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CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION

E-Commerce (Online)

Online shopping (sometimes known as e-tail from "electronic retail" or e-shopping) is a form
of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller
over the Internet using a web browser. Alternative names are: e-web-store, e-shop, e-store,
Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. Mobile
commerce (or m-commerce) describes purchasing from an online retailer's mobile optimized
online site or app.

An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-
mortar retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online
shopping. In the case where a business buys from another business, the process is called
business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. The largest of these online retailing corporations
are Alibaba, Amazon.com, and eBay.

English entrepreneur Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in 1979. His system connected a
modified domestic TV to a real-time transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone
line. He believed that videotext, the modified domestic TV technology with a simple menu-
driven human–computer interface, was a 'new, universally applicable, participative
communication medium — the first since the invention of the telephone.' This enabled 'closed'
corporate information systems to be opened to 'outside' correspondents not just for transaction
processing but also for e-messaging and information retrieval and dissemination, later known as
e-business. His definition of the new mass communications medium as 'participative'
[interactive, many-to-many] was fundamentally different from the traditional definitions of mass
communication and mass media and a precursor to the social networking on the Internet 25 years
later.
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The online retail business model provides a foundation for delivering products to consumers and
generating revenue. Online retail business opportunities are numerous and choosing the
appropriate business model for selling products can make or break a business opportunity. For
example, the ecommerce model delivers a catalog through a website that provides a shopping
cart. The website serves as a catalog that customers can review and select items to purchase. The
ecommerce online retail business model requires an online shopping cart solution. Shopify offers
an ecommerce hosting package that delivers important tools, including email, a domain name
and unlimited bandwidth.

What is Online Retailing?

Online retailing is the sale of goods through the Internet. Retail stores can offer a variety of
goods sold primarily through a webpage or other online source. Auction sites, such as eBay,
offer a place where retailers can sell their items without creating their own page. The goods can
be sold through classified ads, auction sites, a business webpage, or e-mail advertising. For even
more sales, many online store owners have started using apps that load ads to mobile devices.

What Can You Sell Online?

You can sell anything you want online, as long as it is legal. Many online retailers offer a variety
of products, while others prefer to specialize in a specific niche.
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When it comes to marketing your products online, it is easier to compete if you have a specific
niche. With so much competition, you want to be able to target your audience as tightly as
possible.

Your marketing campaign is more effective when it is specific. Once you build your brand and
have a targeted audience, you can expand and begin to sell more items.

What Are the Start-Up Costs for an Online Retail Business?

The start-up costs for an online store are minimal, in comparison to opening a brick and mortar
store. There are no overhead costs, since no building is needed. The only costs associated with
opening an online store are the creation of a webpage, marketing, and the products that are being
sold. A basic web page can often be created without the assistance of a technical professional.
Marketing can range in cost, but there are many platforms that also offer free marketing tools.
Optimizing the web page for search engines, placing articles on authority sites, creating viral
videos, and using social media networks are all free and effective marketing tactics.

E-tailing requires businesses to tailor traditional business models to the rapidly changing face of
the Internet and its users. E-tailers are not restricted solely to the Internet, and some brick-and-
mortar businesses also operate websites to reach consumers. Online retailing is normally referred
to as e-tailing.
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The sale of goods and services through the Internet. Electronic retailing, or e-tailing, can include
business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales. E-tailing revenue can come from the sale
of products and services, through subscriptions to website content, or through advertising.

Retailing

Retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customers through multiple
channels of distribution to earn a profit. Demand is created through diverse target markets and
promotional tactics, satisfying consumers' wants and needs through a lean supply chain. In the
2000s, an increasing amount of retailing is done online using electronic payment and delivery via
a courier or postal mail. Retailing includes subordinated services, such as delivery. The term
"retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of
individuals, such as for the public. Shops may be on residential streets, streets with few or no
houses, or in a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a
shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing,
a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and mail order,
are forms of non-shop retailing.

Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products. Sometimes this is done to obtain
necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it is done as a recreational activity.
Recreational shopping often involves window shopping (just looking, not buying) and browsing
and does not always result in a purchase.

What is retailing?

Retailing involves selling products and services to consumers for their personal or family use. 
Department stores, like Burdines and Macy's, discount stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, and
specialty stores like The Gap, Zales Jewelers and Toys 'R' Us, are all examples of retail stores. 
Service providers, like dentists, hotels and hair salons, and on-line stores, like Amazon.com, are
also retailers.
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Many businesses, like Home Depot, are both wholesalers and retailers because they sell to
consumers and building contractors.  Other businesses, like The Limited, are both manufactures
and retailers.  Regardless of other functions these businesses perform, they are still retailers when
they interact with the final user of the product or service.

Why is Retailing Important?

As the final link between consumers and manufacturers, retailers are a vital part of the business
world.  Retailers add value to products by making it easier for manufactures to sell and
consumers to buy.  It would be very costly and time consuming for you to locate, contact and
make a purchase from the manufacturer every time you wanted to buy a candy bar, a sweater or a
bar of soap. Similarly, it would be very costly for the manufactures of these products to locate
and distribute them to consumers individually.  By bringing multitudes of manufacturers and
consumers together at a single point, retailers make it possible for products to be sold, and,
consequently, business to be done. 

Retailers also provide services that make it less risky and more fun to buy products.  They have
salespeople on hand who can answer questions, may offer credit, and display products so that
consumers know what is available and can see it before buying.  In addition, retailers may
provide many extra services, from personal shopping to gift wrapping to delivery, that increase
the value of products and services to consumers.
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Retailing is a distribution channel function where one organization buys products from supplying
firms or manufactures the product themselves, and then sells these directly to consumers. A
retailer is a reseller (i.e., obtains product from one party in order to sell to another) from which a
consumer purchases products

In the majority of retail situations, the organization from which a consumer makes purchases is a
reseller of products obtained from others and not the product manufacturer. But as we discussed
in the Distribution Decisions tutorial, some manufacturers also operate their own retail outlets in
a corporate channel arrangement. While consumers are the retailer’s buyers, a consumer does not
always buy from retailers. For instance, when a consumer purchases from another consumer
(e.g., eBay) the consumer purchase would not be classified as a retail purchase. This distinction
can get confusing but in the US and other countries the dividing line is whether the one selling to
consumers is classified as a business (e.g., legal and tax purposes) or is selling as a hobby
without a legal business standing.

As a reseller, retailers offer many benefits to suppliers and customers as we discussed in the
Distribution Decisions tutorial. For consumers the most important benefits relate to the ability to
purchase small quantities of a wide assortment of products at prices that are considered
reasonably affordable. For suppliers the most important benefits relate to offering opportunities
to reach their target market, build product demand through retail promotions, and provide
consumer feedback to the product marketer.

CHAPTER 2- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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What is Research Methodology?

The process used to collect information and data for the purpose of making business decisions.
The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other research
techniques, and could include both present and historical information.

“Methodology” implies more than simply the methods you intend to use to collect data. It is
often necessary to include a consideration of the concepts and theories which underlie the
methods. For instance, if you intend to highlight a specific feature of a sociological theory or test
an algorithm for some aspect of information retrieval, or test the validity of a particular system,
you have to show that you understand the underlying concepts of the methodology.

When you describe your methods it is necessary to state how you have addressed the research
questions and/or hypotheses. The methods should be described in enough detail for the study to
be replicated, or at least repeated in a similar way in another situation. Every stage should be
explained and justified with clear reasons for the choice of your particular methods and
materials.

There are many different ways to approach the research that fulfils the requirements of a
dissertation. These may vary both within and between disciplines. It is important to consider the
expectations and possibilities concerning research in your own field. You can do this by talking
to your tutors and looking at dissertations written by former students on your course.

Objectives of the study

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The overall aim of the study was to collect valid and reliable information on the attitudes,
experiences and expectations of the buyers in relation with their shopping interest from online
websites or retail shops.

 To understand the impact of broader changes in the retailing sector, due to the emergence
of the E-commerce (online) shopping.
 To examine the opportunities available in the new online sector.

 To explore their ideas on the development of websites for easy ordering of the customers

 To understand the shift of industry from online to retail.

 To understand the internet usage pattern of the respondents

 To analyze the type of products the respondents’ shop online

 To analyze the relationship between frequency of purchase and factors such as Home
page presentation, website security, ease of payment.
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Types of Research

A survey is a data gathering method that is utilized to collect, analyze and interpret the views of
a group of people from a target population. Surveys have been used in various fields of research,
such as sociology, marketing research, politics and psychology.

The Survey Process

A systematic method of gathering information from a target population, a survey makes use of
statistical techniques mainly used in quantitative research. The following steps are included in
the process of conducting a survey, as well as several questions to ask one's self during each step:

1. Clarify the purpose.

Why should a survey be done? What are the pros and cons? What issue/s should be studied?
How should you plan a survey?

2. Formulate survey goals.

What are the aims of the survey? Who should be the participants (target population)? How long
the survey should be conducted?

3. Verify the resources.

Are the budget, manpower and other resources sufficient?

4. Choose a survey method.

What type of survey can satisfy the purpose, survey goals and available resources? Are there
similar methods that are more suitable, such as Focus Groups or Panel Studies?

5. Perform the sampling.

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Which sampling technique is appropriate for the survey goal and method? How should you
design the survey?

Data Collection Instrument

The data for the study were gathered through a structured questionnaire. All variables were
operationalized using the literature on online shopping.
The first part of the questionnaire included questions concerning internet usage habits of the
respondents such as where they would like to surf, on which sites, how often they browsed the
internet, how much time they spent, what purposes they used the internet for and which kind of
products they purchased online. The second part consisted of questions measuring all the
variables including two questions which were meant to measure the frequency of their online
shopping.

Questionnaires

Questionnaires are a good way to obtain information from a large number of people and/or
people who may not have the time to attend an interview or take part in experiments. They
enable people to take their time, think about it and come back to the questionnaire later.
Participants can state their views or feelings privately without worrying about the possible
reaction of the researcher. Unfortunately, some people may still be inclined to try to give socially
acceptable answers. People should be encouraged to answer the questions as honestly as possible
so as to avoid the researchers drawing false conclusions from their study.

Questionnaires typically contain multiple choice questions, attitude scales, closed questions and
open-ended questions. The drawback for researchers is that they usually have a fairly low
response rate and people do not always answer all the questions and/or do not answer them
correctly.

Questionnaires can be administered in a number of different ways (e.g. sent by post or as email
attachments, posted on Internet sites, handed out personally or administered to captive audience
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(such as people attending conferences). Researchers may even decide to administer the
questionnaire in person which has the advantage of including people who have difficulties
reading and writing. In this case, the participant may feel that s/he is taking part in an interview
rather than completing a questionnaire as the researcher will be noting down the responses on
his/her behalf.

After creating your questionnaire, you will need to check and review the outline of the survey,
the questions being asked, and the response options for the respondents. To test the efficiency of
the questionnaire, here is a questionnaire checklist that will serve as your guide.

The following questionnaire checklist includes three sections:

I. the outline and format

II. the questions and

1. The Outline and Format

A. Introduction to the Questionnaire

 Title of the Study

 Purpose

 Duration of survey and length of questionnaire

 Guarantee of confidentiality

 Brief information about the company or organization

 Incentive Information (if any)

B. Demographic Data

 Respondent’s Name (This could be optional.)

 Age, Gender, etc.

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C. Question Format

 The first question is a closed-ended question (answerable by Yes or No).

 Questions are arranged from general to specific.

 Sensitive questions are at the end of the questionnaire.

 Questions are grouped together according to the topic.

 The directions on how to answer are placed before the questions.

 The rating scale is written before the questions.

 The response options are placed vertically, except for tabulated questions.

D. End of Questionnaire

 A “Thank You” or any expression of gratitude to the respondent

 Information on knowing the survey results

2. The Questions

 The questions are concise and simple.

 All the questions do not contain any terminologies, acronyms or jargons that are
unfamiliar to the respondents.

 The first 5 questions verify whether the respondent is eligible to continue the survey
or not.

 All questions point to the survey goals.

 All possible response options or an “Other” option are included in each question.

 The respondent may or may not answer sensitive questions by placing a “Prefer not to
answer” option.
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 A midpoint response option such as “Average”, “Sometimes" or "Neutral" is included

on the rating scale used.

 Most questions are closed-ended.

 Open-ended questions are voluntary.

Sampling and Measurement

To test the main hypothesis of this research, I conducted a questionnaire. This questionnaire that
adopted and combined from many similar researches, used to collect required data in order to
support or reject hypotheses. The questionnaires dispersed among big online stores and retail
stores, randomly. All questions were rated from ''strongly disagree'' to ''strongly agree''. At first,
an online store was randomly selected and 30 questionnaires were sent for the consumers that
had shopping from that online store.

Hypothesis

Researchers do not carry out work without any aim or expectation. Research is not of doing
something and presenting what is done. Every research problem is undertaken aiming at certain
outcomes. That is, before starting actual work such as performing an experiment or theoretical
calculation or numerical analysis, we expect certain outcomes from the study. The expectations
form the hypothesis. Hypotheses are scientifically reasonable predictions. They are often stated
in terms of if-then sentences in certain logical forms. A hypothesis should provide what we
expect to find in the chosen research problem. That is, the expected or proposed solutions based
on available data and tentative explanations constitute the hypothesis. Hypothesizing is done
only after survey of relevant literature and learning the present status of the field of research. It
can be formulated based on previous research and observation.

To formulate a hypothesis the researcher should acquire enough knowledge in the topic of
research and a reasonably deep insight about the problem. In formulating a hypothesis construct
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operational definitions of variables in the research problem. Hypothesis is due to an intelligent

guess or for inspiration which is to be tested in the research work rigorously through appropriate
methodology. Testing of hypothesis leads to explanation of the associated phenomenon or event.

In order to test the study's hypotheses, a series of regressions were used to analyze the
relationships between the predictors (independent variables) and the dependent variables. The
hypotheses and results are as follows:

Hypothesis 1: the risk of losing money and financial details will have negative effect on attitude
toward online shopping.
Hypothesis 2: The product risk will have negative effect on attitude towards online shopping.
Hypothesis 3: Having a friendly website and good service to better help the customers for
shopping, will have positive influence on attitude towards shopping online
Hypothesis 4: Fear of non-delivery of order will have negative influence on attitude towards
shopping online.
Hypothesis 5: After sales service, cyber laws and low shipping fees or free delivery will have
positive influence on attitude towards online shopping.
Hypothesis 6: Convenient product return policy will have positive effect on attitude towards
shopping online.
Hypothesis 7: Early adopter of technology and products will have positive effect on online
shopping behavior.
Hypothesis 8: Family members, friends and peers' online experience and suggestions will
positively influence online buying behavior.
Hypothesis 9: Attitude of consumers towards online shopping significantly affects their online
shopping behavior.
Hypothesis 10: lack of facility to shop online will have negative effect on online shopping
behavior.

The results showed that H1 and H4 are significantly supported. Thus, fear of losing money and
financial details has negative effect on attitude toward online shopping. Also the Fear of non-
delivery of order will have negative influence on attitude towards shopping online. That is, the
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higher the risk of losing money and probability of disclosing credit card information, the lower
attitude toward online shopping. In these studies, financial risk is an important factor for not
shopping online.
Also the higher the probability of non-delivery of order, the lower attitude toward online
shopping. It indicates that the non-delivery risk is a significant factor for affecting attitude and
hence behavior towards shopping online. People do not tend to shop online because they are not
sure whether the ordered merchandise will be delivered or not and lack of seriousness and efforts
towards building trust by the retailers makes it a significant reason.

Results of testing the hypotheses H2 and H3 indicated that effect of product risks and
convenience risk on attitude toward online shopping is not significant. The possible reason of
this insignificance in Indian context appears to be the indifference and unwillingness of these
shoppers towards online medium.

Review of literature

Online Shopping and Online Stores

Compared to physical stores, online stores have many advantages: They are convenient and time
saving and no more traveling and waiting in lines is needed. They are open in all time and they
are accessible anytime and anywhere. These stores provide consumers with free and rich
information about products and services. They also have some online tools to help consumers
compare and make purchase decisions among various products and services. Hoffman and
Novak (1996) indicated that interactivity is the key distinguishing feature between marketing
communication on the Internet and traditional mass media. Today online consumers have more
control and bargaining power than consumers of physical stores because the Internet offers more
interactivities between consumers and product/service providers as well as greater availability of
information about products and services.
Geissler and Zinkhan (1998) claimed that the Internet shifted the balance of power in favor of
consumers as it became very easy for them to make shopping comparisons and evaluate
alternatives without being pressured by salespeople. Online stores reduce transaction costs and
have advantage for both consumers and vendors.
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However, online stores also have disadvantages compare to brick-and-mortar stores. In online
stores customers can’t have any sense about the product they see in the internet (seeing,
touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing) as they search for and purchase products. In online
stores, consumers may develop low trust and perceive elevated risk highly because of the lack of
face-to-face communication.

Perceived Risks

Perceived risk refers to the nature and amount of risk perceived by a consumer in contemplating
a particular purchase decision. Before purchasing a product, a consumer considers the various
risks associated with the purchase. The different types of risks are referred to as perceived or
anticipated risks.
Research suggests that consumers generally prefer to use electronic commerce for purchasing
products that do not require physical inspection. The higher the perceived experience risk, the
consumer may shift to brick-and-mortar retailer for the purchase of the product. Whereas, the
lower the perceived risk, the higher the propensity for online shopping. Risks perceived or real,
exist due to technology failure (e.g., breaches in the system) or human error (e.g., data entry
mistakes). The most frequently cited risks associated with online shopping include financial risk
(e.g., is my credit card information safe?), product risk (e.g., is the product the same quality as
viewed on the screen?), convenience (e.g., Will I understand how to order and return the
merchandise?), and non-delivery risk (e.g., What if the product is not delivered?) The level of
uncertainty surrounding the online purchasing process influences consumers’ perceptions
regarding the perceived risks.

Attitude

Since the mid-1970s, the study of consumer’s attitudes has been associated with consumer
purchasing behavior research. According to the model of attitude change and behavior, consumer
attitudes are affected by intention. When this intention is applied to online shopping behavior,
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the research can examine the outcome of the purchase transaction. Attitude is a multi-
dimensional construct. One such dimension is the acceptance of the Internet as a shopping
channel. Previous research has revealed attitude towards online shopping is a significant
predictor of making online purchases.

Perceived Behavioral Control

Ajzen and Madden (1986) extended the TRA into the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by
adding a new construct "perceived behavioral control" as a determinant of both intention and
behavior. Perceived behavioral control refers to consumers’ perceptions of their ability to
perform a given behavior. TPB allows the prediction of behaviors over which people do not have
complete volitional control. Perceived behavioral control reflects perceptions of internal
constraints (self-efficacy) as well as external constraints on behavior, like availability of
resources. It has been found that the Planned Behavioral Control (PBC) directly affects online
shopping behavior and has a strong relationship with actual Internet purchasing.

Domain Specific Innovativeness

Domain Specific Innovativeness (DSI) is "the degree to which an individual is relatively earlier
in adopting an innovation than other members of his system". For the most part, people like
continuity in their daily lives, including in their shopping routine. While the Internet and online
shopping offers consumers a wide breadth and depth of product offerings, it also requires them to
go outside their normal shopping routine. Online shoppers need to learn new technology skills in
order to search, evaluate and acquire products. Consumers who prefer brick-and-mortar shopping
over other retail channels do not perceive the online shopping as a convenience. Research has
revealed that online shopping innovativeness is a function of attitude towards the online
environment and individual personal characteristics.
Innovative consumers are more inclined to try new activities. Adoption of online shopping is
depiction of individual‘s innovative characteristic. Adopting a new technology is a function of
one‘s attitude towards it. It is expected that person‘s domain specific innovativeness has a
propensity to shop online.
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Subjective Norms

In order to be successful retailers must understand consumers’ purchasing behaviors. This is

particularly true for online retailers. A comprehensive understanding must be made of the
website‘s design and support in order to match its consumers’ information gathering and
purchasing behaviors. The visual stimuli and communication through text and sound can
positively or negatively affect consumers’ online desires and actions.
The Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) has successfully been used to explain human behavior.
The theory proposes that human behavior is preceded by intentions, which are formed based on
consumers’ attitude toward the behavior and on perceived subjective norms. Attitude reflects the
individual's favorable or unfavorable feeling towards performing a behavior. Subjective norms
capture the consumers’ perceptions of the influence of significant others (e.g., family, peers,
authority figures, and media). It is related to intention because people often act based on their
perception of what others think they should be doing.
Subjective norms tend to be more influential during early stages of innovation implementation
when users have limited direct experience from which to develop attitudes. It is during this stage
of attitudinal development that online retailers can influence shoppers' propensity for purchasing
behaviors.

CHAPTER 3- ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

ANALYISIS:

1. Gender
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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows that out of 30 respondents 50% are female and 50% are male. For the
research I have taken equal number of males and females.

ANALYISIS:

2. Age Groups
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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows age group:

0 - 25 years 52%
26 – 50 years 33%
51 – 75 years 13%
76 & above 2%

ANALYISIS:

3. Annual
Income
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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows Annual Income:

0 – 1 lakh 33%
1 – 2 lakh 20%
2 – 3 lakh 18%
3 lakh & above 30%

ANALYISIS:

4. Website for Shopping

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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows online website shopping:

1. Amazon 44%
2. Flipkart 30%
3. Snap deal 20%
4. Others 6%

ANALYISIS:

5. Do you like retail shopping or online shopping?

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INTERPRETATION:

This chart shows online vs retail shopping:

Retail shopping 51%

online shopping 40%
Both 3%
None 6%

ANALYISIS:

6. What drive the E-commerce in India?

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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows factors that drive E- commerce in India:

1 Convenience of shopping from home 37%

2 Driven by Discounts 30%
3 Wider product assortments/ options 29%
4 others 4%

ANALYISIS:

Q7. What are the factors influencing shopping?

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INTERPRETATION:

This pie chart shows factors influencing shopping:

1 Time 30%
2 Changing lifestyle 15%
3 Advertisement 18%
4 price factor 37%

CHAPTER 4- SUMMARY, FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATION

Summary
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A recent survey asked respondents about their online shopping habits. It asked respondents what
percentage of their 2010 holiday shopping was done online. It also asked if their shopping online
increased from 2009.

Every 50 years or so, retailing undergoes this kind of disruption. A century and a half ago, the
growth of big cities and the rise of railroad networks made possible the modern department store.
Mass-produced automobiles came along 50 years later, and soon shopping malls lined with
specialty retailers were dotting the newly forming suburbs and challenging the city-based
department stores. The 1960s and 1970s saw the spread of discount chains—Walmart, Kmart,
and the like—and, soon after, big-box “category killers” such as Circuit City and Home Depot,
all of them undermining or transforming the old-style mall. Each wave of change doesn’t
eliminate what came before it, but it reshapes the landscape and redefines consumer
expectations, often beyond recognition. Retailers relying on earlier formats either adapt or die
out as the new ones pull volume from their stores and make the remaining volume less
profitable.

Like most disruptions, digital retail technology got off to a shaky start. A bevy of internet-based
retailers in the 1990s—Amazon.com, Pets.com, and pretty much everythingelse.com—embraced
what they called online shopping or electronic commerce. These fledgling companies ran wild
until a combination of ill-conceived strategies, speculative gambles, and a slowing economy
burst the dot-com bubble. The ensuing collapse wiped out half of all e-commerce retailers and
provoked an abrupt shift from irrational exuberance to economic reality.

Today, however, that economic reality is well established. The research firm Forrester estimates
that e-commerce is now approaching $200 billion in revenue in the United States alone and
accounts for 9% of total retail sales, up from 5% five years ago.

The corresponding figure is about 10% in the United Kingdom, 3% in Asia-Pacific, and 2% in
Latin America. Globally, digital retailing is probably headed toward 15% to 20% of total sales,
though the proportion will vary significantly by sector. Moreover, much digital retailing is now
highly profitable.
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Amazon’s five-year average return on investment, for example, is 17%, whereas traditional
discount and department stores average 6.5%.
What we are seeing today is only the beginning. Soon it will be hard even to define e-commerce,
let alone measure it. Is it an e-commerce sale if the customer goes to a store, finds that the
product is out of stock, and uses an in-store terminal to have another location ship it to her
home? What if the customer is shopping in one store, uses his smartphone to find a lower price at
another, and then orders it electronically for in-store pickup? How about gifts that are ordered
from a website but exchanged at a local store? Experts estimate that digital information already
influences about 50% of store sales, and that number is growing rapidly.
As it evolves, digital retailing is quickly morphing into something so different that it requires a
new name: Omni channel retailing. The name reflects the fact that retailers will be able to
interact with customers through countless channels—websites, physical stores, kiosks, direct
mail and catalogs, call centers, social media, mobile devices, gaming consoles, televisions,
networked appliances, home services, and more. Unless conventional merchants adopt an
entirely new perspective—one that allows them to integrate disparate channels into a single
seamless Omni channel experience—they are likely to be swept away.

Findings
Some of the key findings of this research are:
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 The three most important reasons driving consumers to shop online are lower prices,
convenience and availability of a wider choice of goods.
 The main reasons for small to medium businesses selling online include reaching a larger
number of consumers and providing greater convenience for the shopper.

 51% of consumers shop online entirely.

 32% of consumers and 40% of small to medium businesses say they don’t know who is
responsible for goods that are lost or damaged in transit.

 30% of small to medium businesses do not use a secure webpage for payments or
collecting personal details.

 24% of consumers use a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet to shop online.

 Convenience was listed as the top reason for shopping online by 37% of the
respondents, and at the same level were discounts and coupons.

 This is good news for e-tailers, as the value proposition for online shopping is
clear in the minds of shoppers.

 27% of our respondents said they purchase majority of their goods online. We
believe this bodes well for e-tailers as online shopping is gaining acceptance.
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Recommendations

 Always do your shopping on secure websites. Look for marks like 'Verisign Secured' at
the bottom of the webpage for evidence of security protocols followed.

 Reputed chain store websites are likely to be safe and secure (even if you can't
immediately find the security certification).

 If you did a google search for a product, any site that ranks in the first 20 results is likely
to be a 'good' store, even if you don't recognize the retailer's name.

 Having said that, if you're using a site for the first time and don't recognize the retailer's
name, avoid storing your credit card details at the time of checkout. On the other hand, it
is quite safe and efficient to store your card details in top ranking sites like ebay and
amazon.

 An item might be out of stock, or might not be available in size at a particular store
location. No such issues with online shopping. If the retailer has the item at any location,
anywhere in his inventory, you'll have access to it.

 Due to lower operational costs, internet prices for the same item tend to be lower. Make
sure you search for good deals - the internet abounds with them!

 The internet allows comparison shopping of the same item simultaneously across
multiple retailers. This is a huge productivity tool - doing the same exercise in the offline
world would require several weekends of effort! So you can shop with confidence,
knowing you're getting the right product at the right price at all times.

 Nothing beats online shopping in convenience. You can browse and shop 24/7; you can
shop in complete privacy; you can multi-task while you're shopping. So if time is at a
premium, just go ahead and shop online!
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Bibliography

1. Primary data
Research by questionnaires
2. Text book / News paper
Research methodology in commerce – M.com – II
Economic times
Times of India
3. Websites
http://www.moving-to/online-shopping.html
https:// the-future-of-shopping
https://explorable.com/questionnaire-checklist

Questionnaire
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Name: Monali Shah

Std: Mcom – II / B
Subject: Research Methodology

Q1. Gender

(a) Female (b) male

Q2. Which age group do you belong?

(a) 0 – 25 years (b) 26 – 50 years

(c) 51 – 75 years (d) 76 & above

Q3. Annual Income?

(a) 0 – 1 lakh (b) 1 lakh – 2 lakh

(c) 2 lakh – 3 lakh (d) 3 lakh & above

Q4. Which are the website preferred for online shopping?

(a) Amazon (b) Flipkart

(c) Snap Deal (d) Others

Q5. Do you like retail shopping or online shopping?

(a) Retail (b) Online
(c) Both (d) None

Q6. What drive the E-commerce in India?

(a) Convenience of shopping from home (b) Driven by Discounts

(c) Wider product assortments/ options

Q7. What are the factors influencing shopping?

(a) Time (b) Changing Lifestyles

(c) Advertisement (d) Price factors

Q8. How much Rupees a month on an average do you spend on Shopping?

Rs._____________________
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Q9. Do you opt for online if cheaper than retail?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q10. How do you feel about the online industry booming?

(a) I like it (b) I don’t like it

(c) I would prefer to buy from shops

THANK YOU!