Banking and Shopping

ICT in the information age has innovated the way that customers purchase their goods and services as there are many ways that customers are able to purchase and compare their purchases. ICT has also affected the way that banks are able to offer their services to their customers, as they are able to offer online services and electronic services in the banks.This is very positive as it has increased the pace that the businesses work at to enable their work to be easier to undertake.The businesses also benefit from this change as the customer doesn't need to leave the house in order to do any banking or shopping, as it is all online.Therefore, businesses only need minimal contact with their clients, which can also be done online and the benefit of this for the banks and large is that they don't need to employ as much staff as they would normally need as there is less face to face time needed with the clients. This has also allowed room for customers to become more independent, therefore leading them to learn more about the technologies they are using within the services provided by the businesses. I will analyse the affects of ICT on the following four topics;

1. Use of ICT in stores,
2. Use of ICT in online stores,
3. Use of ICT in bank branches,
4. Use of ICT in online banking.

The use of ICT in stores has helped staff build easy and effective systems to organise their services. Firstly, self checkouts allow customers to scan and pay or their products without the assistance of employees. the advantage of this is that it allows for more accessibility and it is also very time saving for the customers. This is an example of how ICT has changed the way we shop in a very positive way. Another reason why the self checkout is very good is that it allows the customers to experience the new technologies and be exposed to them. They are also extremely easy to use as they accept card and cash and has a built in guide to show the customer how to use it. This is not the only benefit in stores, if you go into the operating of supermarket's such as Sainsbury's, have bar coded their products so that when they are scanned in the till the system automatically updates so that it can reorder the products. This use of ICT in this way has affected the businesses very positively as it has allowed them to get the least labour to undertake this procedure and being able to get the most time saved from this process. This then allows them to expand their profit prospects as less time is taken restocking. Some stores offer customer reward and advantage cards for example, the Nectar card is used to to encourage customer to spend in order to gain points on their card which they can later spend. In other words, it can be seen as a discount card. This has shown that ICT has affected the consumers in a positive way, as it has allowed them to save money on their shopping and also receive a number of discounts. The customers can also use these points to spend on other things such as discount on holidays and fuel. The points can also be spent online in e-Nectar stores such as Amazon where the choice is very broad and extensive. This is a huge advantage on the businesses as it has allowed for collaborations interlinking different markets to allow for an increase in business; This results to a positive economic outlook, which shows the positive impact of ICT. From a personal prospective I have also found this to be an advantage. I obtain a Boots advantage card, which is exclusive to their customers, and I can receive four points for every pound that I spend in store and this also applies to the consumers in general. 








Online shopping has become very popular, the positive aspect  is that it has helped people with disabilities with their general day -to-day activities and has saved them time. This is because the customers can order and view the images of items from the comfort of their home, as well as being able to get their order delivered to them in the same day.This is also great for businesses; as they are now able to advertise their other products which can then catch the customers eyes, therefore, resulting in extra sales. This is also an innovation for customer leading a busy and hectic lifestyle as they are able to shop online and when they are constantly on the go through android devices such as the iphone. However, the disadvantage is that ICT has made a large portion of customers opt for the easier option which is to shop online.This can lead to online fraud as customers are automatically putting their trust in illegal online sites which have been designed to hack into and take the customers personal details. This can lead to a chain of unfortunate events for the customer, resulting in them loosing interest in online shopping and ICT in general. Another negative aspect is that society is becoming lazier as they are relying on the online access to stores to order and pay for their goods as well as services and then having them delivered straight to the billing address. This is leading to people becoming less active, which may relate to a number of health problems such as obesity and poor eye sight. This is such a negative aspect as it shows that ICT is causing our society to become less able, and is also putting unnecessary pressure on services such as the NHS. Online services has allowed customers to increase their own knowledge of how to use the ICT that is available all around them. The accessibility is very good and simple to use as it allows the customer to browse and choose the specific product of their choice. This allows the customer to have a broader choice and coverage of stores a a click of a button, which saves a lot of time and energy. ICT has also allowed the creation of new online comparison sites which compare prices of all of the major supermarkets and other product and service stores. This has shown how ICT has encouraged and increased the growth of our economy in the recent unsettled climate. It also evaluates how big of an influence  ICT has become to the society and how society has become extremely reliant on new technologies and innovations such as comparison sites.

ICT has affected banking similarly and also in completely different ways. firstly, ICT has been used to maximise the accuracy in banking in several ways. For example, one major advantage is that ICT has been used in the form of software that helps stock brokers to identify and anticipate movements in the stock market. This is a huge innovation that has developed and increased business, therefore affecting our economy in a positive way. Another way that ICT has affected banking is that it has resulted in ATM's which are also referred to as holes in the wall. ATM's allow the customer to undergo various transactions such as; taking out cash; paying in; printing statements and requesting statements to be sent to the customers address. This also is an advantage as it has decreased the need for extra staff, this has affected banks as it has saved them money and has also allowed them to employ more people to carry out customer services inside the branches. therefore, this has also had a positive impact on the customer service that banks and building societies provide to their customers. Another aspect of ICT that has influenced Banking in branches is that it has allowed the businesses to expand technically. The expansion of their computer systems as well as their accessibility to communicate has increased and become really accurate through the telecommunications and the internet. The computer systems have allowed banks to co ordinate and organise different aspect of work and has filtered though all of the departments such as Human Resources and Finances and has become a valuable tool to them as it has improved their research and their tasks. 




Online banking has been innovated due to ICT. it has become so advance, it allows the user to undergo all transactions and enquires at a click of a button, which fit the WAI recommendations. For example, at the NatWest online users are able to do private banking, personal banking; business banking and commercial banking. Firstly, it has enabled users to get exclusive access to all of the latest deals and discounts that are exclusive to the online customers. This is beneficial as ICT has been shown here to result in customers receiving extra benefits; The banks have also been able to make extra money as they have the ability to advertise extra offers to their customers without them even realising. However, online banking posses a very serious issue. The threat of identity fraud and theft, and the threat of the hackers who invade account to obtain information and then , they become the user and use the details to steal the information and money from the users account. This shows the disadvantage to the innovation of ICT in online banking as it can result in customers loosing their money and decreasing their credit rating. This also results in the customer scope for the online side of the business decreasing and therefore leading to a fall in demand and profit. It will also lead to the fear that the customers will have while using the website and may end in customer not using the website at all. The businesses reputation will not benefit from online fraud as it will show the business to be untrustworthy and unreliable, therefore giving the business a bad name. On the other hand, a benefit of online banking in the favour of the customers is that ICT now allows them to do all of their banking online, which reduces any need for them to go into the branches after a day at work, when they could be doing other important tasks. ICT has also enabled society to pass money through to any part of the world through online banking. Money transfers fifty years ago would have taken very lengthy periods of time to arrive to their destination via man power; Whereas, now money transfers can be done with the touch of a button on any any android devices with the aid of a broadband connection. 

News 

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