DESSERTATION REPORT

ON

"The Impact of Social Media on Student Buying Behavior

in E-Commerce"

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the

award of
degree of Master of Business Administration
from
Graphic Era Hill University, Bhimtal
Submitted by
Nisha Barti
Roll no: 2255083
MBA (Batch 2022-24), 4th Semester

Under the Guidance of

Mr. Bhavesh Joshi

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is really a great pleasure to have this opportunity to describe the feeling of gratitude

imprisoned in the core of my heart.

I convey my sincere gratitude to all those who have directly or indirectly helped me to

prepare my project work on “The Impact of Social Media on Student Buying

Behavior in E-Commerce" I am thankful to Mr. Bhavesh Joshi for the guidance

during my project work and sparing the valuable time for the same. I express my sincere

obligation and thanks to all the Faculties of Management Studies for their valuable

advice in guiding me at every stage in bringing outthis report.

I am also thankful to my family for their kind co-operation which made my take easy.

Name: Nisha Barti

Roll No:2255083
 DECLARATION

I do hereby declare that this project work titled “The Impact of Social Media on

Student Buying Behavior in E-Commerce"

submitted by me for the fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master In Business

Administration (MBA) is a record of my own research work. The report embodies the

finding based on my study and observation and has not been submitted earlier for the award

of any degree or diploma to any Institute or University.

Date- Name: Nisha Barti

Signature- MBA(Marketing)

Roll No: 2255083

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

[Link]. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

1.
INTRODUCTION
5-24

2. 25
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

3. 26
LIMITATIONS

4. 27-34
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
35-38
5.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6. DATA ANALSIS & INTERPRETATION 39-47

7. 48-49
FINDINGS

8. 50
CONCLUSION

9. 51
BIBLIOGRAPHY

10. QUESTIONNAIRE 52-53

OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

In today’s digital age where the most

invasive manifestation i.e., the Internet

which is globally connecting millions of

computers worldwide exchanging data,

information, images, videos, etc. has also

given birth to E-business. Online shopping is

a form of E-commerce or electronic commerce, which allows consumers to directly buy

goods and services from the sellers over the Internet without intermediary services. Other

names for an online shop are e-shop, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store,

online storefront and virtual store. Online shopping is an easy and comfortable way of

shopping for a large range of products. So, more and more people are gaining confidence

about purchasing products online. Whether it is shopping for day-to-day groceries, home

products and electric gadgets or revamping entire wardrobe – today’s smart shoppers can

do all the above, from the comfort of their home. It is even more popular than seeking out

entertainment information and news, two commonly thought of activities when considering

what Internet users do when online.

Initially, the customer base for online shopping activities was the rich or elite class

with lots of purchasing capacity. However, now, with the passage of time, more and more

people are going to prefer to make purchases online, thus, getting a massive change in the

online shopping trends. Purchases can be made by following a link to an online shop (click-

out). Online shopping is experiencing very high growth rates in the number of members

and visitors. Online shopping is a new culture and is an inevitable activity in view of the
busy life of people today. Whether for a homemaker or a career person, a young or senior

shopper, online shopping facility provides a lot of advantages.

As the recent researches have indicated that, the Internet shopping particularly in

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) has risen and online shopping has become more popular

among many people. According to the report, The Emerging Digital Economy II, published

by the US Department of Commerce, in some companies, the weight of E-commerce in

total sales is quite high. For instance, the Dell computer company has reached 18 million

dollars sales through online shopping during the first quarter 1999. As a result, about 30%

of its 5.5 billion dollars total sales were achieved through the internet. Therefore, to

understand ‘online shopping and its impact on consumer buying behaviour’ could help

companies making use of it as a form of doing E-business.

The internet is being developed rapidly since last two decades, and with relevant digital

economy that is driven by information technology also being developed worldwide. After

a long term development of internet, which rapidly increased web users and highly speed

internet connection, and some new technology also have been developed and used for web

developing, those lead to firms can promote and enhance images of product and services

through web site. Therefore, detailed product information and improved service attracts

more and more people changed their consumer behaviour from the traditional mode to

more rely on the internet shopping. On the other hand, more companies have realized that

the consumer behaviour transformation is unavoidable trend, and thus change their

marketing strategy. As the recent researches have indicated that, the internet shopping

particularly in business to consumer (B2C) has risen and online shopping become more

popular to many people

ONLINE SHOPPING IN INDIA

The birth and growth of Internet has been the biggest event of the century. E-commerce in

India has come a long way from a timid beginning in the 1999-2000 to a period where one

can sell and find all sorts of stuff from a high end product to a meager peanut online. Most

corporations are using Internet to represent their product range and services so that it is

accessible to the global market and to reach out to a larger range of their audience.

Computers and the Internet have completely changed the way one handles day-to-day

transactions; online shopping is one of them. The Internet has brought about sweeping

changes in the purchasing habits of the people. In the comfort of one's home, office or

cyber cafe or anywhere across the globe, one can log on and buy just about anything from

apparel, books, music and diamond jewellery to digital cameras, mobile phones, MP3

players, video games, movie tickets, rail and air tickets. Ease, simplicity, convenience and

security are the key factors turning the users to buy online.

E-commerce revenues in the country are projected to reach Rs 2,300 crore in the year 2006-

07, growing at 95 per cent over 2004-05(Source: Internet and Mobile Association of India,

IAMAI). This pertains to the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment. It may be too early to

do a comparison with the e-commerce scenes in countries such as the US where billions of

dollars are spent online but the business in India is growing exponentially every year, albeit

from a smaller base, the total revenues have reached a respectful size.
[Link] has witnessed a growth of more than ten times in just two years in its online

gifts domain. In the online travel domain, the company was able to generate an average

$8,000 worth of room bookings/month for its premium client. It is expected to touch $15-

20,000/month/client by the year-end, which is over 100 percent growth (Source:Indiamart).

Brick-and-mortar businesses are also building up e-commerce revenues. In the year 2005-

06 Samsung India recorded a 120 percent jump in online buying from its site over the year

2004-05 (Source: Samsung). Nirula’s witnessed more than double growth in its B2C e-

commerce revenues in the year 2005-06 and is positive for the next one to two years

(Source: Nirula’s). Companies like eBay India have seen a large increase in the number of

sellers and buyers from B and C cities and in a year the eBay community (buyers and

sellers) base has increased to 1.7 million users, which shows that more Indians are shopping

online (Source: eBay). Online sales are currently marked by a single digit growth, but the

leading garment retailers like Pantaloon, Shoppers’ Stop and Globus have already made

business strategies to enter into the world of e-retailing. Famous apparel brand Zodiac has

already started online stores. The main motive of these retailers through online sales is to

reach the global markets and the small towns where they do not have the outlets. Thus the

India's Internet shopping sector is preparing for a massive growth, which is fuelled by

increasing broadband usage and growing e-commerce.

Online Activities

The Internet has entered the mainstream consciousness over the past decade. This has

happened primarily because the web has got a graphical interface and Internet has moved

from governmental control to private hands. The activities which are happening on the

Internet are email and instant messaging, general web surfing or browsing, reading news,
hobby searches, entertainment searches, shopping and buying online, medical information

searches, travel information searches, tracking credit cards, and playing games.

Communication i.e. email, chat or instant message is the basic activity for which Internet

is used. It is the single most important reason for people to go online. E-mail provides the

opportunity to communicate more often with a much broader circle of people than one can

reach by telephone or by mail in a convenient way. In India too email constitutes the major

activity on the Internet. It was found that more elderly people are increasingly using email

as compared to the younger generations.

In India the top five online activities are e-mail, surfing, chatting, search and job search.

Some of the sites, which are commonly used for these particular activities, are:

➢ Yahoo -Most preferred communication portal, tops for email and chat

➢ Indiatimes –Best event and sports news provider.

➢ Naukri-Best recruitment portal

➢ Google-Best information domain

➢ Shaadi-Best for matrimonial services

➢ eBay-Best online shopping portal

(Source:IAMAI)

In India online trading, travel, recruitment, ticketing, real estate, classifieds and social

networking are a few spheres ripe for investment.

Employment
Today online job search market is expanding tremendously. According to IAMAI the

number of online job seekers had reached 6.5 million in 2005-06 and is expected to across

9.2 million in the year 2006-07. The market size of the Indian online recruitment industry

in 2005-06 was 145 crore and it is estimated to reach Rs 241 crore for 2006-07 (source

IAMAI) this is mainly because of the increase in the internet penetration which has lead to

an increase in the users for whom net has become a convenient way to meet their needs.

Every year thousands of graduates pass out and look for employment opportunities, for

these job seekers Internet is the most convenient (24 hour a day) and the comprehensive

medium to research and look for jobs. Internet is advantageous to both the job seekers

(saves time and cost) and to the recruiters (easy access to the best talent pool) as a result

there is a win a win situation.

Banking & Trading

The net banking is increasing and it is estimated that 4.6 million Internet users are using

Internet for banking purposes and it is expected to grow to 16 million plus by 2007-08

(Source IAMAI). Trading stocks is also becoming a fast booming activity amongst the

Indians. The traders feel that trading through Internet is not that cheap but the convenience

provided by online trading is worth the costs involved. Traders can keep a regular check

on various stocks and it is easier to compare them. They can not only buy and sell stocks

but can also find the track record of various stocks, do technical analysis, can access live

news from international news agencies such as Reuters, CNBC and find opinions from

other leading brokers which help them do decide whether to buy or sell.
RURAL MARKETING STRATEGY – 4 A’S

Availability: It emphasizes on the availability of the goods and services to the end

consumers. In the case of e-choupal the products are available continuously because

sanchalaks maintains continuous inventory and maintains aggregate demand.

Affordability: It focuses on product pricing. ITC buys from farmers directly in the last

days closing price and even pays them for transportation. Goods are weighted

electronically and hence farmers are no more cheated as they used to be previously. Hence

it is a win-win situation both for farmers and the company.

Acceptability: It focuses on convincing the customer to buy the product. ITC’s e-choupal

initiative is proving the farmers with real time updated information on weather. It is

providing them customized knowledge in the form of farm management and risk

management. It is also providing them lower transaction cost. It is also providing them

financial services in the form of life, general, health and crop insurance.

Awareness: It focuses on making people aware of the product. It is providing active

servicing up to rural outlets. It is providing them with wide range of product categories.

Moreover it has made entrepreneurs out of farmers as they are managing most of the work;

it instills in them the sense of owner

ONLINE RETAILING STORES IN INDIA

Online shopping in India is gaining its momentum and there is healthy competition

between the retailers which results in the benefit of the consumer. IndianPlaza was the first

online retaining store to commence its business in India in the year 1999. With the flourish

of the numbers of online shops, the most popular sites among the Indian customers are as

follows:

➢ Amazon and Flipkart:

Amazon India and Flipkart are two of the largest e-commerce platforms, offering

a vast range of products from electronics and clothing to groceries and home goods. Both

platforms have extensive logistics networks and offer various services like quick delivery

and exclusive deals.

➢ Mynntra:

Myntra specializes in fashion and lifestyle products, known for its extensive catalog of

clothing, accessories, and footwear from numerous brands.

➢ BigBasket and Blinkit

BigBasket and Blinkit are leading online grocery delivery services, providing

fresh produce, groceries, and household essentials with the convenience of home delivery

➢ Nykaa:
 Nykaa focuses on beauty and wellness products, offering cosmetics, skincare, and

personal care items. Its success is attributed to its wide range and quality of products, as

well as its engaging online presence.

➢ Zomato and Swiggy:

Zomato and Swiggy dominate the food delivery segment, allowing customers to

order from local restaurants and enjoy a variety of cuisines delivered to their doorsteps.

➢ FirstCry:

FirstCry caters specifically to baby and kids' products, including clothing, toys,

and maternity essentials, making it a go-to destination for young parents.

➢ BookMyShow:

Known primarily for booking movie tickets, BookMyShow also offers tickets for

events, plays, and sports. It is one of the most popular platforms for entertainment-related

bookings in India.

➢ 1mg:

This platform serves as an online pharmacy, providing medicines, health

supplements, and online doctor consultations. 1mg has become a trusted source for

healthcare needs
 In addition to these there are many more sites operating in India such as zivame, jioMart,

meesho, makemytrip, [Link], urbanic, Ajio,Snitch, etc. Thus, there is an ample scope

of online shopping in India as peopleare more concerned about the products that they buy and

can effortlessly buy their productswhile sitting at their homes through logging into their

systems. Shopping through the onlineshopping portals is quiet convenient in the modern Indian

society where time and money is equally precious.

LOGOS OF SOME POPULAR ONLINE RETAIL STORES IN INDIA

GET THE BEST DEALS

The following are some of the ways which would help the consumers to avail the best offers

and discounts while shopping from the online retail stores:

 i. Use Coupon or Promotional Codes:

Apart from the convenience to shop online, one of the

biggest reasons why people prefer shopping on the Internet is

that it gives them the opportunity to avail discounts all through

the year, even when it is not sale season! What’s more, coupon codes help the consumers

to save more money.

i. How to get the code:

Enter the merchant’s website with the word ‘coupon’ or ‘promotional code’, to get

a discount on products or on shopping costs or both. Since the discounts are often on select

products, the consumers need to make sure the ones they have chosen fall under the

‘discount’ category then apply the right code.

ii. Ditch Shopping Cart:

If there is no rush to get the shopping delivery immediately, once the shopping is

over and all the products are being placed in the cart, save the cart and leave it for a day or

two (do not checkout and pay). The online portal will send an added discount coupon to

try to convince the consumer or user to buy the cart!

iii. Compare Products to Get the Best Deals

If the consumer wants to buy a phone or any other electronic gadget, then he or sheshould go

for price comparison websites that allow them to compare prices available on different

websites. This will help to avail the best discount offers.

iv. Browse through Customer Reviews:

Most websites have a section under their products for feedback given by other

customers or users. At times, a product may not be as it is displayed. The reviews help

consumers to make informed decisions. It is always good to know whether the product

that is going to be bought is money’s worth or not because with online shopping, people

tend to buy things on a whim.

STUDY OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES IN RURAL INDIA

BY COMMUNICATING AND CHANGING QUALITY PERCEPTION

Companies are coming up with new technology and they are properly communicating it to

the customer. There is a trade of between Quality a customer perceives and a company

wants to communicate. Thus, this positioning of technology is very crucial. The perception

of the Indian about the desired product is changing. Now they know the difference between

the products and the utilities derived out of it. As a rural Indian customer always wanted

value for money with the changed perception, one can notice difference in current market

scenario.

BY PROPER COMMUNICATION IN INDIAN LANGUAGE

The companies have realized the importance of proper communication in local language

for promoting their products. They have started selling the concept of quality with proper

communication. Their main focus is to change the Indian customer outlook about quality.

With their promotion, rural customer started asking for value for money.

BY TARGET CHANGING PERCEPTION

If one go to villages they will see that villagers using Toothpaste, even when they can use

Neem or Babool sticks or Gudakhu, villagers are using soaps like Nima rose, Breeze,

Cinthol etc. even when they can use locally manufactured very low priced soaps. Villagers

are constantly looking forward for new branded products. What can one infer from these

incidents, is the paradigm changing and customer no longer price sensitive? Indian
customer was never price sensitive, but they want value for money. They are ready to pay

premium for the product if the product is offering some extra utility for the premium.

BY UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL AND SOCIAL VALUES

Companies have recognized that social and cultural values have a very strong hold on the

people. Cultural values play major role in deciding what to buy. Moreover, rural people

are emotional and sensitive. Thus, to promote their brands, they are exploiting social and

cultural values.

BY PROVIDING WHAT CUSTOMER WANT

The customers want value for money. They do not see any value in frills associated with

the products. They aim for the basic functionality. However, if the seller provides frills free

of cost they are happy with that. They are happy with such a high technology that can fulfill

their need. As "Motorola" has launched, seven models of Cellular Phones of high

technology but none took off. On the other hand, "Nokia" has launched a simple product,

which has captured the market.

BY PROMOTING PRODUCTS WITH INDIAN MODELS AND ACTORS

Companies are picking up Indian models, actors for advertisements as this helps them to

show themselves as an Indian company. Diana Hyden and Shahrukh Khan are chosen as a

brand ambassador for MNC quartz clock maker "OMEGA" even though when they have

models like Cindy Crawford.

 BY ASSOCIATING THEMSELVES WITH INDIA

MNCs are associating themselves with India by talking about India, by explicitly saying

that they are Indian. M-TVduring Independence Day and Republic daytime make their logo

with Indian tri-color. Nokia has designed a new cellular phone 5110, with the India tri-

colour and a ringing tone of "Sare Jahan se achcha".

BY PROMOTING INDIAN SPORTS TEAM

Companies are promoting Indian sports teams so that they can associate themselves with

India. With this, they influence Indian mindset. LG has launched a campaign "LG ki Dua,

all the best". ITC is promoting Indian cricket team for years; during world cup they have

launched a campaign "Jeeta hai jitega apna Hindustan India India India". Similarly,

Whirlpool has also launched a campaign during world cup.

BY TALKING ABOUT A NORMAL INDIAN

Companies are now talking about normal India. It is a normal tendency of an Indian to try

to associate him/her with the product. If he/she can visualize himself/herself with the

product, he /she become loyal to it. That is why companies like Daewoo based their

advertisements on a normal Indian family.

BY DEVELOPING RURAL-SPECIFIC PRODUCTS

Many companies are developing rural-specific products. Keeping into consideration the

requirements, a firm develops these products. Electrolux is working on a made-for India

fridge designed to serve basic purposes: chill drinking water, keep cooked food fresh, and

to withstand long power cuts.

BY GIVING INDIAN WORDS FOR BRANDS

Companies use Indian words for brands. Like LG has used India brand name "Sampoorna"

for its newly launched TV. The word is a part of the Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and Tamil

tongue. In the past one year, LG has sold one lakh 20-inch Sampoorna TVs, all in towns

with a population of around 10,000.

BY ACQUIRING INDIAN BRANDS

As Indian brands are operating in India for a long time and they enjoy a good reputation in

India. MNCs have found that it is much easier for them to operate in India if they acquire

an Established Indian Brand. Electrolux has acquired two Indian brands Kelvinator and

Allwyn this has gave them the well-established distribution channel. As well as trust of

people, as people believe these brands. Similarly Coke has acquired Thumps up, Gold Spot,

Citra and Limca so that they can kill these brands, but later on they realized that to survive

in the market and to compete with their competitor they have to rejuvenate these brands.

BY EFFECTIVE MEDIA COMMUNICATION

Media Rural marketing is being used by companies. They can either go for the traditional

media or the modern media. The traditional media include melas, puppetry, folk theatre

etc. while the modern media includes TV, radio, e-chaupal. LIC uses puppets to educate

rural masses about its insurance policies. Govt of India uses puppetry in its campaigns to

press ahead social issues. Brook Bond Lipton India ltd used magicians e_ectively for
launch of Kadak Chap Tea in Etawah district. In between such a show, the lights are

switched of and a torch is flashed in the dark (EVEREADYs tact).

BY ADOPTING LOCALISED WAY OF DISTRIBUTING

Proper distribution channels are recognized by companies. The distribution channel could

be big scale Super markets; they thought that a similar system can be grown in India.

However, they were wrong; soon they realized that to succeed in India they have to reach

the nook and the corner of the country. They have to reach the "local Paan wala, Local

Baniya" only they can succeed. MNC shoe giants, Adidas, Reebok, and Nike started with

exclusive stores but soon they realized that they do not enjoy much Brand Equity in India,

and to capture the market share in India they have to go the local market shoe sellers. They

have to reach to local cities with low priced products.

BY ASSOCIATING THEMSELVES WITH INDIAN CELEBRITIES

MNCs have realized that in India celebrities enjoyed a great popularity so they now

associate themselves with Indian celebrities. Recently Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd. a

JV of Gillette and Luxor has launched 500 "Gajgamini" range of Parker Sonnet Hussain

special edition fountain pens,priced at Rs. 5000. This pen is signed by Mr. Makbul Fida

Hussain a renowned painter who has created "Gajgamini" range of paintings. Companies

are promoting players like Bhaichung Bhutia, who is promoted by Reebok, so that they can

associate their name with players like him and get popularity.

MELAS

Melas are places where villagers gather once in a while for shopping. Companies take

advantage of such events to market their products. Dabur uses these events to sell products
like JANAM GHUTI(Gripe water). NCAER estimates that around half of items sold in

these melas are FMCG products and consumer durables. Escorts also display its products

like tractors and motorcycles in such melas.

PAINTINGS

A picture is worth thousand words. The message is simple and clean. Rural people like the

sight of bright colours. COKE, PEPSI and TATA traders advertise their products through

paintings.

Factors That Boost Online Shopping in India

ii. Rapid growth of cybercafés across India

iii. Access to Information

iv. The increase in number of computer users

v. Reach to net services through broadband

vi. Middle-class population with spending power is growing. There are about 200

million of middle-class population good spending powers. These people have very little

time to spend for shopping. Many of them have started to depend on internet to satisfy their

shopping desires.
Payments

Online shoppers commonly use a credit card to make payments, however some systems

enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:

• Billing to mobile phones and landlines

• Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores)

• Cheque/ Check

• Debit card

• Direct debit in some countries

• Electronic money of various types

• Gift cards

• Postal money order

• Wire transfer/delivery on payment

.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Aims and objectives of the present project are as follows:

➢ To find out the buying behaviour of college students towards online shopping.

➢ To identify the level of satisfaction towards online shopping among students

➢ To determine whether the advertisement increases consumer attractions.

LIMITATIONS

Following are some limitations which affect our performance in the organization.

[Link] is providing eminent facilities so as to increase and maintain the

performance of each and every employee in the organization.

➢ The study has been conducted based on the data acquired from the online buyers

of India only and the findings may not be applicable to other countries of the world

because of socio-cultural differences.

➢ Sample size is very small.

➢ Lack of availability of resources ,such as actual data.

➢ Some respondents were not willing to fill up the Questionnaire

➢ Some respondents filled up the questionnaire unwillingly.

➢ Some answers in open ended question were not legible and at some places they

were left untouched so it was difficult to interpret them and at some.

There were also some limitations of the project:

• Human behavior is very complex so it is difficult to gauge it just on the basis of

questionnaire.

• The survey was restricted to three colleges only.

• There is also likelihood of responsive error: when respondents unwillingly fill up

the questionnaire.

• Time and Money were also constraints up to some extent

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

For better understanding the factors of Internet and consumer buying behaviour

towards Internet shopping, this chapter would provide academic research reviews and

relative ideas expressed in the literature that is associated with this project.

Benedict el at. (2001) in his study on perceptions towards online shopping reveals

that perceptions towards online shopping and intention to shop online are not only affected

by ease of use, usefulness and enjoyment, but also by exogenous factors like consumer

traits, situational factors, products characteristics, previous online shopping experiences

and trust in online shopping.

Jarvenpaa and Todd (1997) in their model of attitudes and shopping intention

towards Internet shopping in general, included several indicators, belonging to four major

categories; the value of the product, the shopping experience, the quality of service offered

by the website and the risk perceptions of Internet retail shopping.

Salehi (2012) in his research revealed that the last four factors (promotion,

attractiveness, believe ability and originality) do not significantly influence the online

shopping intention. These indicate that advertisement does not have an important effect on

online shopping. The results showed that security and validity of website were widely

approved by online consumers. Attractiveness had the minimum influence on the online

shopping intention. This shows that the consumers are not interested or could not believe

in any advertisement in the Internet. It seems that the Internet users are overloaded by

advertisements spams.

Bellman, Lohse and Johnson (1999) found in their study that people who have a

more wired lifestyle and who are more time constrained tend to buy online more frequently,
i.e., those who use the Internet as a routine tool and / or whose who are more time starved

prefer shopping on the Internet.

Davis (1993) in his study revealed that we build up such a framework based on

previous research on consumer adoption of new self-service technologies and Internet

shopping systems. The research suggests that consumers’ perception towards Internet

shopping first depends on the direct effects of relevant online shopping features.

Li and colleagues (1999) asserted in their research that customers who purchase

from Internet stores more frequently are more convenience-oriented and less experience-

oriented. These consumers give more importance to convenience during shopping, because

they are time-constrained and do not mind buying products without touching or feeing

them if they can save time in this way.

Andrade (2000); Bellman et al. (1999); Bhatnagar et al. (2000); Cho et al.

(2001); Grandon and Ranganathan (2001); Jarvenpaa et al. (2000); Lee et al. (2000);

Sukpanich and Chen (1999) in their various researches on online shopping behaviour have

stated that online purchasing is reported to be strongly associated with the factors of

personal characteristics, vendor/service/product characteristics, website quality, attitudes

towards online shopping, intention to shop online and decision making.

Consumer Satisfaction

Consumer satisfaction is the focus of the investigation in only three articles. It can be

defined as the extent to which consumers’ perceptions of the online shopping experience

confirm their expectations. Most consumers form expectations of the product, vendor,

service, and quality of the website that they patronize before engaging in online shopping

activities. These expectations influence their attitudes and intentions to shop at a certain
Internet store, and consequently their decision-making processes and purchasing behavior.

If expectations are met, customers achieve a high degree of satisfaction, which influences

their online shopping attitudes, intentions, decisions, and purchasing activity positively. In

contrast, dissatisfaction is negatively associated with these four variables (Ho and Wu

1999; Jahng et al. 2001; Kim et al. 2001).

The social influence on the online consumer comes from new Reference Groups compared

to the traditional way. For the online consumer new Reference Groups were identified as

virtual communities, consisting of discussion groups on a web site. The consumer can read

about other people's experiences and opinions which have shown to have the effect of

Reference Groups (Christopher & Huarng, 2003). Other Reference Groups, which are

identified by Christopher and Huarng (2003), are links to product related web sites, which

encourages product selection and contact information. 24 Personal Online characteristics

Monsuwé, Dellaert and Ruyter (2004) explored the personal online consumer

characteristics and concluded that income has a vital role for online purchasing behaviour.

The authors discussed Lohse et al. (2000) who pointed out that consumers with higher

household income would have a more positive attitude towards online shopping. This

conclusion was explained by the fact that households with higher income would have a

positive correlation with the possession of a computer, Internet access, and higher

education. Smith and Rupp (2003) also identified the age factor as a determinant for online

purchase intentions. They argued that older people who had no frequent interactions with

the Internet and the computer would not use the Internet as a medium for purchases, while

young adults would. This was concluded by that the young adults used the Internet and

computers more frequently. Younger people were also identified to have more technical
knowledge. Monsuwé et al. (2004) also supported this judgement by concluding that

younger adults usually have greater interest in using new technologies to browse for

information and evaluate alternatives. Psychological Online Characteristics Smith and

Rupp (2003) identified the psychological characteristics of consumer behaviour as

questions the online consumer would ask himself before making a purchase online.

Motivation - The consumers is reasoning for incentives to engage in a particular behaviour.

He may ask himself questions like: should I look around for better price? If online shopping

saves me time, should I shop online more often? How much do I really need this product?

25 Perception - The consumer is interpreting acquired information by classing it.

Questions such as the following may come about: I feel that this site seems pretty secure.

It seems that this site has a good product but how can I be sure? Personality - The consumer

is adapting to influences of his cognitions. He may ask himself, what types of Web sites

are best suited for his personal buying preferences. Attitude - The consumer is working

out what his likes and dislikes are in respect to a particular situation. He may ask himself:

I am pretty unsure about extra costs, should I really be buying items from the Internet? If I

do not buy the item online, how else can I get it? Emotions - The consumer is without

conscious effort detecting how he is being affected by his cognitive choice. He may ask

himself: The last time I ordered from the Internet I had a really bad experience. Should I

try buying online again? What is the future of buying online? If Web sites get better should

I invest more time in buying online? 3.3 Specific Consumer Traits and Online Behaviour

The online consumer's characteristics that we have identified to be the most important ones

to have an effect on the online consumer, will be referred to as specific Consumer Traits

and how the consumer uses the Internet will be referred to as Online Behaviour. To
 summarise the prior text and to answer the question what identifies an Online Consumer,

one can draw the conclusion that for this research the important consumer characteristics

that need to be identified are:

Figure 3.1 – The Online Consumer Segment Subdivisions

• Consumer Traits

• Demographics

• Attitude and Beliefs

• Impact of Reference Groups

• Online Behaviour

• Webographics

• Online Shopping Patterns

• Internet Usage

Figure 3-1 below, shows how online consumer segments are subdivided.
The outline below is an attempt to more closely identify the different influencing factors

and their connection to the online purchase behaviour.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their

friends.” – Walt Disney

Satisfaction is a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from

comparing a product’s perceived performance in relation to his or her expectations

(Kotler, 1999). The customers’ satisfaction can be met by knowing the expectations from

them. It is the responsibility of the business to precisely identify what the customers

expect from them. The customers’ expectations will be different depending on the region.

The business should aim to exceed the customers’ expectations and delight them with

surprise and thus, providing higher customer satisfaction. The level of the customers’

satisfaction, however, depends upon whether the expectations are met, not met or

exceeded. It is vital that the business conducts customer satisfaction surveys and get

regular feedbacks which will help them to further improve their products or services.

Johnson and Fornell (1991) stated that psychological treatments of satisfaction have

taken the comparability of satisfaction across people and product categories more or less

as a given. Instead, psychologists have focused on delineating the process underlying

customer satisfaction and its antecedents. The authors suggested that there is a systematic

change in the antecedents of satisfaction with the increase in the customer’s experience.

This relationship is better illustrated in the following diagram

 Expectations

Satisfaction

Perceived Performance

a) Limited Experience

Expectations

Satisfaction

Perceived Performance

b) Intermediate Experience
 Expectation = Satisfaction
Perceived Performance

c) Extreme Experience

Figure – Satisfaction and Customer Experience

(Source: Johnson and Fornell, 1991)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research refers to a search for knowledge. It can be defined as a scientific and systematic

search for pertinent information on a specific topic.

Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or

suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data; making deduction and

reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether

they fit the formulating hypothesis – Clifford Wood.

It is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as science

of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that are

generally adopted by the researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic

behind them. In general methodology is an optional framework within which the facts are

placed so that the meaning may be seen more clearly. The sources of data shown that

designing of a research plan calls for decision on the data sources are research approaches

(primary and secondary data) research instruments (observation survey experiment)

sampling plan and contact methods(personal interviews).

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the determination and statement of the general research approach or

strategy adopted for the particular project. It is the heart of the planning. If the design

adheres to the research objectives, it will ensure that the client need will be served.

Research design is a plan structured and strategies of investigation. It is the arrangement

of condition and analysis of data in a manner to combine relevance to the research purpose

with economy in procedure.

In order to achieve the objective it was necessary to talk to the suppliers and public to draws

the conclusions regarding the objective.

For visiting the suppliers and publics to collect the relevant information; a questionnaire

has to be designed. The questionnaire was designed in such a manner to achieve the

objective of the research. The sample size taken is 100 respondents.

TYPE OF RESEARCH

In this project, Descriptive Research has been used.

Descriptive Research- This is a kind of research structure which is concerned with

describing the characteristics of the problem. In this way the main purpose of such a

research design is to present a descriptive picture about the marketing problem on the basis

of actual facts. For this it is important to obtain the complete and actual information about

the subjects.

NATURE OF RESEARCH

Quantitative type of research has been used. As all the data was based on numerical figures

obtained in the survey

TYPE OF ANALYSIS

As all the data found in the survey are totally numericals so the type of analysis was

statistical.
SOURCE OF DATA

PRIMARY DATA

The data which is collected fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be the original

one characteristic is called primary data.

SECONDARY DATA

The data which is already collected by someone else and which have been passed through

the statistical process is known as the secondary data.

METHODS OF COLLECTING PRIMARY DATA

Interview Method

In this project I have taken the questionnaire method for collecting necessary information.

In this method a questionnaire is given to the person concerned with question to answers

the question and return the questionnaire. A questionnaire consists of number of questions

printed in a definite order on a form or a set of forms.

SELECTION OF THE SAMPLE/SAMPLING PLAN

This is one of the most important steps of a research design procedure. Generally in most

of the marketing studies on sample or most of the sub group of the total population

pertaining to the subject is included on place of the universe.

The following things are primarily considered in the sample:-

Sample Size

The sample size of the population was 100 respondents.

Sampling Methods

The sampling method for the survey was random sampling. Random sampling suggest a

way of sample selection where in any item of the population is likely to be selected in a

sample as any other item it means that all items of the population have equal probability of

being selected in the sample.

SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION

The report mainly consists of data from the primary source gathered through the schedule

of questions and from other sources of websites, newspapaers,etc.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Analysis of data means computation of certain indices or measures along with searching

of patterns for relationship that exist among the data group. Interpretation of data refers to

the task of drawing inferences from the collected facts after an analytical and/or

experimental study.

Data analysis and interpretation is one of the most interesting and challenging tasks

of the research study. It facilitates in finding out the outcome from the data or information

those have been collected from the field survey.

The significant parameters of the study have been analysed as under:Table 4.1 –

Age of the Respondents

Age Number of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

15 – 20 Years 48 48%

21 – 25 Years 45 45%

26 – 30 Years 7 7%

Total 100 100%

 Age of Respondents
60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
15 - 20 years 21 - 25 years 26 - 30 years
% of Respondents 48% 45% 7%

INTERPRETATION:
Figure 4.1 – Age of the Respondents

Although, people of all age groups opt for online shopping, the above table and the

line diagram clearly show that the majority (48%) of the respondents were from the age

group of ‘15–20 years’. Secondly, 45% of the respondents were from the age group of ‘21–

25 years’. Lastly, only 7% respondents were from the age group of ‘26–30 years’.

Table 4.2 – Gender of the Respondents

Gender Number of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Male 60 60%

Female 40 40%

Total 100 100%

 Gender of the Respondents

40
% 60 Mal
% ee
Femal
e

Figure 4.2 – Gender of the Respondents

INTERPRETATION: From the above table and figure, it is to be noted that the ‘males’

are more inclined towards online shopping as compared to the ‘females’ because from the

field survey it has been found that the percentage of male respondents is 60%. On the other

hand, 40% of the responses were from the female respondent units.

Table 4.3 – Frequency of Buying Online by the Respondents

Frequency Number of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

More than once a week 0 0%

Once in every 2 weeks 6 6%

Once in a month 66 66%

 Once in a year 28 28%

Total 100 100%

Figure 4.3 – Frequency of Buying Online by the Respondents

Frequency of Buying Online

0%

6%

More than once a

28%
week
Once in every 2
weeks
Once in a month

Once in a year

66%

INTERPRETATION: The figure 4.3 clearly reveals that 66% of the respondent units go

for online shopping ‘once in a month’, 28% of the respondents prefer online shopping ‘once

in a year’ while only 6% of the respondent units opt for online shopping ‘once in every 2

weeks’. And not a single respondent was found to shop online ‘more than once a week’.

Table 4.4 – Preferred Websites for Online Shopping by the Respondents

Websites Number of Percentage of

Respondents Respondents
Flipkart 61 61%

Snapdeal 12 12%

Myntra 16 16%

Others 11 11%

Total 100 100%

 Figure 4.4 – Preferred Websites for Online Shopping by the Respondents

80 61%
60

40
12% 16%
11%
20

0
Flipkart Snapdeal Myntra Others
Percentage of Respondents

INTERPRETATION: It is to be noted from the figure 4.4 that with the growing

popularity ‘Flipkart’ attracts the attention of 61% respondent units, ‘Myntra’ comes at the

second place i.e., 16%, ‘Snapdeal’ captured the attention of 12% respondents and the

respondents also buy the products from some other online retail stores which consists of

‘Jabong (7%), Yepme (2%), Zovi (1%) and [Link] (1%)’.

Table 4.5 – Kinds of Products Purchased from Online Stores by the Respondents

Products Number of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Electronics 25 25%

Books 27 27%

Apparels 42 42%

Others 6 6%

Total 100 100%

 Figure 4.5 – Kinds of Products Purchased from Online Stores by the Respondents

Kinds of Products Purchased

6
%
25 Electron
% ics
Boo
42 ks
% Appar
els
Othe
27 rs
%

INTERPRETATION: The above table and figure depict that the majority (42%)

respondents prefer to purchase ‘apparels’ from the online retail stores because the apparels

which are available at attractive discounts online, have to be bought at MRP (fixed price)

from the physical stores. Then ‘books’ at an economical price captured the responses of

27% respondents, 25% of the respondent units contributed towards ‘electronic’ items and

the remaining 6% of the people conferred their responses towards other products like

‘kitchenware (1%), shoes (1%), toys (1%), sports accessories (1%), jewellery (1%) and

accessories (1%)’. Respondents opined that the price at which these products were
available online is much more economical in comparison to the products available in the

physical stores

Table 4.6 Do Internet reduces the monetary cost of traditional shopping?

• Yes

• No

[Link]. Opinion Percentage

1 Yes 60

2 No 40

Figure 4.6- Internet reduces the monetary cost of traditional shopping or not.

Yes No

40%

60%

INTERPRETATION: Among all the respondents 60% respondents thinks that online

shopping has reduced the monetary value of traditional shopping, while 40% do think

that there is no effect of online shopping on traditional shopping.

 Table 4.7 – Mode of making Payment in Online Shopping by the Respondents

Modes of Payment Number of Respondents Percentage of Respondents

Cash on Delivery (COD) 88 88%

Debit / Credit Card 11 11%

Bank Transfer 1 1%

Personal Cheque 0 0%

Total 100 100%

Figure 4.7 – Mode of making Payment in Online Shopping by the Respondents

88%
90
80
70
60
50
40
30 11%
1% 0%
20
10
0 Cash on Debit / Bank Personal
Deliver Credit Transfer Cheque
y(COD) Card
Percentage of
Respondents
INTERPRETATION:

From the figure 4.7, it can be interpreted that ‘cash on delivery (COD)’ mode of payment

draws majority (88%) of the responses of the consumers in online shopping. Then it is

followed by ‘card’ system i.e., both Debit and Credit card which attracts the attention of 11%

of the respondents. They expressed that using card while making payment is convenient

because of the reason they do not have to keep any cash in hand to make the payment at the

time of actual delivery of the products. It is an irony that only 1% of the entire lot of the

respondents opt for ‘bank transfer’ mode to make payment in online shopping.
 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

From the above analysis, the following findings can be highlighted:

In the course of the study, it was observed that 48% of the people from the age groupof

15– 20 years are more inclined towards online shopping. This shows that the teenagers

are passionately more interested in buying products from e-tailers and the people from the

age group of 21–25 years accounts for 45% who opt for online shopping. However, only

7% were from the age group of 26–30 years who choose tobuy from e-stores.

i. Majority (66%) of the respondents were found to use online shopping portals ‘once in

a month’ for buying products. Again, 28% and 6% of the respondents were of the

opinion that they buy ‘once in a year’ and ‘once in every 2 weeks’ respectively.

ii. It was observed that ‘Flipkart’ has gained more popularity in Indian online shopping

marketplace because as high as 61% of the respondents choose it as the most preferred

online shopping portal. Whilst, 16% and 12% respondent units prefer ‘Myntra’ and

‘Snapdeal’ to shop online respectively. Remaining 11% respondents use other e-tailers

like ‘Jabong, Yepme, Zovi and [Link]’ to shop online.

iii. Interestingly, as high as 42% of the respondent units preferred shopping for ‘apparels’

from online stores while ‘books’ at economical prices captured the preference of 27%

respondents. Availability of ‘electronic’ gadgets or items at reasonable costs also drew

responses of 25% people. Although, other products have scored the lowest responses,

yet, the respondents believe that the demand of these products are slowly on a rise and

in the near future will expand its market.

iv. Interestingly the reactions from the ‘male’ respondents were found to be higher as

compared to the ‘female’ respondents when it comes to the purchase of all kinds of

products from the online retail stores.

v. According to 60% respondents Online shopping reduces traditional costs and also 40%

of respondents spend 3000-5000 rupees on online shopping

 CONCLUSION

Online shopping has become a significant part of our life as a result of the growingInternet

services and our busy schedule. This adds up to the faster, easier, safer and less costly

shopping. Online shopping has a great advantage for us as it is time saving and alsoa wide

range of products can be selected with the best offer. When a consumer makes purchases

online; he or she is affected by many factors such as price, confidence, security,convenience,

time, after sales services and discount deals. The price factor exists because the prices are

often lower through online shopping as compared with physical purchases inthe market.

To reduce shopping cart abandonment by customers, retailers should display the

shipping cost, how much more should be purchased to get free shipping of the items and

give consumers the option of shipping time frames. Customers are willing to wait for their

packages, but need to know what is happening – they want estimated delivery time to be

clearly stated and want e-mail or text alerts about their delivery.

The customers ought to purchase only from reputed online merchants who have cut

out privacy and security policies so as to build the customer confidence. The customers

must preferably follow all the precautions religiously so that they do not become the victim

of any fraudulent activity. With more lucrative deals, loyalty plans and newer products

hitting the online shelf, the customers can shop to their heart's content in the years to come.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Kotler Philip, “The principles of marketing”, Tata Mc Grew-Hill Publishing.(14th edition

2013)

Perreault Willian.D., Jr. “Basic Marketing” [Link].(13th edition)

Kothari C.R., “Research Methodology” New age international publication, 2nd revised

edition.

Journals

1. Adelaar, T., Chang, S., Lanchndorfer, K. M., Lee B. & Morimoto M. (2003). Effects of

Media Formats on Emotions & Impulse Buying Behavior. Journal of Information

Technology, 18, 247–266.s

2. Bahram Ranjbarian (2010) ‘Celebrity Endorser Influence on Attitude Toward

Advertisements and Brands’ European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 3

399-407

3. R. A. and Greyser, S. A. (1968). “Advertising in America: The Consumer View”.

Boston: Harvard University.

Websites

➢ [Link],-[Link] (25-04-2015)

➢ [Link]

E-satisfaction_and_E-loyalty_of_Consumers_Shopping_Online (27-04-2015)
QUESTIONNAIRE

Kindly answer the following Questions:

1. What is your age ?

• 15 – 20 Years
• 21 – 25 Years
• 26 – 30 Years
2. What is your gender?
• Male
• female
3. What is your frequency to shop Online?
• More than once a week
• Once in every 2 weeks
• Once in a month
• Once in a year
4. Which Websites you mostly prefer for Online Shopping ?
• Flipkart
• Snapdeal
• Myntra
• Others

5. What are the kinds of products you often purchase from Online Stores?
• Electronics
• Books
• Apparels
• Others

6. Select an approximate amount you would spend on a single onlinepurchase?

• Less than 1000
• 3000-5000
• 5000-10000
• More than 10000
7. Does Internet reduce the monetary cost of traditional shopping?
• Yes
• No
8. Do you Compare the Prices of commodities among different websites to make your
Purchase Decision?
• Yes
• No
9. Do you think that Reading of the Policies in Online Shopping Prior tomaking
Purchase decisions?
• Yes
• No
10. Do you feel that Online Shopping is secured?
• Yes
• No
11. What is your Mode of making Payment in Online Shopping mostly?
• Cash on Delivery (COD)
• Debit / Credit Card
• Bank Transfer
• Personal Cheque
12. What are the Constraints that you face while shop online?
• Fear of faulty products
• Disclosure of personal information
• Lack of online security for using debit/credit cards
• Tangibility factor: cannot touch, feel the product before purchasing
• High shipping cost
• Lack of bargaining power