PROJECT REPORT

ON

THE IMPACT OF ONLINE SHOPPING UPON RETAIL (OFFLINE)

CLOTH MERCHANTS OF BILASPUR(C.G.)

SUBMITTED TO

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

GOVT.BILASA GIRLS P.G COLLEGE

FOR

THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN COMMERCE

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: SUBMITTED BY:

Mrs.NIVRITTI JAMES AKANSHA SINGH

M.COM lVth SEM.

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DECLARATION

Miss. Akansha Singh hereby, declare that this project work entitled “A Study on
Impact of online shopping upon retail (offline) cloth merchants of Bilaspur (C.G.)”
is a result of our own research work and has not been previously submitted to any
other examination.

We hereby further declare that all information of this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct.

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Acknowledgement

This dissertation is a milestone in our academic career. We have been fortunate to

learn theories and concepts, which would have been impossible if we had not
extensively carried out the needed research. We are grateful to a number of people
who have guided and supported us throughout the research process and provided
assistance for our dissertation. We would first like to thank our Project
Coordinator,Mrs.NIVRITTI JAMES. who guided us in selecting the final theme
for this research. Our Project Coordinator was there throughout our preparation of
the proposal and the conceptualization of its structure. We would not have been
able to do the research and achieve learning in the same manner without her help
and support. Her recommendations and instructions have enabled us to assemble
and finish the dissertation effectively. We would also like to thank all our
instructors and teachers, who throughout our educational career have supported
and encouraged us to believe in our abilities. They have directed us through
various situations, allowing us to reach this accomplishment. Finally, our family
has supported and helped us along the course of this dissertation by giving
encouragement and providing the moral and emotional support we needed to
complete our dissertation. To them, I am eternally grateful

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Miss.Akansha singhhave worked and completed their

Project Work for the degree of MASTER IN COMMERCEin the faculty of
COMMERCE, M.com IVth.Semon “Impact of online shopping upon retail
(offline) cloth merchants of Bilaspur (C.G.)” under my supervision. It is their own
work and facts exported by their personal findings and investigation.

Name and Signature of Guide Date of Submission

Mrs.Nivritti James 30/07/21

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INDEX
Chapter Topic Page No.
No.
1. INTRODUCTION 5-12
1.1BACKGROUND
1.2OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.3SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.4IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
1.5PERIODICITY OF STUDY
1.6METHODOLOGY OF STUDY
1.7LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 13-16

3. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 17-30
4. THE COVID 19 EFFECT ON E-COMMERCE 31

5. FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 32-34

4.1 FINDINGS
4.2 SUGGESTIONS
4.3 CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY 35-36
ANNEXURE 37-46

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

A Study on “Impact of online shopping upon retail (offline) cloth merchants

of Bilaspur (C.G.)”
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

In past few years, there has been a tremendous increase in online shopping. There
might be a great impact of it upon the retail cloth merchants. In this whole study,
“the word - retail cloth merchants, is used for offline/traditional cloth merchants.
Through this study, efforts we have made efforts to highlight the areas where the
cloth merchants can work to survive in this era of online shopping, and to make
their position strong in the market. To start with, this topic, firstly, we should
understand some basic terms.
Online shopping: In simple words, online shopping means purchasing items from
Internet retail cloth merchants instead of going to a shop or store or the act of
purchasing products or services over the Internet. Some of the leading online stores
currently in India are Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra etc.
Retail: Retail is a process of selling goods and services to customers through
multiple channel of distribution. Retail stores may be small or big but they mostly
operate in the same line as “purchasing to sale”. Retail form of business is as old as
civilization and is the most basic form of business. Types of Retail Stores are like:
 Departmental Stores: A department store is a retail store, which offers
wide range of products to the end-users under one roof. In a department
store, the consumers can get almost all the products they aspire to shop at
one place only.

 Discount Stores: Discount stores also offer a huge range of products to the
end-users but at a discounted rate. The discount stores generally offer a
limited range and the quality in certain cases might be a little inferior as
compared to the department stores.

 Supermarket: A retail store, which generally sells food products and

household items, properly placed and arranged in specific departments, is

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said to be a supermarket. A supermarket is an advanced form of the small

grocery stores and caters to the household needs of the consumer.

 Kirana Store:Kirana Stores are the small stores run by individuals in the
nearby locality to cater to daily needs of the consumers staying in the
vicinity. They offer selected items and are not at all organized.

 Malls: Many retail stores operating at one place form a mall. A mall would
consist of several retail outlets each selling their own merchandise but at a
common platform.

E- shopping is transforming the offline shopping experience of customers to online

by the help of new technological Devices like 3G, 4G, WIFI is helping to increase
the number of online customers. Thus, there has been an impact of the growing
trend of online shopping, on retail shops. This is because India slipped from 14th
to 20th rank among the top developing Countries in 2016 as per the Global Retail
cloth merchants of Development Index [GRDI]. The government’s most
prestigious digital India project could take sector to new heights. However, it
adversely affects various shop retail cloth merchants, malls, supermarkets,
departmental stores, Kirana shops etc.
The Internet has many advantages over retail stores. Firstly, the choice, whereas
the bookstore at the corner of the street or the nearby cloth store hardly offers 5000
references on its stalls or 20 designs of a particular garment of same size, Amazon
has got hundreds of thousands of variety. Internet is full of online retail cloth
merchants offering 10 times or even 100 times more products than the average
retailer can possibly dream of. For an e-commerce website, the costs of storing and
referencing a product represent a small fraction of the cost as compared to the cost
of storing and referencing a product for "physical" stores. From the customer
satisfaction and availability of services, online shopping is creating a major impact
upon the retail stores.

Trends of Internet users and E-Business in India In 2021

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India had 700million internet users in 2020. This figure is projected to grow to
532.5 million internet users in 2018. Despite the untapped potential, India already
is the second-largest online market worldwide

Graph: Information about the number of internet users in India from 2017 to
2021

Number Of Internet Users (In Millions)

800

700

600

500

400
Number Of Internet Users (In
300 Millions)
200

100

0
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Source: www.statista.com, * indicates projected use

India is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets worldwide, with millions

of new internet users taking advantage of cheap mobile connections to send mobile
messages, watch online videos, use mobile services, and of course, to shop. As of
2016, 26 percent of the local population was using the internet; almost ten times
the audience size from a decade prior. According to recent market research, mobile
phone internet user penetration in India is projected to reach 37.36 percent of the
population in 2018, representing a huge potential in terms of digital and mobile
buyer audience. Total internet audiences in India are estimated to surpass 532
million online users in 2018.

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1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of online shopping, upon the
retail cloth merchants. Apart from knowing the impact, its ancillary objectives are,
to suggest the cloth merchants, how to maintain their business in this era of online
shopping. The research has been conducted with the following objectives:
a) To study the effect on profitability of retail cloth merchants due to the
advent of online stores.
b) To analyse the effect upon pricing patterns of retail cloth merchants in recent
times.
c) To analyse the change in business pattern of cloth merchants to achieve
customer satisfaction.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

It is convenient for the research purpose that instead of taking a wide coverage, it
should be made a broad study; this work should narrow down its focus and go deep
into inquiry. Hence, the researcher proposes to concentrate this work in Bilaspur
City. Online Shopping includes variety of products, no. of companies and wide
range of customer base present in industry. It is difficult to researcher to do
segment customers, companies and very important customers for selection as a
sample of study. The time factor is also a limitation for capturing a wide coverage.
Therefore, the study undertaken by researcher has focused on “The impact of
online shopping upon retail (offline) cloth merchants of Bilaspur”

1.4 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

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The study focuses on impact of online shopping upon selective retail cloth stores of
Bilaspur. The study has been conducted in various cloth shops of Bilaspur. The
study shows how conventional retail stores are affected through online shopping.
The study also discussed the measures taken by traditional retail stores to
overcome the problems faced by them due to the advent of online shopping.

This study looks into various aspects about how retail trade is being affected and
the various recovery mechanisms to compete with E- commerce in their race of
survival. It also reveals the emerging E-stores impacting on the retailer’s
Profitability and it also focuses on strategies need to be adopted by retail cloth
merchants to over the competition in the globalized world. E-commerce is buying
and selling of goods and services over the internet. Before e-commerce, buying
and selling were done without internet physically in the markets but after the
arrival of e-commerce in India our life has become more convenient because of its
number of advantages. The advantages offered by e-commerce are online shopping
of anything at any time and at any place, customers can find the products on e-
commerce websites, which is no available in physical markets, it reduces cost and
time, without stepping out from home, we can get our product at home. Along with
e-commerce there is also a popular term called e-business due to which the
business of enterprises has increased electronically with the help of internet by
which they can reach to many customers which increases their sales. There is no
specific definition of the terms E- commerce and E-business. They are used
interchangeably.

1.5 PERIODICITY OF STUDY

a) The study has been conducted over a period of 3 months from February
2018 to April 2018.
b) For certain historic based data it covers a period of three years from 2016 to
2018.
c) However, the impact factor has been taken from data based on examination
of retail cloth merchants over a long period.

1.6METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

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The research methodology comprises of the sources of data, methods

adopted to collect such data, sampling techniques, statistical tools for
analysis, data interpretation etc.
In this study, we have focused on general impacts over the retail cloth
merchants, and not on a particular case study. Therefore it is a exploratory
research.

Exploratory research:Exploratory research is not typically generalizable to

the populationat large.Social exploratory research "seeks to find out how
people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to
their actions, and what issues concern them. The goal is to learn 'what is
going on here?' and to investigate social phenomena without explicit
expectations." This methodology is also at times referred to as a grounded
theory approach to qualitative researchor interpretive research, and is an
attempt to unearth a theory from the data itself rather than from a
predisposed hypothesis.1

 Universe of The Study: The universe consists of cloth merchants

situated in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh from which some cloth merchants
are selected at random for the purpose of the study.

 Sample Size and Sample Unit: For the study a sample of 50 cloth
stores has been selected on the basis of convenient sampling for the
purpose of the research.

 Sources of Data: Researcher has collected the data from primary

sources for the purpose of this study.

 Researcher has collected the primary data through Direct Personal

Interview method where interview took place with different cloth
merchants researcher asked them to fill the Online Questionnaire.

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 Data Collection Techniques: The data for the study has been
collected through applying the following techniques: Direct Personal
Interview and Investigation through online questionnaires.

 Data Representation Tools: The data collected are classified,

tabulated and represented through table and pie-chartdiagram.

 Sampling Techniques For the study: Convenient sampling

technique method are applied based on suitability, for the availability
of information and which has a substantial share in the market to give
more accurate picture of the impact of online shopping.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

In spite of all sincere efforts, the study is not fool proof in nature. It suffers from
variety of limitations due to the following reasons:
a) The study is limited to Cloth merchants of Bilaspur only.
b) Besides that, the detailed study has been conducted taking on 50 retail stores
based upon convenient sampling.
c) Data pertaining to the study has been collected for a period of only 2 years.
d) Time is also a limiting factor as the study is conducted in a very short span
of time.

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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Prashant Singh in his article “Consumer’s Buying Behaviour towards Online

Shopping A case study of Flipkart.Com user’s in Lucknow City” published in
Abhinav stated that future of e-retail cloth merchants in India looking very bright.
E-retail cloth merchants give consumers the best way to save money and time
through completely hassle-free shopping experience. The whole concept of online
shopping has altered in terms of consumer’s purchasing or buying behaviour and
the success of E-tailers in India is depending upon its popularity, its branding
image, and its unique policies.

UpasanaKanchan, Naveen Kumar and Abhishek Gupta in their article “A

Study of Online purchase behaviour of Customers in India” Published in ICTACT
Journal on Management Studies stated that online shopping is gaining popularity
among people of young generation. Higher income groups and educated people are
purchasing more via e-retailing websites. People have hesitations in doing online
shopping due to security concerns. At the same time people are resistant to change
because of technological complexity in making online purchase. Companies
involved in online retailing should focus on building trustworthy relationship
between producers and customers.

Prof. Ashish Bhatt in article entitled “Consumer Attitude towards Online

Shopping in Selected Regions of Gujarat” published in Journal of Marketing
Management stated that online shopping is gaining popularity among people
especially the younger generation but in today scenario to become equally popular
among all age groups e-marketing will have to cover a longer distance. As per
study mode of payment is depended upon income of the respondents. People from
different age groups are doing online shopping regularly. The attitude of
consumers is changing with the time. In a country like India, consumers are finding
online shopping very comfortable because of many variables like cash on delivery,
customization or personalization of the websites, home delivery etc. 2
Cheema et in their study on the topic “The trend of online shopping in 21st
century: Impact of enjoyment in TAM model” found that online shopping stores

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allow the customer to obtain required information about their purchase which
decreases the risk associated with new shopping medium, leading to increase in the
number of online shoppers. The study revealed the insignificant relationship of
perceived usefulness with online shopping intentions, which clearly means that the
behavioral intentions of the sample members towards online shopping was not due
to its usefulness but they were attracted towards the internet shopping for other
reasons

Saha, Rathore in their paper on the topic “An Overview of Changing trend of
traditional retailing to E-retailing”, focused on how internet retailing differs from
conventional retailing. Many components of internet retail and traditional retail
model are common. E-retailing covers retailing by using latest technologies. The
conventional retail cloth merchants have also adopted the concept of E-Retailing.
The most successful internet retailers are those who are able to transfer the element
from traditional retailing to the internet successfully. The paper has been
pioneering effort in understanding E-retailing concept. The key focus of the paper
was to nurture the retail online sector.

Hiwarkarexamined in his study on the topic “E-commerce impact on Indian

Market: a Survey on social impact” found that E-commerce is promising as a
significant instrument to make sure comprehensive growth. The conventional
model of business is undergoing a aquatic change due to evolution of online
shopping. It was also found that Safe and secure payment modes are vital along
with the need to discover and popularize innovations such as Mobile Commerce. 3

Chaing and Dholakia carried out a study in which they examined the purpose the
customer to purchase goods online during their shopping. Mainly there are three
variable in their study those affects the consumer to purchase online or to go
offline. Those are the accessibility features of the shopping sites, the type of the
products and their characteristic, and the actual price of the product. The study
revealed that the accessibility and the convenience of the shopping sites create the
intention in the customer to purchase or not. When there are difficulty faced by a
consumer to purchase online then the customer switch to the offline shopping for
the purchase behavior and the consumer face difficulty in offline purchasing then
they go to the online purchasing. After relating both the medium of shopping, the

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consumer said that the online shopping is more convenient for them and gives
more satisfaction which inspires the consumer to purchase online in the internet.

Soopramanien and Robertson (2007) conducted a study in UK on acceptance

and practice of online shopping. Their exploration shows that the online consumers
choose different course of action based on the apparent beliefs. They found that,
how socio demographic variables, attitude and beliefs towards internet shopping
effect on the both decision to practice and use of online shopping channels. They
categorized online buying behavior as the one who purchase from online sites and
the one who only browse online sites and purchase from the store, and third those
who do not buy online. The study do not covered the buyers who choose products
in stores and buy online.

Selvakumar (2014) concentrated on consumer’s perception of the product sold

online and the issues considered important to online shopping. This study was
conducted among the online shoppers at Coimbatore which is in Tamil Nadu state.
It is to analyze the impact of consumer opinion and the attitude. Questionnaire was
made to collect the data from the population; these questionnaires were given to
college going students. The total sample size is 150 respondents. The finding of
this study shows that improvement and accessibility influence the customer’s
intention to shop online.
Jarvelainen (2007)analysed in her empirical study in Finland that there are many
online information seekers who choose to stop the shopping process just before the
finishing point of the transaction. The reason behind this is intensely rooted in the
internet based trust outcomes. The study focuses on e-commerce background. I-
e.Security and confidentiality issue, that how consumer select their purchasing
channels. The finding of this study shows that constancy, trust worthiness, and
usefulness as well as ease of the use of the system are essential, while the first
imprint of online seller is significant, considering the behavioural intention.4

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CHAPTER 3
DATA ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION

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Chapter 3:DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Presentation Of Data: Table showing the analysis of the various aspects of the
impact of online shopping upon retail and wholesale cloth merchants

S. List Of Questions Yes No

No.
1 Have you noticed any decrease in profit margin in past 42 08
2 years?
2 Has there been an increase in window-shopping in 41 09
recent times?
3 Do you provide after sales services to your customers? 20 30
4 Has there been any decrease in average turnover in the 42 08
past two years?
5 Do the customers bargain or ask for a discount before 42 08
making purchases?
6 Have you started to keep more variety of stock at your 16 34
store nowadays?
7 Have you made any increase in discount rates offered to 36 14
the customer in recent times?
8 Have you started to advertise about you enterprise 28 22
nowadays?
9 In future, do you wish to Shift from Offline Business to 40 10
Online business?
10 Do you have adequate staff? 20 30
11 Is Online payment facility available in your 25 25
Enterprise/Shop?
12 Will it be profitable for you to sell your goods at online 15 35
prices?

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INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

3.1 Table showing respondent’s opinion about decrease in profit margin in
past 2 years

Have you noticed any decrease in profit margin in past 2 years?

YES NO
42 08

Decrease in profit margin in

past 2 years

16%

84%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, it we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 84%) are of the view that due to emergence of online
shopping, there has been a decrease in their profit margin, in the last two years.
Online shops have brought in a price war in the market and the sufferers of this
price war are the retail cloth merchants. In order to survive, most of these retail
cloth merchants have attempted to lower their prices but considering their high cost
of operation these retail cloth merchants has to sacrifice on their margin.

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3.2 Table showing respondent’s opinion about increase in window-shopping in

recent times

Has there been an increase in window-shopping in recent times?

YES NO
41 09

Increase in window-shopping

18%

82%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 82%) are of the view that due to emergence of online
shopping, there has been an increase in the window-shopping, in recent times.
In the past few months, there has been a trend for clients to browse the items in a
physical store and purchase them from an online store at a decreased cost. Retail
cloth merchants presently have more imminent customers than genuine ones.

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3.3 Table showing respondent’s attitude about provide after sales services to
the customers

Do you provide after sales services to your customers?

YES NO
20 30

After sales services to

customers

40%

60%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 60%) do not provide after sales services to their customers.
However, Retail cloth merchants are now starting up with home delivery services
to customers. Also after sales services are provided with a smile. More and more
retail cloth merchants are now opting for customer services to build upon a loyalty.
Retail cloth merchants are leaving no scope to specialize in areas in which online
shops fail.

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3.4 Table showing respondent’s opinion about decrease in average turnover in

the past two years

Has there been any decrease in average turnover in the past two years?
YES NO
42 08

Decrease in average turnover

16%

84%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 84%) are of the view that over a period of two years under
study, they have noticed a considerable decline in their turnover as compared
to years back. Some have reported if not decline but stagnancy in their growth,
which is a warning signal for the enterprise. This indicates how online shopping
has put an impact on average turnover of retail cloth merchants.

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3.5 Table showing respondent’s opinion about whether customers bargain or

ask for a discount before making purchases

Do the customers bargain or ask for a discount before making purchases?

YES NO
42 08

Customers bargain or ask for a

discount

16%

84%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 84%) are of the view that majority of the customers bargain
or ask for discount before making any purchases.As a result, most of the times,
the retail cloth merchants have to give them discount to satisfy them. Consumers
are the King of market. Therefore, their satisfaction is an essential element for
sellers.

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3.6 Table showing respondent’s opinion about whether they keep more variety
of stock at their stores nowadays

Have you started to keep more variety of stock at your store nowadays?
YES NO
16 34

Whether they keep more variety of

stock

32%

68%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, it can be clearly analyzed that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 68%) are of the view that they cannot maintain a large variety
of stock as that might have a negative impact of unsold stock at the end of the year
which in turn might bring in huge loses to the concern.

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3.7 Table showing respondent’s opinion about increase in discount rates

offered to the customer in recent times

Have you made any increase in discount rates offered to the customer in
recent times?
YES NO
36 14

Increase in discount rates

28%

72%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, it can be clearly analyzed that majority of the retail cloth
merchants(i.e., 72%) are of the view that they are increasing their discounts at
an alarming rate in order to stand with the online stores who provides the
customers with unbelievable discounts. Although the retail cloth merchants cannot
compete with the online stores in terms of discount but it has to lower its prices to
a relative extent to survive the market.
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3.8 Table showing respondent’s attitude towards advertising about their

enterprise nowadays

Have you started to advertise about you enterprise nowadays?

YES NO
28 22

Advertise you enterprise

44%
56%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 56%) are of the view that the retail cloth merchants nowadays
are more involved in advertisement campaign than ever before in order to
increase their sales. Retail cloth merchants leave no occasions to take advantage of
the situation to advertise their firm.
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3.9 Table showing respondent’s opinion towards Shifting from Offline

Business to Online business

In future, do you wish to Shift from Offline Business to Online business?

YES NO MAY BE
30 10 10

Shifting from Offline Business to

Online business

20%

20% 60%

Yes No May be

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 60-80 %) are of the view that in future, if they get an
opportunity, they might shift to online business. Therefore, it shows that the
retail cloth merchants themselves think that online stores are performing better
these days when comparing them to the offline stores
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3.10 Table showing respondent’s opinion about their adequate staff

Do you have adequate staff?

YES NO
20 30

Adequate staff

40%

60%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 60%) arenot having adequate staff in their stores. The reason
for this, as received by the retail cloth merchants is to reduce their cost. Not having
adequate staff is a inconvenience for the customers and it might play a crucial role
in war between online and offline stores.

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3.11 Table showing availability of online payment facility in respondent’s

Enterprise/Shop

Is Online payment facility available in your Enterprise/Shop?

YES NO
25 25

Availability of Online Payment

facility in Enterprise/Shop

50% 50%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can understand thathalf of the retail cloth merchants
(i.e., 50%) are not providing the service of online payment in their stores. In
this era of cashless trade, it can be a big factor in pushing the offline stores
backward in the competition. Customers nowadays do not generally keep much
cash with them.

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3.12 Table showing respondent’s opinion about selling their goods at online
prices

Will it be profitable for you to sell your goods at online prices?

YES NO
15 35

Will it be profitable to sell your

goods at online prices

30%

70%

Yes No

Source: Primary Data

From the above table, we can clearly see that majority of the retail cloth
merchants (i.e., 70%) are of the view that selling their goods/clothes at online
price is not profitable for them. The reason behind this seems to be the cost of
maintenance of offline stores is much more than the online stores. The
transportation cost is another big factor.
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THE COVID-19 EFFECT ON ONLINE SHOPPING

I don’t think it’s too soon to say that the COVID-19 global pandemic will likely be
one of the defining events of 2020, and that it will have implications that last well
into the decade.

The situation is rapidly changing. The amount of people deemed safe to gather in a
single place has dwindled from thousands, to hundreds, to ten. Restaurants, bars,
movie theaters, and gyms in many major cities are shutting down. Meanwhile
many office workers are facing new challenges of working remotely full time.

Essentially, people are coming to terms with the realities of our interconnected
world and how difficult it is to temporarily separate those connections to others. To
say that we are living in unprecedented times feels like an understatement.

One of the responses we’ve seen to how people are approaching this period of
isolation and uncertainty is in huge overnight changes to their shopping behaviors.
From bulk-buying to online shopping, people are changing what they’re buying,
when, and how.

As more cities are going under lockdowns, nonessential businesses are being
ordered to close, and customers are generally avoiding public places. Limiting
shopping for all but necessary essentials is becoming a new normal. Brands are
having to adapt and be flexible to meet changing needs.

This resource is intended to provide information so that you can make the best
decisions for your brand during uncertain times. We’ve gathered some facts and
numbers around how behaviors are changing, what products people are buying,
and what industries are feeling the strain to help you determine what choices you
can make for your business.

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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS
AND CONCLUSIONS

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CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

4.1 Findings

Online shopping is consistently saving a larger proportion of consumer time and

spending. There are several driving factors for consumers to shop online with
price, convenience in shopping and wide range of available products being the
primary. The major findings of the study are as follows:

A. Turnover and profit margin of the retail cloth merchants has tremendously
decreased in the last two years.

B. Retail and wholesale stores are nowadays more engaged in services related
to customer satisfaction.

C. Although the retail cloth merchants are not able to keep a wide variety in
their stock, they attempt to keep the best of them to achieve more sales.

D. Customers with intention to make window-shopping are increasing at an

alarming higher rate to have a physical look at the product and buy that
product online at a reduced rate.

E. Retail stores are now starting up with after sales services like free alteration
of clothes, fitting of clothes, exchange etc. at doorstep of their customers

F. Most of the retail cloth merchants do not provide online payment facility. As
cashless transactions are in trend greatly these days, it is an important aspect
to focus on.

G. Most of the retail cloth merchants offer Sale only during festivals.

H. The retail cloth merchants organize sales only during festivals.

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4.2 Suggestions

Retail cloth merchants have to change their attitude towards the market. By
organizing “Sale” frequently, every month, retail cloth merchants can try to attract
customers towards them, and survive in the competitive market. Market of today’s
era is a consumer market and as a result, the priority is the consumer satisfaction.
The business has to keep the consumers satisfied. Better quality products, fair price
and friendly after-sale services are the basic areas in which the business has to
concentrate to a remarkable extent. Additional services should be provided to the
consumers to woe them and build upon a loyalty which in turn would ensure a
stable sales in the years to come.

4.3 Conclusion

The face of retail has changed. The primary cause for it is the modern technology.
Today, online shopping is the primary preference of majority of customers. Small
retail cloth merchants miss out somewhere. However, the nearby store is always
the most important concern for all reason and seasons. It needs to revive not just
survive. The retail stores needs to simply uplift its pattern of business and face the
competitive world with a more positive outlook. E-stores and retail stores both
have to survive, none at the cost of the other. It is not just about the livelihood it
gives to the thousands of people but also the convenience and the steadfastness of a
fixed retail store.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.ijariit.com/manuscripts/v2i6/V2I6-1180.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.15520/jassh21013
 http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/6738/1/Comparative Gupta_2015.pdf
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratory_research

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ANNEXURE

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Impact of online shopping upon retail trade business of Cloth

Merchants in Bilaspur (C.G.)
It is a Questionnaire for Educational Purpose, Prepared by a Student of B.Com (H) Bilaspur
University.

 Required

PersonalDetails

o What is YourName?*

o What is the name of Your Enterprise /Shop?

o WhattypeofTraderareYou?
Mark only one oval.

Retailer
Wholesaler

o What isYourAge?
Mark only one Oval.

20-30Year

31-40Year

41 and Above

Questionnaire
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* Hastherebeenanydecreaseinprofitmargininpast2years?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Bywhatpercentage,hastheprofitmargindecreased?(Ifit
has)
Mark only one oval.

0-10%

10-20%

More than that

* Hastherebeenanincreaseinwindow-shoppingin recent times?*

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Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Do you provide after sales services to your customers?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Hastherebeenany decrease inaverageturnoverinthe past two years?*

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Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Dothecustomersbargainoraskfordiscountbeforemakingpurchases?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Haveyoustartedtokeepmorevarietyofstockatyourstorenowadays?*

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Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Haveyoumadeanyincreaseindiscountratesofferedtocustomerinrecenttimes?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Have you started to advertise about you enterprise nowadays?*

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Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* How frequently do you arrange Sale?

Mark only one oval.

Once in a month

Only on Festivals

* Infuture,doyouwishtoShiftfromOfflineBusinesstoOnlinebusiness?*
Mark only one oval.

YesNo

Maybe

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* Do you have adequate staff?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

* Is Online payment facility available in your Enterprise/Shop?

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

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* Willitbeprofitableforyoutosellyourgoods at onlineprices?*

Mark only one oval.

Yes
No

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