A project report

On
Customer perception about online shopping
Submitted to
Punjabi university Patiala.
In the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA)
(Marketing)
Jan1-15May
2014-2014

Supervised by

Submitted by

Professor Jasmine Tiwana

Kumari Beena
Roll No: 3201

General Shivdev Singh Diwan Gurbachan Singh

Khalsa College, Patiala
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled PERCEPTION OF
CUSTOMER ABOUT ONLINE SHOPPING submitted to the Punjabi
university, Patiala is a record of an original work done by me under the
guidance of Prof. Jasmine Tiwana, our project guide and this project work
is submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
the degree of Bachelor Of Business Administration. The results embodied in
this project have not been submitted to any other University or Institute for
the award of any degree or diploma.

Project guides

Student

Prof. Jasmine Tiwana

kumara Beena

PREFACE
As a part of course curriculum of Bachelor of business administration we
were asked to undergo 6 months training in any organization so as to give
us exposure to practical management to get us familiar with various
activities taking place in the organization.
I have put my sincere efforts to accomplish my objectives within the
stipulated time. Despite all limitations, obstructs, hurdles and hindrances, I
have toiled and worked to my optimum potential to achieve desired goals.
Being neophytes in the highly competitive world of business. I came across
some difficulties to make my objective a reality. Anyhow with the kind of
help and genuine interest and the guidance of my supervisor. I am
presenting this hand carved effort. I tried my level best to conduct a
research to gain a thorough knowledge about the project on topic,
Perception of Customers about Online Shopping. I put the best of my
efforts and have also tried to be justice with available. If anywhere
something is founded acceptable suggestions.
As a BBA student, I have taken my industrial training at Airsoft Infosys,
Patiala and completed my research work at Patiala.
3

Thanks and regards

Yours sincerely
Kumari Beena

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I hereby convey my deep acknowledgement to all those who made it possible
for me to complete this project, by extending their support and continuous
co-operation.
I would like to acknowledge the consistent encouragement extended by
Airsot Infosys Company. It was indeed a great pleasure to have a training
program in the Airsoft Infosys Company. Here I learnt the practical
utilization of the knowledge in my respective field of Marketing and also got
the real picture of the formal and informal culture of the eminent of
company marketing strategy
I would like to thank my faculty in-charge Prof. Ekta Rani, for
accompanying me during the industrial visit and our Project guide Prof.
Jasmine Tiwana, and Dr. Jasleen Kaur (HOD) of management department
for initiating such a visit.
I would like to give special thanks to Miss Nitika Tiwari our trainer at Airsoft
Infosys. I am sure the knowledge and experience gained during the training

will be of immense value for my growth in the field of Bachelor of Business

Administration.
Not to forget my friends and parents for their constant love and support.

KUMARI BEENA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.

DECLARATION

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

COMPANY PROFILE

7-34

CHAPTER 1:

35-59

Introduction

36

Online shopping

37-38
5

Online shopping in India

39-40

Importance of online shopping

41

Consumer buying process

42-43

Online Activities

44-46

Factors that boost online shopping in India

Advantage & Disadvantage of online shopping

Impact of Online shopping

Consumer attitude about online shopping

55-57

Barriers to the growth of online shopping

58-59

47-48
49-53
54

CHAPTER 2:

60-63

Literature Review

61-63

CHAPTER 3:

64-69

Research Methodology

65-67

Objective of the study

67-68

Data Collection Method

68

Sample Design

68-69

Limitation of study

69

Data Interpretation

70-83
6

CHAPTER 4:

84-87

Findings

85

Conclusion

86

Suggestion

87

CHAPTER 5:

Questionnaire

Annexure

Bibliography

88-96
89-93
94-95
96

COMPANY PROFILE

AIRSOFT INFOSYS
Air soft Infosys is a leading corporate Company headquartered in Australia
and based in India (Punjab). India, (reputable name in the Web World by
providing a full service of WEB SOLUTION products.) Air soft Infosys deals
in all Web based solutions including Website Development, Website
8

Programming, Software Development, and Android Apps. Development,

Mobile Apps. Development, Search Engine Optimization etc. Since this
company has been established , the company set its forward Enthusiastic
and creative Designing team to deliver the best quality services with
interactive future growth option in a responsive manner and provide
attractive offers at attractive and value add.
Airsoft Infosys is at present, the most rapidly growing online web solutions
company in Austraila and India, providing IT enabled services, consultation
and outsourcing to companys .The Company advanced delivery model
blends technology practices with functional expertise to help users improve
their business processes and boost performance. Its professional website
design, Website development, logo design, Flash design, and SEO services,
among others, can go a long way in determining the success of customers
business. Custom creation also includes, but is not limited to, incorporating
images, video and other interactive content into clients site, apart from the
usual text element. Company offer their clients a repertoire of services like
ecommerce website creation and portal development, brand marketing on
leading ad networks, digital marketing, web analytics and much more. Its
talented and experienced team of professionals comprises Web 2.0
development executives who offer advanced solutions for publishers and
advertisers. The company creates professional and dynamic pages for their
clients using intelligent and smart practices. It is also double up as a digital
marketing agency that serves leading brands, corporate clients, as well as
other players. The company cost-effective and customized web development
and online media solutions are tailor-made to suit customers specific needs
and requirements.

MANAGEMENT
9

The company team is its greatest resource. Its ability to deliver outstanding
results for their clients is a credit to their quality and their leadership. As
experienced marketers, designers, creative heads, developers & project
managers, the company people have the strategic, planning and creative
skills to conceive, design, develop and implement the most optimal solutions
to meet clients requirements.

Anil Soni(CEO)
Professionally, Anil has been developing websites since 1995. Now he
manages a team of developers, designers, and project managers, a support
team, and a managed services team. As the Web Director at Orbit Media
Studios, Anil also manages the creation of products and services that Orbit
offers to meet the needs of Orbit clients. Outside of work, Anil paints and
reads comic books. He has also played guitar for five years with the Old
Town School of Folk Music and knows a lot of Beatles and Grateful Dead
songs. Barrett has an awesome wife and three kids who deserve most of his
time! And all three kids are playing for Evanstonsoccer.org, so Barrett is now
both coaching and the site's webmaster.

Varinder Singh
Managing Director
As Strategic Director for Airsoft, Varinder has provided web strategy advice
to more than 1000 businesses over the last 12 years. Varinder loves to teach
web marketing, both as a public speaker and on the Aisrsoft blog. He has
written more than 170 articles on content marketing topics including SEO,
email marketing, social media, and Analytics. Says Varinder, "It's both art
and science. This is why I love web design and web marketing. Its a place to
10

be creative and technical, artistic and analytical. As soon as I realized this, I

was hooked."

Abhishek Soni
Co-founder/Strategic Director
As a Web Strategist with more than 18 years of digital marketing, branding,
and design experience, Abhishek has the expertise and the toolset needed to
bring smart, fresh thinking to the table that goes above and beyond
expectations. He believes that a strong vision, excellent communication, and
good old-fashioned, roll-up-the-sleeves hard work are the key tenets for
creating powerful, crafted ideas that capture the core beliefs and goals of his
clients and sets them apart from the competition. Abhishek holds a degree
in Humanities and Fine Arts from St. Norbert College with postgraduate
studies at MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design). While not at Orbit,
Chris enjoys attending underground toddler fights with his four-year old
daughter who holds a record of 8-1-1. After every contest, win or lose, they
go for ice cream.

SERVICES OF COMPANY
Airsoft Infosys collaborates with businesses around the world to create and
develop consumer friendly business applications for the Web. Net Solutions
a quality Digital Development Company has been offering their Digital
Services for over 5 years and its experienced team makes use of the full
range of web, mobile and desktop technologies in which it has expertise. The
company success story is a combination of attentive listening, frequent
communication and astute project management in order to devise the
perfect solutions for users business. Company offer a rich complement of
web technology services, from web development encompassing most
11

programming languages and platforms, right through to mobile app

development, e-learning and software testing plus much more. The web
development team is adept at creating solutions that make use of both open
source technologies and commercially licensed software. The open source
technologies that we use to build your business online include .NET, PHP
and Java, with further tools including content management systems such as
Joomla and WordPress, in addition to ecommerce tools like OS commerce
and Magento. Airsoft Infosys provide following services which are:
Web development
Mobile development
UI/UX design(user interface& user experience)
Out sourcing product
E- commerce development
Testing
CMS
Web designing

Services: - Get Quality and Economic Web Services

Airsoft Infosys India is a web design and development company based in
Australia and India. A fully integrated ITEs firm, this company
world-class web design services to its

provide

global clients spread across major

countries including USA, UK, Australia, and several throughout Asia. Airsoft
Infosys India provides a wide range of highly cost-effective and customized
web services to companies in varied industries such as entertainment,
fashion,

music,

finance,

environment,
12

business,

commerce,

IT

and

telecommunications, travel and tourism, hospitality, education, etc. Its

affordable web services are ideal for small, medium and large scaled private
and corporate organizations and also start-up businesses and aspiring
entrepreneurs. Airsoft Infosys Indias One-stop Shop for Comprehensive Web
Services!
Company has a comprehensive list of web design and development services
includes graphics design, brochure design, corporate identity design and
custom logo design services, custom web programming, blog customization
and e-commerce solutions, Flash designs, search engine optimization
services and much more.

1 Web development
Every online business is different from the other, even similar niche
websites. Airsoft Infosys India understands and respects individual client
needs and provides custom web programming services to serve unique web
requirements. Its team of qualified professionals uses strategic planning and
smart development processes to produce operationally efficient and
productive websites. The company aim is to provide its clients with quick,
smart and practical solutions for their website. Airsoft Infosys Indias
custom web programming services cause dramatic and measurable growth
in clients websites

a. ASP.Net Development
ASP.Net is a widely used framework that is profoundly used to deliver
dynamic websites, web applications and wide array of web services.
ASP.Net, being commercialized by Microsoft, has benefits over other
scripting languages as it compiles the server side code to one or more
DLL files on the web server. Company also provides MVC applications
according to user's requirement.
13

b. PHP Development:
PHP is one of the best platforms to develop customized web applications. The
beauty of this server side scripting language lies in the flexibility in terms of
design and functionality. Moreover, in collaboration with the MYSQL
database, this language offers dynamic solutions.

c. JAVA Development
Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) lets clients develop and deploy
Java applications on desktops and servers, as well as in today's demanding
embedded environments. Java offers the rich user interface, performance,
versatility, portability, and security that today's applications require.

2 Mobile application developments

Undeniably the next big thing in the evolution of e-business is MOBILE
APPLICATION development. Times have truly changed and its imperative
for any business to quickly adapt with the latest technological developments
and it has become utmost important a to adopt excellent applications to
drive your businesses to new verticals Asinfy, offers their clients with all
new innovative business solutions. The company focus on developing latest
Mobile Apps and provides full cycle development solutions from building a
prototype, to support of an existing product. A survey was conducted which
concluded that mobile applications service for the enterprises helped better
and faster decision making along with shortening cycles. The company gives
guarantee beautifully carved and easy to use GUIs to help to their
customers get the best off our products. In mobile application development,
security has always been a big concern

a. Offshore app development

14

Airsoft Infosys is now a 12yr+ strong digital development company providing

offshore development expertise at the highest level clients can hire its
talented mobile developers to work as their dedicated resources/offshore
team reporting directly to them or just take on its services based on a fixed
cost.

b. I-phone app development

The company is a professional iPhone application development company in
India offering solutions for the most well-known communicative device of
todays, the iPhone. Working carefully with customers, Airsoft has improved
the art of developing gorgeous individual connections and building highly
effective and feature-rich iPhone apps.

c. I-pad app development

While iPhone has transformed the mobile industry, with iPad development
that phenomenon continues. With combination of performance, usability,
and portability, iPad application development is seen as a better alternative
for on-the-go business applications and games.

d. Android development
Android is the mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel
developed and by Google. Android provides support of Java Language for
developers. So that Mobile Application Developers can build third party
applications on Java which can run on Android Platform.

e. Windows phone app development

15

Airsoft is continuously excelling its expertise in windows phone app

development. Its team of highly skilled windows phone developers provides
cost effective windows phone app development solutions.

Air soft Infosys provide expertise in Smartphone

application platforms like Java, Android and I phone.
Services offered by the company:
Client-server applications
Security Applications
Enterprise applications
Communication applications
Entertainment applications
Utility and productivity applications
Multimedia applications
Social Media applications
Android Application Development
Asinfy is professional Android Application Development Company having
dedicated Android Application developers team who has the expertise on
Android and are Serving a clients to build custom application on Android,
worldwide. Its have proficient expertise in creating Android Application.
Asinfy is professional Android Application Development Company having.
Development in a unique and comprehensive manner. Company team gives
it the confidence to take on the toughest of challenges and deliver
outstanding Android apps that client would love. Team who has the
expertise on Android and are Serving a clients to build custom application
on Android, worldwide. It has proficient expertise in creating Android
Application.

16

I-Phone Application Development

Since I-Phone launched it grabbed thousands of people attention businesses
and end users to explore its unique features which has revolutionized the
mobile applications spectrum. The Company has dedicated and skilled
iPhone Application Developers, who are capable of developing innovative
iPhone applications with a range of various features .Airsoft Infosys provide
its clients with the complete package of developing Application from the
scratch to the working features. It is team really works hard to make all the
related ideas prolific and lucrative for the clients business. It is also use
various graphic tools to make Apps eye-catching.

3. UX Design

UX Designers designs the user experience for applications after doing user
and workflow analysis, producing user-centered design artifacts such as
personas, site maps, taxonomies, and wireframes. A UX Designer may also
conduct usability testing on prototypes or finished products to assess the
quality of a user experience.

4. UI Design
One who builds user interfaces that support the exchange of information
between an application's users and its back-end processes and databases.
This could be either a fully dedicated role on a development team or a
17

developer who is also responsible for coding the back-end processes. A UI

Developer's output is functional, testable and a shippable code, that lets
users accomplish their goals when using an application. The UI Developer is
also responsible for documentation that allows others to maintain their
code.
This is surprisingly an important part of the design process. Research
documents and deliverables usually also serve as persuading factors in the
"buy-in" process. This does not differ between in-house UX designers,
freelancers and folks from consultancies.
Buy-in is the unfortunate peak of company process. None of anybody wants
to see its work go directly to the trash, and I've seen some great projects
rejected just because the story behind the design process wasn't particularly
persuasive.

5. Outsourced Product Development

At Airsoft Infosys, company believes that Product Development involves a lot
of ground work to define the product vision, product sustainability and
ensure success. Company brings distinct value with end-to-end Product
Development lifecycle solutions. It has a powerful and unique combination of
Technical and Functional experts. This combination holds the requisite
proficiency and resources to take on entire Product Development projects.
Company also can expand to do required Research, prototype or develop the
entire product. Outsourced Product Development at Airsoft Infosys has its
forte with the Customer centric processes. The Onsite-Offshore delivery
model augments more client interaction for understanding the client
requirements, effective implementation of the project and a judicious
completion at cost-effective price. It is working with some of the world's most
18

innovative Software Vendors and Software-enabled businesses, varying from

start-ups to established industry leaders.

6 E-Commerce Designs/Development
Every one love to do E-shopping in such a hectic scheduled life, so ASINFY
facilitate such thing by utilizing some special tools and creating ECommerce websites where user can purchase whatever they desire. What
kind of a business doesn't promote and sell its' products online? Ecommerce
websites are a necessity for increasing the clients profit by reaching out to
the internet world. Online purchasing is very convenient for customers, and
the vendors benefit from this immensely. Airsoft Infosys can provide its
customers with attractive, quality designs, which can boost clients site's
popularity, increase its sales and get more and more return customers. can
customize and develop users online shop the way they need, make it easyto-use and attractive to the clients, SEO optimize it, and provide them with
hosting and support for clients shop! Airsoft Infosys creates and develops
premium-quality, custom made ecommerce designs. Company believes that
any shop deserves to look professional and attractive for its' buyers.
Company gives guarantee professional services and individual approach for
each and every kind of online shop project. Company can also integrate
clients current website design with their shopping cart design to achieve a
more consistent look for all of their pages.

Airsoft Infosys strive to provide best online services for users ecommerce
web site and give them professional advice on any ecommerce related
project. It always makes sure that company able to meet clients needs
before the order process, by sending out a comprehensive questionnaire to
each and every client. That's way; it can guarantee that clients will receive
100% high-quality service.
19

Airsoft Infosys offers complete front and back end technology to do business
on the web. Specializing in Shopping carts systems and customized
programming to distinguish users E-business from the rest. E-commerce
business segments include business-to-consumer (B2C), shopping on the
web & business-to-business (B2B) transactions account. Airsoft Infosys has
been involved in providing Ecommerce Solution, catering to both the
segments.

a. Custom E-Commerce Development:

A lot of online users prefer to shop online due to time constraints and
geographical barriers. Online presence means a lot in the current era.
Company being an expert Ecommerce Website Development Company
utilizes

latest

technologies

to

deliver

top-notch

Ecommerce

Website

Development. By sculpting a stupendous and Custom Ecommerce Web

Design Airsoft Infosys will give their clients a technically sound platform to
promote their business and realize their dreams.

7 CMS Web Development

Content

Management

Systems

facilitate

the

management

and

personalization of Users websites content without using HTML or any

20

programming

language.

CMS

allows

quick

and

easy

updates

and

maintenance of users data and is the ideal solution for small to large
websites with dynamic content. Its customized CMS interfaces incorporate
some of the more sophisticated features of a good CMS system allowing
clients to add, change, and edit content, and more. If clients are looking for
custom CMS development to manage their content, it has the perfect
solution for them.

A content management system or CMS is a document centric system used to

control or manage the content of a website. When content management
systems are applied, they are usually meant to allow inter-office control of
the content, as well as over the web, and as a company archive. There are
different types of content that a content management system may encounter
and control.

Web content management systems are also used frequently because they
include additional features that ease the tasks needed to publish web
content to websites. This can make it easier for companies with little time to
spare towards publishing content. Some of the features of this particular
content management system are:

21

Automated templates, Content visualization, Web standards upgrades,

easily editable content.

a. Word press
Word Press started out in 2003 as a blogging platform that provided users
with a more visually appealing and user-friendly writing experience when
creating web content. Since then, it has become one of the most popular
content management systems in the world, with over a million websites
using its platform.

b. Joomla
Joomla CMS is an award winning content management system designed for
non technical users to design powerful dynamic web sites. Joomla is best
known for user friendly administration, open architecture and low cost of
ownership. With well over 10 thousand extensions and one of the largest
open source development communities in the world, Joomla CMS is
becoming a first choice content management system for small businesses
and enterprise organizations alike.

c. Drupal
Drupal is a free software package that allows users to easily organize,
manage and publish their content, with an endless variety of customization.
Drupal is open source software maintained and developed by a community
of 630,000+ users and developers. It's distributed under the terms of the
GNU General Public License (or "GPL"), which means anyone is free to
download it and share it with others. This open development model means
that people are constantly working to make sure Drupal is a cutting-edge
platform that supports the latest technologies that the Web has to offer. The
22

Drupal project's principles encourage modularity, standards, collaboration,

ease-of-use, and more.

Blog Customization
Company design, implement themes and optimize clients blog to make it
communicative, effective and increase its visibility. Its customized theme
designs not only help seal first impressions, but also successfully tap and
retain the clients target audience. Optimize their blog for optimal results by
using Airsoft Infosys India's blog customization services.

8. HTML5 means more than just HTML

Those in the industry, who know that when people say HTML5, they mean
more than that. They are referring to additional standards: CSS3 and
jQuery (JavaScript) are critical components of new HTML5 apps and
websites. Using these technologies developers can create sites - and
applications - that are flexible enough to evolve as the internet and mobile
platforms.

HTML5 is standards-based and have some special features

Long term stability
Better accessibility to people
Better accessibility for machines
For more queries about why standards are good, checkout the WASP
project.

a. HTML5 works for Mobile (and everywhere else)

23

One of the reasons HTML5 is such an exciting platform is because it offers

the opportunity to use a single codebase on multiple platforms, including
mobile devices like the iPad and smart phones.

OTHER SERVICES OF THE COMPANY

Website Design Services

At Airsoft Infosys India, creative talent meets technical expertise to produce
smart and effective designs with high appeal and usability value. Airsoft
Infosys understand clients need to be different from regular selling or
informative sites, increase visitor inflow and decrease bounce rates. Its
professional web designers employ fresh innovative ideas and advanced
designing tools to produce optimized and profit generative websites for their
clients. Its website design services are focused on producing uniquely
appealing and result-oriented websites for its users specialized business.
Leverage its quality web design services for dynamic and flexible websites
and enjoy maximum benefit.

24

 Flash Design
Creative heads at Airsoft Infosys India exploit flashs vector technology to
produce beautiful and eye-catching designs for its users. From Flash intros,
banners, logos and advertisements to full-blown flash websites, company
gives users websites the interactive zing it desires. Its creative flash design
services help transform clients websites into an effective communication
interface.

Logo Design
Airsoft Infosys India's logos are designed to successfully introduce Clients
Company to its consumers and competitors. Its logos are stylish and
aesthetic bearing superb color scheme and graphical detailing that create
long-lasting impressions. Its logo design services give users brands a simple,
creative, and appealing quality capable of significant impact on viewers. It
guarantees quality logo design at minimal rates only at Airsoft Infosys India.

Logos designed by the company

25

 SEO Search Engine Optimization

Search engines decide the fate of users websites how their websites fairs in
the web's fiercely competitive market will be determined by how search
engines treat it. Developing websites that conform to search engine
standards is crucial to their business' success. Airsoft Infosys India's search
engine optimization (SEO) services help users websites attain high ranks in
organic search results. Higher ranks mean greater visibility for its site, and
increased visitor inflow and prospect to customer conversion. The company
systematic approach to SEO and use of white-hat techniques ensure the
best results for users websites.

TECHNOLOGIES OF THE COMPANY

Following are the technologies on which company works:
I.
II.

PHP
Dot Net

III.

Databases

IV.

HTML

V.
VI.

CSS
Android

1) PHP (Hypertext preprocessor)

26

PHP is a server side scripting language designed for web development but
also used as a general-purpose programming language.

As of January

2013, PHP was installed on more than 240 million websites (39% of those
sampled) and 2.1 million web servers. Originally created by Rasmu Lerdorf
in 1995, the reference implementation of PHP is now produced by The PHP
Group
PHP is free software released under the PHP License. PHP can be deployed
on

most

web

servers

and

also

as

standalone shell

on

almost

every operating system and platform, free of charge.

2) Dot Net
Dot net refers to a software framework that runs primarily on Microsoft
Windows. It's made up of a large library and supports several programming
languages which allow language interoperability (each language can use
code written in other languages).

3) Database
A database is an organized collection of data.

The data are typically

organized to model relevant aspects of reality in a way that supports

processes requiring this information. For example, modeling the availability
of rooms in hotels in a way that supports finding a hotel with vacancies.
Database management systems (DBMSs) are specially designed software
applications that interact with the user, other applications, and the
database itself to capture and analyze data. A general-purpose DBMS is
software, system designed to allow the definition, creation, querying, update,
and administration of databases.

27

4) HTML
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

is the

standard markup language

used to create web pages. The purpose of a web browser is to read HTML
documents and compose them into visible or audible web pages. The
browser does not display the HTML tags, but uses the tags to interpret the
content of the page. HTML describes the structure of a website semantically
along with cues for presentation, making it a markup language rather than
a programming language.

5) CSS
CSS is the language for describing the presentation of Web pages, including
colors, layout, and fonts. It allows one to adapt the presentation to different
types of devices, such as large screens, small screens, or printers. CSS is
independent of HTML and can be used with any XML-based markup
language. The separation of HTML from CSS makes it easier to maintain
sites, share style sheets across pages, and tailor pages to different
environments. This is referred to as the separation of structure (or: content)
from presentation.

6) Android
Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google. It is used by
several smart phones, such as the Motorola Droid, the Samsung Galaxy, and
Google's own Nexus One. The Android operating system (OS) is based on the
open Linux kernel. Unlike the iPhone OS, Android isopen source opening
source, meaning developers can modify and customize the OS for each
phone. Therefore, different Android-based phones may have different
graphical user interfacesGUIs even though they use the same OS.

Vision of the company

28

To provide company clients cost effective and cost beneficial services by

converting their valued money into the attractive and creative as well as best
quality designed web solutions.

Mission of the company

Airsoft Infosys provide its clients satisfaction by giving them best quality
output and responsive web solutions. Airsoft believes in Creating edges with
creativity and exploring web with interactive ideas and then implementing
them on websites.

Website Maintenance
Air soft Infosys Company provides fast and efficient website maintenance
services. Air Soft Infosys is like cherry on top of the well iced cake, by providing
the esteemed clients. The Company believes in We Deploy & You Employ. It
updates, enhance, backup and repair your site quickly and efficiently, while
users can go on running their business. Airsoft Infosys will maintain the
quality of users websites, keeping it fresh for your return clients. If clients
need to add more images, new banners, new calendar events, change the
content of the site, backup any important data, add new plugins and
functionality, than company will do it for their clients. Company websites
maintenance services are professional and affordable with quick turnaround
and delivery times.

Why Choose Asinfy??

Skilled and innovative team.

Successful in developing many iPhone Apps
Trust worthy coding
Thoroughly tested apps
29

 Flawless Apps
Guaranteed of Apps
Airsoft Infosys has been a crucial "driving" factor in the outsourcing market
with respect to web designing companies in the international as well as
domestic sectors. In today's corporate scenario, building relationship with
the clients remains a mainstay. At Airsoft Infosys,it has

an in-house

professional web designing contingent to cater the clients design requests.

Unleashing the power of multimedia, it can make a huge difference to the
progress of Users Company.
Airsoft Infosys designs clients sites with the latest technologies, some of
which are listed below:
HTML5, CS5, PHP, Dot Net
ADOBE Flash
Dreamweaver
At Airsoft Infosys Company offer one of the best Web Designing Services in
Mohali. It has developed around a 1000 websites with amazing features.
Check out its Web Designing Portfolio.

Privacy Policy of the Company

Airsoft Infosys owns the responsibility to guarantee privacy to its customers.
It has created the following privacy policies in order to provide specific
guidelines for information gathering and dissemination practices for this
website. Airsoft Infosys reserves all the right to update and modify these
policies at any point of time. Airsoft Infosys is not responsible for the content
and privacy practices of any third party website mentioned here.

1. Information Collection:
30

Airsoft Infosys recognizes users right to confidentiality and is committed to

protecting their privacy. Airsoft Infosys is the sole owner of the information
collected on http://www.airsoftinfosys.com/. It will not give, rent, loan, or
sell any identifiable personal information to any other third party, unless
legally required to do so. Company may stores and processes that
information to better understand clients needs and how it can improve their
products and services. In addition, company may use that information to
contact its clients. When user order/request information on any of the
product or service Airsoft Infosys collects Personal Information such as
Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Email Address, Contact Address, Company,
Designationetc. Company keep records Logs such as country and IP Address
of the visitors visiting out website. No children under the age of 14 are
allowed to order or request information regarding its products and services.

2. Information Sharing
Airsoft Infosys does not share, sell, rent or disclose any information related
to its customers to anybody. Except for those,(Employees, sub-contractors,
or partners) who require the information to provide support and services.

3. Editing of Information
Users personal information can be modified upon request. They can send an
email to info@asinfy.com or their Account Manager for any changes or
modification. The personally identifiable information gathered from the
forms filled out on company web site is: Used to provide clients with
information about Industry news, special events, and/or special features
and offers suited for

users and their field

Used to

improve

the

Oliveglobal.com service Used to gather broad demographic information

about user trends. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer
tied to information about the user. Some Airsoft Infosys pages use cookies.
31

By setting a cookie on company site, users would not have to log in a

password more than once, thereby saving time while on its site. Cookies are
used to better personalize the customer support provided by Olive eBusiness. Airsoft Infosys contains links to other Web sites. However, Airsoft
Infosys is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such
Web sites.

4. Support
Airsoft Infosys has a 24 hour support system. Company provides support to
our client using email. All critical and important information are password
protected and can only be accessed by its IT Heads only, who are providing
technical or any other support.

5. Security
Company guarantees proper security of information. It has a proper security
measure to prevent any loss, misuse, redistribution and alteration of
information under companys control. Access to personal information is
limited specifically (and only) to its IT Heads only, who need this information
for Official purpose.

Terms and Services

1. Acceptance of Terms
Users access to and use of Airsoft Infosys website ("the Website") is subject
exclusively to these terms and conditions. The users should not use the
website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and
conditions. If they do not accept these terms and conditions they must
32

immediately stop using the website else it will be termed as their

acceptance.

2. General:
Airsoft Infosys will carry out work only where a written purchase order is
provided by mail.

3. Changes to Website
Airsoft Infosys reserves the right to:
1) Change or remove (temporarily or permanently) the website or any part of
it without notice. Airsoft Infosys shall not be liable to users for any such
change or removal.

2) Change these terms and conditions at any time, and users continued use
of the website following any changes shall be deemed to be their acceptance
of such change.

4. Website Hosting
Whilst Airsoft Infosys offers hosting of websites, no guarantees can be made
as to the availability or interruption of this service by Airsoft Infosys cannot
accept liability for losses caused by the unavailability, malfunction or
interruption of this service.
Airsoft Infosys reserves the right to refuse to handle in any way, material
which may be deemed offensive, illegal or in any way controversial. Fees
relating to web hosting or domain names must be paid prior to the
expiration date of the said service. If the fees remain unpaid at the time of

33

expiration, Airsoft Infosys can cancel the said service and not liable for any
data lost as a result of the cancellation.

5. Copyright

1) All copyright, trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in the
website and its content (including without limitation the website design,
text, graphics and all software and source codes connected with the Website)
are owned by or licensed to Airsoft Infosys or otherwise used by Airsoft
Infosys as permitted by law.
2) In accessing the website users agree that they will access the content
solely for their personal, non-commercial use. None of the content may be
downloaded, copied, reproduced, transmitted, stored, sold or distributed
without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. This excludes the
downloading, copying and/or printing of pages of the website for personal,
non-commercial home use only.

6. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

1) The Website is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. To the
extent permitted by law, Airsoft Infosys will not be liable for any indirect or
consequential loss or damage whatever (including without limitation loss of
business, opportunity, data, profits) arising out of or in connection with the
use of the website.
2) Airsoft Infosys makes no warranty that the functionality of the website
will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected or that the
website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or anything
else which may be harmful or destructive.
34

7. Severance
If any of these terms and conditions should be determined to be invalid,
illegal or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction
then such term or condition shall be severed and the remaining terms and
conditions shall survive and remain in full force and effect and continue to
be binding and enforceable.

8. Payment of Accounts
A deposit may be required from a new client before any work is carried out.
In all cases, website hosting fees and any costs incurred by Airsoft Infosys
on behalf of the client are payable in advance and are non-refundable.
It is the Airsoft Infosys policy that any outstanding accounts for work
carried out by Airsoft Infosys or its affiliates are required to be paid in full,
no later than 30 days from the date of the invoice unless by prior
arrangement with Airsoft Infosys. If accounts are not settled or Airsoft
Infosys has not been contacted regarding the delay, access to the related
website may be denied. Fees relating to web hosting or domain names must
be paid prior to the expiration date of the said service.

Company Services

Phone Business Application Development

iPhone Multimedia Application Development
iPhone Internet Apps Development
iPhone GPS Based Application Development
iPhone Entertainment Application Development
iPhone Gaming Application Development

Maintenance and marketing promotion

Airsoft Infosys is like cherry on the top of the well iced cake. They provide to
their esteemed clients. Their experts always keep clued-up about current
35

market needs so that their clients application will never be obsolete. Their
slogan for mobile app development is WE DEPLOY YOU EMPLOY the
applications which are the end results of hard work of their experienced and
highly qualified technical experts and their persistent participation. This
company provides their clients free maintenance of their websites for one
year.
This company mainly does online promotion of their IT based products and
services. Airsoft Infosys is the first company in north India which comes
with the concept of electronics design. This company mainly promotes their
offerings through online marketing.
Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing
efforts that use the Web and email to drive direct sales via electronic
commerce, in addition to sales leads from Web sites or emails. Internet
marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in conjunction
with traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and
magazines

Strong Relationships between clients

One of the company biggest priorities of all is close collaboration with its
clients. Whatever the size of the

company or, indeed, users proposed

project, it take steps here at Airsoft Infosys to ensure that clients project is
carefully tracked and monitored, from the initial user analysis to the final
stage of usability testing.
This is certainly a thoroughness of approach that has been appreciated by
our clients down the years, who have included business owners, consultants
and team leaders alike. It gives you all the more reason to contact Airsoft
Infosys when your firm next requires a high quality software solution that
brings with it a significant ROI.
36

Industrial Training Segments (AIRSOFT INFOSYS)

Airsoft Infosys Mohali , conducts campus visits and placement drives in
different colleges and universities for spreading awareness about their
industrial training segment in their company. The companys marketing
team is highly skilled and qualified. The marketing team of the company
took us for campus visit in different colleges and provided us practical
experience of their marketing strategies. They conduct different technical
seminars and career awareness programmes for students of different
streams.

Airsoft Infosys provides industrial training in Java, .Net, php. For

management students they provide training in marketing, Finance, HR. This
company has highly qualified and experienced trainers who provide in-house
training to the students so that they can be able to understand the
complexities.

Websites developed by Airsoft Infosys

1. www.sikhsanjog.com
2. www.hendrickhome.com
3. www.eatallnite.com
4. www.PRpractices.com
5. www.Laslawsoffices.com

37

CHAPTER 1

38

1. INTRODUCTION
Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buys goods and services,
and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have
started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs, thereby
reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in
highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey,
communicate and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feed
back and also to conduct satisfaction surveys with customers.
Customers use the Internet not only to buy the product online, but also to
compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities they will
receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts
are optimistic about the prospect of online business.
In addition to the tremendous potential of the E-commerce market, the
Internet provides a unique opportunity for companies to more efficiently
reach existing and potential customers. Although most of the revenue of
online transactions comes from business-to-business commerce, the
practitioners of business-to-consumer commerce should not lose confidence.
It has been more than a decade since business-to-consumer E-commerce
first evolved. Scholars and practitioners of electronic commerce constantly
strive to gain an improved insight into consumer behavior in cyberspace.
Along with the development of E-retailing, researchers continue to explain
E-consumers behavior from different perspectives. Many of their studies
have posited new emergent factors or assumptions that are based on the
39

traditional models of consumer behavior, and then examine their validity in

the Internet context.

1.1 ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping is the process of buying goods and services from
merchants who sell on the Internet. Since the emergence of the World Wide
Web, merchants have sought to sell their products to people who surf the
Internet. Shoppers can visit web stores from the comfort of their homes and
shop as they sit in front of the computer Consumers buy a variety of items
from online stores. In fact, people can purchase just about anything from
companies that provide their products online. Books, clothing, household
appliances, toys, hardware, software, and health insurance are just some of
the hundreds of products consumers can buy from an online store. Many
people choose to conduct shopping online because of the convenience. For
example, when a person shops at a brick-and-mortar store, she has to drive
to the store, find a parking place, and walk throughout the store until she
locates the products she needs. After finding the items she wants to
purchase, she may often need to stand in long lines at the cash register. In
contrast, online shopping helps

consumers

avoid

these

disadvantages.

With online shopping, a person logs onto the Internet, visits the store's
website, and chooses the items she desires. The items are held in a
virtual shopping cart until she is ready to make her purchase. The shopper
can remain in her pyjamas as she does her shopping, and the process can

40

be conducted in the wee hours of the morning or late into the

night. Online stores never close they're open 24 hours a day.

Despite the convenience of online shopping, not everyone chooses to

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

day

they

buy

it.

Other

people

may

worry

about shopping online because they fear their credit cards information will
be compromised. Since it's necessary to provide credit card information
when purchasing products online, people worry they may become the
victims of identity theft this discourages some consumers from participating
in online shopping.

Another

reason

some

consumers

avoid shopping online is the fact that they worry that the products they
purchase are not accurately portrayed in the website's picture. They worry
that the picture of the item may appear one way, but the actual item may
look completely different perhaps of lesser quality. It's also impossible to
try on apparel when conducting online shopping. A consumer has to rely on
body measurements in order to make sure the clothing will fit properly. If
the clothing arrives in the mail and it's too small, the consumer has to
return the item. This is a potential inconvenience that some shoppers may
not wish to face.

41

1.2 ONLINE SHOPPING IN INDIA

India

has an internet user base of about 137 million as of June 2012.The

penetration of e commerce is low compared to markets like the United States

and the United Kingdom but is growing at a much faster rate with a large
number of new entrants. The industry consensus is that growth is at an
inflection point.
Unique to India (and potentially to other developing countries), cash on
delivery is a preferred payment method. India has a vibrant cash economy
as a result of which 80% of Indian e-commerce tends to be Cash on Delivery.
Similarly, direct constitute a large component of online sales. Demand for
international consumer products (including long tail items) is growing much

42

faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors and e-commerce

offering biggest categories in terms of sales.

A.The Growth of Online Shopping in India

The Indian market serves as the best place to initiate a robust online
economy as shopping here usually means travelling in jam-packed public
transport and paving your way through the swarmed market places.
Therefore, online shopping has come as a major respite for consumers who
can now experience shopping in the comfort of their homes or work places
without standing for hours in serpentine queues.
E-commerce activity in India has grown phenomenally over the years and
the internet penetration numbers have augmented tremendously. Today,
India has more than 137 million internet users, which accounts for 10
percent of the countrys population. However, according to a recent study by
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the
market is expected to reach 330 million within a few years, making India the
second largest customer base after China.
One of the major reasons behind this high success graph is the branching
out of online retailing. Earlier, it was driven solely by travel businesses; but
today the online retailing has entered many other sectors and opened itself
to many verticals and niche segments. Advanced technology and the growing
awareness about online shopping benefits are some other factors that have
contributed to the success.

B. Factors that have contributed to its growth

Following is the list of things/phenomena that have played a major role in
spreading online shopping within the country:

43

Faster internet: Better broadband services like 2G and 3G have

provided faster and better internet access to the consumers; thereby enticing
them to spend more time online.

Time saver: Unlike market places, one does not have to run around
and spend tedious hours to pick up items scattered around the city. One can
easily save time and choose items with a simple click.

Cheaper rates and discounts: The exciting discounted rates and

best deals on various products are profitable for the budget-conscious
customers.

Cash on Delivery (COD): This facility is available only in India

and has come as a hassle free option for customers who are afraid to use
debit/credit cards.

Wider options: One is often spoiled for choices due to the plethora
of options available on famous sites like shopping.rediff.com

Home delivery and return policies: Convenient options like

quick delivery and return policies within a certain time-period have gained
much appreciation from the consumer base.

1.3 Importance of online shopping

44

1. Never

click on links from spam emails to make

purchasesits always a bad idea to click on a link in an email from

unknown, always try to use a search engine to locate legitimate etailor sites.
2. Check the web addressonce arrive at a site, there is a need to
make sure that it is legitimate and not a fake or spoofed version.
3. Does

not use a public computer to shop online

Computers save or cache information to speed up consumer Internet

experience.

And,

if

consumers

are

using

public

computer,

information such as consumer browsing history and even login

information may be accessible to strangers who use the computer
after consumer. It can be dangerous.

4. Use strong passwordsa Choose password that are difficult to

guess and are at least 10 characters long consisting of a combination
of numbers, letters, and symbols. Consumer should keep their
passwords private when they create an account on an online shopping
site.
5. Find out more about a company's reputation. It is a good
idea to ensure that the company has a good online reputation. Do not
assume that just because a store in the real world sells things one way
that their online service will be as good. Many reputable online
companies allow people to rate their service and products on the site
itself, for example computer and camera stores. Another way to
determine an online company's reputation is to check for complaints
through a consumer affairs bureau, such as the Better Business
Bureau.
45

1.4 Six Stages of the Consumer Buying

Decision Process

1. Problem Recognition in this stage, a consumer realizes or

recognizes that their desired state is different from their actual
condition. This could be a simple as Im naked, I need clothing, or
Im hungry, I need food.
2. Information Search in this stage, a consumer recognizes their
need (or want) and sets forth to find a solution. If it is clothing they
need to solve their problem, the look for clothing, if it is food, they look
for food.
46

3. Evaluation of Alternatives in this stage, a consumer has a good

idea of what they want; now they are looking at the options that exist.
They are evaluating the features of products and brands.
4. Purchase Decision in this stage, a consumer is processing the
information from the information search and deciding on the
products, store, and payment options. More importantly, they are
making the decision to move forward with the purchase or not. The
actual problem that was recognized is solved!
5. Post-Purchase

Evaluation in

this

stage,

the

consumer

determines if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the purchasing

outcome. Here is where cognitive dissonance occurs, Did I make the
right decision.

1.5 Online Activities

47

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)
48

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

and social networking are a few spheres ripe for investment.

a. Employment
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) an
Social media is a key player in the job search process today. Sites like
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ allow employers to get a glimpse of
who you are outside the confines of a rsum, cover letter, or interview
while they offer job seekers the opportunity to learn about companies
theyre interested in; connect with current and former employees; and hear
about job openings instantaneously, among other things.

b. Banking & Trading

The net banking is increasing and it is estimated that 4.6 million Internet
users are using Internet for banking purposes 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 can find opinions from other leading brokers
which help them do decide whether to buy or sell. More and more traders
today are making the immense use of these services, which shows that there
is a huge potential in this sector.
49

c. Matrimonial
As the popular adage goes, "Marriages are made in heaven" but today with
so many matrimonial portals in the market they help one find the best
match for themselves. Some of the popular marriage portals are shaadi.com,
bharatmatrimony.com, Yahoo India matrimony, MrnMrs.com, Matricorp.com
and jeevansaathi.com.
These marriage portals have increased because there is a rise in the career
orientation among youngsters and increasing work pressures have resulted
in

less

time

for

socializing.

These

youngsters

are

becoming

more

independent and are now making their own decision in respect of choosing
their life partners. The marriage portals provide them the medium to
interact with the people who match their required profiles.

d. Online Ticketing
The growth in the online travel business today is phenomenal. The Indian
online travel business is worth $350-400 million and is growing at 40-50 per
cent year by year.

There has been a significant increase in online ticket

booking in India with a double-digit growth, which has also lead to an

increase in Indian tourism. This growth in the travel industry has definitely
leaded to the increase in the travel portals. The scope for growth is immense
in this sector as more Indians are using the Internet.
Travel sites like MakeMyTrip.com (MMT) has been growing at about 20 per
cent month-on-month, for the last four months, selling 1,400 tickets a day
on an average (Source: MakeMyTrip.com). The online bookings in India were
mainly stared because of the low cost carriers like Air Deccan which sells
most of it tickets online. The revenue of the Indian Railway Catering and
Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has also increased phenomenally because of
50

the online ticketing. The advantages of online ticketing are both for providers
and for consumers as the providers benefit from infrastructure cost while for
users it is a convenient way to book tickets.
Thus Internet has become an indispensable part of life and has reduced the
world to a global village. Many corporates are getting into this bandwagon,
as there seem to be a humongous growth in the coming years. Airline,
cinema, hotel bookings, etc are all increasingly going online. The future of
online business is bright therefore companies are providing more convenient
services to the consumers and thereby changing their mindsets and
attitudes towards life.

1.6 Factors That Boost Online Shopping in India

Rapid growth of cybercafs across India

Access to Information

The increase in number of computer users

Reach to net services through broadband

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.

1.7 Few Facts about Online Shopping

The figures from IAMAI show that the internet users in India will grow to
200 million by 2010. Around 25% of regular shoppers in India are in the 1825 age groups, and 46% are in the 26-35-year range.

Indian online matrimonial sector is worth around $230 million.

51

Worldwide e-commerce is only growing at the rate of 28%, since India

being a younger market, the growth of e-commerce is expected at 51% in the

coming years.

Indians are also Shopaholics like other Asians. There is a strong

booming young adult population in India with good levels of
disposable income.

In India
Over $50 Billion and growing rapidly - Most popular online shopping
products include: books (45%), electronic gadgets (42%), railway tickets
(38%), accessories apparel (35%), apparel (35%), gifts (34%), computer and
periphserals (32%), airline tickets (28%), music downloads (21%), movie
downloads (21%), hotel rooms (22%), magazines (18%), tools (16%), home
appliances (16%), toys (16%), jewelry (17%), movie ticket (15%), etc.

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

52

Electronic money of various types

Wire transfer/delivery on payment

Some sites will not accept international credit cards, some require both the
purchaser's billing address and shipping address to be in the same country
in which site does its business, and still other sites allow customers from
anywhere to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction might
be processed in real time (for example, letting the consumer know their
credit card was declined before they log off), or might be done later as part of
the fulfilment process.

1.8 ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

I.

Convenience

Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers
have Internet access both at work and at home. Other establishments such
as internet cafes and schools provide access as well. A visit to a conventional
retail store requires travel and must take place during business hours.
Consumers may need to contact the retailer, visit the post office and pay
return shipping, and then wait for a replacement or refund. Some online
companies have more generous return policies to compensate for the
traditional advantage of physical stores. For example, the online shoe
retailer Zappos.com includes labels for free return shipping, and does not
charge a restocking fee, even for returns which are not the result of
merchant error

53

II.

Information and reviews

Online stores must describe products for sale with text, photos, and
multimedia files, whereas in a physical retail store, the actual product and
the manufacturer's packaging will be available for direct inspection (which
might involve a test drive, fitting, or other experimentation).
Some provide background information, advice, or how-to guides designed to
help consumers decide which product to buy.
Some stores even allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are
also dedicated review sites that host user reviews for different products.
Reviews and now blogs give customers the option of shopping cheaper org
anise purchases from all over the world without having to depend on local
retailers.

III.

Price and selection

One advantage of shopping online is being able to quickly seek out deals for
items or services with many different vendors (though some local search
engines do exist to help consumers locate products for sale in nearby stores).
Search engines, online price comparison services and discovery shopping
engines can be used to look up sellers of a particular product or service.
Another major advantage for retailers is the ability to rapidly switch
suppliers and vendors without disrupting users' shopping experience.

IV.

Customer Support

User should be looking for a satisfactory customer service of that online

store. If customers are new to an online shop, start buying things in small
numbers, best to start with only one. Doing so, they will have the
opportunity to check their product quality, and customer support as well.
Check how good their customer support of the website is; check if they can
54

reach them any time customers like. That should be a 24/7 service
accompanied by online chat; then it would be easier for customers to choose
any one of these methods they feel comfortable. If they will dont find any of
these options or any less in them, then move around for other websites.

V.

Sizing Scale

The sizing scale should be clearly mentioned while buying online. Like above
mentioned about the conflict in size L, this is actually a very common
phenomena happening every day in the online marketplace. There should be
an easy to understand sizing chart in that website so that users can easily
determine what size they are actually going to buy. Mistakes can still
happen, but at least customers should be guided.

VI.

Color

Remember, the product customers

ordered may not be the same as they

look in its picture in the website. Pictures are retouched and optimized so
that they look the best, and customers shouldnt just completely rely on the
uploaded picture. But if the website has good remarks and goodwill, they
probably will try their best to deliver customers what they exactly saw in the
website, thats why they need to shop from better online sites. And the
customer care should be friendly in answering all their questions related to
size and color.

VII.

Return and Refund Policies

One most important part of online shopping is return and refund policies.
Things customers buy online are most likely to be not fulfilling their
expectation and they might want to return it and ask for a refund. Check
their policies on it. All good stores should offer a good amount of time and a
convenient refund option for customer.

55

DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

I.

Fraud and security concerns

Given the lack of ability to inspect merchandise before purchase, consumers

are at higher risk of fraud on the part of the merchant than in a physical
store. Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases using stolen credit cards or
fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. With a warehouse instead of
a retail storefront, merchants face less risk from physical theft.

II.

Lack of full cost disclosure

The lack of full disclosure with regards to the total cost of purchase is one of
the concerns of online shopping. While it may be easy to compare the base
price of an item online, it may not be easy to see the total cost up front as
additional fees such as shipping are often not be visible until the final step
in the checkout process. The problem is especially evident with cross-border
purchases, where the cost indicated at the final checkout screen may not
include additional fees that must be paid upon delivery such as duties and
brokerage. Some services such as the Canadian based Wishabi attempts to
include estimates of these additional cost,[but nevertheless, the lack of
general full cost disclosure remains a concern.

III.

Privacy

Privacy of personal information is a significant issue for some consumers.

Different legal jurisdictions have different laws concerning consumer
privacy, and different levels of enforcement. Many consumers wish to avoid
spam and telemarketing which could result from supplying contact
information to an online merchant. In response, many merchants promise
not to use consumer information for these purposes, or provide a
mechanism to opt-out of such contacts.
56

Some ask for address and phone number at checkout, though consumers
may refuse to provide it. Many larger stores use the address information
encoded on consumers' credit cards (often without their knowledge) to add
them to a catalog mailing list. This information is obviously not accessible to
the merchant when paying in cash.

IV.

Hands-on inspection

Typically, only simple pictures and or descriptions of the item are all a
customer can rely on when shopping on online stores. If the customer does
not have prior exposure to the item's handling qualities, they will not have a
full understanding of the item they are buying. However, Written and Video
Reviews are readily available from consumers who have purchased similar
items in the past. These can be helpful for prospective customers, but these
reviews can be sometimes subjective and based on personal preferences that
may not reflect end-user satisfaction once the item has been received.

V.

No bargaining

It is major disappointment when customers enter a shop and there are

boards are like fixed price scribbled that splashed all over showroom.
Bargaining makes for an interesting part on customers entire shopping
experience. It give them immense pleasure when we manage convinced the
seller to give them their desired object in lesser price. A sense triumph and
victory settle over customers online shopping does not offer this offer that
liberty to bargain and customers are bound to buy the item on quoted price.

VI.

Deceptive picture

Every customer may have to faced this situation when they delivered
something, that distant from they cry what they were expected it to be .This

57

happened because in online shopping the picture of item are deceptive in

nature

VII.

Lack of option

What does customers when like particular thing but they are not totally
impressed with it? At that moment shops

ask some variety options in

colour size and shape so they can wear a piece of garment and check if it
they want. But in online shopping this option only seems like a distant
dream.

VIII.

Makes lazy and fat

With the advent of new phenomenon is called online shopping people who
have an internet access hardly show any inclination to venture out of house.
Customer ordered their

favorite pizza it delivered at their

home than

customers go on to ordered their basic necessities like clothes, furniture

books, via internet and it turn still restricted to them four walls of their
houses . Less activity means excessive calories in few months they find they
are dismay that they have turned into a couch potato take a bag and people
should go out if they want to remain fit.

IX.

Internet does not come free of cost

Many of us have a specific internet scheme, as a result of which, company

has to shell out a fixed amount at the end of every month. The scheme
allows us to have unlimited internet access in return for the fixed amount of
money but what if somebody does not have such a scheme ? In that case,
every time customer opens a page on an online shopping portal to choose a
specific item, they get charged for it. Make sure that the internet usage cost

58

does not topple the price of the purchased item itself. Be economical and be
wise.

1.9 Impact of online shopping

I.

Price: There is rarely a time when a retail item can be found cheaper
than at hundreds of different online locations. There is shipping to
consider, but sites such as Amazon.com, Overstock.com, and even
Ebay.com, have many shipping options that are free. There is also the
issue of price comparison. It wouldnt make much sense to drive to
every store in a given area to find the best price on an item.

II.

Variety: Shopping online gives the user unprecedented access to

stores and even peer-to-peer shopping. Many items that can be
ordered online cannot be found in a local store. This could be anything
from grocery and health-type items, to a medieval suit of armor.

III.

Convenience: Shopping from home carries advantages that cant

be matched no need to spend gas money, no public bathrooms or
lines, and no weather to battle just to name a few. People are
increasingly busy and their lives are more hectic than at any time in
history, so any time savers are a welcome relief. The ability to shop
anywhere and anytime cant be understated, which is why online sales
are expected to grow from $225.5 Billion to $ 434.2 bn by 2017

59

1.10 Attitude and perception towards online

shopping
Consumers attitude and perception toward online shopping have gained a
great deal of attention in the empirical literature. It is believed that
consumer attitudes will affect intention to shop online and eventually
whether a transaction is made. It refers to:1) The consumers acceptance of the Internet as a shopping channel
2) Consumer attitudes toward a specific Internet store (i.e., to what extent
consumers think that shopping at this store is appealing).

I.

Intention to shop online

Consumers intention to shop online refers to their willingness to make

purchases in an Internet store. Commonly, this factor is measured by
consumers willingness to buy and to return for additional purchases. The
latter also contributes to customer loyalty. Consumers intention to shop
online is positively associated with attitude towards Internet buying, and
influences their decision-making and purchasing behavior. In addition, there
is evidence of reciprocal influence between intention to shop online and
customer satisfaction.

II.

Online shopping decision making

Online shopping decision-making includes information seeking, comparison

of alternatives, and choice making. The results bearing on this factor
directly influence consumers purchasing behavior. In addition, there
60

appears to be an impact on users satisfaction. Though it is important, there

are only five studies that include it.
Potential consumers appear to use a two-stage process in reaching purchase
decisions.
Initially, consumers typically screen a large set of products in order to
identify a subset of promising alternatives that appears to meet their needs.
They then evaluate the subset in greater depth, performing relative
comparisons across products based on some desirable attributes and make
a purchase decision.

III.

Online purchasing

This is the most substantial step in online shopping activities, with most
empirical research using measures of frequency (or number) of purchases
and value of online purchases as measures of online purchasing; other less
commonly used measures are unplanned purchases
Online purchasing is reported to be strongly associated with the factors of
personal characteristics, vendor/service/product characteristics, website
quality, attitudes toward online shopping, intention to shop online, and
decision making

IV.

Consumer satisfaction

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
61

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

Attitude of consumer and perception about online

shopping

62

Attitude
towards online
Intention
shopping
to shop online
Decision MakingOnline Purchase
Information on online
shopping

Security & Privacy

CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Perceived Usefulness

Perceived Ease of use

Perceived Enjoyment

1.11 Barriers to the Growth of Online Market

Consumer Bias
63

Consumers often display a bias for brands that they know well and have had
a good experience in the past. Thus products of brands with a favorable bias
will score over the products of less popular brands. A few would risk buying
expensive jewelry from an unknown jeweler online.

Lack of Touch Feel-Try Experience

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

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 lowest 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
E-Tailing 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, Valentines Day, New Year, Christmas, Mothers
Day, Friendship Day etc are. On these occasions younger generations prefers
buying and sending gifts online.

Credibility in Payment System

64

Online frauds and breach are the biggest barriers 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.
It is a challenge for E-marketers to convert low frequency online buyers into
regular buyers through successful website design and by addressing
concerns about reliable performance. Thus, the online retailing raises more
issues than the benefits it currently offer

65

CHAPTER - 2

66

1. LITERATURE REVIEW
The current literature on consumer online purchasing decisions has mainly
concentrated on identifying the factors which affect the willingness of
consumers to engage in Internet shopping. In the domain of consumer
behavior research, there are general models of buying behavior that depict
the process which consumers use in making a purchase decision. These
models are very important to marketers as they have the ability to explain
and predict consumers purchase behavior.
The

classic

consumer

purchasing

decision-making

theory

can

be

characterized as a continuum extending from routine problem-solving

behaviors, through to limited problem-solving behaviors and then towards
extensive problem-solving behaviors [Schiff man et al., 2001].
The traditional framework for analysis of the buyer decision process is a
five-step model. Given the model, the consumer progresses firstly from a
state of felt deprivation (problem recognition), to the search for information
on problem solutions. The information gathered provides the basis for the
evaluation of alternatives. Finally, post-purchase behavior is critical in the
marketing perspective, as it eventually affects consumers perception of
satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the product/service.
This classic five stage model comprises the essence of consumer behavior
under most contexts. Nevertheless, the management of marketing issues at
each stage in the virtual environment has to be resolved by individual Emarketers. Peterson et al. [1997] commented that it is an early stage in
Internet development in terms of building an appropriate dedicated model of
consumer buying behavior. Decision sequences will be influenced by the
starting point of the consumer, the relevant market structures and the
67

characteristics of the product in question. Consumers' attitude towards

online shopping is a prominent factor affecting actual buying behavior.
(Source: Jarvenpaa Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, VOL. 6, and
NO.2, 2005)
Todd [1997] proposed a model of attitudes and shopping intention towards
Internet shopping in general. The model 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. In the research conducted by Vellido
et al. [2000], nine factors associated with users' perception of online
shopping were extracted. Among those factors the risk perception of users
was demonstrated to be the main discriminator between people buying
online and people not buying online.
Other discriminating factors were; control over, and convenience of, the
shopping process, affordability of merchandise, customer service and ease of
use of the shopping site. In another study, Jarvenpaa et al. [2000] tested a
model of consumer attitude towards specific webbase stores, in which
perceptions of the store's reputation and size were assumed to affect
consumer trust of the retailer. The level of trust was positively related to the
attitude toward the store, and inversely related to the perception of the risks
involved in buying from that store. Jarvenpaa et al. [2000] concluded that
the attitude and the risk perception affected the consumer's intention to buy
from the store.
Consumer risk perceptions and concerns regarding online shopping are
mainly related to aspects involving the privacy and security of personal
information, the security of online transaction systems and the uncertainty
of product quality. Trust is interwoven with risk [McAllister, 1995]. One of
the consequences of trust is that it reduces the consumers perception of
68

risk associated with opportunistic behavior by the seller [Ganesan, 1994].

Lack of trust is frequently reported as the reason for consumers not
purchasing from Internet shops, as trust is regarded as an important factor
under conditions of uncertainty and risk in traditional theories.
Mayer et al. [1995] developed a model which combines traditional marketing
philosophy on consumer motivation to buy and the trust model. In Internet
shopping, there is not much information available to the buyer regarding the
seller, prior to purchase. A buyer with a high propensity to trust will more
likely be a potential customer than a buyer with a lower propensity. Mayer et
al. [1995] proposed that ability, benevolence and integrity constitute the
main elements of trustworthiness. Ability refers to skills, competencies and
characteristics that a seller has in a specific domain. In this context, sellers
need to convince buyers of the competence of their companies in the
Internet shopping business. Benevolence is the extent to which the seller is
perceived by the buyer as wanting to do well. Sellers have to convince
buyers that they genuinely want to do good things for buyers, rather than
just maximize profit.

69

CHAPTER - 3

70

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
a) Research Objective
To know and understand the consumers perception and awareness about
internet marketing/ shopping. This will help to know the attitude and
perception of consumers towards online shopping and what are the factors
which shape the consumers perception towards online shopping. Also what
are key concerns from the point of view of consumer while online shopping?

b) Determination of information needs and sources

The following was the information required:

What is consumers attitude towards online shopping?

What are the key concern areas for consumers while online shopping?
Which factors shape the consumers attitude towards online shopping?

How has been recent shift taking place in online shopping?

c) Research Framework
Eleven different factors were identified by studying the existing models of
consumer attitudes(Refer Annexure 1, 2) that play an important role in
online purchase, then a model was proposed leading to online shopping.
The data was collected only through Questionnaires. The sample size was
50. And random sampling was done among the internet users.

d) Proposed Model

71

After examining the 10 empirical studies, I have identified a total of eleven

interrelated factors for which the empirical evidences show significant
relationships. These ten factors are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of
use, perceived enjoyment, information on online shopping, security and
privacy, quality of internet connection, attitude towards online shopping,
intention

to

shop

online,

online

shopping

decision

making,

online

purchasing, and consumer satisfaction.

Six (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment,
information on online shopping, security and privacy, quality of internet
connection )are found to be ordinarily independent and five (attitude toward
online shopping, intention to shop online, decision making, online
purchasing, and consumer satisfaction) are ordinarily dependent variables.
System would increase his or her job performance. It is an important
Consumer satisfaction is considered to be a separate factor in this study. It
can occur at all possible stages depending on consumers involvement
during the online shopping process. The relationships between satisfaction,
attitude, intention, decision making and online purchasing are proposed to
be two-way relationships due to the reciprocal influences of each on the
other. In addition, three of the antecedents, perceived usefulness, perceived
ease of use, perceived enjoyment , have been found to have direct impact on
consumer satisfaction.

e) Perceived Usefulness
Perceived usefulness is defined as the degree to which a person believes that
using a particular factor affecting acceptance of an information system,
because the ultimate aim of any person is the superior job performance.

f) Perceived ease to use

72

This is an important factor that affects the acceptance of a particular

information system. It is defined as the degree to which a person believes
that using a particular information system would be free of effort.

g) Perceived Enjoyment
Enjoyment refers to the extent to which the activity of using a computer is
perceived to be enjoyable in its own rights. This is seen as an intrinsic
source of motivation to use a particular application.

h) Amount of Information
Amount of information is defined as the information which is available for
the product which a person wants to buy through online shopping. This
factor eases the decision of the user to actually buy the product or not, or
which product to buy. This factor becomes even more important in case of
High Involvement product.

i) Security and Privacy

Security and privacy are the main factors which hinder the growth of online
shopping. The user is concerned about his ID and Password which can be
stolen by persons with wrong intentions and then misuse it. At the same
time they are concerned that their personal information may be sold to the
third party which poses a serious threat to their privacy.

j) Quality of Internet Connection

Not only is the presence of internet connection necessary but also its
Quality is important to shop online. This is an important factor which
determines whether the user would shop online or not because presence of
internet is a basic necessity for this mode of shopping
73

III.1Objective of the study

1. The objective of this research study is to investigate online consumer
behavior, which in turn provides e-marketers with a constructional
framework for fine-tuning their e-businesses strategies.
2. To study the growth and barriers to the growth of online shopping
3. To study the consumers awareness and perception about the products
and services provided n internet.

b) Scope of the study

1. The study is conducted among the Internet users.
2. The geographical area covered is Patiala
3. The study is based on a schedule of questions

3.2 Data Collection Method

a. Primary Data
It is original primary data, for specific purpose of research project. For this
project, I have to use following common research instrument or tool-

b. QuestionnaireQuestionnaire development is the critical part of primary data collection

method. For this I have prepared a questionnaire in such a way that it has
able

to

collect

all

relevant

information

regarding

the

project.

The

questionnaire was used mainly to test the model proposed for consumer
perception towards online shopping. The data collection was done over a
period of 8 weeks
74

c. Secondary Data
It has been collected to add the value to the primary data. And it has been
used to collect necessary data and records by different websites, magazines,
annual reports, journals, reference books, and newspapers, etc

3.3 Sample Design

a) Sample Unit
For studying consumer perception on online shopping, samples were
selected from Patiala

b) Sample Media
The respondents in the samples are reached through questionnaire.

c) Sampling Methods
Sampling methods fall under two broad categoriesa Non-probability sampling methods.
b Probability sampling methods.

d) Sample size- 50

e) Research place- Patiala

f) Sample Design I have prepared this project as descriptive type, as
the objective of the study.

3.4 Limitation of the study

75

Every study has its problems and limitations at some point during the
project. This study is no different. The major limitation of study is follow:

People were not ready to fill in the questionnaire

Many of the surveyed people did not reply all the questions.

The time period given for study was very limited.

The sample size was very small which is may not represent the entire
population of Indian women.

Many of the people did not even know the working of a computer

Limitation of the study is the selection of the existing studies

3.5 DATA INTERPRETATION

Fig. 1 Total Purchase Online

The research showed that 65% of the Internet users had shopped online
while 35% had not bought anything. This is mainly because of the changing
lifestyle and taste patterns. As the life is getting more and more fast paced
more people are moving on to shop online mainly because of convenience.
76

The following question helped to understand who is a regular online shopper

among the 65% who had indulged into online shopping.

Fig. 2 Frequency of Online Purchase

This helped to understand the purchasing behavior of the online shoppers.

It was seen that 14% of the online shoppers had shopped more than five
times and 74% had shopped 2-4 times. The frequency shows the acceptance
of Internet as a shopping medium. Though only a small amount of the
online shoppers had purchased more than 6 times but still there is a huge
opportunity in the Internet arena. The 65% of the online shoppers who had
shopped more than once were considered as regular shopper and the entire
analysis was based on these regular shoppers.

The Internet Usage

It is necessary to study the amount of time spend by the regular shoppers
on the world wide web because this would give us clear picture as to
understand whether usage and time spent by the regular online shoppers
has an effect on online shopping or not.

77

Fig. 3 Online Shopping & Internet usage by years

The diagram shows that shopping has increased with the usage of Internet
over the years. Regular shoppers who have been using Internet for more
than one year had shopped to 98% and regular shoppers who have been
using Internet for more than five years have shopped to 78%. Internet is not
a new concept for these regular online shoppers and they have been using it
for more than 5 years now. The increased usage over the years has lead to
an increase in shopping, as these regular shoppers are able to make use of
the various e-commerce activities.

Fig. 4 Online Shopping & Internet usage by hours a

week

The research shows that 36% of the online shopping had been done who use
Internet for more than 20 hours a week and 96% of the shopping has been
done by regular shoppers who have been using Internet for more than 5
78

hours a week. As more the regular online shopper are using the Internet it is
seen that they end up buying more also.. The regular online shoppers who
have been using Internet for more than 20 hours are more comfortable and
confident as a result they purchase more online as compared to who use
Internet for less number of hours. But one needs to know whether online
shopping is an integral part of regular shoppers or not this understood as
follows.

Fig. 5 Online Activities by Age

This classification further provides an insight that Internet is mainly used

as a means of communication in respect all the age groups of the regular
online shoppers. It contributes to 60% of the major activity among the
regular online shoppers who lie between the age group 18-30 years. It could
be seen that shopping as a basic activity on the Internet contributes to the
minimum. Internet as a medium of shopping is maximum used by regular
online shoppers between the age group18-30 years, which is 18% while
above 50 years it is used just to 2%. The increase in usage among the 18-30
years is basically due to high awareness. The marketers should focus mainly
on the age group between 18-30, as they are the main drivers for growth.
Thus the research shows that though the regular shoppers are using the
Internet for quiet some time now but shopping still remains a small part of
the major activity

79

Fig. 6Online Activities by Time

It is evident that regular online shoppers also spend a major part of their
time in communication unlike the occasional online buyers. In 0-5 hours a
week they spend 77% of their time in communication, which includes email,
and chat as the major activity with shopping which does not seem to exist at
all. Information search constitute 20% of the time. The information search
increases as the regular online shoppers tries to figure out ways to surf the
Internet and access the information they require. It is true that more regular
online shoppers use Internet shopping sites to gather information about
products rather than to make a direct purchase.
But it is to be noticed that as the time spend increases communication falls
and other activity picks up like entertainment and finance. One could see
from the graph that between 16-20 hours a week communication falls
further but information search also falls as the regular online shoppers
becomes more focused in their information search rather than wandering
aimlessly in the Internet space. They continuously use search engines for
routine information needs. The time spent on entertainment increases
marginally to 18%. As the people spend more time it has been seen that
activities like shopping and finance related needs increases. The regular
online shoppers who use the Internet for more than 20 hours a week has
shown that they have indulged into more shopping i.e.10%. Increased usage
of Internet is positively related to the buying behavior on the Internet.
80

AnalysisIt is true that increase in internet has lead to an increase in the online
shopping as 78% of the online shopping has been done by the regular online
shopper who have been using internet for more than five years and 36% of
the online shopping have been done among the regular shopper who uses.
But shopping still constitute a small amount of the major activity on the
internet as 32% of the regular online shoppers uses Internet for
communication while only 10% uses it for shopping. Communication still
constitutes the major activity on the Internet.

Demographic Factors
Online behavior is affected by demographics i.e. by gender, education and
income.

Hypothesis
1 More male Internet users are frequent online buyers than female
Internet users.
2 Regular online buyers are better educated than occasional online
buyers.
3 Income is higher in case of a regular online shopper than occasional
online buyer.

Fig. 7 Online Shopping & Gender

81

Among the 65% of the online shopping, males (72%)had purchased more as
compared to women (28%). This shows that it is true that more males are
shopping online as compared to women. This is mainly because women still
like to feel, see and touch the product before buying. It was noticed that
some of them felt shopping as a reason to go out with the family and spend
time together, which was not possible in case of online shopping. As more
and more Indian women are flocking to Internet there is a possibility that
they might end up in a purchase. Also an increase in the spending power in
the hands of the women might lead to an increase in the online shopping.
The research showed that 28% of the women who shopped online fall mostly
in the service and executive class with an income above Rs10,000. The
marketers should make sure that they produce the item keeping in mind the
needs of the women population as they still continue to be an important
decision maker when shopping for the family.

Educational difference is a significant demographic variable, which shows

that regular shoppers who were better educated made more purchases
online. 89% of the shopping has been done by the regular shopper whose is
educated with a graduate or postgraduate degree. This shows that frequency
of purchase is more in case of a higher educated regular shopper as
compared to a online shopping done by a regular online shopper with
matriculate (8%) and non matriculate (3%).

82

Fig. 9 Online Shopping & Income

Income and buying behavior are positively related. It was seen that a regular
online shopper with a higher income had purchased more online as
compared to lower income online shopper. This trend was seen in all
segment of the population. It is true that more the income in the hands of
the population they would indulge in shopping. The service class had done
the major purchase in all the various levels of income. It can be seen that
hardly any purchase is done among the regular online shopper whose
income lies below Rs5000.

Analysis-Thus three hypotheses stated were true in case of the regular

online shopper and it can interpreted that online shopping is effected by
demographics like gender, education and income levels. Among the 65% of
the online shopping, males (72%) had purchased as compared to women
(28%). There is a positive relation between education and income of the
online shoppers. 89% of the online shopping was done among the regular
shoppers who were educated with a graduate or postgraduate degree
compared to 11% shopping who were matriculate and non-matriculate. A
60% of the shopping was done by the regular shopper who had income more
than Rs 25,000 than 40% who had income less than Rs.25,000.

Motivating & Satisfaction Factors

83

To identify the factors which Internet users choose to buy or not buy online
and how frequently they make such purchases. Analyzing the importance of
satisfaction level in the online purchasing environment.

Hypothesis
Consumers who make frequent online purchases are higher in convenience
orientation than those who purchase occasionally.

Fig. 10 Online Shopping & Motivating Factors

It is believed that consumers whether online shoppers or non-online

shoppers value price to convenience but the study contrast this popular
belief. The study showed that 32% of the shopping had been done by the
regular shopper who thinks convenience is the main driving force while 23%
of the shopping had been done for who price was the main orientation for
shopping online. Other motivating forces, which had lead to online
shopping, were saves time (26%), product availability and superior selection
(12%), and product comparison (7%). Convenience here is characterized as
ease of purchase, home delivery and ability to shop 24x7. These factors
motivate the regular online shopper to buy over the Internet and regular
online shoppers who value convenience are more likely to buy on the web, as
compared to occasional online shoppers. Every connection is a potential for
net shopping. Therefore the companies should attract and retain its regular
online shoppers, as the Internet is a tangled jungle of web sites, which is
84

possible at a click of a mouse. They should design strategies and develop

products keeping in mind the convenience factors.

Fig. 11 Barriers to Shopping Online

The main areas for concern in respect of the regular online shoppers while
shopping were privacy and security (33%). Most of them still preferred the
conventional method of shopping like the touch and the feel factor (21%).
They felt that it is possible to see, feel, touch and try the products before
buying in a shopping store as compared to Internet shopping. Other reasons
that concern the regular online shoppers were inability to reach the
customer service (16%), hassle of returning the product (14%), technical foul
ups, hesitant in purchasing from an unfamiliar source and person and
delivery costs. The marketers should formulate such strategies so that the
privacy and security concern can be taken care off.

Fig. 12 Convenience- The Motivating Factor

85

It has been seen that there is a positive correlation between the frequency of
purchase and the convenience factor for buying in the Internet arena. The
regular online shopper who had purchased more than 6 times (9%) for them
convenience is the most important motivating factor (48%)for shopping on
the Internet. Convenience has been characterized as ease of purchase, home
delivery and ability to shop 24x7. The online shopper believes that large
amount of information about the product and the ability to compare prices
is available at a click of a mouse thus making the entire shopping
experience very convenient. Thus the marketers to should keep the
convenience factor in mind while providing the goods and services.

Satisfaction Index
It is important to understand the satisfaction level among the regular online
shoppers, which had lead to online shopping. This could be understood by
the satisfaction index and the frequency of purchase among the shoppers.

Fig. 13 Satisfaction Index

A 55% of the regular online shoppers were satisfied with 12% dissatisfied.
An important thing to be noted is that only 2% of the regular online
shoppers were highly satisfied while 31% of the regular online shoppers
were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. This shows satisfaction level plays an
important role in online shopping with more regular shoppers falling under
the category of satisfied. A note should be taken that only 2% of the regular
online shoppers are highly satisfied which shows that there are still
86

concerns, which poise the regular shoppers from using the Internet
frequently as a shopping medium.

AnalysisIt is seen that the main orientation for buying among the regular online
shoppers were convenience (32%), saves time (26%), price (23%), product
availability and superior selection (12%), and product comparison (7%). The
hypothesis stated that convenience is major factor motivating the regular
shopper was true as 75% of the regular online shoppers who have shopped
more than 5 times felt it was necessary as compared to 25% who shopped
less than 5 times.
The barriers to online shopping as stated by the regular online shopper were
privacy and security (33%), inability to touch and feel the product (21%),
customer service problems (16%), hassle of returning the product (14%),
purchasing from unfamiliar source and person (9%) and other problems
(7%).
Satisfaction level plays an important role in online shopping, as 55% of the
regular online shoppers that are satisfied tend to purchase more. It can also
be seen that 74% have shopped more 2-4 times and 11% had shopped more
than 5 times showing that satisfaction level plays an important role in online
shopping.

Future and growth of Online Shopping

This can be understood by the categories of good bought by the regular
online shoppers presently and the future of the various categories.

Fig. 14 Present & future categories of Goods

87

It is seen that railway tickets 70% and airline tickets 93% are the most
popular categories among the online shoppers followed by books and
electronic gadgets. This is the main category, which is bringing about online
shopping culture among the regular online shoppers. The companies should
bring out innovative ways so that there is a growth in other categories of
goods also. The entire shopping culture among the regular shoppers is
brought mainly by the travel categories followed by electronic gadgets. The
graph shows that online shopping is tend to grow in the coming years as
consumers want to buy more in the future.

Table 1 Future Categories of Goods

Railway tickets

83%

Airline tickets

80%

Electronic Gadgets

50%

Books

43%

Gifts

33%

Movies tickets

30%

Jewellery

23%

Computer Software

20%

Hotel Rooms/Car Rental

20%

Event Tickets

13%
88

Toys

13%

Infant / Child items

10%

Food / Groceries

7%

Accessories apparel

3%

CD/Videos

3%

Magazines

3%

Home tools and products

3%

Sporting goods

3%

Sporting Goods; 9%
Home products ; 9%

Child Items ; 31%

Magazimes; 9%

CD/Videos; 9%
Accessories apparel; 9% Food; 22%

The table shows that there is a future growth in the electronic gadget and
book categories also apart from railway and airline tickets, which continues
to be on the priority list. There is a growth in these categories because
traditionally products like audio-video, apparel, and computer accessories
were purchased through catalogs and other forms of direct mail but toady
online shopping serves a convenient means of distribution channel. Another
reason for the growth in these categories is because of well-established sites
89

for travel, audio-video (e.g., CD-Now), and computers), which lure the
consumers to buy these products. These goods do well because consumers
are not bothered much about the touch and feel factors, which generally
drive the shopping in India unlike categories like apparels and groceries
where it still remain an important factor while purchasing. It is difficult to
change the set mindset of consumers for certain categories of goods but still
companies should keep innovating and find means and ways to attract more
online shopping.

Event tickets; 3% Toys; 3%

Hotel rooms/car rental; 5%Raukwat tucjets; 20%
Computer software; 5%
Jewellery; 6%

Movies tickets; 7%
Airline tickets ; 20%
Gifts; 8%
Books; 11%

Electronic Gadgets; 12%

Analysis- There is a future growth in online shopping which can be

especially seen in the travel arena with railway 83% and airlines 80%,
electronic gadgets (50%) and books (43%). Gifts also seem to show a growth
in the coming years. Thus the marketers should mainly focus on these
growing categories of goods, which would drive the online shopping in the
future.
90

CHAPTER 4

91

4 FINDINGS
The findings show that Internet usage has increased over the years
and it is leading to an increase in online shopping and also shows the
consumers

attitude

and

perception

towards

online

shopping.

Communication still forms the major activity among the large number
of online shoppers as 32% of regular online shopper use Internet for
communication as compared to shopping (10%).
Online shopping is affected by demographics as it has been seen that
more males are shopping online as compared women online shoppers
and there is a positive relation between education and income levels
with respect to the increased online shopping behaviour.
The most important motivating factor, which influenced the online
shopping, was convenience followed by time saving and price. Regular
online shoppers considered convenience as the main motivating factor
while buying and were fewer prices sensitive. But the online marketers
should attempt to differentiate their products or services making the
comparison easier. The marketers should bring out innovative ways so
that the consumers can do more online shopping while taking the full
advantage of rich information, easy access and convenience of the
Internet.
One of the main concerns among the online shoppers was privacy and
security. Another reason that hindered online shopping was the touch
factor. Consumers still preferred the experience they get from
traditional stores like feeling the stores atmosphere, interacting with a
salesperson, and seeking sensory stimulation. This might hinder the
use of certain goods like grocery and apparel, as the touch factor is
the main factor, which drives the shopping for these goods. The future
92

of online shopping is bright especially in thSSe categories of travel,

books, electronic gadgets and gifts.

4.1 CONCLUSION
Online shopping is now becoming a significant part of the consumers daily
life to meet their never ending requirements in a convenient way. Online
shopping is picking up and is becoming a trend. More consumers are
indulging into Internet shopping as seen by the research because of the
value proposition it offers to a customer such as convenience, 24x7
shopping, doorstop delivery, a broad product selection and the everexpanding range of unique and unusual gift ideas as well as increased
consumer confidence in shopping on the internet is increasing. The main
motivating factor seen during the research was the convenience and
customer service which drives the people to online shopping as a result
today they are buying airline and railway tickets, books, home appliances,
electronic gadgets, movie tickets, etc by logging on to a web site, than driving
up to a store .As the research suggest that increase in usage of internet
increases the online shopping so there is a need to increase in broadband
penetration as it accelerates the growth of online trade. A huge buyers and
sellers across demographics are shopping online because of the changing
lifestyles and shopping habits but the majority of the users is males. It was
seen that despite the immense possibilities available on the Internet it is
mainly used for mailing, chatting and surfing. E-mail applications still
constitute the bulk of net traffic in the country.
Increased Internet penetration, a hassle free shopping environment and high
levels of Net savviness see more and more Indians shopping online.

93

4.2 SUGESSTIONS
Online shopping in India is poised for greater acceleration as PC and
Internet penetration grows. It is becoming one of the top Internet activities
and there is a huge growth in this business as more manufacturers and
providers are integrating the Internet into their sales model. But there are
many things that need to occur in online shopping to generate higher
revenues and the key to it lies in the hands of the marketers. To make online
shopping a boom following methods can be followed.

Most of the Indians still like to see the product before buying; efforts should
be made to change this mindset of the people by making them aware of the
benefits of online shopping.
The key to selling to a customer which cannot be seen is to get the customer
to trust the website with which they have electronic transactions.
Active participation from consumer marketing companies to manufacturing
industries is required to make online shopping a booming sector.
Some of the things, which the consumers should take into considerations
while online shopping, are:
Use a secure browser. The browser should comply with industry security
standards, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
94

 Consumers should shop with the known companies, as it is easy to set up a

shop online under any name. If they are not familiar with a merchant they
should ask for paper catalogue or brochure to get a better idea about the
merchandise and services and should find about the companys refund and
return policies. Consumers should also search for the reviews of the
company.

CHAPTER -5

95

5. ANNEXURE
Kindly highlight/bold your answers.
1 Do you use Internet?
Yes

No

2 How long have you been using Internet?

Less than 1 year

3 5 years

1 3 years

More than 5 years

3 On the average, how much time (per week) do you spend in surfing the Web?
0 5 hours

16 20 hours

6 10 hours

More than 20 hours

96

 11 15 hours

4 Have you purchased anything online ever?

Yes

No

5 Which category (ies) of goods have you bought through Internet?

Books

Railway tickets

Electronic Gadgets

Airline tickets

CD/Videos

Computer Hardware

Accessories apparel

Computer Software

Gifts

Magazines

Event Tickets

Movies tickets

Hotel Rooms/Car Rental

Office Supplies

Jewellery

Food / Groceries

Infant / Child items

Home tools and products

Sporting goods

Health and fitness products

Toys

Any other, specify

6 When did u shop for the first time?

Last 6 months
6 months- 1year
97

 1-3 year
3-5 year
More than 5 year
7 How frequently did you purchase online?
Only once
2-4 times
More than 5 times
More than 6 times

8 Overall, were you satisfied with your experience of online shopping?

Highly Satisfied
Satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Highly Dissatisfied

9 Where do you most often access the Internet?

Home

Cyber-cafes

Office / College

Any other, specify

98

10 What are the activities that you use Internet for? (Kindly rank them between
1 to 5,with 1=most used, 2=used to a large extent, 3=used to a good extent,
4=used sometimes, 5=rarely used)
Communication (E-mail, Instant Messaging, Bulletin Boards,
News Groups, Chat, etc.)
Information Gathering (Research, News, Sports scores, Search for
employment, etc.)
Entertainment (Games, Adult entertainment, Entertainment sites,
Sports, Music, Web page design, etc.)
Finance (Investment portfolio, financial research, online banking,
check stock/fund quotes, trading, etc.)
Shopping (Researching purchases, purchasing, auctions, Selling,
Classifieds, etc.)

11 Which category (ies) of goods are you planning to buy through internet in
the near future?
Books

Railway tickets

Electronic Gadgets

Airline tickets

Gifts

Magazines

Event Tickets

Beauty products

Movies tickets

Health and fitness products

Jewellery

Food / Groceries

Sporting goods

Home appliancess
99

 Toys

Any other, specify

12 What is your main motivation for buying through Internet?

Convenience (ease of purchase, home delivery, ability to shop 24x7)
Price
Saves time
Superior selection/Availability
Product comparison
Any other, specify
13 What, according to you, are the most important barriers to purchase online?
I am worried about giving out my credit card number
I dont like providing personal information
I dont want to purchase from someone with whom I am not familiar
I enjoy going out to do my shopping
I like to see/touch the product in person, before I buy it
Internet is too slow / Pages take too long to load
I am worried about the cost/hassle of returning the product
Delivery costs are too high
Prices are too high
The process is expensive due to cost of access
Any other, specify
100

PERSONAL DETAILS
14 Age:
Below 18 yrs
18 - 30 yrs
31 - 40 yrs
41 50 yrs
Above 50 yrs
15 Educational Background:
101

Non-Matriculate
Matriculate
Graduate
Postgraduate
16 Occupation:
Business/Self Employed
Service/Executive
Student
Any other, specify

17 Gender:
Male
Female

18 Average Monthly Income:

Less than Rs. 5,000
Rs. 5,000 Rs. 10,000
Rs. 10,000 Rs. 25,000
Rs. 25,000 Rs. 50,000
Above Rs. 50,000
102

Name:

_____________________________

Contact No.:

______________________________

City:

______________________

5.2 BIBILIOGRAPHY
Books
Consumer Behaviour 10th Edition
Publisher: Pearson Education Singapore Pte Ltd
103

Released: 2010

Consumer buying behavior

Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Released: 2011

Articles
DOI: 10.1108/095642304150523358(permanent URL)
Publisher: Emerald group publishing limited
Journals
Janesan,(1994)
Mayer et al.(1995),Mc allister,(1995)
Todd,(1997),Peterson et al.(1997)
Jarvenpaa.(2000),vellido et al.(2000)
Schiff man et al.(2001)
(Source: Jarvenpaa Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, VOL. 6,
and NO.2, 2005)
Research report By: IAMAI(Internet and mobile association of India)
Emerald, Framework for consumers intentions to shop online,
research report.

Internet Citation
http://www.reighleygroup.com/2010/05/17/six-stages-of-the-consumerbuying-decision-process/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/online_shopping
104

 www.iaciis.org/iis/2006_iis/PDFs/Changchit.pdf
www.google.com
www.scribed.com
www.slideshare.com

105