Online Tracking is Here To Stay

Most internet users can say that they have, at some point, provided personal information to a service or company through their website. Most of us would like to be sure that the information we enter online is not shared with any third parties or used as a marketing tool, but the truth is that it is used in these ways. For as long as we are internet users we will have to accept this. Everything nowadays revolves around commerce and generating money and people will use whatever tools are available to them in order to benefit their interest. I am one of the guilty majority who barely ever reads terms and agreements which means that I am subject to whatever terms the websites have set. We cannot be mad if they use the information we provide or if by clicking “I accept the terms and agreements” we are blindly handing over our information for marketers or anyone to have access to.

                Many websites and web browsers give users the option to adjust their privacy settings which gives us some peace of mind but how sure can we be that others will not have access to our information? We will never know. Not only is the information we put online used for marketing, it is also used for behavioral reason. Because of these uses, I do not think we will see any major changes to online privacy. Also, not everyone is bothered by behavioral targeting and our web searches and activities being tracked online, some people just use the internet for whatever they need and do not give privacy much thought.

There should certainly be a way we can feel protected from others having access to sensitive information like phone numbers, credit card and banking information, social security number, and other identity related information but we will have to get used to the idea that our online activity will always be tracked somehow. Professor Anthony Miyazaki poses the question: “Is Online Privacy the Ultimate Oxymoron?” in his blog http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/. I believe online privacy is an oxymoron. According to Miyazaki a “substantial number of consumers have voiced concerns over privacy issues which has motivated Congress to consider various protections to allow consumers to opt out of online tracking,” I think most people will not bother to do that or might not even know the option exists. Online tracking benefits many different causes which leads me to believe it will always exist somehow and we must get used to it and accept it.

E-Marketing and the buying desicion process

I remember the first time I noticed an ad about something I either thought about or had written about online, I thought it was the creepiest thing ever. Anytime I search for something online, I have ads for similar products popping up in every website I visit. I find it easy to ignore these ads but many people do not and that is when E-marketing has achieved its goal. Nowadays, e-marketing has a big influence on the buying decision process. Online advertisements are everywhere and influence people to buy things they do not need or had previously considered purchasing. 

     When I coordinate events, I usually search online for the materials I need. Even if I do not plan on buying them online, I search for different prices and locations and by doing this I usually end up stumbling across products I did not originally need and I often end up buying them. When you are in the process of purchasing something on Amazon or other websites, there is usually a section where they show products that relate to what you are looking to purchase in hopes that customers will also purchase them. E-marketing influences the need/want recognition, need/desire development and need/desire fulfillment; it fits in every step of the buying decision process. As Mr. Miyazaki explains on his post “Where is E-marketing in the Buying Decision Process in his blog http://www.sensibleemarketing.com/, “e-marketing plays a key role these days in how people formulate what it is they want.”  I do not believe online shopping will completely take the place of in-store shopping because this is an activity many people enjoy, but it will more often than not, be a part of the buying process.