Consumer Behavior : A study of E-MARKET

A Research Project

Submitted in partial fulfillment of

requirement for the award of the degree

of

B.COM 5th SEMSTER

Submitted By
RAMANI RANJAN LENKA
Reg. No. : FCM/BCM/2017-20/0049

Under Guidance of
Dr. SARITA MISHRA

FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Sri Sri University,
CUTTACK, ODISHA
November 2019

1|Page
 CERTIFICATE FROM THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
(HOD)

This is to Certify that this Project Report entitled "CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR : A STUDY OF E-MARKET" is a bona-fide work, done and
submitted by MR.RAMANI RANJAN LENKA, Bearing Reg NO.
FCM/BCM/2017-20/0049, student of B.Com.GEN to Faculty of Commerce
and Management Studies as a part of his 3rd year curriculum during 5th semester
for the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of “B.Com.GEN” of Sri
Sri University.

I wish him all the success in his future endeavors.

PLACE: Cuttack

DATE: / / Programme Coordinator

2|Page
 CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE

This is to Certify that this Project Report entitled “CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR : A STUDY OF E-MARKET ” is a bona-fide work done by
Mr. RAMANI RANJAN LENKA, Bearing Reg. no. FCM/BCM/2017-
20/0049, Student of B.Com.General under my guidance and supervision and
submitted to Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies as a part of his 3 rd
year curriculum during 5th semester for the partial fulfillment for the award of
the degree of “B.Com.General” of Sri Sri University.

I wish him all the success in his future endeavors.

PLACE: Cuttack

DATE: / / . Dr. Sarita Mishra

Signature of research guide

3|Page
 CANDIDATE DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that this project Report entitled “RAMANI

RANJAN LENKA” submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree
of “B.Com.General” of Sri Sri University is my original work carried out by
me under the guidance and supervison of my faculty guide, Dr. SARITA
MISHRA.
The findings and the suggestions given are based on the data collected by
myself. So I confidently declare that this is not a dupication work and it has not
been previously submitted for the award of any other degree, diploma,
associateship , fellowship or other similar title to any candidate of any
University or Institution.

Place: Cuttack Mr. RAMANI RANJAN LENKA

Date: Reg. No.-FCM/BCM/2017-20/049

4|Page
ACKOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the people who have

helped and supported me throughout my project.

I am grateful to my faculty Dr. SARITA MISHRA, for her continuous

support for the project, from initial advice and concepts in the early stages
of conceptual inception and through ongoing advice and encouragement to
this day.

A special thanks of mine goes to my colleague who helped me in

completing the project and he exchanged his interesting ideas, thoughts
and made this assignment easy and accurate.

THANK YOU.

5|Page
INTRODUCTION

The project report will help you to have a clear view of the consumer
behavior of E-MARKET . In the phrase we will focus on Market Survey
on services of E-MARKET offers. These are primarily targeted at the
corporate and general use of public, and thus can be a source of high
revenue generation from the online market. This is like descriptive method
of understanding about how to promote your products or services while
using internet. It will also describe what are the methods and strategies of
e-Marketing with advantages and disadvantages also. Before we start
detailed study about E-Marketing first try to understand that why we need
E-Marketing concept in today’s era. Marketing through Internet is
becoming very important. It is very cost effective and measurable. And the
main feature of it is Global reach with 24x7x365 scenario with real-time
feedback which attracts each and everyone to use it.

6|Page
CONTENT

CHAPTER 1 : E-MARKET

 INTRODUCTION
 IMPORTANCE
 HISTORY OF E-MAKETING
 ADVANTAGE OF E-MARKETING
 DISADVANTAGE OF E-MARKETING
 INDIAN E-COMMERCE REDINESS

CHAPTER 2 : STUDY AREA

 ONLINE MAKETING
 PHASES IN E-COMMERCE
 FUNCTION OF E-COMMERCE
 FORMS OF E-MARKETING
 E-COMMERCE SCENARIO IN INDIA
 E-COMMERCE CHALLNGES IN INDIA
 OPPORTUNITIES & CHANLLENGES

CHAPTER 3 : LITRATURE REVIEW

 EVOLUTION OF COMMERCE
 STUDIES FROM DIFFERENT RESERCHER
 DIGITAL MARKETING
 E- TAILING

CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

CONCLUSION

BIBLOGRAPHY

7|Page
 Chapter 1 : E-MARKET

Introduction to E-Marketing

What is E-Marketing?

Online Marketing is the art and science of selling products and/or services over digital

networks, such as the Internet and cellular phone networks.

The art of online marketing involves finding the right online marketing mix of

strategies that appeals to your target market and will actually translate into sales.

The science of online marketing is the research and analysis that goes into both

choosing the online marketing strategies to use and measuring the success of those

online marketing strategies.

Online marketing uses internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to

consumers. It includes email marketing, search engine marketing, social media

marketing, many types of display advertising (including web banner advertising),

and mobile advertising. Like other advertising media, online advertising frequently

involves both a publisher, who integrates advertisements into its online content,

and an advertiser, who provides the advertisements to be displayed on the

publisher's content. Other potential participants include advertising agencies that

help generate and place the ad copy, an ad server who technologically delivers the

ad and tracks statistics, and advertising affiliates who do independent promotional

work for the advertiser.

8|Page
Importance of Online marketing

Growth of internet users must be credited for the growth of online marketing. With

the advent of internet technology number of internet user is increasing at the

greater extent across the world. India stands at fourth place with 81 million internet

users in 2010. (www.internetwoldstats.com)

Top 20 countries with highest number of internet users

Online marketing is becoming increasingly important to small businesses of all

types. In the past, marketing online was something that local bricks-and-mortar

businesses could justifiably ignore. It didn't make sense to waste time and money

on online marketing when all your business was local.

Now with increasing local search and people's new habit of searching on the

Internet first, it matters. Online marketing refers to a set of powerful tools and methodologies

used for promoting products and services through internet. Online marketing includes a

wider range of marketing elements than traditional business marketing due to the

extra channels and marketing mechanisms available on the internet.

Following are few specific contributed to the growth of online marketing -

Online marketing can deliver several benefits such as:

Growth in potential

Reduced expenses

Elegant communication

Better control

9|Page
 Improved customer service

Competitive advantage

Online marketing is also known as Internet marketing, Web marketing, digital

marketing and search engine marketing (SEM).

Offline and online work together

If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you know creating an image is key to

bringing in customers. That’s why online branding is vital.

Com Score reports the average American spends 32 hours online every month.

42% of Americans report watching TV while browsing the Internet. Having

consistent messaging across different mediums reinforces your values and brand.

Offline tactics will often result in larger online results.

E-commerce is not the future…it’s the present

Forbes Magazine reports retail is down and e-commerce is up. One clear example

of the power of e-commerce comes from Macy’s recent returns. Forbes reports the

154 year old retail chain saw online sales rise 40% in 2011 while same-stores sales

grew just 5.3%. Maybe you’re not a billion-dollar business like Macy’s, but the

numbers don’t lie. Online sales are overtaking retail sales.

Safe to say e-commerce is trending upward more and more each year. It’s not too

late to jump onboard the e-commerce train.

10 | P a g e
 Online marketing is cost-effective with measurable results

In the old days, buying a newspaper ad was one way to reach potential customers,

but now, newspaper circulation is decreasing dramatically. However a full or even

half-page ad in a local paper could still run you thousands of dollars and may not

reach your target audience.

Web analytics tools allow you to track meaningful metrics and offer you the

opportunity to make informed business decisions on data and not just assumptions.

Based on data, one can determine the actual ROI of the online campaigns. If these

are not meeting expectations then the data provides with the rationale to terminate

the campaign.

Online business never sleeps

The Internet has no “business” hours. It’s open 24/7/365. That gives you the ability

to promote, to engage and, most importantly, to sell around the clock. As

mentioned above, traditional media advertising (like newspaper and television)

may cast a wide net but is limited in scope. Online marketing is also a time and

money saver in other ways.

The proliferation of web-enabled smart phones has done nothing, but accelerates

this development. It’s no longer even required that you be at a desk to access the

internet. Whether customers are sitting in traffic, jogging in the park or eating at

the dinner table, they have access to company’s website and the online advertising.

11 | P a g e
The Steady Rise of the Dot Comes in Business

Business wasn't the fastest to embrace change, when it came over a computer

screen and thorough an online modem. Back in the Clinton days of the 1990s, the

internet was used by the public mostly as a means of communicating in chartrooms

and most of that was hosted by America Online.

Business began to see a future in e-commerce selling goods and services online,

but that was before Amazon, and eBay was still an outback where (very) small

sellers sold goods that were hard to find elsewhere, and waited for checks and

money orders to arrive by snail mail. This clearly was not the most efficient way to

do business, and larger brick- and- mortar ventures didn't see much use in

establishing an online presence.

There wasn't any way to easily take credit card payments online - this was before

the heady rise of PayPal - so why bother? Who even heard of a checkout much less

cart for purchases on computer screen? There were free websites where one might

set up a store, but most of the business was done the old fashioned way, by the

customer calling in their credit card number, or by sending out a check or money

order. The rise of the dot comes, though, was just around the bend, and when they came;

business changed...forever.

History of E-Marketing

Considering the current volume of internet marketing business, it’s hard to believe

how young the internet marketplace is. While the timeline of internet marketing

has been short, the cumulative events leading up to where we are now have

12 | P a g e
impacted the entire globe faster than any marketing revolution in history. In 1994,

spending for internet marketing totaled nearly nothing, but increased to over $300

million in 1995. Now, little more than a decade later, marketing spending and

internet marketing business has exploded to nearly $200 billion (according to

Forrester Research). Today, it’s hard to believe in having an organization which

doesn’t have some kind of online presence.

When the internet was first introduced in the early 90s, it wasn’t considered to be

an advertising medium at all. Instead, the internet was treated as a tool for

exchanging emails and digital information, but wasn’t yet considered valuable for

reaching customers. However, it wasn’t long before marketing pioneers began to

see the potential for internet marketing business as millions of web surfers logging

on each day to find valuable and relevant information. Within just a few years,

informative and educational marketing, as well as graphically enticing banner ads

began to be show up. It wasn’t long before results began to flood in which proved

the value of the internet marketplace to even the most skeptical advertisers.

Most importantly, companies which had been spending huge chunks of their

marketing budget on offline list building, begin to realize that they could

accomplish the same thing via email and for much less. It wasn’t long before

everyone from industry giants such as Microsoft Corp. to small businesses began

to build company sites and spend marketing dollars to attract qualified traffic.

Next, search engine companies like Yahoo! began to create significant profits from

advertising alone.

Then came the great internet marketing business bust around the year of 2000,

13 | P a g e
which marked the beginning of the end for interruptive marketing such as flashing

banner ads. As interactive features were added to web pages, consumers were

given the option of turning off marketing messages at will and they did. Then

entered the age of education based invitational marketing, which crystallized with

the creation of web 2.0 technologies. Suddenly, billions of “voices” began to rise

all over the world, as the internet marketplace became as much a global

community as it was an advertising medium. This led to a relational based

marketing approach which has led to one of the most lucrative opportunities for

solo entrepreneurs and small start ups alike to make a small fortune working from

their spare bedroom. Who knows where the internet marketing revolution will lead

us, but one this is for sure: Those who understand the principles upon which the

thriving internet marketplace is built will most likely never want for opportunities

to create internet marketing business success and to earn solid income.

Advantages of E-Marketing

One of the most important advantages is the fast availability of the information.

The clients/users can easily get information, by navigating the internet, about the

products that they wish to purchase, and besides that, they can check the

information at anytime of the day.

1. It allows the companies to save money, an aspect that is really taken into

account by the companies since the online marketing campaigns don’t

require a large amount of investment.

2. The previous mentioned aspect, gives less importance to the differences

14 | P a g e
between large and small companies in some way, thus increasing the

competition and giving that way advantages to the customers.

3. Presence on the Internet can help the expansion of the company from a

local market to national and international markets at the same time, offering

almost infinite expanding possibilities.

4. On the internet everything can be measured, thus it’s easier for the

companies to know almost instantly if their campaign is working or not,

what company or user is interested in their products, from what cities or

countries are they, etc.

Disadvantages of E-Marketing:

1. Slow internet connections can cause difficulties. If the companies build too

complex or too large websites, it will take too long for users to check them

or download them and they will get bored eventually.

2. The e-commerce doesn’t allow the user “to touch” the merchandise before

purchasing it. Because of this, some salesmen are starting to guarantee the

possibility of returning the product. In Germany, where a law that regulates

e-commerce and guarantees the customers the total refund of the money

exists since 2000, the electronic commerce is very popular.

3. Other factor is the payment: many users still don’t trust in the electronic

methods of paying and give up buying online because of this.

4. One of the major disadvantages may be the lack of trust of the users

because of the constant virtual promotions that appear to be frauds. This is

15 | P a g e
an aspect that deteriorates the image and reputation of quality and honest

companies.

5. Other disadvantage is the cash on delivery system, since it doesn’t

guarantee the 100% purchase of the product. This is also the case of

thousands of users that dedicate themselves to daily mock big companies

by ordering on the internet using false identities.

India E-Commerce Readiness

In the latest couple of years, there has been a quantum growth in the

number of internet users and the awareness towards the World Wide Web

has increased in India. The various opportunities that it presents have been

recognized and companies have started making plans to include internet, e-

commerce and e-business in their scheme of things. The awareness and

interest in the web related activities have been fueled by some factors, those

are -

1) Easy Access to the Internet.

2) Reduction in the cost of procuring a internet connection.

3) Reduction in the cost of Personal Computers.

4) Reduction in the cost of web site hosting.

5) Availability of tools that support the web site hosting effort.

Thus there has been a rapid jump in the number of internet users in India as well as the
number of portals offering e-commerce facilities has also gone up. The portals have also
launched massive advertising campaigns for their portals invariably spreading awareness
towards the concept and the facilities offered by e-commerce.

16 | P a g e
 CHAPTER 2 : STUDY AREA

Online Marketing

Today, virtually every aspect of our culture has an Internet counterpart; people
work online, bank online, check mail online, even make friends online, So it
only makes sense that, online shopping has become an increasingly integral part
of our society, exceeding $200 billion in sales are expanding by leaps and
bounds at a rate of 20% to 80 25% growth each year, indicating a momentous
shift in consumer spending habits. Those who don't change with the time will
become obsolete. Shoppers are turning to the internet rather that phone
directories for convenience, product reviews, and up-to-the-date information. A
business owner simply cannot rely on an advertisement in a phone book. In fact,
customers are fifteen times more likely to look on the Internet that they are to
flip through a phone book to call a company. Research consistently shows that,
consumers place less credibility in t business that does not have a web site as
opposed to one that does. The more personal the service (haircut, tattoo,
financial, counseling, legal etc.), the more research customers want to do to
ensure they are comfortable with the service provider. The more potentially
expensive the service (legal, medical, automotive, travel, construction, real
estate, etc.), the more comparisons customers want to make sure they get the
best value for their dollar. In order for a business to stay successful it is
imperative that, selling habits are adjusted to match the change in consumer
buying habits. More simply expressed business must sell the way their
customers shop or they will buy elsewhere. Even some of the more elaborate
websites that allow customers to make purchases online can cost less annually
that a typical monthly phonebook ad; therefore, making perfect sense for
businesses to evolve with the times. Every business is different, but each is

17 | P a g e
going to require the power if the Internet to stay competitive. In the long run,
the net operating costs of a website become insignificant compared to the return
on the investment that the advertisement delivers. No other form of marketing
compounds value and spreads like an effective Website.

Phases in E-Commerce :

The concept of e-commerce has evolved over the period and we can define the
phase of its growth, what initially started off as a sapling has now grown by
leaps and bounds no one can really predict the way it will move all are wild
guesses, but one thing for sure the future is e-commerce.

We have divided the development of e-commerce into three phases, they are as
under :

1) The Website Phase (1994-1997):

We could practically call this as the beginning of e-commerce. Companies

started getting the feeling that, they should have a presence on the internet by
way of a Website. Though they felt the need regarding the online presence they
were really not sure about the kind of outcome or the results that it would
generate.

2) The Transaction/E-commerce Phase (1997-2000)

The next step in e-commerce was when people started transacting online.
Buying and selling over the web marked this transaction phase. Deals took
place between such buyers and sellers who had not been the web would never
have found each other, while in other cases. This buying and selling could have
been done by the regular purchase procedure, but as the web was involved was
labeled as an e-commerce transaction. The emphasis in this phase was more on

18 | P a g e
the order flow at any cost and gross revenue generation. The business models
used in this phase were not customer-centric and the companies which have still
stuck to these types of give-it-away models are now in the red due to their
myopic point of view.

3) The E-Business Phase (2000-2010)

We have seen that, in the previous phase the emphasis was more on the
generation of gross revenue, but in this phase the emphasis was on increasing
the margins of gross revenue. Increasing the profitability through better
business models ones which enabled the company to service the business
transaction better is the objective of this phase. As this phase encompassed
more than the e-commerce transactions it was called ebusiness. E-business
includes both the front and the back office applications A radical shift in the
way business was carried out over the web was designed by each of the
companies. The business models were innovative and the main objective was to
provide value to the customer and increase the profit of the company.

Functions of E-commerce

Whenever we visit any e-commerce site, we will understand that, the function
of any ecommerce site can be divided into four basic functions.

Communication Function:

The basic purpose of the communication function is to enable the interaction to

take place. Information regarding the product or the services should be passed
on the customer.

19 | P a g e
Process Function :

The basic purpose of the process function is to manage the process involved in
the transaction, the automations the networking of the two computers involved
in the transaction.

Service Function :

Improvement in the service provided to the customer is what really binds the
customer to the company. To manage the service provided to the customer is the
purpose of the service function.

Transaction Function:

To enable the transaction of buying and selling to go through is one the main
purpose of the transaction function

Forms of online marketing

Display advertising Display advertising conveys its advertising message

visually using text, logos, animations, videos, photographs, or other graphics.
Display advertisers frequently target users with particular traits to increase the
ads' effect.

Online advertisers (typically through their ad servers) often use cookies, which
are unique identifiers of specific computers, to decide which ads to serve to a
particular consumer. Cookies can track whether a user left a page without
buying anything, so the advertiser can later retarget the user with ads from the
site the user visited.

20 | P a g e
Web banner advertising

Web banners or banner ads typically are graphical ads displayed within a web
page. Many banner ads are delivered by a central ad server. Banner ads can use
rich media to incorporate video, audio, animations, buttons, forms, or other
interactive elements using Java applets, HTML5, Adobe Flash, and other
programs.

Frame ad (traditional banner)

Frame ads were the first form of web banners. The colloquial usage of "banner
ads" often refers to traditional frame ads. Website publishers incorporate frame
ads by setting aside a particular space on the web page. The Interactive
Advertising Bureau's Ad Unit Guidelines proposes standardized pixel
dimensions for ad units.

Pop-ups/pop-under

A pop-up ad is displayed in a new web browser window that opens above a

website visitor's initial browser window. A pop-under ad opens a new browser
window under a website visitor's initial browser window.

Floating ad

A floating ad, or overlay ad, is a type of rich media advertisement that appears
superimposed over the requested website's content. Floating ads may disappear
or become less obtrusive after a preset time period.

Expanding ad

An expanding ad is a rich media frame ad that changes dimensions upon a

predefined condition, such as a preset amount of time a visitor spends on a
webpage, the user's click on the ad, or the user's mouse movement over the ad.

21 | P a g e
Expanding ads allow advertisers to fit more information into a restricted ad
space.

Trick banners

A trick banner is a banner ad where the ad copy imitates some screen element
users commonly encounter, such as an operating system message or popular
application message, to induce ad clicks. Trick banners typically do not mention
the advertiser in the initial ad, and thus they are a form of bait-and-switch. Trick
banners commonly attract a higher-than-average click-through rate, but tricked
users may resent the advertiser for deceiving them.

Interstitial ads

An interstitial ad displays before a user can access requested content,

sometimes while the user is waiting for the content to load. Interstitial ads are a
form of interruption marketing.

Text ads

A text ad displays text-based hyperlinks. Text-based ads may display separately

from a web page's primary content, or they can be embedded by hyperlink
individual words or phrases to advertiser's websites. Text ads may also be
delivered through email marketing or text message marketing. Text-based ads
86 often render faster than graphical ads and can be harder for ad-blocking
software to block.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is designed to increase a website's visibility

in search engine results pages (SERPs). Search engines provide sponsored
results and organic (non-sponsored) results based on a web searcher's query.
Search engines often employ visual cues to differentiate sponsored results from

22 | P a g e
organic results. Search engine marketing includes all of an advertiser's actions
to make a website's listing more prominent for topical keywords.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, attempts to improve a website's organic

search rankings in SERPs by increasing the website content's relevance to
search terms. Search engines regularly update their algorithms to penalize poor
quality sites that try to game their rankings, making optimization a moving
target for advertisers. Many vendors offer SEO services.

Sponsored search

Sponsored search (also called sponsored links, search ads, or paid search)
allows advertisers to be included in the sponsored results of a search for
selected keywords. Search ads are often sold via real-time auctions, where
advertisers bid on keywords. In addition to setting a maximum price per
keyword, bids may include time, language, geographical, and other constraints.
Search engines originally sold listings in order of highest bids. Modern search
engines rank sponsored listings based on a combination of bid price, expected
click-through rate, keyword relevancy and site quality.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing is commercial promotion conducted through social

media websites. Many companies promote their products by posting frequent
updates and providing special offers through their social media profiles.

Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising is ad copy delivered through wireless mobile devices such

as smart phones, feature phones, or tablet computers. Mobile advertising may
take the form of static or rich media display ads, SMS (Short Message Service)

23 | P a g e
or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) ads, mobile search ads, advertising
within mobile websites, or ads within mobile applications or games (such as
interstitial ads, “advergaming,” or application sponsorship). Industry groups
such as the Mobile Marketing Association have attempted to standardize mobile
ad unit specifications, similar to the IAB's efforts for general online advertising.
Mobile advertising is growing rapidly for several reasons. There are more
mobile devices in the field, connectivity speeds have improved (which, among
other things, allows for richer media ads to be served quickly), screen
resolutions have advanced, mobile publishers are becoming more sophisticated
about incorporating ads, and consumers are using mobile devices more
extensively. The Interactive Advertising Bureau predicts continued growth in
mobile advertising with the adoption of location-based targeting and other
technological features not available or relevant on personal computers. In July
2014 Facebook reported advertising revenue for the June 2014 quarter of $2.68
billion, an increase of 67 per cent over the second quarter of 2013. Of that,
mobile advertising revenue accounted for around 62 per cent, an increase of 41
per cent on the previous year.

Email Advertising

Email advertising is ad copy comprising an entire email or a portion of an

email message. Email marketing may be unsolicited, in which case the sender
may give the recipient an option to opt-out of future emails, or it may be sent
with the recipient's prior consent (opt-in).

Chat advertising

As opposed to static messaging, chat advertising refers to real time messages

dropped to users on certain sites. This is done by the usage of live chat software
or tracking applications installed within certain websites with the operating
personnel behind the site often dropping adverts on the traffic surfing around

24 | P a g e
the sites. In reality this is a subset of the email advertising but different because
of its time window.

Online classified advertising

Online classified advertising is advertising posted online in a categorical listing

of specific products or services. Examples include online job boards, online real
estate listings, automotive listings, online yellow pages, and online auction-
based listings. Craigslist and eBay are two prominent providers of online
classified listings.

Adware

Adware is software that, once installed, automatically displays advertisements

on a user's computer. The ads may appear in the software itself, integrated into
web pages visited by the user, or in pop-ups/pop-under. Adware installed
without the user's permission is a type of malware.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing (sometimes called lead generation) occurs when advertisers

organize third parties to generate potential customers for them. Third-party
affiliates receive payment based on sales generated through their promotion.

E-Commerce scenario in India

With the second wave of e-commerce in India surging, Indian internet-driven

companies seem to have learnt from their experiences and have evolved in their
approach to online business models. Not many old companies of the 1999 era
remain in 2010, but those who exist have set high standards and benchmarks for
the new crop of start ups. It is from the learning and experiences of those old
companies that, the industry today appears mature in overcoming serious
infrastructural challenges in India. Although many differ on whether the current

25 | P a g e
trends in online businesses indicate a significant turning point in the industry,
nevertheless the panel on E-commerce in India approved to be an insightful
analysis on the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

E-commerce challenges for India

As compared to the west, E-commerce is relatively a new concept, but is

catching up fast and Indian companies are learning new ways to approach and
please their clients. E-commerce is a boom for the Indian Industry as it has
opened up new markets and opportunities which earlier had not existed. Along
with the opportunities e-commerce has also thrown some challenges which have
to be addressed to before we could say, that e-commerce is now completely
established in India.

Connectivity:

Videsh Sanchar Nigam limited enjoys a virtual monopoly in submarine cables

and all other Internet Service Providers have to go through them to provide fiber
optic link. In order to improve on the service provided by the ISP, there needs to
be better international connectivity. E-commerce thrives on better connectivity
and therefore we need more players who are offering international connectivity
through submarine cables.

Penetration:

Though the number of internet users are high in India but comparatively
lagging behind the western countries. PC penetration is low and is mostly
concentrated in the urban areas. Awareness of e-commerce is not there and there
are certain apprehensions towards it, these problems needed to be addressed to
immediately.

26 | P a g e
Legal Framework:

Though the Information Bill is in force, there is very low awareness towards its
implication Cyber crime is on the rise and unless and until the IT Bill is taken
up seriously, people are going to stay away from e-commerce.

Taxation:

Another major challenge is the way the deal will be taxed. Clarity as to the
taxation method needs to be made.

Electronic Payment:

Though there are many banks and online payment modules, the issue of safety
and security needs to look into. The methods of electronic payment need to be
refined and stabilized as they are the backbone of e-commerce People need to
divulge private information on the internet which may attract the attention of
criminals so care needs to be taken to ensure that safety and security are utmost
when the payment are being made.

Logistics:

The deal has been made online, but the goods need to be finally delivered and
considering the vast expanse of the market great thought and arrangements need
to be made. In a country, where there are problems of transportation on has to
make elaborate arrangements before going in for ecommerce as one of the
prime requirements of e-commerce is prompt delivery. So, for a country like
India Logistics and Shipment pose a major problem for ecommerce activities.

Acceptability:

The mindset of Indian people poses one of the greatest challenges. In India,
shopping is considered a festival where the family gets together and goes for
shopping. So to get them to shop online for their needs is a major challenge.

27 | P a g e
The use of credit cards one of the prerequisites for online payments is very low
in India this poses another problem. Though Information Technology Bill has
been implemented, it needs to be strictly adhered to and awareness towards it
needs to built up. The mindset of Indians is that, if they use their credit card for
online purchase cybercriminals will hack into their information and misuse it.
These are some of the psychological challenges that e-commerce faces in India.
Online Marketing is growing in India; it has only touched a few sections. The
reason for the numbers not being as large as the businesses wish it to be is the
lack of certain key elements in the existing business models. These customer
propositions are: Convenience and Value.

OPPORTINITIES AND CHALLENGES IN DIGITAL MARKETING IN

INDIA

The explosion of digital connectivity, the significant improvements in communication and

information technologies and the enforced global competition are revolutionizing the way
business is performed and the way organizations compete. Anew, complex and rapidly
changing economic order has emerged based on disruptive innovation, discontinuities, abrupt
and seditious change. In this new landscape, knowledge constitutes the most important factor,
while learning, which emerges through cooperation, together with the increased reliability
and trust, is the most important process (Lundvall and Johnson, 1994): The competitive
survival and ongoing sustenance of an organization primarily depend on its ability to redefine
and adopt continuously goals, purposes and its way of doing things (Malhotra, 2001). While
digital marketing is a part of mainstream marketing activity in the more developed markets,
in India it is still in the teething stage. Lack of awareness of the potential of internet and
mobile, low awareness of how digit~ marketing works and a general unwillingness to "try
new things", accounts for the low level of digital marketing activity in India. However, in the
last two years, online marketing has seen a steep growth and seem to be gathering critical
mass. Given the criticality of the Digital platforms as an emerging medium and the
opportunities it offers for marketing, the Internet and Mobile Association convenes this
conference with the aim of providing a common platform to advertisers, agencies, online

28 | P a g e
publishers, mobile marketing companies and other stakeholders to collectively drive home
the importance of Digital marketing. As multi-national companies and Indian corporations
continue to grow their Indian offices (expected growth in MNC hiring in tech sector to
double in 2007) and global work-practices begin to be seen in India, the always-on connected
professional is increasingly visible. Flexi hours and home-office culture has set-in in the tech
cities making laptop usage and home Wi-Fi a necessity. The small business enterprises are
contributing significantly to the mobile workforce by becoming the fastest growing segment
in laptop consumption. The Indian Government is considering halving excise duty on
hardware (proposal status as of January 2007) which will likely bring in taxation level on par
with China. Should this become a reality, PC and laptop costs will come down further
increasing consumption even more. telephony arrived. However, in India, mobile penetration
(for basic voice) has already exceeded PC penetration several fold. PC sales are growing at
around 25% year to year. Notably laptop sales have been doubling. The annual PC sales in
2005-06 were below the 5 million mark. Forecasts for 2006-07 estimate that over 5;6 million
PCs would be sold in India. It is important to note that the prices of PCs have been
consistently falling. Dell Inc. has just announced setting up of a manufacturing facility near
Chennai, a major metro in southern India, for making low cost PCs. India's Internet –service
provider market has some major players who are not telecom operators. Like other countries,
India has separate licensing system for ISPs, and a number of ISP-only firms are offering
Internet access and bandwidth. Like elsewhere, ISPs in India started off with dial-up
offerings, started moving to wired broadband connections and now increasingly to wireless
routes to the home and enterprise. The value proposition of the Indian software industry can
be summed up as "faster, better, and cheaper." The Indian companies have taken
responsibility on an end-to-end basis for new software development and for re-engineering.
The advent of the internet, digital connectivity, the explosion and use of ecommerce and e-
business modeless in the private sectors are pressurizing the public sector to re-think
hierarchal, bureaucratic organizational model. Customers, citizens and businesses are faced
everyday with new innovative e-business and e-commerce models implemented by the
private sector and made possible by ICT tools and applications are requiring the same from
governmental organization. Osborne and Gaebler 1992 referred to citizens as customers for
convergence, since convergence 1eed to empower rather than served. Governments world
wide are faced with the challenge of transformation and the need to modernized
administrative practices and management systems (Tapscott, 1996). recently, the public
sector has began to recognize the potential opportunities offered by ITC and e-business

29 | P a g e
model to fit with citizens demand, to offer better services to citizen and to increase efficiency
by streamlining internal processes. Tapscott and caston 1993 argued that ICT causes a
"paradigm shift" introducing "the age of network intelligence" , reinventing businesses,
convergence and individuals. Paradigm shifts prevail in the public sector too. The traditional
bureaucratic paradigm, characterized by internal productive efficiency, functional rationality,
departmentalization, hierarchical control and rule based management is being replaced by
competitive, knowledge based economy requirements, such as flexibility, network
organization, vertical or horizontal integration, innovative entrepreneurship, organization
learning, speed up in service delivery and a customer driven strategy. These new paradigm
thrust the shift towards e-government paradigm, which emphasizes coordinated network
building, collaboration and customer services.

In the new economy, underpinned by revolutionary changes in science and technology,

information and knowledge has become a key factor in economic competitiveness.
Developing countries must pursue a non; active role in the formulation of national policies
and strategies to promote the information economy, to reap huge benefits in terms of
economic and social growth/development. E Government is believed to play a fundamental
role to this end. It does not only facilitate market- led initiatives but it also plays a major role
in initiating the process of capability building and in coordinating the actions of a large
number of interested stakeholders (Mansell and Wehn, 1998). It offers the potential of
reshaping the public sector activities and processes, building relationships between citizens
and the government, enhancing transparency, increasing government capacity and providing
a "voice" for those outside the government. In fact, the development of ICT and the growth of
digitalization in various sectors of the economy can be effectively harnessed for being used as
useful marketing strategies for both the domestic and the foreign companies in India.

30 | P a g e
 CHAPTER 3 : LITRATURE REVIEW

EVOLUTION OF COMMERCE

Commerce has evolved over the centuries. Prior to the evolution of money it was a
simple "batter process" where things could be exchanged, same milk for grains. The
evolution of money brought with it, the concept of a "market place". In a market place,
commerce is a function of four P's. These entire four components play a vital role in a
transaction to take place. Different combinations of 4 P's determine different forms of
commerce. Once the market place came into existence, a few pioneers realized that
people would be ready to pay extra if they could deliver products at customer's door
steps. A slight modification at price and place let to the convenience of getting products
at their homes. This concept delighted the customers and thus, the concept of "street
vendors" was born. When the postal system came into being the sellers decided to cash
in on the new opportunity and started using mailers giving description of their
products. It led to the concept of "mail order cataloguing". From here, the evolution of
the "tele shopping" network was inevitable with the development of media vehicles.
The latest generation of commerce is one that can be done over the internet. Internet
provides a virtual platform where sellers and buyers can come in contact for sale and
purchase of goods and services. They can be thousands of miles apart, may belong to
different parts of the world, might speak different languages, "E-commerce" emerged as
the boundary less trade medium in the era globalization. Since, internet has the ability to
reach the customers home; the distribution channel has started to assume, new meaning
to the B2C and C2C e-Marketer. The Physical delivery got converted to electronic
delivery; physical products were now electronic products, displayed on a website. With
options of paying online through debit and credit cards, even the transaction was purely
electronic. Another important P for the e marketer, the Promotion, assumed importance,
especially because there is no face to face interaction between the buyer and seller. The
focus of online promotions is the' great deals', 'discounts', 'convenience' offered by the e-
Marketers.

31 | P a g e
 Owing to the fact that World Wide Web has developed rapidly since last decades, more
individuals, managers, and even marketers integrate the internet and relative technology
devices with marketing strategies. As a result, terms such as online marketing, digital
marketing, Internet marketing, electronic marketing, and even hypermedia marketing had
been used for elaborating the new concept of marketing. However, online marketing, Internet
marketing and E-marketing will be used frequently interchangeable and can often be
considered synonymous (Gilmore et al., 2007). Although there is still no fixed nomenclature
for this modern marketing strategy

(Dholakia,2005), the term “E-marketing” would be used hereafter in this article. This
article attempts to focus on how E-marketing is defined in research and discuss its adoptions
and advantages for enterprises. It is imperative to distinguish between two commonly used
and easily confused terms (E-business and E-commerce) before discussing E-marketing.

According to Krishnamurthy (2006), E-business is an overarching term that describes

how businesses run on the Internet or Web, and utilize Internet technologies to improve the
productivity or organizational performance. On the other hand, E-commerce focuses entirely
on the Internet or web to facilitate commercial transactions and even includes almost any
transactional event in nature in real world, such as banking, stocks and bonds trading,
auctions, retail shopping and so on. In addition, there are three popular types of E-commerce:
business to business, business to customer, and customer to customer. Similarly, in terms of
E-marketing, one cannot deny that online environment and electronic technologies play a
significant role in marketing activities.

Shaltoni and West (2010) claim that a majority of the definitions share an equivalent
core which is that E-marketing is accomplished or facilitated via diverse electronic
information and communication technologies.

Likewise, Gilmore et al. (2007) also assert that the term E-marketing includes using the
Internet/Web and related information technologies, such as e-mails, real-time
communication, web blogs, websites etc., to help organizations achieve marketing objectives.
In addition, it is of importance to note that E-marketing may not only focus on online
advertising but also help organizations manage or accumulate mass useful data.

32 | P a g e
 Analyzed in most studies, different E-marketing activities present diverse levels of E-
marketing adoption. In 2000, Hanson suggested that a distinction can be made between three
stages, which are publishing stage, database and forms stage, and personalization stage.

Likewise, Shaltoni and West (2010) supports the previous notion by stating that the
different e-marketing adoption levels could be also roughly divided into three stages:
communication level (basic adoption), transaction level (intermediate adoption), and
transformation level (advanced adoption). In general, basic level adoption means
organizations have simple extension of marketing communication department. For example,
companies might establish a static website to provide products and company information or
receive orders via the Internet. The second level adoption includes conducting marketing
transactions with E-marketing resources, such as selling products and accepting payments
online or online customer service. Finally, organizations which could enable to utilise E-
marketing strategies to drive corporate strategies would get involved in the advanced
adoption. It is evident that the advanced adoption level is best characterized by high levels of
interactivity, clear and solid E-marketing strategy, and availability of enough resources to
conduct E-marketing functions ( Shaltoni and West ,2010).

An exploratory research effort was made by Shaltoni and West (2010) in which the
adoption of E-marketing has been associated with an array of potential benefits. The
competitive advantages include raising profitability, market expansion, and improving other
marketing functions. Increasing revenue and cost reduction might always be linked with the
term which is “increases in profitability”. As previously stated, enterprises might enable to
achieve various objectives, inclusive of increasing in sales, reducing cost of advertisement by
conducting different levels of E-marketing. For instance, Krishnamurthy (2006) indicates that
by Internet-based advertising (e.g., pop-under ads, pop-up ads, banner ads, e-mail, and
advergames) or other advertisements via technology devices (e.g., text ads) , organizations
could empower themselves to enlarge market share and cut down cost of advertising.

In conclusion, this review has discussed what is E-marketing and various adoption levels
might get involved in different marketing activities. In Consequence, diverse E-marketing
campaigns could bring about a variety of levels of benefits. Besides, for marketers and
organizations, it is worth focusing on setting an explicit ultimate goal, identifying potential
and suitable actors, determining marketing spaces and actions, and even predicting ultimate
outcomes when an E-marketing activity is commenced to be conduct.

33 | P a g e
34 | P a g e
DIGITAL MARKETING:

Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution
channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost effective manner. While
online marketing is a part of mainstream marketing activity in the more developed markets,
in India it is still in the teething stage. Lack of awareness of the potential of internet, spread
of its use in India, low awareness of how internet marketing works and a general
unwillingness to "try new things" accounts for the low level of online marketing activity in
India. However, in the last two years, online marketing has seen a steep growth and seem to
be gathering critical mass. Given the criticality of internet as an emerging medium and the
opportunities it offers for marketing, the Internet and Mobile Association convenes this
conference with the aim of providing a common platform to advertisers, agencies, online
publishers and other stakeholders to collectively drive home the importance of online
marketing. Whilst digital marketing does include many of the techniques and practices
contained within the category of Internet Marketing, it extends beyond this by including other
channels with which to reach people that do not require the use of The Internet. As a result of
this non-reliance on the Internet, the field of digital marketing includes a whole host of
elements such as mobile phones, sms/mms, display / banner ads and digital outdoor.
Previously seen as a stand-alone service in its own right, it is frequently being seen as a
domain that can and does cover most, if not all, of the more traditional marketing areas such
as Direct Marketing by providing the same method of communicating with an audience but in
a digital fashion. There are 2 different forms of digital marketing, each of which has their
pros and cons.

Usage of E-Commerce

According to one survey conducted among the Industry players, the E-Commerce Industry in
India was worth Rs 7080 cores at the end of 2006-07. Is it big enough? How much is it
expected to grow? The adoption and usage of E-Commerce in the country is a function of the
overall environment for Internet usage in a country. To correctly understand the likely growth
path for E-Commerce in India it is imperative to understand the internet ecosystem in the
country. Some of the key variables that need to be understood are the proportion of computer
literates, internet penetration, frequency of access to the internet, purpose of internet access
etc. A correct mapping of these would help in understanding the overall framework of E-

35 | P a g e
Commerce in the country. The PC literate population is on a fast growth curve having grown
100% in 2006 over 2004. Though in India overall penetration is still low the important factor
is that a critical mass of users is shaping up which will fuel rapid growth over the next 3-4
years. A Claimed or Ever Internet User is defined as one who has ever accessed Internet. A
subset of Claimed Internet users, Active Internet Users are defined as those who have
accessed Internet at least once in the last one month. They are the regular users of Internet
and are aware of the recent trends and applications emerging on the Internet. The population
of Active Internet Users was 21 million in March 2006. As these Internet Users mature with
respect to exposure and awareness of internet, they tend to spend more time online; access
internet more frequently and surf non-communication based applications and advanced online
applications like gaming, E-Commerce, etc. However, as it is evident from the charts below,
E-Commerce is still not the key driver of the Internet. Internet usage in the country is still
driven by email and information search. However, the interesting part is that out of the 13.2
million internet users across 26 cities covered in I-Cube 2006, (Syndicated Research of e
technology group @IMRB International),14.2% use the internet to buy travel tickets; 5.5%
people do online shopping especially products like Books, Flowers, Gifts etc. and 5% people
deal in stocks and shares through the internet. Though the percentage contribution of E-
Commerce is almost same over the years, however, the number of Internet users using E-
Commerce is growing rapidly. Thus, E-Commerce is surely being adopted by the Internet
users as a way to shop. They are buying a variety of products online and visiting various web
sites to buy products from. Given the rate of growth in E-Commerce users, size of the E-
Commerce industry is expected to reach Rs. 9210 cores at the end of 2007-08, a big jump of
30% over the current industry size.

36 | P a g e
Triggers and Barriers for the E-Commerce market in India

In addition to the industry size, it is imperative to understand the reasons behind the growth
and reasons hampering the growth E-Commerce industry in the country. This section
elaborates the triggers and barriers that impact the adoption of E-Commerce by the Internet
users we would start by enlisting the triggers which motivate the online shoppers to buy
products online.

As evident from -the table above, time saving is the major reason that drives Internet users to shop
online. It is followed by convenience of anyplace, anytime shopping online. Online stores do not have
space constraints, thus, a wide variety of products can be put for display. Companies can display
whole range of products being offered by them. This further enables the buyers to choose from a
variety of models after comparing the looks, features, prices of the products on display. To attract
customers to shop online, e-Marketers are offering great deals and discounts to the customers. This is
facilitated by elimination of maintenance, real-estate cost of the seller, selling its products online. An
insight into some of the problems stated by customers while buying through Internet will help us to
have a closer look at the issues which need to be addressed by the online community.

Absence of touch-feel-try creates concerns over the quality of the product on offer. Another roadblock
in the way of E-Commerce is lack of interactivity so as to allow for negotiations between the buyer
and sellers. In addition to above, the security of online payments is a major issue requiring immediate
attention of the marketers.

37 | P a g e
Increasing rate of cyber crimes has made customer apprehensive of revealing their credit card details
and bank details online. Moreover, the duration of selecting, buying and paying for an online product
may not take more than 15 minutes; however, delivery of the product to customer's doorstep may take
about 1-3 weeks. Furthermore our past observation has been that in India shopping is an experience
itself. Consumers look forward to it as an opportunity to get out of their homes and interact with other
people. The recent growth in the malls and the hypermarkets only corroborate this fact. Thus, E-
Commerce has to bank on the convenience and discount platform as there is no way that they can
compete with the offline platforms on the experience that they provide. There is no doubt that Internet
shopping has a number of benefits to offer. With changing lifestyles, E-Commerce is surely the most
appealing and convenient means of shopping. However, the grave issues surrounding the market do
not make it the "choice" of most of the Internet users. Addressing the above specified issues, thus, has
become critical to expand beyond the current user base.

E-TAILING

As the name suggests, e- Tailing is the web version of Retailing. In other words these are online shops
where a customer can choose from a variety of items like Apparel, Accessories, Mobiles/Cell Phones,
Cameras, Computers, Books, Magazines, Music CDs and DVDs, Electronic Goods, Shoes, Furniture,
Health Equipments, Flowers, Jewelry, etc. The two popular models that exist in the eTailing
marketplace are Online Retailers and Online Auctions. The Website of an Online Retailer is used as a
storefront to sell physical goods that are then delivered by a third party. The Online Auctions, on the
other hand, serves as a platform where a seller can offer to sell its products to interested buyers and
provides the enabling infrastructure for electronic transactions. In the past, auctions were limited to
only high valued items such as paintings, antiques and collectibles or for commodities in the
wholesale market

places. However, now it is possible to auction even low valued items like old books, music cassettes,
CDs, etc. Thus, both formats of e- Tailing differ in the procedure for conducting an electronic
transaction. These differences can be highlighted in form of the following process flow: Another
difference between online stores and the online auction sites is that the former earns transaction
revenues while the latter charges a commission from the buyer and seller once the deal is closed.

Size of the eTailing Market for the year 2006-07 and 2007-08

After collating the responses from various players in the Industry, the size of eTailing Market for the
year 2006-07 was computed to be Rs. 850 crores. eTailing contributes around 12% to the total E-
Commerce Market size in the year 2006-07.The reasons that limit the growth of this online segment
comprise of lack of trust, especially for unknown brands, lack of 'touch-feel-try' experience, higher
chances for discrepancy in the product delivered, low margins, etc. These factors have been

38 | P a g e
elaborated upon in the next section. However, with branded stores coming online, providing
consistent service delivery, both online and offline, this segment is expected to rise by 30% to Rs.
1105 crores at the end of 2007-08. These branded stores are likely to be visited by more buyers in the
metros than from non-metros.

GROWTH IN THE ETAILING MARKET IS DRIVEN BY:

INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF BUYERS AND SELLERS: The success of a

marketplace depends on the presence of a large number of buyers and a large number of
sellers. Over the years there has been a sharp increase in the number of buyers and sellers in
this segment. In addition to online buyers, many offline stores have begun to sell their
products in the online marketplace. The greater the number of sellers and buyers, the faster
the market grows.

CHANGE IN THE CUSTOMER'S ATTITUDE: According to a leading eTailer,

"There has been a significant change in the attitude of an average Internet user. He is ready to
experiment to suit his convenience". Truly, an average user is buying a variety of products
online. These may vary from low-end items like books to high-end items like laptops; less
involving items like flowers to high, involvement items like jewelry.

CONVENIENCE: As rightly pointed out by an eTailer, "a 15 minutes trip online can save a
two-hour trip to the mall.. we offer widest variety, the best deals and option for buying and
paying online that won't take more than 5-6 clicks" Thus, an online buyer saves time, effort
and money when buying online as compared to buying from physical stores.

BETTER BARGAINS: e- Tailing eliminates the need to maintain expensive and fancy
showrooms. Instead, what attract customer attention to online stores is the great deals' 'best
prices' and 'better bargains'. According to an industry player, "Online. retailers can manage to
offer attractive offers as they operate out of websites and thussave on inventory handling and
maintenance costs".

BARRIERS TO GROWTH OF E-TAILING MARKET

CONSUMER BIAS: According to a leading industry player, "Consumers will display a bias
for brands that they know well and have had a good experience in the past". Thus products of

39 | P a g e
brands with a favorable bias will score over the products of less popular brands. "A few
would risk to buy expensive jewelry from an unknown jeweler online", adds another industry
expert.

LACK OF 'TOUCH-FEEL-TRY' EXPERIENCE: We have heard a lot of Internet Users

say "would the diamonds in the ring be as big as shown in this picture", "it seems like my size
but what if does not fit well", "what if this camera does not work". Thus, lack of ability to try
a product before buying acts as a barrier for some Internet Users. In addition, often the
product or the service delivered differs from the standards displayed on the website. The
customer is not sure of the quality of the product unless it is delivered to him and post
delivery of the product, it is sometimes a lengthy process to get a faulty or the unsuitable
product changed. Thus, unless the deliverables are as per the customers' expectations, it is
hard to infuse more credibility in the e- Tailing market.

MOUNTING COMPETITIVE PRESSURES: The market for online buying is still at a

nascent stage. However, at this early stage too, the market is swarmed by the players selling
their or third party's products online. To attract customers, the competing online players are
adopting all means to provide products and services at the lowest prices. This has resulted in
making the consumers choice-spoilt, who in turn surf various websites to spot the 10w~st
price for the product. Thus, although the number of transactions is increasing, the value of the
products sold is continuously falling owning to high competition and leaner margins.

SEASONALITY: eTailing Market is faced by seasonal fluctuations. As told by an Industry

player, "August to February is the peak seasons for sale, while March to July is the dry
seasons for sale". During the peak season, occasions that drive the sales are Diwali, Rakhi,
Valentine's Day, New Year, Christmas, Mother's Day, Friendship Day etc are. On these
occasions younger generations prefers buying and sending gifts. online.

CREDIBILITY IN PAYMENT SYSTEM: According to a leading eTailer, "online frauds

and breach is the biggest barrier to online sales".. As a result, prospective buyers prefer
staying away from revealing their credit card and bank details. UNTIMELY DELIVERY
OF PRODUCTS: it might take a few minutes to search, book and pay for products and
services online, but the delivery of the product may take unreasonable time. Thus, the online
retailing raises more issues than the benefits it currently offers. The quality of products
offered online and procedures for service delivery are yet to be standardized. Till the same is
done, the buyer is at a higher risk of fra1,lds. In addition to above, efforts need to be taken to

40 | P a g e
educate the online buyers on the steps that need to be undertaken while making an online
purchase. Moreover, the feedback of an online buyer should be captured to identify flaws in
service delivery. This can be done through online communities and blogs that serve as
advertising and marketing tools and a source of feedback for enterprises. Thus, unless the
issues surrounding the eTailing market are addressed, the benefits provided by the industry
would fail to attract high value and volumes of transactions.

ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS

B2C Online Classifieds is a customer driven market. It enables Internet Users to place their
offerings, including, CVs for jobs, profile for matrimony, ads to buy/ sell property and
automobiles on websites. Though the Online Classifieds market targets niche segments, for
example, the working population can place their CVs on job portals, those greater than 18
years are eligible to avail of services of a matrimonial website, etc., this segment still
manages to attract the maximum attention owing to the fact that it targets the young
population, that contributes maximum to the pie of Internet users. However, there is another
potential segment comprising 01 middle aged and senior citizens, who might be interested in
availing matrimony services (for their children) and buying/ selling property. Since this
segment is not comfortable in accessing the internet, they still rely on service of middlemen
like marriage

consultants and property dealers. Having realized this, players in the Online Classifieds
Market are opening physical counters. The physical counters assist the not-so-Internet-savvy
population by applying search as per the parameters specified by the customer.

41 | P a g e
 CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETAION

1. GENDER GROUP OF THE RESPONDENT.

Through this analysis I get to know that majority user were male which is 60% where as 40%
were female.

2. AGE GROUP OF THE RESPONDENT.

As most of the respondent were students or who are recently graduated so the age ratio is
between 20-40 age and below 20 which is 75% and 22.5% of the total response.

42 | P a g e
3. ARE YOU INTERNET USERS.

Most of the respondent were internet user which is 80% of total response and only 15% were
not an internet user.

4. ARE YOU AN ONLINE SHOPPER ?

Majority of the respondent were online shopper which is 72.5% of total response and 25%
were not an online shopper or don't prefer to buy online.

5. WHICH TYPE OF CUSTOMER YOU ARE ?

This chart show the majority of the response were from the students which is 70% and it also
means that most of the online buyer were student and only 12.5% were professional.

43 | P a g e
 6. QUALIFICTION OF THE RESPONDENT ?

As we have collected information from the previous question that most of customer were
student, this survey make it clear about their qualification and shows that 82% response
include were from UG & PG students and 12.8% were professional.

7. ANNUAL INCOME OF THE RESPONDENT ?

72.5% of the respondents have less than 4lacs of income because it include response
from student and the rest 28% have the income of 4lacs above income.

44 | P a g e
8. DO YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE IN BUYING PRODUCT THROUGH
INTERNET ?

Most of the respondent which is 76.3% have an experience on online purchase of product &
service.

9. WHICH CATEGORIES OF STUFFS DO YOU PREFER TO BUY ONLINE ?

People generally purchase stuff like books, tickets, electronic gadgets, apparels &
accessories, book hotel room, rent cars etc, buy foods online as well as groceries but mostly
they purchase apparels, accessories and gadgets because they get high discount on it.

45 | P a g e
10. DO YOU FACE ANY PROBLEM WHILE USING E-MARKET ?

Most of the people don't face any problem but there are few cases where some problems
arise like delay in refund, poor service, late delivery, quality, tracking problem, actual
product being differ from the product which was shown ; etc..

11. ONLINE SITE OR STORE MOSTLY PREFER FOR PURCHASE ?

Majority of the online shopper purchase goods from Amazon and Myntra because they assure
with quality guarantee as well as product safety and the delivery spam is quick as compared
with other online sites.

46 | P a g e
12. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BEST PAYMENT METHOD IF YOU BUY ONLINE ?

The mostly preferred way of payment is cash on delivery which is 79.5% because there is
high chance of fraud if we pay online in a least known online site and the risk of getting
timely refund of our amount, so people rather chooseWW cash on delivery over other option.

47 | P a g e
CONCLUSION

As generation evolve and technology develops, the advancement in the field of marketing has
been immense. No longer are businesses bound by the limitations of the traditional marketing
techniques. The old has been heavily replace by the new. One of the newest and most
effective strategies has been of online marketing, which is the topic that is the study on e-
market was centered on. Online marketing utilizes the internet and its wealth of resources for
promotional. Internet marketing is all about being available whenever and wherever
customers may need you, rather than just popping up once in a while for attention.

 The First Chapter tell us about the meaning, importance, advantages & disadvantages
of the E-market/ online market.
 The second chapter help us to get a brief information about the study of online market
and the detail about the E-commerce.
 The third chapter is about the study made by different researcher and the evolution of
commerce as well as a gist knowledge idea about e-tailing.

48 | P a g e
BIBLOGRAPHY

 WWW.google.com
 WWW.wikipedia.com
 WWW.e-marketing.com
 WWW.onlinemarket.com

49 | P a g e