LETTER of TRANSMITTAL

June 6, 2013

Md. Iftekharul Amin Lecturer Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka Dear Sir: We are submitting to you our assigned research work entitled Identify the critical factors that influence the online shopping pattern for consumers of apparel products in Bangladesh as part of the course requirement. By working on this report we were given a chance to test our analytical ability and to apply our theoretical conceptual knowledge and research tools in a practical scenario. This descriptive research was done applying the quantitative data collection methodology from sample survey and also through focus group discussion. Findings from the data analysis revealed factors which influence the shopping behavior for apparel products. We also have cited some recommendation as per the analysis. We are hoping that you will overlook minor inconsistencies found in the report. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to work on this paper. It's been a real educative journey. If you have any questions about the report, please contact any of us at any time.

Sincerely,

Monamee Afroze Ishika (Roll :119, MBA 46D)

Priyom Mozumdar (Roll :124, MBA 46D)

Mohammad Zulqar Nayen (Roll :126, MBA 46D)

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Mir Zahidur Reza (Roll :160, MBA 46D)

Acknowledgement We would like to express our heartiest gratitude to our course instructor Md. Iftekharul Amin, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, for assigning us with this term paper work and giving us the opportunity for a educative journey. Our special thanks goes to the member of the focus group who spend valuable time giving us valuable information, without which completion of this report would not have been possible. Here we also thank all the respondents who belonged to our sample frame and provided us the needed data. We thank all the websites and also all the reports and journal authors, from which we got all the valuable information for completion of this report. Above all, we want to acknowledge and thank God that we have been able to complete this journey successfully.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This descriptive research intends to identify these influential factors on Bangladeshi consumers for online apparel shopping. There are several critical factors that influence the buyers to go for online shopping for apparel product through different internet sites. In a short span of time a big change there has been in consumers habits regarding online shopping for apparel products in Bangladesh. This phenomenon is characterized by the fact 64 per cent of the respondents came to know about the online shopping phenomenon a year ago or in the one year span, but 12 percent of them buy clothes online every month. The ability to shop from home and avoid traffic jam and crowd can be a strong motivator to shop apparel online in Bangladesh. Many are also influenced by the online ratings and product review for an apparel product to buy that online. The convenience factor that shoppers can avoid some of the disadvantages of offline shopping, such as having to carry items while shopping online, is a motivating influence on them. Another interesting finding came out in the research that consumers are not interested in providing money for delivery. The research indicates the preference of customers toward the foreign brands in this country. The easily accessible, conversational nature of social media makes it an ideal platform of for building consumer trust and loyalty to crucial components fashion marketing. Brands attempt distinguish

themselves in social media by offering promotions, perks, and discounts. Getting a bargain is a core reason for online apparel shopping in any instance; customers want wide variety of choice and need proper

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information to make a decision. The aesthetics of the website seem to carry the least impact. Participants pointed out a range of reasons for not shopping online,

including the need to try on a product and assess the quality, which made some reluctant to buy clothes online. Again many are discomfort buying specially apparel products without face to face contact with the sales person. Trust emerged as a key issue in our survey, in fact, Lack of trust/worries about security online are the most common factor deterring internet users from shopping online. Almost half of the people surveyed responded that they do not have confidence in companies that sell apparels online in Bangladesh. It is clear that shoppers fears about online payment security risks are considerable. Indeed, we found that many were willing to pay more for peace of mind. Lack of confidence has economic impacts. Although in many cases prices are cheaper online, many do not prefer to shop online because of privacy and security concerns. As we can see (Chart 10), only 3% of the respondents bought apparels online this week 46% bought in recent times but a whopping 36 percent of the respondents never used internet for apparel shopping, this represent the overall scenario and so, it can be said that there is a large untapped market which can be a profit potential for the companies if they can properly communicate with the target customers and take initiatives to change their behavior. Consumers are more influenced by convenience and free delivery. Online apparel retailers should provide some value added options to the consumers to motivate them, such as gifts or free delivery. Also its better to issue warranty and other conforming tools so that the consumers feel secured while transacting and buying apparels from online sites.

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