, we'd want to know why, wouldn't we? Then there's the matter of delivery. While shopping sites are always open, some firms seem unwilling to deliver after office hours. MARTIN: Well, one solution is to have burglar-proof storage boxes outside the house ... and another is for the post office, or other organisations, to deliver on a more flexible timetable. CAROLINE: Oh, come on – none of those alternatives are workable at present. The post office has begun piloting an evening delivery service, but nothing is up and running yet, and quite frankly I find the 'burglar-proof box' idea absurd! PRESENTER: Let's move on to prices. Martin, you mentioned that online shopping can be cheaper than going to the shops. MARTIN: Indeed it can. There are virtual communities of shoppers, who can get bargains from retailers, and virtual shop assistants to suggest alternatives. Various software programs also roam the Web for the user, in search of bargains. CAROLINE: Which brings us back to the problem of security. Our research shows that 51% of people are not happy about paying by credit card on the Internet. MARTIN: It's true that the single most serious obstacle to the broadening of e-commerce is the question of security. Having said that, it can be improved. Technology can provide sale Internet transactions using modern encryption methods which encode communications between customer and website so thai they are next la impossible to break. Also, merchants who collect your credit card number can have security software installed in their databases. PRESENTER: Yes, but what if your credit card is stolen? MARTIN: That's where biometrics come in. The science of biometrics relies on an individual's physical characteristics to verity identity. It may use face recognition, or 'read' the person's fingerprints, the irises of the eyes, or the voice. Biometrics is still in its early stages, but will be a foolproof way of combating credit card fraud and theft. CAROLINE: That is certainly reassuring. However, another point is customer habit. As I mentioned earlier on, one third of all British adults use the Internet. What about the remaining two thirds – the majority? How can e-commerce be brought to them? MARTIN: For those who can't or won't use a computer, there'll soon be interactive advertisements on TV. You'll simply click on the advertised product to buy it. Then there's m-commerce, buying goods over the net using WAP-adapted cellphones. The PC is only one among options. PRESENTER: Am I right in thinking that e-shopping will ultimately replace the multi-sensory experience of real shopping? CAROLINE: It's unlikely. Going shopping can be a pleasurable, social experience. You touch and feel things. By on clothes while interacting with shop assistants and other people. There is still a majority of people who get pleasure from shopping. MARTIN: In the long term, e-shopping will have some effect on the High Street, but in the short term we are not seeing any real effect. PRESENTER: So shops as we know them are not about to disappear? MARTIN: Give it another five to ten years and you'll have your answer.