Predictions from 1997!
The Quirk’s June/July 1997 magazine focused on the internet and its potential advantages and challenges. Throughout the issue, various articles mentioned an uneasiness about privacy over the internet, a concern that is still present today. Sharon Weissbach’s article “Internet research: Still a few hurdles to clear,” predicted that due to the commercialization of the internet, encryption methodologies would be at the forefront of internet developments. Weissbach also suggested that the internet should be used as a platform for marketing researchers to conduct questionnaires but questioned the trust respondents would feel without a human involved in the process, writing “Once people become comfortable in using credit cards for internet purchases and transmitting other forms of digital cash, they will also share their ideas without fear of misappropriation.”
A tool, not a replacement
While it was still in its early stages, Paul Jacobson considered the ways the internet affected online focus groups. In the article “On-line focus groups: Four approaches that work” (obviously published before we settled on “online” vs. “on-line” as our preferred style!), he stated an opinion similar to one we’ve been hearing nonstop regarding ChatGPT: “On-line focus groups are not a substitute for the face-to-face thing and were never meant to be. This is simply an additional tool in the box, meant to productively coexist with ‘the real thing.’”
Jacobson argues that online focus groups are not always the best way to go, stating “There are circumstances when the on-line approach is inappropriate…We admittedly haven’t yet figured out a way to dump 50 images on a cyber table and have people sort through and pin the right ones on the virtual wall.” While part of that rings true – for example, it’s still a good idea to have a researcher in the room with the respondent when dealing with sensitive topics – technology has greatly advanced and is more than capable of showing and allowing respondents to categorize a large number of images and data.
Pay by phone or by fax? The early days of online shopping
Many of us today expect to see images showing every angle of a product we consider buying online, and even read numerous reviews before clicking the buy button. However, in an article in the same 1997 issue titled “Women offer tips to make internet commerce more appealing,” women warned about offering too much information on the page, saying sites should “begin with basic information and leave it to the shopper to determine the amount of information she needs.”
Researchers e-mailed surveys to women to gauge their online shopping habits and found that 52% spent 10 or more hours a week online. Women who had not purchased anything online were interested in doing so in the future. “They see the enormous potential. They want it to be fun, they want it to be easy and they seek the variety that online has the potential to give them.” Seventy-four percent of women purchasers paid with credit cards, 19% called or faxed [Kids, Google “fax machine” if you’re not familiar with the term! - Ed.] their credit card number and 19% mailed in a check, but 57% of non-buying women feared credit card fraud and cited it as their primary barrier to online shopping.
Women favored brands they were already familiar with but still considered newer companies, including one we are familiar with today. “Of course, unknown online vendors who make it easy to shop and buy can gain a significant edge, as demonstrated by Amazon.com.”