VOA慢速英语:E-Commerce Challenges Traditional Stores

Americans are buying more products and services than ever before through the Internet. And experts say the popularity of online sales is likely to spread to other countries.
美国人更多的通过互联网购买的产品和服务超过了任何以往时候。专家称，网络销售的普及有可能蔓延到其它国家。

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.  
现在的网上销售占到了美国零售总额的十分之一。这导致传统卖场需要寻找新的方法来保持客户的忠诚度。
          
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使用互联网来购买婚礼所需的一切东西，以她为丈夫和继女准备的节日礼物。除食品外，她90%的购买行为都是在家里电脑上完成的。

“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.”
“我发现，通过网上购物和送货上门，我远离了所有的驾驶、人群、噪音等，而且我通常能获得一个更好的选择。”

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.
有许多人像她这样做。专家称，美国网上购物在11月和12月再创纪录。57%的美国人通过网络购买了东西。

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.
商店老板担心越来越多的网上销售会伤害他们的生意。康奈尔大学营销学教授Ed McLaughlin称，这些老板们应该为此担忧。他通过Skype接受了美国之音的采访。

“Anything that can move online, will. And it’s just a matter of time.”
“任何东西都能放到网上销售，这只是个时间问题。”

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.
McLaughlin教授称，传统商店可以通过出售服装之类的商品维持客户，买家在购买这类商品前希望亲眼看到并试穿。他说，商店还可以销售很难运输的东西。他还表示，一些商店可以通过提供电子产品的设置和维修来取悦客户。

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.
Bill Martin是ShopperTrak公司的创始人。该公司帮助商店了解他们的客户。他通过Skype告诉美国之音，传统商店提供了部分人喜欢的一种社会经历。

“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.”
“在购物决策中还存在许多情感因素。通常情况下，你知道的，你需要‘孩子，这就是我想要的’这种花钱前的感受，在网上并不总能有这种感受。它是一种比较冷淡的过程。”

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.
Bill Martin说，传统商店能够比网上商店更迅速地向客户提供商品。一些零售商开始使用网站劝说人们去他们的商店。

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.
然而电子商务也担忧一些企业老板，这种唯一对FedEx和UPS这类快递服务的担心也随着包裹数量一路增长。UPS经理Dana Kline称，她们公司在每年这个时间都非常繁忙。UPS是如此之忙，以至于它们在节日期间补充了55000个临时工职位。