|| Author: Steven Hodson|Tags: , ,

Does sales tax really affect online sales? Not so much apparently

One of the really nice things about shopping online is not having to pay sales tax. It might not seem like a lot of money when buying small items but once you start getting into multiple items or big ticket items the money can add up.

This has always been one of the talking points when it comes to online sales with businesses arguing that the whole online buying thing is still new and fragile and that by including sales tax it makes the online purchase less attractive.

That was then and this is now and Gartner has a new report out that says otherwise. According to them taxing online purchases wouldn’t dissuade consumers from shopping online.

Gartner analyst Sucharita Mulpuru writes that eight percent of survey respondents would change their shopping behavior and about 25 percent would change retailers because of taxes. The report, published today, is titled “What You Need to Know About the Online Sales Tax Debate.”

via VentureBeat

Personally the idea of having to pay sales tax again is irritating but I don’t see it changing my online buying habits in the least – consider it the price of convenience and not having to deal with store crowds.