KEY POINTS:
When you've memorised your credit card number, expiry date and three-digit security code, there's a good chance you're doing a fair amount of shopping online. I love the convenience the internet lends shopping. Here are some of my favourite online shopping websites.
* A Kiwi favourite is Trade Me, which will process $500 million in sales this year, excluding vehicles and real estate. With its successful foray into online classifieds for motor vehicles, Trade Me now accounts for about a third of the country's private car sales, according to founder Sam Morgan. Its real estate business is similarly successful, while the past year has also seen it move into job listings and launch Travelbug.co.nz, a booking site for domestic hotels. Trust is key to buying and selling via Trade Me, and thousands of Kiwis have now developed solid trading histories. Safe Trader and PayPal accounts offer a good measure of security and the Trade Me forums are always a good gauge of opinion on issues of the day.
* I use the websites of Air New Zealand and Qantas regularly and, while they don't always have the tickets I want at the prices I want, it's hard to fault either airline in its approach to e-commerce. Air New Zealand alone sold $1 billion worth of travel through its website in its last financial year. The process of selecting dates and routes and progressing through to payment is fairly effortless through both. You can cash in air points, change booked flights and get a summary of your account activity. Itineraries are emailed to you quickly and neither airline overdoes direct marketing. Air New Zealand has also used the web to offer some bargain deals through its Grabaseat.co.nz offshoot, which offers limited numbers of cut-price tickets. Last week, I booked my first ticket through new domestic carrier Pacific Blue and was impressed, particularly that I was able to pick up a last-minute flight from Wellington to Auckland for $39. The website lets you check in online, choose what seat you want and print out your boarding pass.
* Grocer Woolworths was one of the first to get into online shopping allowing shoppers to choose groceries for delivery. The layout is particularly good, you can browse by category and the selection is extensive. There are also good specials on the front page. You can book in for one of the three daily grocery deliveries and there are good payment options, including direct debit. For purchases of less than $100 you'll pay $15 for delivery, a fee that drops to $8 when you spend more than $250.
* Digirama's catalogue has grown extensively in the past year and its support of local music has paid off. Among the top-selling albums on the website last week was Happy Ending, by Wellington group the Phoenix Foundation. Albums are priced from $12 for budget-bin material to $17 for new releases, with individual tracks costing $1.75.
