"Consumers Perception Towards Online Shopping": I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University Jalandhar
"Consumers Perception Towards Online Shopping": I.K. Gujral Punjab Technical University Jalandhar
On
Submitted to
First and foremost, I would like to thank my respectable and learned guide, Mr. RAJNEESH
ARYA but for who’s untiring, persevering and unflinching help; this project would not have
seen the light of day. It is he who initiated the development of the project and was thus
instrumental in showing the right direction in the field of. He provided encouragement and boost
in the transformation of my inherent internal knowledge into a real work for eternal audience.
Lastly, I would like to bestow my regards and gratitude to the Apeejay Institute of Management
Technical Campus which provided me this opportunity to undertake the dissertation program on
consumer perception towards online shopping for allowing me to go thought his worthy
dissertation Programme.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface i
Acknowledgments ii
CHAPTER NO. CHAPTER TITLE PAGE NO.
1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction to the Project Undertaken
1.2 Objectives of the Project Undertaken
1.3 Need and Scope of the Study
1.4 Research Methodology
1.5 Limitations of the Study
2 Literature Review
3 Data Analysis and Interpretation
4 Findings of the Study
5 Conclusion of the Study
6 Suggestions & Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendix
A. Questionnaire
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN
Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buys goods and services, and has rapidly
evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim
of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to
stay ahead in highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey,
communicate and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to
conduct satisfaction surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the
product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities they
will receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts are optimistic
about the prospect of online business. In addition to the tremendous potential of the E-commerce
market, the Internet provides a unique opportunity for companies to more efficiently reach
existing and potential customers. Although most of the revenue of online transactions comes
from business-to-business commerce, the practitioners of business-to-consumer commerce
should not lose confidence. It has been more than a decade since business-to-consumer E-
commerce first evolved. Scholars and practitioners of electronic commerce constantly strive to
gain an improved insight into consumer behavior in cyberspace. Along with the development of
E-retailing, researchers continue to explain E-consumers’ behavior from different perspectives.
Many of their studies have posited new emergent factors or assumptions that are based on the
traditional models of consumer behavior, and then examine their validity in the Internet context.
Online shopping is definitely a great way to shop with everything available on the websites.
From clothes, gift items, food, home needs, medicines, and many more, this mode of shopping
allows one to shop conveniently without hassle on spending hours in a supermarket or shopping
areas. The Internet with its wide array of information nooks, allows the customer to go through
various reviews of the product or service before actually heading for purchases. These online
shopping websites also have daily deals for the customer looking for discounts and store
offerings.
ONLINE SHOPPING IN INDIA
The birth and growth of Internet has been the biggest event of the century. E-commerce in India
has come a long way from a timid beginning in the 1999-2000 to a period where one can sell and
find all sorts of stuff from a high end product to a meager peanut online. Most corporations are
using Internet to represent their product range and services so that it inaccessible to the global
market and to reach out to a larger range of their audience. Computers and the Internet have
completely changed the way one handles day-to-day transactions; online shopping is one of
them. The Internet has brought about sweeping changes in the purchasing habits of the people. In
the comfort of one's home, office or cybercafé or anywhere across the globe, one can log on and
buy just about anything from apparel, books, music and diamond jeweler to digital cameras,
mobile phones, MP3 players, videogames, movie tickets, rail and air tickets. Ease, simplicity,
convenience and security are the key factors turning the users to buy online-commerce revenues
in the country are projected to reach Rs 2,300 core in the year 2006-07, growing at 95 per cent
over 2004-05(Source: Internet and Mobile Association of India,IAMAI). This pertains to the
business-to-consumer (B2C) segment. It may be too early to do comparison with the e-commerce
scenes in countries such as the US where billions of dollars are spent online but the business in
India is growing exponentially every year, albeit from a smaller base, the total revenues have
reached a respectful size.
RECENT DEVELOPMENT
The number of users logging on to the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds. The number of
Indians who are online is expected to touch to 100 million by 2007-08, from the present38.5
million according to the research conducted by IAMAI. The numbers indicate a growing sense
of comfort with the use of Internet for shopping. Accompanying this growth, there is an
increasing maturity in the way people use the Internet. It's a classical curve. Online users
typically start by using e-mail; gradually move on to browsing for news, information and
entertainment, and finally graduate to shopping and conducting business online. Online sales
have registered a huge jump and what was a concept five years ago is now beginning to hither
mainstream levels. Roughly 10 percent of the world's population more than 627 million people
have shopped online at least once, in India it is just sprouted and beginning to perish. Internet is
now going beyond the simple exchange of information to a shopping paradise. This medium is
far bigger than expected, but many retailers and marketers are not using it toots full potential.
Indian customers are increasingly getting comfortable with online shopping, and there is higher
acceptability for the concept. India has 25 million Internet users and more is now turning to
online shopping. There has been an influx of online shopping sites in India with many companies
hitching onto the Internet bandwagon. The revenues from online shopping are expected to more
than double by 2006-07. According to IAMAI, the average number of transactions per month in
India has gone up from 2 laky in 2003-04 to 4.4 laky in 2004-05and has doubled to 7.95 laky
transactions per month in the year 2005-06. The online sales during the festival season had
increased rapidly especially during Denali and Raman which recorded a sales of Rs115 core, a
117 per cent increase from the Rs53 core in the year 2004-05(source IAMAI). These figures
clearly show that online shopping has truly come of age and consumers are keen to shop on the
net. Effective customer communication on products plus reduced shipping costs and timely
delivery has helped online marketers to seize a slice of the Rs 115 core sales. Online shopping
has become the latest trend among shoppers. Indians are becoming more comfortable with e-
commerce. The consumer’s attitude has been evolving towards online purchases. It has become
increasingly positive over the years. The attitudes that drive people to shop online, such as
convenience, price comparison and choice are improving tremendously in India. Though a
miniscule amount in the global context, the Indian online shoppers’ population would make its
presence felt quite remarkably. The potential of the Indian e-market can be gauged from the fact
that 16 percent of Indian consumers want to buy online in the next six months, making it the
third most online-potential country after Korea (28 percent) and Australia (26 percent)
(Source:IMRB). This is an indication of a growing breed of Indian consumers who are not only
better equipped but also more confident of the online transactions. Indian businesses have also
grown mature enough to move up the IT curve and they are considering Business to consumer
(B2C) e-commerce a viable revenue model. Some of the companies that have benefited are
baazee.com, indiatimes.com, rediff.com, indiamart.com, fabmart.com, traveljini.com and
sifymall.com.Indiamart.com has witnessed a growth of more than ten times in just two years in
its online gifts domain. In the online travel domain, the company was able to generate an
average$8,000 worth of room bookings/month for its premium client. It is expected to touch $15-
20,000/month/client by the year-end, which is over 100 percent growth (Source:
Indiamart).Brick-and-mortar businesses are also building up e-commerce revenues. In the
year 2005-06.
.
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT UNDERTAKEN
The objective of this research study is to investigate online consumer behavior, which in turn
provides E-marketers with a constructional framework for fine-tuning their E-businesses’
strategies. The specific objectives of this research are:
1. To know the consumers awareness and perception about the products and services provided on
internet.
2. To know how it provides products and services and satisfies their customers.
The theoretical scope of the study includes the popularity of online shopping, the need of virtual
markets, their role in influencing the consumption pattern and habits, merits and demerits of e-
markets, major players in online retailing etc. We can list the scope as below:
1. The Study was conducted among the Internet users.
2. The Geographical area covered was Jalandhar.
3. The Study was based on a Schedule of Questions.
4. The scope of internet shopping
RESEARCH DESIGN:
Research design is a blueprint or framework for conducting the marketing research project. It
specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure
and solve marketing research problem. The research design used in this study was descriptive
research design because it is undertaken when the researcher want to know the characteristics of
certain groups.
SAMPLING DESIGN:
Sampling can be defined as the section of some part of an aggregate or totality on the basis of
which judgment or an inference about aggregate or totality is made. The steps involved in
sampling design are as follows:
Universe: Universe refers to the total of the units in field of inquiry and the universe of this
study was banking users in the country.
Sampling unit: Sampling frame is the representation of the elements of the target population.
Sampling size: Sampling size is the total no. of units which is covered in this study. The sample
size of this study was around 100 customers.
Sampling Technique: Sampling Technique used in this study was Convenience and judgment
sampling.
a) Secondary data: Secondary data has already been collected by someone else Secondary
data can either be published data or unpublished data and in this study, this was collected
from external sources like site of HDFC Bank, trade publications, literatures etc.
b) Primary data: The primary data for this study was collected through a well-structured
questionnaire. Primary data are those, which are collected afresh and for the first time,
and thus happen to be original in character. It is the backbone of any study.
J.SINHA 2010 The number of people engaged in various online activities is increasing every
day. While the number of online shoppers is increasing, it is not proportional to that of brick-
and-mortar shoppers. Research has tried to explain the dismal performance of online shopping as
compared to the physical shopping format. Reasons for the lower level of Internet sales have
been cited as being perceived risk in carrying out an online transaction, socio-psychological
factors (Like - influence of friends and relatives) and infrastructural limitations (Availability of
Internet, computers, credit-cards, cyber laws etc.). Under the purview of aforementioned factors
this study tried understanding the online shopping behavior of Indian consumers. Socio-
psychological factors and infrastructure have been found influential factors while the perceived
risk surprisingly is not significant as a whole but at gender level there was significant difference
between the online behavior of male and female due to risk perception.
Lal studied the determinants of adoption of Information Technology (IT) in India. The study was
based on 59 electrical and electronic goods manufacturing firms situated in NOIDA. Semi-
structured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The study examined the factors
influencing the degree of IT adoption by firms. The factors included are entrepreneur
characteristics measured by entrepreneur’s qualification, importance given to market share, R&D
and quality consciousness, firm’s international orientation factors measured by import and export
intensity, workforce skill and firm size. The sample firms were divided into four categories
depending on their intensity of IT.
CHAPTER-3
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
DATA ANALYSIS ON INTERNET USAGE
The objective of the research was studying with respect to a regular online shopper who shopped
more than once because they would be the right respondent to give an insight about the online
shopping. In the survey the respondent where asked the following questions which helped to
know about a regular shopper.
yes
no
98
INTERPRETATION
The above pie-chart represents that 98% consumers use the internet. The 2% people had never
used the internet from the study of 100 individual respondents.
Q-2 How long have you been using internet?
INTERPRETATION
The diagram shows that shopping has increased with the usage of Internet over the years.
Regular shoppers who have been using Internet for more than one year had shopped to 98% and
regular shoppers who have been using Internet for more than five years have shopped to 78%.
CHAPTER-4
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
• The findings show that Internet usage has increased over the years and it is leading to an
increase in online shopping and also shows the consumers attitude and perception
towards online shopping.
• Online shopping is affected by demographics as it has been seen that more males are
shopping online as compared women online shoppers and there is a positive relation
between education and income levels with respect to the increased online shopping
behavior.
• The most important motivating factor, which influenced the online shopping, was
convenience followed by time saving and price. Regular online shoppers considered
convenience as the main motivating factor while buying and were less price sensitive.
But the online marketers should attempt to differentiate their products or services making
the comparison easier.
• The marketers should bring out innovative ways so that the consumers can do more
online shopping while taking the full advantage of rich information, easy access and
convenience of the Internet. One of the main concerns among the online shoppers was
privacy and security.
• Another reason that hindered online shopping was the touch factor. Consumers still
preferred the experience they get from traditional stores like feeling the store’s
atmosphere, interacting with a salesperson, and seeking sensory stimulation. This might
hinder the use of certain goods like grocery and apparel, as the touch factor is the main
factor, which drives the shopping for these goods.
• The future of online shopping is bright especially in the categories of travel, books,
electronic gadgets and gifts.
CHAPTER-5
This research shows that online shopping is having very bright future in India. Perception
towards online shopping is getting better in India. With the use of internet, consumers can shop
anywhere, anything and anytime with easy and safe payment options. Consumers can do
comparison shopping between products, as well as, onlinestores. This study is mainly focus on
the factors from the Internet and examines those factors that affect the consumer’s online
shopping behaviors. The research focus on the Internet shopping (include the nature of Internet
shopping, E-commerce website, and online security, privacy, trust and trustworthiness) and
online consumer behaviors (include background, shopping motivation and decision making
process). Those factors were looked at, and examined to reveal the influence at online consumer
behaviours. In addition, the previous researches were used to help researchers understanding
more comprehensively. Moreover, the customer’s purchase decision-making process was also
examined to identify the potential factors. The information search is the most important factor
that helps the customers find the suitable products or services for their needs. Therefore, the
online retailers have to enhance and improve the information supporting such as provide much
detailed product information and use internal search engine in order to increase the efficient of
information search. For the evaluation stage, customers more think a lot of the reputation from
the E-commerce website, and the payment security for the purchase stage. At the post-purchase
stage, the factor of after services which is the most concerned about. Overall, the factors from the
Internet that influenced or prevented online consumer behaviors need to be carefully concerned
by the online retailers, who can utilize the appropriate marketing communications to support the
customer’s purchase decision making process and improve their performance.
CHAPTER-6
Online shopping in India is poised for greater acceleration as PC and Internet penetration grows.
To make online shopping a boom following methods can be followed.
• India has a strong research and development (R&D) capability so companies should
innovate rapidly to take care of the security issues. Technology like text to speech
software’s should be innovated to take care of the security concern.
• In India the total ownership of credit cards is small as compared to its population and
there are also hesitant in using it as a mode of online payment therefore alternative
methods of payment like cash on delivery (COD) where the end-user pays cash after the
product is delivered and debit cards where the bank accounts are directly debited should
be used. Other technologies like encryption technologies trusted third-party certifications;
digital ID systems and prepaid cards should be used.
• It is not only important to pay strong attention to the security issue and create new,
innovative safeguards that protect consumers but the merchants should promote these
safeguards to the marketplace and make the prospective consumers aware that the
communications, personal data, credit card accounts, and transaction information can be
protected.
• Merchants should provide goods and services that offer the right value for money. There
should be transparency in policies (returns, privacy, shipping, etc); insurance against
fraud and a good after sales services should be provided to consumers making it an
enjoyable experience.
• Consumers today demand a better, more efficient and less cumbersome way to compare
and buy products online. Innovative service should be provided to consumers so that they
can compare products, which are available online using their mobile phones.
• Online shopping today is an incomplete, fragmented, and sometimes frustrating process.
Therefore merchants should set themselves apart from their competitors by factors other
than price, constantly innovate and move towards creating customer confidence to trade
online. They should provide massive selection at lower prices, offer a personalized
customer experience and their web sites should deliver a shopping experience that
addresses all of the consumer needs like recommendation about the products, feedback
from other customers, etc.
• Vendors should educate the customers about e-commerce like educating them on safety
tips like reading the item description, looking for a seller’s feedback score and asking
questions, detecting spoof mails and informing them about the new online crimes which
happen regularly.
• In India still the penetration of Internet has not happened the way it should have been
which hampers online shopping. Ecommerce revolution can be brought about by
providing more broadband connections at affordable prices.
• There is a huge market for business in the rural India therefore efforts should be such that
to bring these people also into experiencing online shopping. Companies should create
more Indian language software or content as Internet still is a primarily English language
world and language could be a barrier in rural India. Only few language portals like
webduniya.com exist today.
• Most of the Indians still like to see the product before buying; efforts should beamed to
change this mindset of the people by making them aware of the benefits of online
shopping.
• Since consumers control the experience they receive from shopping over the Internet,
there is a need to find ways of managing the amount of information available over the
Internet. Sites that are able to offer this information and present it in a simple way to
understand will become the preferred destination for online shopping.
QUESTIONAIRE
Kindly highlight/bold your answers.
3. On the average, how much time (per week) do you spend in surfing the Web?
0 – 5 hours
16 – 20 hours
6 – 10 hours
More than 20 hours
11 – 15 hours
4. Have you purchased anything online ever?
Yes
No
10. What are the activities that you use Internet for? (Kindly rank them between 1 to5, with
1=most used, 2=used to a large extent, 3=used to a good extent, 4=used sometimes,5=rarely
used)
Communication (E-mail, Instant Messaging, Bulletin Boards, News Groups, Chat, etc.)
Information Gathering (Research, News, Sports scores, Search for employment, etc.)
Entertainment (Games, Adult entertainment, Entertainment sites, Sports, Music, Web page
design, etc.)
Finance (Investment portfolio, financial research, online banking, check stock/fund quotes,
trading, etc.)
13. What, according to you, are the most important barriers to purchase online?
I am worried about giving out my credit card number
I don’t have a credit card
I don’t like providing personal information
I don’t want to purchase from someone with whom I am not familiar
I enjoy going out to do my shopping
I like to see/touch the product in person, before I buy it
Internet is too slow / Pages take too long to load
I am worried about the cost/hassle of returning the product
Delivery costs are too high
Prices are too high
Technical foul-ups prevent transactions from going through
I can’t find anything that I want to purchase on the Internet
I don’t know how but I am uncomfortable about purchasing through Internet
The process is expensive due to cost of access
Any other, specify…………
PERSONAL DETAILS
14.Age:
Below 18 yrs
18 - 30 yrs
31 - 40 yrs
41 – 50 yrs
Above 50 yrs
16. Occupation:
Business/Self Employed
Service/Executive
Student
Any other, specify………………
17. Gender:
Male
Female
Name: _____________________________
Contact No.: ______________________________
City: ____________________________