A Summer Internship Project Report

On

A Study on Online Marketing towards – Amazon India

For The Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirement For The Award

Of

Master of Business Administration (MBA) Semester II, Class of

2023

Under The Guidance & Supervision Of:

PROF. XXXXXXX

Submitted By:

XXXXXXXX

Enrollment No.: XXXXXX

Amity Global Business School

Hyderabad

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 DECLARATION (Sample)

I XXXXXXXXX, student of Amity Global Business School, Hyderabad hereby declare that the
Project Titled “XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX” is the record of authentic work
done by me for submission of the Summer Internship Project as a partial fulfillment and had not been
submitted in any other university or Institute for the award of any other Degree. An attempt has been
made by me to provide all relevant and important details regarding the topic to support the theoretical
aspects and practical evidence related to the topic.

XXXXXXXX

Date: 27.05.2020

Place: Hyderabad

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ( Sample)

My heartfelt sincere thanks to XXXXXXX Director General, Amity Global Business School
Hyderabad, for giving me this opportunity for doing my project in “Customer Perception of Solar as
Primary Energy Resource in Residential sector”.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX has been very supportive and helped me to learn and complete the project.
My sincere thanks my Industry guide and company XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

My sincere and grateful thanks to my faculty guide XXXXXXXXX for guiding me throughout my
project. My sincere thanks to my family member who stood by me motivating me to complete my
project successfully.

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 FACULTY GUIDE CERTIFICATE ( Sample)

This is to certify that XXXXXXXX, student of semester II class of MBA 2019-2021 has completed
the Summer Internship Project Titled “Customer Perception of Solar as Primary Energy Resource
in Residential sector” is a bonafide work and has worked under my guidance sincerely for the partial
fulfillment of Master of Business Administration for the year 2019 – 2021 to the best of my
knowledge and wish him/her success for the future endeavors.

(Name & Sign of Faculty)

Date: 30.05.2020

Place: Hyderabad

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SL No. Contents Page no.

Executive summary

CHAPTER - I
1
Introduction

CHAPTER - II
2
Review Of Literature

CHAPTER - III
3
Research Methodology

CHAPTER – IV
4
Data Analysis And Interpretation

CHAPTER – V
5
Findings

CHAPTER – VI

6 Recommendations

Conclusion

Annexure

Bibliography

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 Executive Summery
The successful completion of this project was a unique experience for us and we achieved a
better knowledge about Online Marketing in India. The experience which we got by doing
this project was essential to our future. The information in this project being submitted by us
contains detailed analysis of the research undertaken by us.

The research provides an opportunity to us to devote our skills, knowledge and competencies
during our knowledge gathering sessions of marketing management.

The research is on the topic “Online Marketing in India”. Internet marketing is emerging as
an integral part of business strategies in today’s technologically advanced world and the
business activities all over the world are influences with the emergence of this modern
marketing tool. This dissertation is aimed at exploring the patterns of Dubai business
organizations in adopting Internet Marketing. In this regards a quantitative study is conducted
among 200 firms of Dubai investigating them about the level that they have reached in
utilizing Internet Marketing and to have a look at the effects drawn on their product
development and pricing policy effecting from the consumer research that these firm conduct
through Internet Marketing. The dissertation presents a view of the current trends and
situation of Dubai business world with respect to adoption of Internet Marketing with the
help of information gathered from secondary as well as primary sources. Moreover the
dissertation also examine weather the business managers and owners of Dubai firms are
adequately prepared to face the challenges of the highly competitive environment resulting
from Internet Marketing and other technology implications or not. The study is focused on
tracing the effects of Internet Marketing on the product development and pricing policy of
Dubai business organizations so that the outcomes of e-marketing could be evaluated in terms
of improvement in consumer relations, performance and profitability of the organizations

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 CHAPTER – I
INTRODUCTION

The Internet, as a mean for both firms and individuals to conduct business, is nowadays one
of the most widely used non-store formats.With popular trends and demands the concept of
the Internet as the way forward to increase profit margins, companies new and old are
creating websites here and there. The significance for retailers to having a web site is that a
web site is informational and transactional in nature, as the web site can be used for
advertising and direct marketing; sales; customer support and public relations.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 behaviour in cyberspace.

Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy 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 andalso 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.

A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with, by
identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the company who owns the idea or image.
Branding is when that idea or image is marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more
people, and identified with a certain service or product when there are many other companies
offering the same service or product. Advertising professionals work on branding not only to
build brand recognition, but also to build good reputations and a set of standards to which the
company should strive to maintain or surpass. Branding is an important part of Internet
commerce, as branding allows companies to build their reputations as well as expand beyond
the original product and service, and add to the revenue generated by the original brand.
Initially, Branding was adopted to differentiate one person's cattle from another's by means of

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a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp, and was
subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising.

Customer perception is a marketing concept that encompasses a customer's impression,

awareness and/or consciousness about a company or its offerings. Customer perception is
typically affected by advertising, reviews, public relations, social media, personal experiences
and other channels.

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes
they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy
needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. It blends
elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to
understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups. It
studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural
variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the
consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.

Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer playing
the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Research has shown that consumer behaviour
is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. Relationship marketing is an influential
asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true
meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer.
A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship
management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can
be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.

The ultimate goal of most businesses is to increase sales and income. Ideally, you want to
attract new customers to your products and encourage repeat purchases. Brand awareness
refers to how aware customers and potential customers are of your business and its products.
Brand Awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is
correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed usually as a percentage of target
market, brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising in the early months or years of a
product's introduction.

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Brand awareness is the extent to which the consumer associates the brand with the product he
desires to buy. It is the brand recall and the brand recognition of the company to the
consumers. Brand recall is the ability of the consumer to recollect the brand with reference to
the product whereas brand recognition is the potential of the consumer to retrieve the past
knowledge of the brand when enquired about the brand or shown an image of the brand logo.
Brand awareness is an essential part of brand development which helps the brand to stand out
from the others in this monopolistically competitive market.

Digital marketing involves the promotion of products and services using digital distribution
channels that reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal, and cost effective manner. At a
high level, digital channels can have many categories, such as the internet, mobile, digital
outdoors, and any form of interactive digital media. Each category has multiple digital tools/
sub-channels that can support digital marketing. These include:

 Internet- Email banner ads, dedicated websites, pop-up ads, sponsored content, paid
keyword search, podcasts, etc… Newer channels comprise social networks, blogs,
wikis, widgets, virtual words, online gaming etc…
 Mobile- SMS,MMS, mobile Web, mobile application and mobile video
 Digital outdoors – Stills,/ video digital display, interactive kiosks
 Interactive digital medium – interactive television channels

Any combination of the above channels can be used to gain maximum visibility with utmost
impact among targeted customers, thereby enabling more business at a reasonable cost. While
digital channels empower marketers with a tremendous advantage in terms of their extensive
reach, leveraging their potential requires effective management of multiple channels with
complex variables to realize optimal value.

1.1 INTERNET USAGE IN INDIA

Internet in India report says that India’s internet user base has gone well above 100 million –
that’s just fewer than 10% of the population. India’s internet user base was growth was very
sluggish until 2007-08, but has picked up rapidly thereafter.

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Graph 1.1: Internet usage in yearly basis

At about 150 million Internet users, India now has 3rd largest Internet population in the world
after China (at 575m) and the US (at 275m). At 150 million total Internet users, the Internet
penetration in India remains at 12 per cent vs. 43 per cent in China and 80 per cent in the US.
However, the low penetration means that India presents unmatchable growth opportunity for
the Internet sector in coming years. In our view, India will likely see golden period of the
Internet sector between 2013 to 2018 with incredible growth opportunity and secular growth
adoption for E-Commerce, Internet advertising, social media, search, online content, and
services relating to E-Commerce and Internet advertising.

Here is the India Internet outlook for 2013, the first year for this golden period.

 Internet penetration will reach 15%. Expect India to add 30 million new Internet users
in 2013 and total Internet population to touch 180mm. This implies a 20% growth in
the Internet population.
 Time spend online will rise and directionally become comparable to US and China.
As per research estimates, an Internet user in India on average is spending 13 hour per
week and this number will likely reach 16 hours per week. The incremental time
spend online will largely be spent on social media, photo/video sharing, E-Commerce,
and utilities/banking/bill payments.
 Mobile Internet users to touch 100M. India has nearly 950 million mobile subscribers
and close to 50 million or fewer than 6 per cent of these mobile subscribers access
Internet via mobile handsets. And estimate that in 2013 the mobile Internet
penetration will go up from close to 6 per cent to 10 per cent and India could double

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 its mobile Internet population in 2013 at 100 million estimated mobile Internet users
by end of 2013.
 Internet usage will likely grow faster for female and from home. So far India Internet
usage is heavily screwed towards male gender and from work and educational
establishments. In 2013, Internet usage will grow much faster for female and from
home access. This acceleration will likely happen due to overall Internet adoption
moving to masses.
 E-Commerce will likely touch $900M in 2013. As per the estimates, in 2017 India E-
Commerce reached $550 million in gross revenue and we expect E-Commerce to
touch $900 million in gross revenue by end of 2013.
 Majority of E-Commerce growth will come from emerging cities. While, top 8 cities
in India may remain at 45 per cent to 65 per cent of total E-Commerce for various E-
Commerce companies, we believe that higher growth delta for E-Commerce in 2013
will come from emerging cities. We define emerging cities as the cities other than
Top-40 cities in India e.g. Bhatinda in Punjab or Kota in Rajasthan.
 Internet advertising will be the fastest growing sub-sector of the India Internet. As per
the estimates, India Internet advertising generated $300 million in revenue in 2017
and can double in 2013 to reach $600 million. Also believe that lots of Internet
advertising growth will come due to the rise in social media, mobile Internet, and non-
search and content driven online ad formats such as lead generation, affiliate
marketing, and email marketing etc.
 Funding environment for the Internet start-ups to remain challenging in 2013.
Funding environment for the Internet start-ups to remain challenging in 2013 in India.
In last 17 years, India has created less than $5 billion in Internet market capitalization
vs. $600 billion by US Internet sector and $250 billion by Chinese Internet sector. Lot
many Internet companies have to become a lot bigger for the funding environment to
ease off.
 E-Commerce will likely see emergence of disruptive business models and
consolidation. E-Commerce companies that are focusing on fundamental issues will
likely disrupt the E-Commerce industry in 2013. On one hand, the fundamental issues
are the issues that matter for improving customer experiences and the state of the
ecosystem, on other hand focusing on fundamentals of business vs. throwing money
at the problem will become absolutely imperative. Majority of the inventory led E-

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 Commerce business models will likely either merge with each other or take a niche
vertical position.
 Start-up culture and ecosystem to become more widespread. In our view, the start-up
culture and start up ecosystem are becoming more widespread. The seed and angel
rounds are no longer limited to Mumbai, Delhi or Hyderabad and emergence of start-
up is no longer limited to IITs or big cities. While, India has long way to go vs.
having a true Silicon Valley start-up culture, ecosystem and support system, India is
headed in that direction. Founding a start-up immediately after graduation or leaving a
rewarding corporate job to join a start-up, or find or become an angel investor is no
longer uncommon. While, the 2013 Internet funding environment will likely be
challenging, the overall Internet start-up ecosystem will become stronger and more
ubiquitous.

1.2 RETAILING

Retailing is selling of merchandise and certain services to the consumer. Retailing began
several thousand years ago.The activities involved in the selling of goods to ultimate
consumers for personal or household consumption. It is extremely competitive, and the
failure rate of retail establishments is relatively high. Price is the most important arena of
competition, but other factors include convenience of location, selection and display of
merchandise, attractiveness of the establishment, and reputation. The diversity of retailing is
evident in the many forms it now takes, including vending machines, door-to-door and
telephone sales, direct-mail marketing, the Internet, discount houses, specialty stores,
department stores, supermarkets, and consumer cooperatives.

Whatever form it takes, however, the essence of good retailing remains the same: attractive,
appropriate merchandise offered for sale in an attractive, eye-catching manner at a reasonable
price at a convenient location.

It ordinarily involves the selling of individual units or small lots to large numbers of
customers by a business set up for that specific purpose. In the broadest sense, retailing can
be said to have begun the first time one item of value was bartered for another. In the more
restricted sense of a specialized, full-time commercial activity, retailing began several
thousand years ago when peddlers first began hawking their wares and when the first
marketplaces were formed.

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As with most other business activities, retailing is extremely competitive, and the mortality
rate of retail establishments is relatively high. The basic competition is price competition, but
this is moderated somewhat by such non-price forms of competition as convenience of
location, selection and display of merchandise, attractiveness of the retail establishment itself,
and intangible factors such as reputation in the community. Competition for sales has led to a
blurring of traditional product lines in retailing, and many establishments offer a much wider
variety of merchandise than their basic classification would indicate (e.g., drugstores may
carry food, clothing, office supplies, hardware, etc.).

Terms Defined:

Vending Machine- a coin-operated machine for selling small articles, beverages, etc.

Direct-mail marketing- reaching the desired clients using print ads in a form of leaflets,
e-mails.

Discount houses- retail store that offers merchandise for sale at lowerprices than conventional
stores that sell merchandiseat list prices or suggested retail prices;

Specialty stores- are small stores which specialise in a specific rangeof merchandise and
related items.

1.3 INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods, services etc. from a
seller interactively in real-time without an intermediary service over the internet. Online
shopping is the process of buying goods and services from merchants who sell on the
Internet. Since the emergence of the World Wide Web, merchants have sought to sell their
products to people who surf the Internet. Shoppers can visit web stores from the comfort of
their homes and shop as they sit in front of the computer. Consumers buy a variety of items
from online stores. In fact, people can purchase just about anything from companies that
provide their products online. Books, clothing, household appliances, toys, hardware,
software, and health insurance are just some of the hundreds of products consumers can buy
from an online store.

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Many people choose to conduct shopping online because of the convenience. For example,
when a person shops at a brick-and-mortar store, he has to drive to the store, find a parking
place, and walk throughout the store until she locates the products she needs. After finding
the items she wants to purchase, she may often need to stand in long lines at the cash register.

Despite the convenience of online shopping, not everyone chooses to purchase items and
services online. Some people like the idea of physically going to a store and experiencing the
shopping process. They like to touch the merchandise, try on clothing, and be around other
people. Online shopping doesn't permit shoppers to touch products or have any social
interaction. It also doesn't allow them to take the merchandise home the same day they buy it.

Online shopping allows browsing through endless possibilities, and even offers merchandise
that's unavailable in stores. If someone is searching for a niche product that may not be
distributed locally, they're sure to find what they're looking for on the internet. What's even
more useful is the ability to compare items, similar or not, online. He can search through
multiple stores at the same time, comparing material quality, sizes and pricing
simultaneously.

Shopping via the internet eliminates the need to sift through a store's products with potential
buys like pants, shirts, belts and shoes all slung over one arm. Online shopping also
eliminates the catchy, yet irritating music, as well as the hundreds, if not thousands, of other
like-minded individuals who seem to have decided to shop on the same day.

Online shopping transactions occur instantly-saving the time to get your other errands done!
Additionally, unlike a store, online shopping has friendly customer service representatives
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with locating, purchasing and shipping
your merchandise.

1.3.1 Factors influencing consumer to shop online

Though there are several factors that influence consumers to shop online, but there are mainly
four factors which influence consumer to shop online after reading literature in the field on
consumer attitudes towards online shopping and these factors are discussed below in brief.

1.3.1.1 Convenience

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Convenience factor refers that it is easy to browse or search the information through online is
easier than the traditional retail shopping. Through online, consumers can easily search
product catalogue but if the consumer look generally for the same product or item in a
traditional store manually it is difficult to visit physically and time consuming also.
Convenience has always been a prime factor for consumers to shop online. According to the
Robinson, Riley, Rettie and Wilsonz (2007) the major motivation for online purchasing is
convince in terms of shop at any time and having bundles of items delivered at door step.

Rohm and Swaminathan’s (2004) claims in “typology of online shoppers into”: Convenience
shoppers, balanced buyers, variety seekers and store-oriented shoppers, based upon their
present shopping motivation. Through online purchase consumers can easily compare the
price than the traditional purchase. So price comparison is also another convenience factor of
online shopping.

1.3.1.2 Time saving

Time savings is one of most influencing factors of online shopping. Browse or search an
online catalogue can save time and patience. People can save time and can reduce effort by
shopping online. One possible explanation that online shopping saves time during the
purchasing of goods and it can eliminate the traveling time required to go to the traditional
store. On the other side, some respondent think that it is also time taken for delivery of goods
or services over online shopping.

Unexpectedly time saving is not the motivating factor for the consumers to shop online
(Corbett, 2001) because it takes time receiving goods or delivery. But time saving factor can
be seen through different dimensions i.e. “person living in Florida can shop at Harod’s in
London (through the web) in less time than it takes to visit the local Burdines department
store”. So the importance of the time saving factor cannot be neglected as motivation behind
online purchasing. Additionally Goldsmith and Bridges (2016) emphasize that there is a
discrimination between online shopper and non-online shoppers, online shoppers are more
worried about convenience, time saving and selection whereas non online shoppers are
worried about security, privacy and on time delivery.

1.3.1.3 Website design/features

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Website design and online shopping activity is one of the vital influencing factors of
onlineshopping. Website design, website reliability/fulfilment, website customer service and
website security/privacy are the most attractive features which influence the perception of the
consumer of online buying Shergill & Chen (2005). Kamariah and Salwani (2005) claims the
higher website quality, the higher consumer intends to shop from internet. Web design
quality has important impacts on consumer choice of electronic stores, stated by Liang and
Lai (2016). Website design one of the important factor motivating consumers for online
shopping.

Website design features can be considered as a motivational factor that can create positive or
negative feelings with a website. If website is designed with quality features it can guide the
customers for successful transactions and attract the customers to revisit the website again.
However, worse quality website features can also hamper online shopping. According to
Liang and Lai (2016), web design quality or website features has direct impact on user to
shop online.

1.3.1.4 Security

Security is another dominant factor which affects consumers to shop online. However many
internet users avoid online shopping because of credit card fraud, privacy factors, non-
delivery risk, post purchase service and so on. But transaction security on the online shopping
has received attention. Safe and secured transaction of money and credit card information
increases trust and decreases transaction risk. In 1995, UK has introduced Fraud free
electronic shopping and later on Europe and Singapore introduced secured electronic
transaction (SET). According to Bhatnagar and Ghose (2004) Security is one of the attribute
which limits buying on the web as they claim that there is a large segment of internet
shoppers who don’t like to buy online because of their thinking about the security of their
sensitive information.

1.4 INTRODUCTION TO ECOMMERCE

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Electronic commerce, commonly known as ecommerce, is a type of industry where buying
and selling of product or service is conducted over electronic systems such as the Internet and
other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile
commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online
transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems,
and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the
World Wide Web at least at one point in the transaction's life-cycle, although it may
encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail, mobile devices social media, and
telephones as well.

Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also

consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business
transactions.

E-commerce can be divided into:

 E-tailing or "virtual storefronts" on websites with online catalogues, sometimes

gathered into a "virtual mall"
 The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts and social media
 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the business-to-business exchange of data
 E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospective and established
customers (for example, with newsletters)
 Business-to-business/ Business-to-Customer buying and selling
 The security of business transactions etc…

1.4.1 Growth and progression of E-commerce in India

The e-commerce market in India has grown by 34% in the last seven years, was about USD
600 million in 2017-12 and is expected to touch USD 9 billion by 2016 and USD 70 billion
by 2020. According to Forrester, the Indian e-commerce market is expected to grow at a
CAGR of over 57% between 2017 and 2016, which is the fastest within Asia-Pacific region. 

The key factors that are driving this growth are the rise of Internet usage (growing at 20%) &
3G penetration, and increasing smartphone users with availability of Internet on mobile
phones. It is estimated that currently there are 27 million mobile Internet users in India out of
which 4% are buying products on mobile. This figure is expected to increase to 20% mobile

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shoppers in the next four years. These factors accompanied by busy lifestyles, traffic
congestion, lack of offline shopping time, great deals and discounts offered online, and use of
innovative e-commerce models such as group buying and second-hand sales have led to more
and more consumers switch to online shopping. With the rising middle class incomes, global
exposure and changing demographics (close to 50% of the population is less than 25 years of
age), this trend also holds true for the Tier II & III cities.

Online travel (76 percent) and financial services (10 percent) form the biggest component of
online shopping followed by e-tailing (8 percent). While services such as travel tickets,
movie tickets, restaurant discount vouchers, hotel bookings, utility payments, insurance
policies, and premium payments lead the wallet share of the amount spent online, product
categories such as computers & accessories, cameras & mobiles, electronic durables, and
books are picking up. But, product categories such as apparel, jewellery and footwear
(require high touch and feel), which offer maximum potential in terms of market size, faces
challenges such as high return rate and negative cash cycles due to COD (cash on delivery).

However, the e-commerce industry today faces certain challenges. Firstly, there is a very low
penetration of credit/debit cards in India, which restricts the online purchasing power. Even
though strategies such as cash on delivery have been introduced, they have their own nuances
and pose high working capital issues to the companies. Secondly, high volume items such as
refrigerators require high freight & shipping costs and because the e-commerce model in
India is based on free shipping concept, sale of such items online could suffer a setback.
Finally, the distribution & logistics in India is not very well organized and prone to fraud.
Hence, buying of high value items such as jewellery, electronic goods (LCDs), which require
travel insurance adding up to the total costs may not be one of the bestsellers in the digital
space.

The key to success in this segment is delivering high quality user experience which includes
differentiated and detailed product catalogue, order fulfilment, website performance, different
modes of transaction(credit cards, payment gateways, cash on delivery etc.), and simple and
sensible checkout. Furthermore, with the increase in competition in this segment, the e-
commerce players need to invest in research and development of differentiated product
catalogues, innovative service and customer engagement concepts, and cost effective supply
chain and logistics models.

NEED OF THE STUDY

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  Analysis of Customer Perception towards online shopping on Amazon .com.
 Basically it is important to investigate the motivation behind consumer purchase but it
is equally important to find us how the consumers form perception and behaviours
towards online buying because consumer perception towards purchasing online is a
conspicuous factor affecting actual buying behaviour.
 One of the researches is to work on factors that influence customers to buy online
from Amazon .com, and have decided to study four factors such as convenience, time
saving, Website features, and security. And along with this the study for out of stock
on highly discounted items also will be done.
 However, customer’s willingness to purchase online could be affected by one’s
individual needs and these needs can be ‘Need for cognition’. Taking these aspects
into account, a survey is conducted to know the perception towards online shopping
on Amazon .com.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 Scope of study is a general outline of what the study (e.g. class or seminar) will cover.
"Scope" defines the parameters of this can be an object, or a theory process, activity,
describing either future, current or past knowledge or statements of descriptive
activity, experience etc.
 The topic chosen for this particular study is to analyze the customer perception
towards online shopping on Amazon .com.
 The sample size chosen was according to the convenience and the objectives of the
study.
 To know about various aspects of Amazon in market, the improvements needed in
case of features and process, and the effect of factors on the buying behavior of online
customers.
 The geographical area that this study covers is Hyderabad (India).

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OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

 To find the factors that leads a website user to return to or recommend the website
Amazon .com
 To discover the key factors that influence online buying behaviour of consumers
in India
 To identify who are the online shoppers in terms of demography
 To understand the customer awareness on Amazon .com
 To determine the factors responsible for customer satisfaction

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 CHAPTER – III
INDUSTRY PROFILE
India is the second fastest growing economy in the world. It is third largest economy in the
world in terms of GDP and fourth largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity.
India presents a huge opportunity to the world at age, to use as a hub. Standing on the
threshold of a retail revolution and witnessing a fast changing retail landscape, India is all set
to experience the phenomenon of global village. India is the “promised land” for global
brands and Indian retailers A “Vibrant economy”. India tops in the list of emerging market
for global retailer and India’s retail sector is expanding and modernizing rapidly in line with
India’s economic growth. The future is promising; the market is growing, government
policies are becoming more favourable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way toward becoming the next boom industry. The
whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behaviour,
ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retail has entered India as seen in
sprawling shopping centres, multi-storied malls and huge complexes offer shopping,
entertainment and food all under one roof. The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point
where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the consumption by the Indian
population is going to take a higher growth trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a
significant change in its demographics. A large young working population with median age
of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women
population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth
drivers of the retail sector in India. Retailing in India is evolving rapidly, with consumer
spending growing by unprecedented rates and with increasing no of global players investing
in this sector. Organized retail in India is undergoing a metamorphosis and is expected to
scale up to meet global standards over the next five years. India’s retail market has
experienced enormous growth over the past decade. The most significant period of growth for
the sector was between year 2016 & 2006, when the sector revenues increased by about
93.5% translating to an average annual growth of 13.3%.The sectors growth was partly a
reflection of the impressive Indian economic growth and overall rise in income level of
consumers. Apparels and consumer durables are the fastest growing vertical in the retail
sector. Mobile phone as a product category has witnessed the highest growth in the consumer
demand amongst all retail products offering, with increasing penetration of

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telecommunication in towns and villages. The telecommunication sector has been adding on
an average 5 million new users every month. The other product categories are gaining
traction predominantly in the urban areas and emerging cities, with increasing average
income and spending power of young urban India.

3.1.1.1History of Retailing

Store; commonly a shop or stall for the retail sale of commodities, but also a place where
wholesale supplies are kept, exhibited, or sold. Retailing—the sale of merchandise to the
consumer—is one of the oldest businesses in the world and was practiced in prehistoric
times.

Total retail sales, which include retail stores and eating establishments, topped $2.7 trillion in
the United States in 1998. Currently, there are over 1.5 million retail establishments
employing over 19.8 million people. Most are small. One third of all retail establishments
have no paid employees; about 43% have fewer than 10 employees. Larger stores, with over
$500,000 in annual sales, account for three quarters of all retail sales. The 50 largest retailers
control about one fifth of the market, and stores with ten or more branches account for 95%
of all department store sales, 56% of all drugstore sales, half of all shoe sales, and 57% of all
grocery store sales.

3.1.1.2 The Development of Retail Stores

The earliest form of retail merchandising was probably the exchange of food and weapons;
later came traders and peddlers, and by 3000 BC shops had become common. During the
Greek and Roman period, stores, including many specialty shops, developed in the form of
open booths, attracting large cosmopolitan crowds. After the decline of the Roman Empire,
barter became more important, but by the 14th cent. Retail trade again assumed importance.
Merchants, who in early times were viewed with suspicion, rose in the social scale. Small
stores, each carrying its special line of goods, reached their peak in the 18th cent. The
wholesale business developed, and traveling salesmen and standard prices came into general
use.

In the United States the general store preceded the single-line store and is still common in
small rural communities. In late 19th cent, the department store came into being—a large-
scale general store or a combination of single-line stores in which each line of merchandise is
operated as a separate department. Such stores provide the convenience of easy accessibility

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to a large variety of goods. Modern department stores have been vital to the development of
shopping centres and malls, huge retail developments that contain a wide variety of stores
and services.

Retail concerns that do business principally through the mail are called mail-order houses. In
the United States among the first and largest were Montgomery Ward (founded 1872) and
Sears, Roebuck, & Company (founded 1886), which sold their goods to rural residents by
means of annual catalogues. Both later developed warehouses and retail stores in many urban
communities; Montgomery Ward closed in 2001, and Sears was merged with Kmart to
become a subsidiary of the Sears Holdings Corporation in 2005. Many mail-order houses
now also depend on orders placed over the telephone and via the Internet. Development of
the World Wide Web on the Internet has given rise to companies, such as Amazon.com, that
sell goods exclusively through an Internet site, or on-line "store," shipping purchases by mail
or other carriers.

Chain stores, though known in earlier times, first developed their modern form in 1859, when
the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) standardized the quality and price of all
merchandise sold in its stores. Through central management, quantity purchasing,
standardization of business methods, and limited individual service, the chains are often able
to sell their goods well below prices charged by independent stores. Chain stores were once
typified by five-and-ten-cent stores (e.g., F. W. Woolworth Company, which operated such
stores until 1998), but the most common forms now are discount superstores (e.g., Wal-Mart;
see Walton, Sam), bakeries, tobacco stores, drugstores, groceries, and department stores.

Consumers' cooperative stores (see cooperative movement) have been established in Europe
and the United States. Discounting merchandise became widespread after World War II, and
stores specializing in discounted merchandise have become the fastest growing segment of
the retail industry. The "discount club," where shoppers must pay a fee to become members
and name-brand products are sold at a discount (often packaged in multiples or very large
containers), became popular in the 1990s.

3.1.1.3Indian Retailing Industry

India represents an economic opportunity both as a global base and as a domestic market. The
real GDP is expected to grow at 8-10 percent per annum in the next five years and consuming
class with annual Household incomes above Rs. 90,000 is expected to rise from about 370

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million in 2006-07 to 620 million in 2017-12. India’s vast middle class and its almost
untapped retail industry are key attractions for global retail giants wanting to enter newer
markets.

The Retail Sector of Indian Economy is going through the phase of tremendous
transformation. The retail sector of Indian economy is categorized into two segments such as
organized retail sector and unorganized retail sector with the latter holding the larger share of
the retail market. At present the organized retail sector is catching up very fast. The impact of
the alterations in the format of the retail sector changed the lifestyle of the Indian consumers
drastically. The evident increase in consumerist activity is colossal which has already chipped
out a money making recess for the retail sector of Indian economy. The debate over the future
of India's retail sector has arisen because people are questioning whether the public land used
for these malls, the ultimate symbol of consumerism, is being put to good use. The crucial
sectors of the economy are on a self-trajectory. The IT industry, telecommunication industry
and many other industries have seen unprecedented growth during the last couple of years.
But one industry that has caught the eye of the common man at almost every turning on the
road is the Booming Retail Industry. There is a hue and cry over the entry of private
organized retailers’ entry in Indian retail industry. The sector faced quite a few hurdles such
as controversy over the involvement of FDI in Multi-Brand Retail and the national wide
protest by small traders against the bigger fishes .Instances are : Entry of reliance fresh and
RPG Spencer’s which faced nationwide protests. Critics argue they have done nothing to
change many people's lives.

In fact, because the malls are offering attractive prices, they are squeezing out the small
traders who can no longer afford to compete - thereby sharpening the divide between the rich
and poor in India. But according to report of ICRIER, organized and unorganized retail will
not only coexist but also grow substantially. the reason is the retail sector is growing on an
overall basis hence the benefit of this growth will go to both the sectors and both sectors will
progress though the share of organized sector will gradually increase . With the onset of a
globalized economy in India, the Indian consumer's psyche has been changed. People have
become aware of the value of money. Nowadays the Indian consumers are well versed with
the concepts about quality of products and services. These demands are the visible impacts of
the Retail Sector of Indian Economy. Despite the protests of the local Bania the mighty W is
finally here. Wal-Mart will be setting malls in India in association with Sunil Mittal Bahrti

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Group; other international big players like Carrefour, Tesco and Auchan have also shown
interest in the industry.

3.1.1.4 Meaning of Retail

The word retail is derived from the French word retailer, meaning to cut a piece off or to
break bulk. In simple terms, it implies a first-hand transaction with the customer. Retailing
can be defined as the buying and selling of goods and services. It can also be defined as the
timely delivery of goods and services demanded by consumers at prices that are competitive
and affordable. Retailing involves a direct interface with the customer and the coordination of
business activities from end to end- right from the concept or design stage of a product or
offering, to its delivery and post-delivery service to the customer. The industry has
contributed to the economic growth of many countries and is undoubtedly one of the fastest
changing and dynamic industries in the world today.

3.1.1.5 Current scenario of Indian Retail Market

The size of Indian retail industry is more than US $350 billion but it is highly unorganized.
The organized sector has started developing in the past few years. Many International brands
have entered the market. With the growth in organized retailing, unorganized retailers are fast
changing their business models.

In Indian retail sector organized retail is a recent phenomenon. It is a zero-sum game between
2 players:-

a) Organized sector &

b) Unorganized sector

India’s retail is dominated by a large number of small retailers consisting of the local kirana
shops, owner manned general stores, chemists, footwear shops, apparel shops, paan&beedi
shops, hand-cart hawkers, pavement vendors etc. which together make up the so-called
Unorganized retail.

Organized retail is reflected in sprawling shopping centers, multiplex-malls & huge

complexes which offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. The last 3-4
years havewitnessed the entry of a number of organized retailers Opening stores in various
modern formatsin metros and other important cities. Organized retailing has begun to tap the

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enormous marketbut its share is small. A number of large business houses have entered the
retail business withvery ambitious expansion plan.

However, opinions are divided on the impact of growth of organized retail in the country.
Concerns have been raised that growth of organized retail may have an adverse impact on
retailers in the unorganized sector. It has also been that growth of organized retailing will
yield efficiencies in supply chain, enabling better success to markets to producers (including
farmersand small producers) and enabling higher prices, on the one hand and, lower prices to
consumers,on the other.

In India, organized retail contributed roughly 4% of the total Indian retail 2006-07, which
was verysmall even compared with most of the emerging market economics. However, After
7 years, it was projected that grown at a compound rate of 40-45 per cent per annum and was
estimated to contribute 16% to total Indian retail by 2017-12.

3.1.1.6 FDI Norms

Regulatory controls on FDI have been relaxed considerably in recent years. Currently the
government allows 51% FDI in single brand retailing and 100% in cash-n-carry business.

However, the government’s plan to further open up the retail sector has hit the roadblock
after facing strong political opposition and nationwide protests by small traders against the
proposal toallow FDI in multibrand retailing.

3.1.1.7 Factors driving the growth ofRetail sector:-

Indian economy is growing at the rate of 8%, indicating a prosperous future. The consistent
economic growth resulted in a decent rise in income level of the middle class. Thethickening
of the pocket of the consumer resulted in a revolution of the retail industry.
ManyInternational brands have entered the market. With the growth in organized retailing,
unorganized retailers have brought drastic changes in their business models, many factor are
responsible for the growth of retail sector. These are:

1) INCREASING DISPOSABLE INCOME: Rising disposable incomes in middle

class and lower middle class with increase in employment opportunities for young adults in
IT & IT enabled sectors are the major cause of retail growth in India.

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 2) INCREASING NO. OF DUAL INCOME NUCLEAR FAMILIES: In India, hefty
pay packets, nuclear family along with increasing working women population and dual
income in family are the factors contributing to prosperous retail sector.

3) CHANGING LIFESTYLE AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: Due to increasing

working population, comfortable life, travel and leisure are given importance. These key
factors are growth drivers of retail sector in India which now boast of retailing almost all the
preferences of life – apparel and accessories, Appliances, Electronics, cosmetics & Toilets
cries etc.

4) EXPERIMENTATION WITH FORMATS: Due to competition in the market,

retailing is still evolving and the sector is witnessing a series of experiments with new
formats being tested out.

5) STORE DESIGN: Shopping malls and super markets are growing at a very faster
rate. Improvements in infrastructure and enhanced availability of retail space, store design are
the factors increasing the share of organized retail and thereby contributing to growth of
Indian retail sector.

3.1.1.8 Recent Trends in Retailing

 Retailing in India is witnessing a huge revamping exercise as can be seen in the graph.
 India is rated the fifth most attractive emerging retail market: a potential goldmine.
 Estimated to be US$ 200 billion, of which organized retailing (i.e. modern trade)
makes up 3 per cent or US$ 6.4 billion.
 As per a report by KPMG the annual growth of department stores is estimated at
24%.
 Ranked second in a Global Retail Development Index of 30 developing countries
drawn up by AT Kearney. Multiple drivers leading to a consumption boom:
 Favourable demographics
 Growth in income
 Increasing population of women
 Raising aspirations: Value added goods sales.
 Food and apparel retailing key drivers of growth.
 Organized retailing in India has been largely an urban.

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  Phenomenon with affluent classes and growing number of double-income
households.
 More successful in cities in the south and west of India. Reasons range from
differences in consumer buying behaviour to cost of real estate and taxation laws.
 Rural markets emerging as a huge opportunity for retailers reflected in the share of
the rural market across most categories of consumption.
 ITC is experimenting with retailing through its e-Choupal and ChoupalSagarrural
hypermarkets.
 HLL is using its Project Shakti initiative leveraging women self-help groups to
explore the rural market.
 Mahamaza is leveraging technology and network marketing concepts to act as an
aggregator and serve the rural markets.
 IT is a tool that has been used by retailers ranging from Amazon.com to eBay to
radically change buying behaviour across the globe.
 E-retailing slowly making its presence felt.

3.1.2 ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods, services etc. from a
seller interactively in real-time without an intermediary service over the internet.

3.1.2.1 Introduction to the E-Commerce & Internet Business

The global Internet audience continues to grow rapidly, with the worldwide base of Internet
users in the 2 billion range as 2017 began, including a large base of mobile broadband users.
This vast base of Internet users encourages businesses to innovate and to offer an ever-
evolving array of online services. Sectors that are growing very rapidly online include the
sale of entertainment, event tickets, travel, apparel and consumer electronics. The most
powerful trends on the Internet include access via wireless devices, migration of
entertainment to the web and cloud-based software as a service.

Today, as a result of the recent recession, consumers are more focused than ever on finding
the best prices. Consequently, e-commerce firms like Amazon that are known for their high
value at low prices are well positioned to prosper. The standout winner in e-commerce
continues to be Amazon, where sales have soared thanks to aggressive discount pricing, free
shipping for its “Prime” members and an ever-growing variety of merchandise categories.

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Amazon’s revenues rose by 41% in 2017 to $48.0 billion, and profits grew substantially as
well. Books, movies, music and other media now account for only 35% of Amazon’s sales,
while electronics and general merchandise bring in the largest share by far. Amazon’s sales
outside of North America are booming, and now account for 44% of total revenues. Clearly,
there is growing adoption of online consumer purchases throughout the world’s major
economies.

Online advertising leader Google’s recent results are a good indicator of the strong growth in
online advertising during 2017. The firm saw revenues soar 29.3% in fiscal 2017, to $37.9
billion, while profits rose 14.1% to $9.7 billion.

Growth in broadband subscriptions worldwide continues at a strong pace. Analysts at the

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimate that there were 1.78 billion
broadband subscribers worldwide by the end of 2017 (both fixed and wireless).

The number of American homes and businesses with broadband access capabilities topped 88
million by the end of 2017, thanks in part to modest monthly fees at Internet service
providers. This number does not include mobile broadband users, estimated at another 105
million.

Online advertising in 2017 in the U.S. reached $31.3 billion, according to eMarketer,
accounting for 20% of all advertising spending in America. eMarketer estimates total online
sales of merchandise during 2017 at $188.1 billion, expected to grow to $269.8 billion by
2015. These numbers do not include online sales of travel, which was an estimated $107.4
billion in the U.S. in 2017. Plunkett Research estimates global travel expenditures online at
$320 billion for 2017.

A significant evolution is taking place in the world of business, as more and more
telecommunications move to the Internet. VOIP continues to grow in popularity, both at
home and at the office. Meanwhile, the concept of “unified communications” threatens to
completely revolutionize business communications by combining all communications into
one screen on the desktop, including phone, fax, e-mail, IM, voice mail and teleconferencing.
Voice communications will be digitized and archived, just as e-mail is today. A user’s
communications tools will move seamlessly from the desktop to the mobile device.

Convergence: The Internet is about saving time (and therefore saving money), and the
potential of the Internet has barely been tapped. New methods of taking advantage of

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efficiencies are becoming widely accepted, as access to high-speed broadband Internet
connections becomes commonplace. Users of the Internet (both business and consumer) are
multiplying around the globe, and many companies are earning terrific profits in the process
of serving those users. The long-awaited phenomenon of “convergence” of entertainment,
computing and communications arrived around 2004 and has been moving forward at high
speed ever since. Now, the latest televisions come equipped with built-in Internet
connections. This is going to create radical changes in the way TV viewers obtain their
movies and TV programming over the near term. For example, subscribers to Netflix are able
to stream downloaded movies directly to their Internet-connected TV sets.

Top selling product and services categories online include travel, clothing and accessories,
books, music, videos, electronics and specialty foods including wines. In these markets,
online shopping amounts to a significant share of sales. Meanwhile, many of the world’s
largest storefront retailers now operate some of the most-visited Internet sites.

3.1.2.2 A Brief History of the Online Sector:

The e-commerce and Internet sector has evolved rapidly, going through several distinct
stages since its beginnings in the 1970s:

The Internet is born: First, there were the early days, when the Internet was seen by many as a
realm for techies only, one that would produce few, if any, and commercial enterprises.
Initially designed in 1973, the Internet was a series of communication protocols written by
Vinton Cerf as part of a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defence’s “Defence
Advanced Research Projects Agency” (DARPA). The first demonstration of a three-network
Internet protocol-based connection occurred in November 1977. Eventually, a well-enabled
Internet was rolled out in 1983, primarily as a failsafe method of defence communications
and as a means for researchers at various universities to communicate.

The Web is Created: Next, the World Wide Web and the coding language of HTML were
conceived in 1989 and implemented between 1990 and 1993 by Tim Berners-Lee, enabling a
never-ending hyperlinked cyber world where sharing unlimited data became user-friendly
thanks to the magic of linked pages.

The Boom Ensues: Starting in 1993 and 1994, entrepreneurs and financiers realized that
hyperlinked, electronically posted data could be commercialized with vast, global potential.
A dramatic revolution in retailing, publishing and entertainment was visualized, one in which

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consumers and business people alike would eagerly pay for the convenience of online
shopping, trading and viewing of published data. An economic boom ensued, the likes of
which hadn’t been seen since the beginnings of earlier technological breakthroughs:
electricity, the railroad, the telephone, the automobile and the passenger-carrying airliner.

Thousands of hopeful new businesses were launched. Capitalization for these new Internet-
enabled companies ranged from cash-strapped ventures launched with Visa card credit lines,
to companies like Web Van that received vast sums from professionally managed venture
capital firms only to fail miserably. Roughly 6,000 new firms of significant size raised a
cumulative total of more than $100 billion in venture capital in the boom period (1994-2016).
About 450 of these companies sold their stock to the public via IPOs (initial public offerings).
Stock markets soared and instant billionaires were made. Individuals and families from all
walks of life bet their savings on technology stocks and watched their wealth rise quickly.
Venture funds that cashed out early reaped phenomenal gains, and financiers easily found
additional investors for new venture capital pools. The NASDAQ index of stocks rose to
5,000 by early in the year 2016, and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve warned of
“exuberant optimism.” Some said this boom couldn’t last—others said it was the beginning
of a “new economy” that would last forever.

The Bust: In mid-2016 the Internet industry entered a bleak and dreary phase after the
NASDAQ collapsed in March, bringing the entire sector to its knees. Hundreds of thousands
of people lost their jobs. Stock portfolio values plummeted. Thousands of firms closed their
doors, filed bankruptcy, downsized or were scooped up at bargain prices by competitors.
Sellers of hardware, software, consulting and telecommunications services suffered mightily.
Entrepreneurs found it nearly impossible to raise funds to launch or sustain their businesses.
The dream of a “new economy” became a nightmare for some—profits still matter; business
cycles still happen.

The Reality Phase: By early 2003, this sector’s dark clouds were abating, and a “reality
phase” was taking shape. Well-conceived, Internet-based businesses were proving their
value. Consumers had become devoted fans of buying over the Internet. Businesses of all
types were finding that the Internet creates true operating efficiencies and drives profitability.
For example, while most of the airline industry suffered terribly in recent years, value-based
discount airlines southwest and JetBlue enjoyed superior financial performance, in no small
part because of their use of e-commerce to efficiently book reservations and sell tickets

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online. “Efficiency” is the most important factor in the e-commerce and Internet sector’s
newfound success. Consumers find the Internet to be a terrific way to efficiently expend their
shopping and banking efforts. Travellers find the Internet to be an efficient way to book
hotels rooms and airplane seats. Corporate procurement managers find the Internet to be the
most efficient way to purchase needed goods and inventory. Hundreds of millions of people
worldwide find e-mail, instant messaging and VOIP telephony to be the most efficient ways
to communicate.

Low Costs Fuel the Steady Global Growth Phase: Today, access to fast Internet, both wired
and wireless, is available at bargain prices in a growing footprint across the globe. Even in
relatively undeveloped nations, both consumers and businesses have grown to rely on the
Internet for everyday needs. The “second billion” set of users worldwide has been reached,
and the third billion is clearly in sight over the mid-term, as cheaper devices continue to
proliferate. Mobile computing is accelerating at blazing speed thanks to inexpensive cell
phone plans offering enhanced Internet access.

Meanwhile, the cost of developing and maintaining web sites has plummeted, opening the
door to millions of self-funded entrepreneurs, and making it easier for venture capital firms to
fund start-ups using low amounts of cash. Trends such as open software and cloud
computing, along with modular development tools, have made it easier, faster and cheaper to
start sophisticated web sites.

3.1.2.3 History of Online Shopping

History of Online Shopping starts not so long ago. Tim Berners-Lee created "The World
Wide Web Browser" in 1990. In1994 few other developments took place. Online bank, the
first of its kind opened this year. Another development was opening of online pizza shop by
pizza hut.

In the same year Netscape introduced SSL encryption to enable encryption over the data
transferred online. This later became the necessity of online shopping. In 1995, Amazon
started operation, one of the largest online shopping mall now. Then in 1996 eBay started its
online shopping portal.

1998 witnessed use of electronic postage stamps, where people can download and print postal
stamps after paying nominal fee. In 1999 the first online shop in UK launched.

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3.1.2.4 Online Shopping in India

Online shopping is quite common these days in the developed world than it was about 5 years
ago but it is not the same in India for its own set of reasons. In developed economies
consumers find the worldwide web a great place for bargain-hunting, with most goods
available at lower prices than in a bricks-and-mortar store. But convenience appears to be an
even bigger attraction as revealed in surveys because most online shoppers find the crowded
high street too stressful.

Though online shopping has witnessed growth in India but it is still not pervasive like the
west and the growth is also limited to certain areas like online travel booking and perhaps
stock trading (which actually is not pure e-commerce). The main reason why shoppers in
India are not willing to shop online is that they don't get any real value or incentive. Also they
are wary about fraud, delivery and customer service and their fears are not imaginary.

Online shopping India sites offer a wide variety of products to choose according to your
tastes and budget. Shopping online in India always offer benefit of price as online stores do
not have to spend on building and maintaining showrooms. In addition heavy discounts are
offered on various popular products to attract worldwide customers to one site. Some online
shopping India sites also offer online coupons, gift certificates and promotional codes as
special offers through which the products prices are reduced to a great extent. Online
shopping in India is easy and quick as wide variety of products are categorized in a very
convenient manner, so that it will be easy for you to find the exact product you want.

One of the biggest advantages of online stores is that they provide complete and
specific information like, product description, specification, model, size, colours, prices,
customer reviews and various other details about each and every product offered by them.
The best part is that they are available 24*7; therefore, you can shop at your own
convenience.

Today more and more people prefer to buy products from online stores in India, as you can
find wide categories of products right from gadgets, clothes, footwear, furniture, jewellery,
books, music, and gifts to many more. So, whichever product you wish to buy, you simply
need few clicks and the product will be delivered to your doorstep.

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3.1.3 E-COMMERCE: A MAJOR INDUSTRY TREND

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, involves the sale of goods and services via electronic
means—principally over the internet, although sales via television (terrestrial, cable, and
satellite) are also included. E-commerce can be further divided into the following sectors:
business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G), consumer-to-consumer (C2C),
government-to-business (G2B), government-to-citizen (G2C), and business-to-consumer
(B2C). Retailers that rely primarily on e-commerce to sell goods or services are often referred
to as e-tailers.

The term "Electronic commerce" (or e-Commerce) refers to the use of an electronic medium
to carry out commercial transactions. Most of the time, it refers to the sale of products via
Internet, but the term ecommercealso covers purchasing mechanisms via Internet (for B-To-
B).

A client who purchases on the Internet is called a cyber- consumer.E-commerce is not only
limited to online sales, but also covers:

 Preparation of estimates online

 Consulting of users
 Provision of an electronic catalogue
 Access plan to point of sales
 Real-time management of product availability (stock)
 Online payment
 Delivery tracking
 After-sales service
In certain cases, electronic commerce makes it possible to highly customize products, in
particular when the electronic commerce site is linked with the production system of the
enterprise (e.g. business cards, customized items such as T-shirts, cups, caps, etc.)
Finally, insofar as electronic services and products are concerned (mp3files, software
programs, e-books, etc.), electronic commerce makes it possible to receive the purchase in a
very short time, if not immediately.

3.1.3.1Online stores

Most electronic commerce sites are online stores which have at least the following elements
at the front-office level:

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  An online electronic catalogue listing all products for sale, their price and sometimes
their availability (product in stock or number of days before delivery);
 A search engine which makes it possible to easily locate a product via search criteria
(brand, price range, key word, etc.) ;
 A virtual caddy system (sometimes called virtual cart): This is the heart of the e-
commerce system. The virtual caddy makes it possible to trace the purchases of the
client along the way and modify the quantities for each reference;
 Secure online payment (accounting) is often ensured by a trusted third party (a bank)
via a secure transaction;
 An order tracking system, which allows tracking of order processing and sometimes
provides information on pickup of the package by the shipper.
A back office system allows the online dealer to organize its offerings online, modify prices,
add or remove product references as well as manage and handle client orders.
Retailing over the internet generally takes one of two forms:

 Cybermalls—the most famous cybermall is eBay, which offers access to products

from a variety of independent retailers.
 Individual websites—most major retailers now have their own websites, which
complement their traditional “bricks-and-mortar” outlets. Some retailers operate
solely over the internet.

In terms of television sales, programs on dedicated shopping channels generally feature a

presenter who demonstrates products on air. Viewers can buy these products by telephoning
an order line with their credit card details, or, in the case of interactive television services, by
using their remote control. Recent years have seen the development of a variety of selling
techniques, including on-air auctions.

3.1.3.2 About E-commerce

E-commerce is most closely associated with the internet, and has developed in tandem with
the growth of the medium. Indeed, e-commerce initially became possible with the opening up
of the internet to commercial users in the early 1990s. However, it wasn’t until the latter half
of the decade that companies really began to exploit the internet’s commercial potential.
A number of start-up companies, such as Amazon and eBay, have exploited the power of the
internet to emerge as retailing behemoths in their own right. However, e-commerce has
largely been developed by established large retailers, which regard it as simply another sales

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channel. The gigantic grocery retailers that have expanded away from food and into a wide
variety of other areas, such as clothing and electronic goods, have been particularly quick to
appreciate its potential. The medium has also created opportunities for very small businesses.
It is now possible to buy over the internet a wide range of specialized products that are not
available in shopping malls. Thus, the internet has provided a lifeline for many small
producers, and has allowed entrepreneurs to enter the retailing sector without the need to
invest heavily in physical retail outlets.

E-commerce has proven so successful because it offers significant advantages to both

consumers and retailers. Consumers can compare a vast array of retailers in a few minutes—
something that it would be impossible to do physically. Online retailers often sell products
and services at a significant discount to those offered by traditional outlets, and buying online
is convenient: consumers can make their purchases from the comfort of their own home, and
have them delivered to their door. Furthermore, online shopping appeals to the
environmentally conscious. In March 2009, researchers at Heriot-Watt University in the
United Kingdom revealed that online shopping is 24 times “greener” than taking the car to
the shops, and seven times “greener” than taking the bus. The researchers compared the
carbon footprint of a typical delivery from a local depot with average carbon footprints for
shopping trips by car and bus, and found that home deliveries involved much lower levels of
carbon emissions. In June 2009, a study by the Carnegie Mellon Green Design Institute in the
United States found that shopping online can reduce “our environmental impact by as much
as 66%.”
For businesses, the advantages of e-commerce lie mainly in the low cost of setting up and
maintaining a business. Firms do not need to invest heavily in a physical presence, or in sales
staff. However, they do have to organize payment systems, distribution, and returns.
3.1.3.3E-commerce today

Ecommerce today is a remarkable experience. It has transformed traditional shopping beyond

recognition. It is so much better than any other way of shopping that it has already attracted a
great many of ecommerce-lovers.

If some years ago ecommerce was a buzz word, now it has become the order of the day.
People seem to shop literally everywhere – at their workplaces during lunch times, in rush
hour when there is nothing else to do but switch on their laptops and start surfing.

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Ecommerce today gained so much popularity because its underlying technologies are
evolving at giant steps. We are even offered to “feel” the product with a 3D mouse to better
understand its shape, size and texture. Why go somewhere out when all you have to do is
make an order, choose the shipping method, put up your feet and wait till the order is
delivered right to your door-step?

Ecommerce today offers so much luxury that even conventional stores have already signalled
the alarm. Although, everyone agrees that it is a long way for an ecommerce to replace
“brick-and-mortar” stores, it has every chance to happen in the future. Ecommerce which we
are witnessing today brings in so much adventure into our lives that it is enjoyed by the
whole online community.

Ecommerce today does have some drawbacks but they say “he that fears every bush must
never go a birding”. A lot of consumers do put up with minuses since they trust the online
world and want it to be a better place.

3.1.3.4Future of E-commerce

Experts predict a promising and glorious future of ecommerce in the 21st century. In the
foreseeable future ecommerce will further confirm itself a major tool of sale. Successful
ecommerce will become a notion absolutely inseparable from the web, because e-shopping is
becoming more and more popular and natural. At the same time severe rivalry in the sphere
of ecommerce services will intensify their development. Thus prevailing future trends of
ecommerce will be the growth of Internet sales and evolution.

Each year number of ecommerce deals grows enormously. Sales volumes of on-line stores
are more than comparable with those of “brick-and-mortar” ones. And the tendency will
continue, because a lot of people are “imprisoned” by work and household duties, while
Internet saves a lot of time and gives opportunity to choose goods at the best prices. Present-
day Internet sales boom is the foundation for magnificent ecommerce future.

The “quantity to quality” tendency of ecommerce is also becoming more and more obvious,
as the Internet has excluded geographical factor from the sale. So it doesn’t matter anymore
whether your store is situated in New York or London or in a small town. To survive,
merchants will have to adapt rapidly to the new conditions. To attract more customers e-
store-owners will have not only to increase the number of available services, but to pay more
attention to such elements like attractive design, user-friendliness, appealing goods

Page | 37
presentation, they will have to opportunely employ modern technologies for their businesses
to become parts of ecommerce future.

Of course, those, who acquire e-stores earlier, get better chance for future success and
prosperity, though an ecommerce site itself doesn’t guarantee you anything. Only an
appropriate ecommerce solution in combination with thorough emarketing and advertising
can buy the business insurance.

3.1.4Leading online websites in India

Online shopping has become a popular trend in India now. People have been enjoying the
convenience of having their order shipped right to their doorstep. But people often get
confused in selection of reliable sites as there are a plethora of sites, and everyone claims to
be reliable. But in actual only few are up to the mark. Thus to facilitate you, here is our pick
of leading 10 online shopping sites.

eBay.in is one of India's leading online marketplace. It is an online marketplace where

anyone can trade practically anything. It is a platform for the sale of goods and services by a
diverse community of individuals and businesses. eBay users trade in more than 50,000
categories including collectibles, antiques, sports memorabilia, computers, IT and office, art,
antiques, toys, dolls, stamps, comics, magazines, music, pottery, glass, photography,
electronics, jewellery and gemstones, claims the company.

Fashion and You is an invitation-only online destination. It features the best International &
Indian designer brands in luxury, hi-fashion and lifestyle experiences for men, women,
children and your home.

Amazon .com is an online chopping site that lets users shop various items including books,
mobile accessories, cameras, game consoles, MP3 players, home and kitchen appliances and
much more, online at discounted prices. It offers multiple methods to make payments for
order: credit card, debit card, net Banking, e-gift voucher and cash on delivery. The order is
generally delivered within 3-4 working days.

MyGrahak.com is said to be India's largest online Supermarket. It sells a wide range of

products like FMCG, Food, Non Food, Grocery, Rice, Gourmets and others. Attractive offers
are also available for shopping online at MyGrahak.com

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Futurebazaar.com is one of India's largest online retailers and is part of Future Group owner
of brands like Big Bazaar, Pantaloons & Central. It offers a wide range in cameras, consumer
durables, home decor, home entertainment, appliances and electronics, mobile.

Homeshop18 is a virtual retailer operating in a multimedia environment that includes

television, web, catalogue and print to sell high quality products and services directly to
consumers across the country. It deals in books, movies and music, gifts and flowers, mobiles
and accessories, camera and camcoders, electronics, computers and peripherals, toys and
games and much more.

Myntra.com is an online shopping destination for fashion and lifestyle products. It lets you
shop online from the latest catalogue of original branded products in apparel, footwear and
accessories for men, women and kids.

Snapdeal.com website claims to offer 50-90 per cent off daily discount deals in major cities
of India. It is touted to be the one-stop-shop for availing discount coupons/vouchers for
restaurants, spa, gyms, travel/holiday packages and other cool things in your city.

Letsbuy.com is an Internet retailer of branded Consumer electronics and IT products, which

claims to offer more than 9000 products from top international and domestic brands. The
company deals in technology products like notebooks, printers, networking, digital cameras,
storage and Consumer electronics such as LCD TVs, mobile phones, MP3 players, gaming
and home electronics.

Mydala.com is a platform which gets you great deals you want in your city. It claims to offer
deals each day - 40-95 per cent off on the best of restaurants, shopping, and salons in your
city.

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COMPANY PROFILE

The company was founded in 1994, spurred by what Bezos called his "regret minimization
framework", which described his efforts to fend off any regrets for not participating sooner in
the Internet business boom during that time.In 1994, Bezos left his employment as vice-
president of D. E. Shaw & Co., a Wall Street firm, and moved to Seattle. He began to work
on a business plan for what would eventually become Amazon.com.
Jeff Bezos incorporated the company as "Cadabra" on July 5, 1994[18] and the site went online
as Amazon.com in 1995.[19] Bezos changed the name cadabra.com to amazon.com because it
sounded too much like cadaver. Additionally, a name beginning with "A" was preferential
due to the probability it would occur at the top of any list that was alphabetized.
Bezos selected the name Amazon by looking through the dictionary, and settled on
"Amazon" because it was a place that was "exotic and different" just as he planned for his
store to be; the Amazon river, he noted was by far the "biggest" river in the world (according
to drainage, not length), and he planned to make his store the biggest in the world. [19] Bezos
placed a premium on his head start in building a brand, telling a reporter, "There's nothing
about our model that can't be copied over time. But you know, McDonald's got copied. And it
still built a huge, multibillion-dollar company. A lot of it comes down to the brand name.
Brand names are more important online than they are in the physical world."[20]
After reading a report about the future of the Internet which projected annual Web commerce
growth at 2,300%, Bezos created a list of 20 products which could be marketed online. He
narrowed the list to what he felt were the five most promising products which included:
compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos, and books. Bezos finally
decided that his new business would sell books online, due to the large world-wide demand
for literature, the low price points for books, along with the huge number of titles available in
print.[21] Amazon[22] was originally founded in Bezos' garage in Bellevue, Washington.[23]
The company began as an online bookstore, an idea spurred off with discussion with John
Ingram of Ingram Book (now called Ingram Content Group), along with Keyur Patel who
still holds a stake in Amazon.[24] In the first two months of business, Amazon sold to all 50
states and over 45 countries. Within two months, Amazon's sales were up to $20,000/week.
[25]
 While the largest brick and mortar bookstores and mail order catalogs might offer 200,000
titles, an online bookstore could "carry" several times more, since they had an almost
unlimited virtual (not actual) warehouse: those of the actual product makers/suppliers.
Since 2016, Amazon's logotype has featured a curved arrow leading from A to Z,
representing that they carry every product from A to Z, with the arrow shaped like a smile.[26]
Amazon was incorporated in 1994, in the state of Washington. In July 1995, the company
began service and sold its first book on Amazon.com: Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts
and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought.[27] In
October 1995, the company announced itself to the public. [28] In 1996, it was reincorporated

Page | 40
in Delaware. Amazon issued its initial public offering of stock on May 15, 1997, trading
under the NASDAQ stock exchange symbol AMZN, at a price ofUS$18.00 per share ($1.50
after three stock splits in the late 1990s).
Amazon's initial business plan was unusual; it did not expect to make a profit for four to five
years. This "slow" growth caused stockholders to complain about the company not reaching
profitability fast enough to justify investing in, or to even survive in the long-term. When
the dot-com bubble burst at the start of the 21st century, destroying many e-companies in the
process, Amazon survived, and grew on past the bubble burst to become a huge player in
online sales. It finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001: $5 million (i.e., 1¢
per share), on revenues of more than $1 billion. This profit margin, though extremely modest,
proved to skeptics that Bezos' unconventional business model could succeed.[29] In
1999, Time magazine named Bezos the Person of the Year, recognizing the company's
success in popularizing online shopping.
Barnes & Noble sued Amazon on May 12, 1997, alleging that Amazon's claim to be "the
world's largest bookstore" was false. Barnes and Noble asserted, "[It] isn't a bookstore at all.
It's a book broker." The suit was later settled out of court, and Amazon continued to make the
same claim."[30] Walmart sued Amazon on October 16, 1998, alleging that Amazon had stolen
their trade secrets by hiring former Walmart executives. Although this suit was also settled
out of court, it caused Amazon to implement internal restrictions and the reassignment of the
former Walmart executives.[30]

Acquisitions and investments

 1998: PlanetAll, a reminder service based in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Junglee,

an XML-based data mining startup based in Sunnyvale; Bookpages.co.uk, a UK
online book retailer, which became Amazon UK on October 15, 1998; Telebook
(www.telebuch.de) was Germany's leading online bookstore, it became Amazon's
German online store;[35] Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
 1999: Alexa Internet a database company; Accept.com a financial services company;
Drugstore.com 40% investment in 1999, increased stake in 2016, sold stake
to Walgreens in 2017 for a 90% loss; GeoWorks, a wireless communications
company, acquisition of a minority interest; Pets.com, purchased a 54 percent stake;
LiveBid.com, which produced Internet-based auction software; e-Niche Incorporated
comprising Exchange.com, Bibliofind.com (hard-to-find book titles), and
Musicfile.com (hard to find music titles); HomeGrocer.com, a 35 percent stake in the
online grocer; Gear.com, 49 percent stake (the company was purchased
by Overstock.comin 2016); Tool Crib of the North, acquired the online and catalog
sales division of the company in October 1999, selling a very wide variety of tools
and home improvement items; Convergence Corporation, software to connect
wireless devices to the Internet; MindCorps Incorporated, applications for web sites

Page | 41
 including online chats to web based databases; Della.com, gift registry, expert advice,
and personalized gift suggestions, Amazon purchased a 20% stake (in April 2016, the
company merged with WeddingChannel.com); Back to Basics Toys, catalog toy
store (sold to Scholastic in 2003); Ashford.com, retailer of luxury products, Amazon
acquired a 16.6 percent ownership; Leep Technology Inc., developer of on-line
database query tools and CRM software.
 2003: Online music retailer CDNow. By 2017, the website cdnow.com was defunct
and in use by a different company.
 2004: Joyo.com, a Chinese e-commerce website.
 2005: BookSurge, a print on demand company, and Mobipocket.com, an e-
book software company. CreateSpace.com (formerly CustomFlix), a distributor of
on-demand DVDs (since expanded to include print on-demand books, CDs, and
video), based in Scotts Valley, California. Smallparts.com, an industrial component
supplier.
 2006: Shopbop, a retailer of designer clothing and accessories for women, based
in Madison, Wisconsin.
 2007: dpreview.com, a digital photography review website based in London;
Brilliance Audio, the largest independent publisher of audiobooks in the United
States.
 2008: Audible.com; Fabric.com; Box Office Mojo; AbeBooks; Shelfari; (including a
40% stake in LibraryThing and whole ownership of BookFinder.com, Gojaba.com,
and FillZ); Reflexive Entertainment, a casual video game development company.
 2009: Zappos an online shoe and apparel retailer Lexcycle, SnapTell, an image
matching startup, Stanza, a rival e-book reader to Amazon's Kindle.
 2010: Touchco., Woot, Quidsi, BuyVIP, Amie Street.
 2010: Toby Press
 2017: LoveFilm, The Book Depository, Pushbutton, Yap
 2017: Kiva Systems, Teachstreet Evi,
 2013: IVONA Software,  Goodreads, Liquavista,
 2014: Double Helix Games, comiXology, Twitch 
 2015: Annapurna Labs, a chip designer based in Yokneam, Israel

Investment

 2008: Engine Yard, a Ruby-on-Rails platform as a service (PaaS) company.

 2010: LivingSocial, a local deal site.
 2014: Acquire .buy domain in an auction for $4,588,888

Page | 42
 Subsidiaries

 2004: A9.com, a company focused on researching and building

innovative technology.
 2004: Lab126, developers of integrated consumer electronics such as the Kindle.
 2007: Endless.com, an e-commerce brand focusing on shoes.
 2007: Brilliance Audio, the largest independent audiobook producer in the US.

Amazon owns over 40 subsidiaries, including Zappos, Diapers.com, Kiva Systems,

Goodreads, Teachstreet, and IMDb.

Our vision, at Amazon, is to be Earth's most customer centric company; to build a place
where people can come to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online. With
Amazon.in, we endeavour to build that same destination in India by giving customers more of
what they want – low prices, vast selection, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and
convenient experience – and provide sellers a world-class e-commerce platform

Amazon.in is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com,

Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.com, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, that
opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995; and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites,
including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp,ww
w.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, www.amazon.es and www
.amazon.com.br. As used herein, "Amazon.com", “we”, “our” and similar terms
include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise
 We are committed to ensure 100% Purchase Protection for your shopping done on
Amazon.in so that you can benefit from a safe and secure online ordering experience,
convenient electronic payments and cash on delivery, easy returns, Amazon’s customer
service with 24x7 support, and a globally recognised and comprehensive purchase protection
provided by Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee
In Feb 2017, Amazon Seller Services made its foray into the Indian market with the launch
of Junglee.com, enabling retailers in India to advertise their products for free to millions of
Indian shoppers and drive targeted traffic to their stores. With the introduction of the
Amazon.in marketplace and launch of two new programmes – ‘Sell on Amazon’ and
‘Fulfilment by Amazon' – sellers across India now have access to unlimited and free ‘virtual
shelf space’ and a scalable, pay-as-you-go fulfilment and customer service offerings. Both
programmes have successfully been used by more than two million sellers globally to sell to
over 200 million customers worldwide and boost their sales. We will continue to strive to

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become a trusted and meaningful sales and logistics channel for retailers of all sizes across
India by doing the heavy lifting, enabling them to focus on their core business functions and
efficiently grow their business online

Indian Online Market-

ASIA INTERNET USE, POPULATION DATAAND

FACEBOOK STATISTICS
Internet Internet Penetration Users Facebook
Population
ASIA Users, Users (% % 31-Mar-
(2017 Est.)
(Year 2016) 31-Dec-2017 Population) Asia 2017
0.1
Afganistan 29,835,392 1,000 1,256,470 4.2 % 257,440
%
0.5
Bangladesh 158,570,535 100,000 5,501,609 3.5 % 2,520,680
%
0.0
Bhutan 708,427 500 98,728 13.9 % 65,660
%
50.5
China * 1,336,718,015 22,500,000 513,100,000 38.4 % 447,460
%
11.9
India 1,189,172,906 5,000,000 121,000,000 10.2 % 45,048,100
%
5.4
Indonesia 245,613,043 2,000,000 55,000,000 22.4 % 43,523,740
%
10.0
Japan 126,475,664 47,080,000 101,228,736 80.0 % 7,684,120
%
Korea, 4.0
48,754,657 19,040,000 40,329,660 82.7 % 6,376,160
South %
Malaysia 28,728,607 3,700,000 17,723,000 61.7 % 1.7 12,365,780

Page | 44
 %
0.2
Nepal 29,391,883 50,000 2,031,245 6.9 % 1,396,800
%
2.9
Pakistan 187,342,721 133,900 29,128,970 15.5 % 6,412,960
%
0.2
Sri Lanka 21,283,913 121,500 2,503,194 11.8 % 1,235,080
%
TOTAL 100.0
3,879,740,877 114,304,000 1,016,799,076 26.2 % 195,034,380
ASIA %
NOTES: (1) The Asian Internet Statistics were updated for December 31, 2017, the
Facebook subscriber data was updated for March 31, 2017. (2) CLICK on each
country name to see detailed data for individual countries and regions. (3) The
demographic (population) numbers are based on data contained in Census Bureau.
(4) The usage numbers come from various sources, mainly from data published
by Nielsen Online , ITU , and other

Analysis of social networking sites: A study on effective

communication strategy in developing brand communication
Internet is the emerging information technology with the credibility of immediacy and
fastness, thus, it brings globalization in every aspects of communication. Communication
through internet is more specified, with effective interactive strategy among its users. In
recent days, internet advertising has taken new forms which have more advantages over the
traditional mediums like print media, television and radio. Marketing communication is
becoming precise, personal, interesting, interactive and social. Different strategies of
communication are followed in various social networking sites like Face book, Twitter and
Orkut. They not only create impact over the audience but also make them interact with the
marketing statistics created. People get attached to brand communication in social networking
sites than usual banner and pop up ads. These networking sites bring more interactive
communication with advertising. Social networking sites will become the primary arena for
highly targeted marketing and advertising. Therefore, it is necessary to study the
effectiveness of brand communication strategy followed in social networking sites which are
mainly accessed by Indian users. This research attempts to find the effectiveness of brand
communication strategy in promoting and advertising their brand in social networking sites.
The effectiveness is determined with the help of survey from people who use these sites, and
the content of three social networking sites is analyzed.

Page | 45
Page | 46
 CHAPTER – II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The first section of this chapter discusses the literature review done for this study followed by
the research design of this study in detail in the second section. A literature review is a body
of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive
findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic.
Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original
experimental work. Also, a literature review can be interpreted as a review of an abstract
accomplishment. Methodology is the answer to the why and how the research was carried out
in the first place. This increases the possibility of receiving appropriate answers to the
research questions and derives valuable insights into the topic at hand. The main focus of the
methodology here is driven by primary research, thus undertaking research that is novel in
nature. Alongside this it highlights the methods that would be put to use to explore this study.
The choice of research approach is the first topic discussed in this chapter, followed by data
collection, sample selection and data analysis.

Several researchers have carried out studiesin their effort to examine consumers’ online
buying behavior. For example, Bellman et al (1999) investigated various predictors for
whether an individual will purchase online. These authors concluded that demographic
variables, such as income, education and age, have a modest impact on the decision of
whether to buy online, whereas the most important determinant of online shoppingwas
previous behavior, such as earlier online purchases. This is consistent withForrester Research
which proved that demographic factors do not have such a high influence on technology as
the consumers’ attitudes do (Modahl, 2016). Steinfield and Whitten (1999) suggested that the
combination of the Internet, plus physical presence, provides more opportunities to capture
business than the online-only presence, because they can provide better pre-purchase and
post-sales services to lower consumer transaction cost and build trust in online
stores.However, it is worth mentioning that beliefs and attitudes that are found in the stage
prior to the adoption of e-commerce are different to those in the “post-adoption” stage (Gefen
et al, 2003; Venkatesh and Brown, 2001; Yu etal, 2005).

Concerning the factors that influence or hinder online shopping, Ernst and Young (2016)
reported that Internet userspurchased online because of good product selection, competitive
prices, and ease of use, but were concerned about shipping costs,lack of opportunity to prior

Page | 47
examining the products, as well as, the confidentiality of credit card and personal
information. Know and Lee (2003) explored consumers’ concerns about payment security
and its relationship to online shopping attitude and actual purchases. They observed a
negative relationship between attitude towards online shopping and concerns about online
payment security. Consumers with a positive attitude seem to be less concerned about
payment security. Similarly, popular literature cited ease of shopping comparison, low prices,
timely delivery, convenience, time saving, low shipping costs, improved customer service,
tax exempt status and speedy e-mailresponse, as key reasons for the increase in online
shopping (Lorek, 2003; Magee, 2003; Maloy, 2003; Retail Merchandiser, 2003).

HOT BARGAINS: TIPS TO FIGURE OUT TRAPS FROM THE REAL VALUE DEALS

SUSHMITA CHOUDHURY AGARWAL, ET Bureau Apr 22, 2013 (The Economic Times)

Bargain, hot deal, steal... every day consumers are bombarded with hundreds of seemingly
promising offers. However, not every value buy saves money; some can be costly mistakes.
Here's how to figure out the trap from the real deal.

It's a great way to save on interest, particularly if you aren't keen on paying the high rate for
revolving credit with your existing card. However, be warned that such a teaser deal is
typically temporary. If you don't pay the outstanding amount within the offer period, you will
be penalised with a higher interest rate, possibly more than the one on your old credit card.

Straight cash discount instead of value-added promotion

The trouble with most value-added offers is that they come with caveats. It could be for a
limited period, or you may land discount vouchers/coupons that don't appeal to you. What's
not to like about saving hard cash? The only drawback is that you are unlikely to find such
bargains at shopping malls. Hit standalone, smaller shops instead.

A gadget bought at a discount of 80% on a little-known website

It really should not come as a surprise that you are being ripped off. Online shopping
promises discounts, but if just one player offers rebates far more than its competitors, it
should be a red flag. For instance, the MRP on the HP Pavilion G6-2232TX laptop is nearly
Rs 41,000, while Amazon is offering it at Rs 38,342 and Laptopwale at Rs 38,100. So how
can an unknown player offer it at just Rs 8,200? Other warning signs are an absence of

Page | 48
credible contact information for the company. If the website is legitimate, chances are you are
being peddled a counterfeit item.

Registering on private sale websites

To begin with, registration is free, so even if you never get lucky, all you are wasting is time.
The likes of Jetsetter.com and Sniqueaway.com hold short-term flash sales on unsold
inventory at luxury hotels and cruises, where you could land discounts of 40-70%.

Buying gold because the jeweller insists it's a good investment

Given the high making charges and issues with determining purity, make sure that you buy
jewellery solely for the love of bling. If investment is the agenda, you would be better off
buying gold bars/coins or gold funds. The jeweller who promises you the moon will be quick
to list out caveats while buying it back.

Renting a car at the airport at a 10% discount

It may be the handiest option for travellers, but the airport is also the most expensive place to
rent a car, especially at foreign destinations. Typically, you will shell out 12-15% more than
the rental charges at any off-site location, including at or near your hotel. Try to wrangle a
complimentary airport pick-up service from the hotel you've booked, and then check with the
concierge for rental rates, or book a car online.

Accessories, perfumes and cosmetics from duty-free shops

These items, including designer watches and sunglasses, can be had much cheaper online. For
instance, perfumes costing $53-55 (around Rs 3,000) at duty-free shops can be bought for
around $50 (Rs 2,750) on Amazon.com, including shipping charges. Often, mall/high street
sales too offer a better deal. However, duty-free shopping continues to be attractive when it
comes to alcohol and cigarettes.

ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ONLINE

Author: DejanPetrovic

Published: 2007

The report outlines about the most relevant behavioral characteristics of online consumers
andexamine the ways they find, compare and evaluate product information. Comparison of

Page | 49
the newly collected survey data with the existing consumer behavior theory resulted in
detection of a number of issues related to a specific consumer group. The purpose of this
report is to translate these findings into a set of implementation activities on strategic and
technological level. Execution of these recommendations will result in better conversion of
visitors into customers and encourage customer loyalty and referrals.

The focus group of this study will be young adults aged between eighteen and thirty-four
interested in buying a mobile phone or a related product.

Research by Shun &Yunjie (2006) showed that there are product types, which are more likely
to be sold online such as software, books, electronics and music. Reason for this is that when
purchasing these types of products, one does not require personal inspection and most, if not
all features, can be outlined in the product description and images. Most products in the
mobile phone family belong to this category.

According to the recent research on consumer behaviour on the Internet users (Cotte,
Chowdhury, Ratenshwar& Ricci, 2006), there are four distinct consumer groups with
different intentions and motivations:

• Exploration
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Information
Majority of young adults interviewed for purpose of this research tend to be active
information seekers. A high level of technological confidence within this group tends to be an
encouraging factor when it comes to product information research online.
The following analysis presents both, focus group results and behavioural theory in a parallel
fashion divided into two main research topics:

• Information Retrieval and Search Patterns

• Perception of Product Information Online
These two areas are mutually dependent and particularly important in a market where
consumers have the power to choose the right product from a number of competing suppliers.
Well-structured product information that cannot be found easily online is as much of a
problem as is having easily accessible information that does not meet the consumer’s
expectations.

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PetrovicDejan (2006)in his study on Analysis of consumer behaviour online explainedthat
the most relevant behavioural characteristics of online consumers and examine theways they
find, compare and evaluate product information. Comparison of the newlycollected survey
data with the existing consumer behaviour theory resulted in detection of a number of issues
related to a specific consumer group. The purpose of this report is totranslate these findings
into a set of implementation activities on strategic andtechnological level. Execution of these
recommendations will result in better conversionof visitors into customers and encourage
customer loyalty and referrals.The focus groupof this study will be young adults aged
between eighteen and thirty-four interested inbuying a mobile phone or a related product.

Shun &Yunjie (2006) in their studyshowed that there are product types, which are more
likely to be sold online such as software, books, electronics and music. Reason for this is that
when purchasing these types of products, one does not require personal inspection and most,
if not all features, can be outlined in the product description and images. Most products in the
mobile phone family belong to this category. According to the recent research on consumer
behaviour on the Internet users (Cotte, Chowdhury, Ratenshwar& Ricci, 2006), there are four
distinct consumer groups with different intentions and motivations:

Exploration
Entertainment
Shopping
Information
Music Videos, Lyrics
- Daily updated collection of music videos and lyrics. Majority of young adults interviewed
for purpose of this research tend to be active information seekers. A high level of
technological confidence within this group tends to be an encouraging factor when it comes
to product information research online. The following analysis presents both, focus group
results and behavioural theory in a parallel fashion divided into two main research topics:
Information Retrieval and Search Patterns Perception of Product Information Online These
two areas is mutually dependent and particularly important in a market where consumers
have the power to choose the right product from a number of competing suppliers. Well-
structured product information that cannot be found easily online is as much of a problem as
is having easily accessible information that does not meet the consumer's expectations.

Page | 51
Anders Hasslinger; Selma Hodzic; Claudio Opazo (2008-02-01) in their study they showed
that developed into a new distribution channel and online transactions are rapidly increasing.
This has created a need to understand how the consumer perceives online purchases. The
purpose of this dissertation was to examine if there are any particular factors that influence
the online consumer. Primary data was collected through a survey that was conducted on
students at the University of Kristianstad. Price, Trust and Convenience were identified as
important factors. Price was considered to be the most important factor for a majority of the
students. Furthermore, three segments were identified, High Spenders, Price Easers and
Bargain Seekers. Through these segments we found a variation of the different factors
importance and established implications for online book stores.

In 1968, Bartels proposed that a general theory of marketing should include seven
subtheories: (1) theory of social initiative, (2) theory of economic market separa-tion, (3)
theory of market roles, expectations, and interactions, (4) theory of flows and systems, (5)
theory of behavior constraints, (6) theory of social change and marketing evolution, and (7)
theory of social control of marketing. This illustrates how extensive the fields of application
in marketing theory are.

Since the 1960s, several marketing theories related to the above subtheories have been
developed (Hunt 2002). The strategic area of relationship marketing was first defined by
Berry (1983, p. 25) as “attracting, maintaining and [. . .] enhancing customer relationships”.
Thus, relationship marketing refers to activities directed toward establishing, developing,
maintaining, and retaining successful relations (Berry and Parasuraman 1991; Morgan and
Hunt 1994). Hunt (2002) also made it clear that a company’s efficiency and effectiveness are
always enhanced by estab-lishing relationships with all potential stakeholders. Nevertheless,
Gummesson (1995, p. 15) observes that “not all relationships are important to all companies
all the time”. For this reason, a fundamental thesis of relationship marketing strategy is to
identify, develop and nurture a suitable relationship portfolio (Hunt, 2002).

A theory used in relationship marketing since the 1970s is social exchange theory (SET),
based on works of Homans (1958, 1961, 1974), Blau (1960, 1964) and Thibaut and Kelley
(1959). SET is widely viewed as one of the most influential conceptual paradigms in
organizational behavior (Cropanzano and Mitchell 2005; Friman et al. 2002). As exchange
ideology is also said to influence individuals’ sensitivity to organizational politics, job
satisfaction and commitment, SET is used to evaluate buyer-seller relationships (Witzel

Page | 52
2006). The following table differ-entiates SET from the theory of commitment and trust
proposed by Morgan and Hunt (1994). The latter theory is also outlined and referred to in
more detail in the following chapter.

SET suggests that there are as many as six different resources influencing interpersonal
attachments: love, status, information, money, goods and services. Although most of these
are not fully appreciated by organizational scientists, SET is said to have “the potential to
provide a unitary framework for much of organiza-tional behavior” (Cropanzano and
Mitchell 2005, p. 875). This theory is based on certain rules of exchange, although it remains
unclear which exchange rules apply to each resource. Reciprocity or repayment in kind is one
of these exchange rules (Blau 1964) (Table 2.1).

There has been growing interest in possible additional factors contributing to a long-term
prosperous exchange between business associates (e.g. Friman et al. 2016). For this reason,
some studies (e.g. Eberl 2006) also evaluate the impact of CR on buying behavior based on
stimulus-object-response (S-O-R) theory. This theory is based on stimulus-response theory, a
theoretical model of behavioral psychology. S-O-R theory tries to explain buying behavior
and enhances stimulus-response theory by integrating cognitive and affective (emotions,
motives, attitudes) psychological processes. This theory is primarily focused on general
buying behavior; the important antecedents of commitment and trust related to buying
processes in the healthcare business are not explicitly discussed.

Game Theory – the science of studying agent behavior in a multi-agent environ-ment

(Aumann 1987) – is also a frequently used theoretical framework to explain reputational
issues (Helm 2007). These “solution concepts” are usually based on what is required by
norms of rationality. Today, game theory is a unified field theory for the rational side of
social science, where “social” is interpreted broadly to include human as well as non-human
players, such as computers (Aumann 1987). These models presume either no rationality or
bounded rationality on the part of players. Weigelt and Camerer (1988, p. 443) point out that
“in game theory the reputation of a player is the perception others have of the player’s values.
. . which determine his/her choice of strategies”.

In this study, the theory of commitment and trust (Morgan and Hunt 1994) is used to analyze
international B-to-B relations in the medical sector, as this theory postulates a number of
psychological factors that may be important. Trust and shared values form the basis of buyer-
seller relationships (Friman et al. 2002), especially in a competitive marketplace. Morgan and

Page | 53
Hunt (1994) and Wilson (1994) suggest that commitment and trust are central constructs in
marketing relationships as they positively influence cooperative behaviors.

Further important relationship factors are discussed in the theories of the resource-based view
(RBV) and the knowledge-based view (KBV). These theories, discussed in the following
chapters, conceptualize a company’s relationship resources as con-sisting of commitment and
trust (e.g. Johnson and Selnes 2004; Morgan and Hunt 1994) and knowledge resources (e.g.
Grant 1996; Morgan et al. 2003).

Commitment-Trust Theory and the Nature of Commitment

Morgan and Hunt, as well as several other researchers (e.g. Ganesan 1994; Moorman et al.
1993; Keller and Stolper 2006) claim that B-to-B relationships require commitment and trust.
Their results imply that commitment and trust are key mediating variables to understanding
the relationship development process between buyers and sellers. According to the theory of
Morgan and Hunt (1994), customer commitment to the vendor has been found to mediate the
effects of a

Number of variables such as quality, shared values, communication and trust on a number of
consumer behavioral intentions, including customer retention, advocacy, and acquiescence.
Trust serves as a governance mechanism that limits opportunistic activities as well as a
facilitating mechanism for developing commitment (Morgan and Hunt 1994). Commitment
includes the desire to continue the relationship and work to ensure its continuance (Morgan
and Hunt 1994; Moorman et al. 1993) in what is described as the long-term orientation of a
party toward a partner (Morgan and Hunt 1994).
As business partners interact with one another on a regular basis, trust may develop (Friman
et al. 2002). Trust is defined as one party’s confidence in its partner’s reliability and integrity
(Morgan and Hunt 1994). According to the literature, the construct of trust is an important
element of long-term buyer-seller relationships in a business environment (Griffith et al.
2006; Anderson and Narus 1990; Dwyer et al. 1987). Trust, the willingness to rely on an
exchange partner in whom one has confidence, is viewed as an important feeling: because of
its ability to moderate risk in the buying process (Morgan and Hunt 1994). Trust captures the
company’s belief that another company will perform actions that result in positive outcomes
for the company, as well as not take unexpected actions that could result in negative
outcomes (Anderson and Narus 1990). A trusted supplier reduces behavioral uncertainty of
the buyer by reducing risk, search costs (such as opportu-nity or disincentive costs) and

Page | 54
expenses (Ganesan 1994; Windsperger 1994) as well as opportunistic activities (Morgan and
Hunt 1994). In the same vein, Moorman et al. (1992) claim that information provided by a
trusted party is used more and provides greater value to the recipient.

Commitment is defined as a desire to maintain a relationship (Morgan and Hunt 1994;

Moorman et al. 1992) or resistance to change the supplier (Pritchard et al. 1999).
Commitment in the B-to-B context is closely related to loyalty (Abdul-Muhmin 2005;
Homburg and Krohmer 2006). Organizational commitment is specified as “the relative
strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization”
(Mowday et al. 1979, p. 226). Managers and researchers have paid considerable attention to
organizational commitment, which has been shown to be a predictor of important
organizational outcomes such as turnover, absenteeism, and tardiness (see also Brown and
Peterson 1993; Ko et al. 1997).

Thus, relationship marketing literature has recognized that customer commit-ment is a

complex multidimensional construct that includes at least an affective, continuance and
normative component (Gruen et al. 2016; Gilliand and Bello 2002; Meyer et al. 2002). The
first component, affective commitment, is based on liking, loving and identification (Allen
and Meyer 1990; Albert et al. 2008). Customers acquire an emotional attachment to their
partner in a consumption relationship and start to like, or even love, the brands or service
providers they deal with (Albert et al. 2008; Fullerton 2003; Meyer et al. 2002). For this
reason, friendship and trust are closely related to affective commitment (Price and Arnould
1999; Doney and Cannon 1997).

Continuance commitment refers to dependence and switching costs (Allen and Meyer 1990)
and was developed as a means of explaining the extent to which employees feel bound to an
organization (Fullerton 2003). Anderson and Weitz (1992) established that parties become
committed when one party takes specific actions that will bind it to another party. These
actions include contract or service agreements that limit free choice for the duration of the
contract (Anderson and Weitz 1992). In 1990, Allen and Meyer suggested a third, distinctive
component of commitment, normative commitment. This reflects a perceived obligation to
remain in the organization, related to the propensity to leave of Morgan and Hunt (1994).

A single relationship can be based on either affective, continuance or normative commitment,

all three forms of commitment or none of the forms of commitment (Meyer et al. 2002).
Findings of Fullerton (2003, p. 343) also state that “the effects of affective commitment in a

Page | 55
relationship must be viewed in the light of the degree to which continuance commitment is
also present in the relationship”. Taking into consideration affective, continuance, and
normative components of commitment can lead to deeper understanding of customer
relationship management (Meyer et al. 2002; Fullerton 2003).

Nevertheless, marketing science still offers no answers on how many dimensions or

components are involved in relationship commitment (Witzel 2006; Albert et al. 2008), if and
how the components differ between B-to-B and B-to-C-and how commitment and trust in a
company influence its CR (Fombrun et al. 2016).

Page | 56
 CHAPTER – II
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
“Research means different things to different people” and the intention behind it are to
investigate innumerable data, theories, experiences, concepts and law. “The procedural
framework within which the research is conducted” is the definition of research
methodology. The two broad and distinct approaches to social research cover the Quantitative
and Qualitative methods of enquiry.

The quantitative paradigm on the other hand intends to gain a deeper understanding,
knowledge and insight into a particular situation or phenomenon, by providing answers to
questions of ‘how?’ rather than ‘what?’. Unlike qualitative research which occurs in natural
settings, quantitative research is where hypotheses are established.

Data collection

The data required for understanding will be collected from various online customers. In order
to conduct the study digital survey was conducted through facebook and e-mail. And those
responses are collected in a spreadsheet and further analysis was done.

The data collection method in this particular research comprises of two forms: namely
primary and secondary data. One needs to be careful while using secondary data as maybe the
collected data may be biased as the collector of that original data might have highlighted only
a partial picture or another aspect may be that data may be quite old and also the data quality
could be unknown.

Primary data

“Data collected specifically for the research project undertaken” is the definition of primary
research as provided by Saunders et.al (2003: pp. 486).

Primary data is generally originated by any researcher to address any specific problem or
issue at hand, where the only drawback is that it can be expensive and time-consuming. The
various ways of gathering primary data is through surveys, focus group and observations.

In this study, the primary data is collected through well-formed questionnaire with the help of
a digital survey. The questionnaire consists of quantitative and qualitative multiple choice

Page | 57
questions and the respondents are asked to choose the one choice which suits them the best
amongst the multiple choices.

Secondary Data

Prerequisite to the collection of primary data is a careful scrutiny of the existing secondary
data (Malhotra, 2005). The Data that is collected from existing journals, reports and statistics
from private and public institutions are called Secondary data. For this specific study the
collection of secondary data was done primarily from marketing journals already available on
this topic. Secondary data helps the author to comprehend the perception of Indian consumers
on online shopping.

Thus the study carried out has analyzed the primary data with the rationale and validation of
the present secondary data.

Sample technique

Choosing a study sample is an important step in any research project since it is rarely
efficient, practical, or ethical to study whole populations. In this study the sampling strategy
used is convenient sampling. The sample size is 100. A small part of something intended as
representative of the whole, or a subset of a population. In this research simple random
sampling is being used.

Data collection

The data collection would be:

PRIMARY DATA: Questionnaire

SECONDARY DATA: Journals, Internet, newspaper etc.
Sample design
Online customers of Hyderabad city are included under this research and tell their satisfaction
level.

Data source

Both Primary and Secondary source of data would be used .The major type of information is
used from primary data.

Page | 58
 CHAPTER – IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
This chapter aims obtain the objective of the study by critically analysing the qualitative data
through thoroughly examining the interviewee’s responses and beliefs. This has been
achieved through evaluating the most relevant responses by the participants. The data has
been analysed and discussed by comparing the comments made by the respondents with the
literature review keeping in mind the research objective of the study. Thus, the rationale of
this analysis is based on the personal answers provided by the respondents.
An appropriately designed questionnaire was used to collect the primary data for the study.
The data for 100 respondents was organized systematically in tables and graphs and then was
subjected to analysis using appropriate statistical tools. The results of the analysis are
presented in the following section in order to assess the customer perception towards online
shopping on Amazon .com in India.
Here for analysing, we are considering two factors. That is:
 Demographical factors
 Behavioural factors

Page | 59
Demography:

1. Gender of Respondents:

Table 4.1: Gender wise respondents

Male Female Total

Responses 58 42 100
Percentage 58 42 100

Graph 4.1: Gender wise respondents

Gender

42%

Male
Female

58%

Analysis and Interpretation:

According to demography profile, in this study 70 % male and 30% female respondents are
part of my target population and they help me to fulfil my questionnaire from different area
of Hyderabad city. From these groups total respondents are 100. So, according to the survey
result, the male respondents are more and can be told that they interested to shop online than
female, even though both of them shop online.

Page | 60
2. Age Group:

Table 4.2: Age wise respondents

15 -25 25 -35 35 - 45 45 & above Total

No of respondents 63 24 12 1 100
Percentage 63 24 12 1 100

Graph 4.2: Age wise respondents

Age Group
1%
12%

15 -25
25 -35
24% 35 - 45
45 & above

63%

Analysis and Interpretation:

Below figure shows that 63% respondents are between 15-25 years old, 24% respondents are
between 25-35 years old, 12% respondents between 35-45 years old, and 1% respondents are
between 45&above. Overall result shows that between all of them the respondents who has
age limit between 15 to 35 years (63%+24%= 87%) people are more familiar to shop online
on my target population.

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3. Occupation:

Table 4.3: Occupation wise respondents

Business House wife Salaried Student Total

person
No. of respondents 8 7 46 39 100
Percentage 8 7 46 39 100

Graph 4.3: Occupation wise respondents

Occupation

7%
8%
39% Business person
House wife
Salaried
Student

46%

Analysis and Interpretation:

In this survey, 46% of the respondents are salaried and 39% are students. So they both
together made majority of respondent’s percentage (85%). 8% are business persons and 7%
are House wife. Salaried persons and students will always look for new technologies and new
services which make them more comfort.

Page | 62
4. Educational Qualification:

Graduate post graduate SSC or Equivalent Others

(PhD)
Number of respondents 63 36 0 1
Percentage 63 36 0 1
Table 4.4: Educational wise respondents

Graph 4.4: Educational wise respondents

Educational Qualifications
1%

36%
Graduate
post graduate
SSC or Equivalent
PhD

63%

Analysis and Interpretation:

All of them in this survey are graduate and above qualified peoples only. Among these 63%
are graduates, 36% are post graduates and one person is PhD.

5. Annual Income:

Page | 63
Table 4.5: Income wise respondents

0- 3 L 3-6L 6-9L 9 & above

Number of respondents 60 23 13 4
Percentage 60 23 13 4

Graph 4.5: Income wise respondents

Annual Income
13% 4%

0- 3 L
3-6L
6-9L
9 & above
23%
60%

Analysis and Interpretation:

Since 39% of this survey is students most of them are of 0-3L income range, ie 60%. 23% of
them are in 3-6Lincome range, 13% in 6-9L and 4% is 9 & above.

Behavioural factors:

This survey is conducted on those people who do online shopping and are aware of Amazon .
So everyone answered ‘yes’ for those two questions.

6) Frequency of purchase from online:

Page | 64
Table 4.6: online shopping usage

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never Total

Male 5 21 29 3 0 58
Female 4 14 23 1 0 42
Total 9 35 52 4 0 100

Graph 4.6: online shopping usage

35

30 29

25 23
21
20

15 14

10
5 4
5 3
1 0 0
0
Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never

Male Female

Analysis and Interpretation:

More than half of them use online shopping sometimes, ie 52%. People who always and
mostly shop through online shopping are also good in number, 9 and 35, together 44%. And
who use online shopping rarely is very less in number 4%. Since only 44% are mostly using
this, there is a wide space to fill and to make online shopping a great success. And there is not
much gender difference inonline shopping, which means both males and females enjoying
online shopping and its benefits.

7)Mode of awareness about Amazon .com:

Page | 65
Table 4.7: Modes of awareness about Amazon
Word of Advertisements, Blog Links Promotional Search Total
Mouth newspapers, TV recomme from emails engines(like
-ndations other Google)
websites
No: of 39 22 2 15 5 17 100
respondent
s
Percentage 39 22 2 15 5 17 100

Graph 4.7: Modes of awareness about Amazon

No: of respondents
40
39
30
20 22
10 15 17
No: of respondents
0 5
2s
th TV on es ai
ls e)
ou s, ti sit gl
fM e r da e b em oo
o ap en rw n al eG
or
d sp m he io ik
W n e w
c o m ot ot e s(l
m m n
ts, g
re fro pr
o gi
en o s en
e m Bl n k
rc
h
rti
s Li a
ve Se
Ad

Analysis and Interpretation:

Most of them are awareabout Amazon through word of mouth (39%) followed by television
and online advertisements (22%). Customers got awared through blog recommendations
(2%) and promotional e-mails (5%) are very less in number.
This means a good communicaton about Amazon is going on through friends and families,
which proves that word of mouth strategy by them is the most successful means of making
people aware about their products. Success can only be gained through delighted customers
who act as advocates for their products and there is a wide scope of other digital
advertisement techniques like search engine marketing, email- marketing, providing links and
blog recommendations inorder to make more customers.
8) Frequency of using Amazon .com while online purchasing:

Page | 66
Graph 4.8: Frequency of using Amazon

Every time Occasionall Most of the time Hardly ever Total

y
No: of respondents 17 45 32 6 100
Percentage 17 45 32 6 100

Graph 4.8: Frequency of using Amazon

No: of respondents
50
45
45
40
35 32
30 No: of respondents
25
20 17
15
10
6
5
0
Everytime Occasionaly Most of the time Hardly ever

Analysis and Interpretation:

Here on this survey 17% are always choosing Amazon for online shopping, while 45% are
using it occasionally. Hardly ever using members are very less, and 32% are using it most of
the time. Since more than half of them prefer Amazon while thinking of online shopping, it
means branding had done successfully by them either through advertisements, services or
providing good experience to customers.

9) Category that mostly prefer to buy from Amazon .com:

Page | 67
 Graph 4.9: Category mostly prefer to buy from Amazon

Electronic Apparels & Books, Stationerie Healthcare Home & Total

s Accessories Movies s & personal Kitchen
& Music care items
No: of 39 20 3 3 4 4 100
respondents 0
Percentage 39 20 3 3 4 4 100
0

Graph 4.9: Category mostly prefer to buy from Amazon

No: of respondents
45
40
39
35
30
30
25
20
20 No: of respondents
15
10
5
3 4 4
0
ni
cs ies us
ic is
e re m
s
r o so
r
M na
r
alca ite
ct ce
s & o on en
Ele Ac ies ati rs tch
v St pe K i
& o
r els s,
M
re
&
e&
pa ok
hca o m
Ap Bo alt H
He

Analysis and Interpretation:

Electronic items, Books and Stationery, Apparels& Accessories, cameras, watches and others
(bags, belts, etc.) are purchased more. 39% of respondents are preferred to buy Electronics
items followed by Books and Stationery (30%) and Apparels and Accessories (20%). Books
& stationery and electronics items are more famous among the students and that may be the
reason for large purchase of those items from Amazon .com.

Page | 68
10) Reason for customer’s preference on Amazon .com than others:

Table 4.10: Customers expecting feature of Amazon

Fast Availability After Sales Easy Portal Total

Delivery Services Payment Features
options
Responses 41 29 8 17 5 100
Percentage 41 29 8 17 5 100

Graph 4.10: Customers expecting feature of Amazon

Responses
45

40 41

35

30
29
25 Responses

20

15 17

10
8
5
5
0
Fast Delivery Availability After Sales Easy Payment Portal Features
Services options

Analysis and Interpretation:

One of the most efficient features in Amazon is fast delivery when compared to other online
shopping websites. So, most of the customers prefer this website for shopping with the
perception of quick delivery (41%) and availability of product (29%), followed by easy
payment options (17%). And there is a scope of increasing after sales services and portal
features when comparing with other features.

11) Product selection from the categories given by Amazon .com:

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Table 4.11: On the basis where product is chosen
Rating of the Discounts and Review about the Brand of the Total
product features product product
No: of 14 48 26 12 100
Responses
Percentage 14 48 26 12 100

Graph 4.11: On the basis where product is chosen

No: of Responses
60

50
48
40
No: of Responses
30
26
20

10 14 12
0
Rating of the Discounts and Review about the Brand of the
product features product product

Analysis and Interpretation:

Customer perception varies while using Amazon ; it is one of the online shopping sites
which give high discounts and offers. Most of them in this survey (48%) are looking for
good featured product with high discounts while purchasing products from Amazon . And
also customers more often go through the product review (26%) before making their
decision topurchase. Product review is a kind of word of mouth strategy where product
usersleave their review on their experiences with Amazon . Customers are giving priority to
these two features while brand of product (12%) and rating of product (14%) also taken care
by some other customers.

Page | 70
 12) Rating of services on Amazon .com (in a scale of Excellent, Good, Average,
below average, Poor)

Table 4.12: Rating of Amazon services

Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor

Cash on delivery 46 45 5 2 2
30 days replacement 23 55 20 2 0
policy
EMI options 21 48 25 5 1
Free shipping 35 34 17 12 2
Graph 4.12: Rating of Amazon services

60

50

40
Cash on delivery
30 30 days replacement policy
EMI options
Free shipping
20

10

0
Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor

Analysis and Interpretation:

46% of respondents are rated excellent for cash on delivery service, while for 30 days
replacement policy 55% rated good and 23% rated excellent. For EMI options 48% rated
good and 21% rated excellent, and for free shipping 35% rated excellent. While analysing the
data, customers have more interest in two services of Amazon: That is,
30 days replacement policy and EMI options. Since Amazon is providing 30 days
replacement policy for all the products in the platform. And this combined mix service
increased the customer trust. In case of EMI options, Amazon is the only site which accepts
all credit cards and thus it provides a better payment options to the customers. Cash on
delivery is a compactable service that provided to the customers and they are much satisfied
on that service also. Even some rated less for this service, may be because of less customised
experience on cash on delivery. In case of free shipping, Amazon provide this service for
total purchase of rupees 300 and above only. So it may affect some of the customers who
purchase less price products frequently.

Page | 71
13) Issues faced by customers while shopping in Amazon .com?
Table 4.13: Issues faced when purchased from Amazon

Out of Payment Replacement Delay in Faulty No Others Total

stock issues issues Delivery product issues
No of 37 6 6 12 8 30 1 100
Responses
Percentag 37 6 6 12 8 30 1 100
e

Graph 4.13: Issues faced when purchased from Amazon

37
40 30
30
20 12
6 6 8
10 1
0
ck ue
s
ue
s ry ct ue
s rs
sto iss iss live odu iss the
f t t De pr O
uto en en in ty No
O ym em y u l
Pa plac Dela Fa
Re

No of Responses

Analysis and Interpretation:

In this survey, 30% of customers didn’t face any of those problems that mentioned, while
37% of customers faced out of stock issue. This is one of serious issue faced by most of
customers. Since discounts and features are the one feature that most of the customers
looking for and when a good product with high discount is displayed in Amazon platform,
customers brought it as soon as they could. Thus the products will be out of stocked.
Amazon started notifying the customers about the product when the stock got available.
Payment issues and replacement issues are less in number (total 12%) since different
payment options like EMI options, card payments, Cash on delivery, Wallet payments etc…
are provided by Amazon and customers are satisfied with those. In case of replacement also
only less issues are happened, thus shows most of them are satisfied with that service.
Delay in delivery happens because of shipping and courier service issues. It is a problem
with supply chain. Mostly it happens in the end part of the supply and in rural areas where
courier services are less active.

Page | 72
 Faulty product issue also happened to 8% of the customers and one of the policies to
overcome this issue is 30 days replacement policy of Amazon .

14) Recommending this website to others:

Table 4.14: Recommending Amazon to others

Yes No Total
No: of Responses 95 5 100
Percentage 95 5 100

Graph 4.14: Recommending Amazon to others

95
100
80
60
40
5
20
0
Yes No

No: of Responses

Analysis and Interpretation:

In this survey, most of them (95%) are happy to recommend Amazon to others like friends
and family. And this shows word of mouth publicity is successfully running and this is one of
the great advantages for Amazon.

Page | 73
15) Customer’s rating about services on Amazon .com: (in a scale of 5, 5 as highest and
1 asleast)

Table 4.15: Rating the experience from Amazon

1 2 3 4 5 Total
No of 7 11 16 49 17 100
Responses
Percentag 7 11 16 49 17 100
e

Graph 4.15: Rating the experience from Amazon

49
50
45
40
35
30
25
16 17
20
15 11
7
10
5
0
1 2 3 4 5

No of Responses

Analysis and Interpretation:

While analysing the rating of experiences, Amazon provides a good and excellent
experiences to most of the customers.

Mode of given data: 4 & Median of given data: 4

49% of customers rated 4 as the experience and more than half of the population (66%) rated
4 & 5 as experience.

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16) Satisfaction of customers while Amazon services are used:
Table 4.16: Satisfaction on services of Amazon

Yes No Total
No: of responses 81 19 100
Percentage 81 19 100

Graph 4.16: Satisfaction on services of Amazon

81
90
80
70
60
50
40 19
30
20
10
0
Yes No

No: of responses

Analysis and Interpretation:

81% of the population is satisfied with the service of Amazon . This helps Amazon to retain
the customers and also shows that the branding and marketing techniques of Amazon also got
succeed.

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 CHAPTER - V

CHAPTER – V
5.1 FINDINGS:

 There is not much difference in gender for using online shopping.

 Students and salaried persons are most frequent users of Amazon .

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  Frequency of purchase for electronics, books and music, apparels and accessories are
more in Amazon .
 Word of mouth was more influential in promotion as many people were made aware
by their friends and family when customers recommend this website to them.
 Highly discounted products got out of stock quickly, since customers purchased it as
soon as they could when they see high discount on good featured product.
 The services provided by Amazon are good and even more scope of development is
there for increasing the customer strength.
 Digital marketing techniques like search engine marketing, links providing other
website and advertisement also functioned well for promotion of this website.
 Fast delivery is one of best service Amazon is providing.
 Different payment options available in Amazon made customers more satisfied and
comfort for paying while purchasing product.
 Customers feeling more secured when purchasing through Amazon because of
different policies and services they have.
 In comparison with competitors, Amazon is charging free shipping for the purchase of
300 plus rupees, while others free ship the service without any barrier.
 Out of stock is the main issue faced by Amazon .
 Most of customers have good experience with Amazon while purchasing products.
 Most of them are satisfied with the services of Amazon and so that they succeed in
retaining the customers.
 Advertising is an important way to have the brand and products familiar to
consumers.
 Convenience and time saving are two important factors that customer looking for
while purchasing through online.

CHAPTER – VI

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS:

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  Amazon has successfully placed itself into the prospects mind making it the India’s
largest online store with huge range of products. But it still needs to work on their
core competence that is books and stationery items.
 Delivery services can be improved mainly in rural areas by selecting appropriate
courier service which has services in customer area for dispatching an item.
 Can make free delivery to all priced products.
 Can include more coupon codes and gift vouchers for increasing the traffic of the
customers.
 Out of stock items can made available as soon as possible and intimate the needed
customers.
 Should look for International/ Overseas markets or Neighbouring Countries.
 Critical mass of Internet users – Internet users in India is increasing at increasing rate,
so Amazon can target more & more cities i.e not only tier 1 & 2 but also tier 3 & 4
cities, which will help generate stronger customer base & more revenues.
 Should clearing focus on the Growing Online Apparel business & it can diversify into
apparel category either organically or inorganically by acquiring other portals.
 User Experience: Portal should continuously aim to work to improve the user
experience by adding more & more innovative features in the website like virtually
shopping basket, virtual trial rooms. In this competitive world to differentiate via user
experience, the ultimate winner will be the Indian online consumer.
 Should comprehensively invest into E-CRM & online reputation management.
 Logistics & Supply Chain: can continuously aim to reduce the delivery time cycle.
 Price will still be a factor as amazon being a huge company will use its economies of
scale to remove their competitors from the market; therefore they need to be more
competitive on that aspect.

5.3 CONCLUSION:

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The thorough study is based on the consumer behaviour analysis which serves a great idea
regarding consumer perception when they go for online shopping. In order to satisfy
themselves consumer perceive many things before buying products and they will be satisfied
if the company meet their expectation.

The Overall Brand Value of Amazon is good, but it is facing some tough competition from
its global competitors like Ebay and Flipckart. Talking about domestic market i.e India, it is
the most superior E-business portal which is aggressively expanding & planting its roots deep
into the Indian market & at the same time shifting the mind-set of the people from going &
shopping from physical store to online stores, which is magnificent!.

Be very focused on consumers and build amazing experiences for the customers.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

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No research is complete without admitting the limitations that was faced while conducting a
study which will contribute to present learning. This study too like the others have certain
constrains which has been discussed below.

 The study was restricted to Hyderabad city only

 The study is mainly concentrated on Amazon .com
 The sample of the size will be limited to time and resources
 The information will be collected valid until there is no any technical change or any
innovation
 The result is assuming that respondents have given accurate information

Page | 80
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
BOOKS:

 Assael, Henry. (1984.) “Behavior and Market Action”. Boston, Massachusetts: Kent
Publishing Company,
 Belch, G.E., & Belch, M.A. (2001). Advertising and Promotion: An integrated
Marketing Communications Perspective (5th ed.). Boston: Irwin/McGraw- Hill.
 Cooper, Donald R. and Schindler , Pamela S. (1999), Business Research Methods, 6
Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi, India.
 Creswell, J. W. (2003). “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed
Methods Approaches”. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
 Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. & Lowe, A. (2002), Management Research 2nd
edition, London: Sage.
 Remenyi, D., Williams, B., Money, A. and Swartz, E. (1998), “Doing Research in
Business and Management”, Sage Publications, London.

JOURNELS AND MAGAZINES:

 Arnould, E.J. and Wallendorf, M. “Market-oriented Ethnography: Interpretation
Building and Marketing Strategy Formulation,” Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.
31 (November 1994), pp. 484–504.

 ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ONLINE

Author: DejanPetrovic

 HOT BARGAINS: TIPS TO FIGURE OUT TRAPS FROM THE REAL VALUE
DEALS
SUSHMITA CHOUDHURY AGARWAL, ET Bureau Apr 22, 2013 (The Economic
Times)

Page | 81
 Quaternaries

Table 4.1: Gender wise respondents

A) Male B) Female

2. Age Group:

Table 4.2: Age wise respondents

A)15 -25 B) 25 -35 C) 35 - 45 D) 45 & above

3. Occupation:

Table 4.3: Occupation wise respondents

A) Business B) House C) Salaried D) Student

person wife

4. Educational Qualification:

Graduate post graduate SSC or Equivalent Others (PhD)

Graduate post graduate SSC or Equivalent Others

(PhD)
Table 4.4: Educational wise respondents

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5. Annual Income:

Table 4.5: Income wise respondents

0- 3 L 3-6L 6-9L 9 & above

6) Frequency of purchase from online:

Table 4.6: online shopping usage

Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never Total

7)Mode of awareness about Amazon .com:

Table 4.7: Modes of awareness about Amazon

Word of Advertisements, Blog Links Promotional Search
Mouth newspapers, TV recomme from emails engines(like
-ndations other Google)
websites

8) Frequency of using Amazon .com while online purchasing:

Graph 4.8: Frequency of using Amazon

Every time Occasionally Most of the time Hardly ever

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9) Category that mostly prefer to buy from Amazon .com:
Graph 4.9: Category mostly prefer to buy from Amazon

Electronic Apparels & Books, Stationeries Healthcare Home &

s Accessories Movies & personal Kitchen
& Music care items

10) Reason for customer’s preference on Amazon .com than others:

Table 4.10: Customers expecting feature of Amazon

Fast Availability After Sales Easy Portal

Delivery Services Payment Features
options

11) Product selection from the categories given by Amazon .com:

Table 4.11: On the basis where product is chosen
Rating of the Discounts and Review about the Brand of the
product features product product

12) Rating of services on Amazon .com (in a scale of Excellent, Good, Average,
below average, Poor)

Table 4.12: Rating of Amazon services

Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor

13) Issues faced by customers while shopping in Amazon .com?

Table 4.13: Issues faced when purchased from Amazon

Out of Payment Replacement Delay in Faulty No Others

stock issues issues Delivery product issues

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14) Recommending this website to others:
Table 4.14: Recommending Amazon to others

Yes No

15) Customer’s rating about services on Amazon .com: (in a scale of 5, 5 as highest and
1 asleast)

Table 4.15: Rating the experience from Amazon

1 2 3 4 5

16) Satisfaction of customers while Amazon services are used:

Table 4.16: Satisfaction on services of Amazon

Yes No

Page | 85
Page | 86
WEBSITES:

 www.Amazon .com
 www.commodityindia.com
 www.marketoperation.com
 www.nextbigwhat.com
 www.britannica.com
 en.kioskea.net
 www.ecommerce-land.com
 www.commodityindia.com
 www.marketoperation.com

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