電子商務挑戰傳統商店
Online sales now represent as much as one-tenth of all retail sales in the United States. This has led traditional stores to seek new ways to keep their customers loyal.
目前，網上銷售佔到了美國零售總額的十分之一。這導致傳統賣場需要尋找新的途徑來保持客戶忠誠度。Lynne Shaner used the Internet to buy everything she needed for her wedding and holiday gifts for her husband and step-daughter. Other than food, 90 percent of her purchases were made on her home computer.
Lynne Shaner使用互聯網購買了婚禮所需的一切東西，以及給丈夫和繼女的節日禮物。除食品外，她90%的交易都是在家裏電腦上完成的。"I find that, by being able to go online and choose the things that I need to choose, and have them delivered to me right at my doorstep, I eliminate all the driving, all the crowds, all the noise of that, and I usually get a better selection."
她說，“我發現，通過網上購物和送貨上門，我遠離了開車、人羣、噪音等等，而且通常我能得到更好的選擇。”
There are a lot of people like her. Experts say American online shopping hit records in both November and December. Fifty-seven percent of Americans have bought something electronically.
美國有很多人像她一樣做。專家表示，美國網上購物在11月和12月再創紀錄。57%的美國人進行了電子購物。Store owners worry that this growing amount of online sales will hurt their business. Cornell University marketing professor Ed McLaughlin says they should be worried. He spoke to VOA by Skype.
商店老闆擔心網上銷售日益增長會損害他們的生意。康奈爾大學營銷學教授埃德·麥克勞克林（Ed McLaughlin）表示，這些老闆們應該爲此擔憂。他通過Skype接受了美國之音採訪。"Anything that can move online, will. And it's just a matter of time."
“任何東西都能轉到網上銷售，這只是個時間問題。”Professor McLaughlin says traditional stores can keep their customers by selling goods like clothing, which buyers may want to see and try on before purchasing. He says the stores could also offer things that are difficult to ship. He also says some stores can please customers by offering to set up or repair electronic products.
麥克勞克林表示，傳統商店可以通過銷售服裝之類的商品維持客戶，客戶購買這類商品前希望親眼看到並試穿。他說，商店還可以銷售不方便運輸的東西。他還表示，一些商店可以通過提供電子產品的設置和維修來取悅客戶。Bill Martin is the founder of ShopperTrak. His business helps stores learn about their customers. He told VOA by Skype that traditional stores offer a social experience that some people enjoy.
比爾·馬丁（Bill Martin）是ShopperTrak公司的創始人。該公司幫助商店瞭解其客戶。他通過Skype對美國之音表示，傳統商店提供了部分人喜歡的一種社會經歷。"There is still a lot of emotion in the buying decision, you know, that takes place. Oftentimes, you know, you need that last sense of ‘Boy, this is exactly what I want' -- that feeling before you're ready to part with money, and you can't always get that on-line. It's a rather cold process."
“在購物決策中還有許多情感因素起作用。通常情況下，你需要‘小夥子，這就是我想要的’這種花錢前的感受，在網上找不到這種感受。網上購物是一種比較冷淡的過程。”Bill Martin says traditional stores can provide goods to buyers more-quickly than online stores. And some retailers are using websites to persuade people to visit their stores.
馬丁說，傳統商店能夠比網上商店更快地向客戶提供商品。一些零售商開始使用網站說服人們去他們的商店。While e-commerce worries some business owners, the only worry for delivery services like FedEx and UPS is keeping up with the number of packages. UPS Manager Dana Kline says her company is very busy at this time of year. UPS is so busy that it has filled 55,000 temporary worker positions during the holiday season.
反過來電子商務也擔憂一些企業主，這種唯一對FedEx和UPS這類快遞服務的擔心也隨着包裹數量一路增長。UPS經理達納·克萊恩（Dana Kline）表示，她們公司每年這個時間都很忙。UPS是如此之忙，以至於它們在節日期間補充了55000個臨時工職位。
