RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

ON

“CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF ONLINE CUSTOMERS”

Submitted to
ASIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL, NOIDA
In partial fulfillment for the award of full time
Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM)
Approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MS. KAVITA KHURANA YAMINI GUPTA

(Assistant Professor) ROLL NO. - ABS/PGDM/JULY17/173
ASIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL BATCH – (2017-19)

ASIAN BUSINESS SCHOOL

PLOT A-2, SECTOR 125, NOIDA – 201303
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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “CONSUMER BEHAVIUR OF ONLINE CUSTOMERS “ is
submitted to Asian Business School, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Post
Graduate Diploma in Management, and is an original work by YAMINI GUPTA, Reg. No.-
ABS/PGDM/JULY17/173 . The project has been done under my supervision and guidance and the project has
not formed the basis for the award of any degree or other similar title to any candidate.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

(Internal Examiner) (External Examiner)

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 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project titled “ CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF ONLINE CUSTOMERS” is an
original piece of research work carried out by me under the guidance and supervision of Ms. Kavita
khurana . The information has been collected from genuine & authentic sources. The work has been
submitted in partial fulfilment of Post Graduate Diploma in Management of Asian Business School.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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The growing use of Internet in India provides a developing prospect for online shopping. If E-marketers
know the factors affecting online Indian behavior, and the relationships between these factors and the
type of online buyers, then they can further develop their marketing strategies to convert potential
customers into active ones, while retaining existing online customers.

This project is a part of study, and focuses on factors which online Indian buyers keep in mind while
shopping online. This research found that information, perceived usefulness, ease of use; perceived
enjoyment and security/privacy are the five dominant factors which influence consumer perceptions of
Online purchasing.

Consumer behavior is said to be an applied discipline as some decisions are significantly affected by
their behavior or expected actions. The two perspectives that seek application of its knowledge are micro
and societal perspectives.

The online purchasing behavior of online customers and factor influencing online shopping behavior and
its future perspective. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and services, and has
rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim
of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay
ahead in highly competitive markets.

Companies also use the Internet to convey, communicate and disseminate information, to sell the
product, to take feedback 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

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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 factors or assumptions which are based on the traditional models of consumer behavior, and
then examine their validity in the Internet context.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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 CHAPTER -1
INTRODUCTION

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select,
secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these
processes have on the consumer and society.
Consumer Behavior is a branch which deals with the various stages a consumer goes through before
purchasing products or services for his end use.

It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, marketing and economics. It attempts to
understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups such as how emotions
affect buying behavior. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral
variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from
groups such as family, friends, sports, reference groups, and society in general.

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

Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and services, and has rapidly evolved into a
global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing
costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in highly
competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey communicates and disseminate
information, to sell the product, to take feedback 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 the will receive if they purchase the product from a particular
store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online business.
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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 which are based
on the traditional models of consumer behavior, and then examine their validity in the Internet context.

1.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The Internet has developed an into a new distribution channel and online transaction are rapidly
increasing. This has created a need to under how the consumers perceive online purchasing.
Price, Trust and Convenience were identified as important factors. Price was considered as to be a most
important factor for a majority of the students. The internet has created a paradigm shift of the traditional
way people shop. A consumer is no longer bound to opening a times or specific location. So he can
become active at virtually any time any place and purchase the products or services.

The internet is relatively a new medium for communication and the information exchange that has present
in everyday life. The number of internet user is constantly increasing which is also signifies that online
purchasing is increasing. The rapid increasing is explained by the consumer behavior. The internet is
considered a mass medium that provides the consumers with purchase characteristics as no other
medium. Certain characteristics are making it more convenient for the consumer compared to the
traditional way of shopping, such as the ability to any time view and purchase products visualize the
needs with products and discuss products with other consumers. Online shopping is the process of
consumer go through the when they decide the shop on the internet.

The internet has developed into a new distribution channel and the evaluation of this channel. E-
commerce has now identified. Using the internet to shop online has become one of the primary reasons
to use the internet combined with searching for products and finding the information about them.
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Therefore internet develop the h Companies also use the Internet to convey, communicate and
disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback 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.

Due to the rapid development of the technologies surrounding the Internet, a company that is interested in
selling products from its web site will constantly has to search for an edge in the fierce competition. Since
there are so many potential consumers, it is of the out most importance to be able to understand what the
consumer wants and needs.

1.2.1 ONLINE SHOPPING IN INDIA:

It is a fact that a great online shopping revolution is expected in India in the coming years. There is a
huge purchasing power of a youth population aged 18-40 in the urban area.

1.2.2 RISING CONNECTIVITY:

If we observe the growth of Internet Subscribers from the above graph, it is getting doubled year by year.
The usage of internet in India is only 4% of the total population. This is also getting increased day by day
as the costs of computers are decreasing and net penetration is increasing. The cost of internet usage is
also getting lower, with good competition among the providers. Wi-Fi & Wimax system has also started
in India. This will increase the usage as it goes more on wireless internet. Indians are proving every time
that they can beat the world when it comes to figures of online shopping. More and more Indians are
going to online shopping and the frequency of India’s online buying is crossing the overall global
averages.

1.2.3 FEW FACTORS THAT BOOST ONLINE SHOPPING IN INDIA:

 Rapid growth of cybercafés across India

 Access to Information

 The increase in number of computer users

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  Reach to net services through broadband

 Middle-class population with spending power is growing.

1.2.4 CHANGING ATTITUDE TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING:

“Awareness, Future Demand Focus for Emerging Markets & Current Issues” Malls springing up
everywhere and yet people are E-shopping! And not in small numbers either. Consumers are more
rational nowadays and have ability to get the choices from the market. Awareness among the consumers
is spread through internet. The number of internet users is increasing day by day which attracts people
who have an option to buy online. It was never thought that Indians would go in for e-shopping in such a
big way. Ticketing, travel bookings and even books and movies seem fine to buy online. Knowing that in
India sizes vary from brand to brand and quality is inconsistent, even of some electronic items, how is it
that there are people buying these items online? In India there are some segments of people who have not
yet tried purchasing over internet.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 To study the online shopping behavior of customers

 To study the factors influencing online shoppers and consumers

 To study the customer‟s level of satisfaction with regard to online shopping

 To examine whether customers prefer online shopping to physical stores.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 At any given time there are millions of people online and each of them is a potential customer for a
company providing online sales. Due to the rapid development of the technologies surrounding the
Internet, a company that is interested in selling products from its web site will constantly has to search
for an edge in the fierce competition. Since there are so many potential consumers, it is of the out most

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 importance to be able to understand what the consumer wants and needs.

 The importance of analyzing and identifying factors that influence the consumer when he or she
decides to purchase on the Internet is vital.

 online retailing is a new retailing medium and online consumer behavior is diverse from traditional
consumer behavior, one must identify what influences the online consumer. Analyzing the process that
the online consumer goes through when deciding and making a purchase over the Internet, shows
some factors that consumers consider these factors need to be identified and taken into account by
online retailers in order to satisfy consumer demands and compete in the online market.

1.4 CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS

Fig. 1 Process of Consumer decision Making

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1.5 EVOLUTION OF MARKET
Marketing has changed over the centuries, decades and years. The production centered system systematically
changed into relationship era of today and over the period; the specializations have emerged such as sales
versus marketing and advertising versus retailing. The overall evolution of marketing has given rise to the
concept of business development. Marketing has taken the modern shape after going through various stages
since last the end of 19th century. The Production oriented practice of marketing prior to the twentieth century
was conservative and hidebound by rules-of-thumb and lack of information. Science & technology
developments and specially the development of information technology have now changed the way people
live, the way people do business and the way people sell and purchase.

Various stages of evolution of marketing:

1. Production Orientation Era: The prevailing attitude and approach of the production orientation era
was -“consumers favor products that are available and highly affordable”. The mantra for marketing
success was to “Improve production and distribution”. The rule was “availability and affordability is
what the customer wants”. The era was marked by narrow product -lines; pricing system based on the
costs of production and distribution, limited research, primary aim of the packaging was to protect the
product, minimum promotion. Advertising meant, “Promoting products with a lesser quality”.

2. Product Orientation Era: The attitude changed slowly and approach shifted from production to
product and from the quantity to quality. The prevailing attitude of this period was that consumers
favor products that offer the most quality, performance and innovative features and the mantra for
marketers was ‘A good product will sell itself’, so does not need promotion.

3. Sales Orientation Era: The increased competition and variety of choices / options available to
customers changed the marketing approach and now the attitude was “Consumers will buy products
only if the company promotes/ sells these products”. This era indicates rise of advertising and the
mantra for marketers was “Creative advertising and selling will overcome consumers’ resistance and
convince them to buy”.

4. Marketing Orientation Era: The shift from production to product and from product to customers
later manifested in the Marketing Era which focused on the “needs and wants of the customers” and
the mantra of marketers was” ‘The consumer is king! Find a need and fill it’.
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 CHAPTER – 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:

Petrovic Dejan 2016 in his study on Analysis of consumer behaviour online explained that the most
relevant behavioral characteristics of online consumers and examine the ways they find, compare and
evaluate product information. Comparison of the newly collected survey data with the existing consumer
behaviour theory resulted in detection of a number of issues related to a specific consumer group. The
purpose of this report is to translate these findings into a set of implementation activities on strategic and
technological level. Execution of these recommendations will result in better conversion of visitors into
customers and encourage customer loyalty and referrals. The focus group of this study will be young
adults aged between eighteen and thirty-four interested in buying a mobile phone or a related product

Shun & Yunjie 2016 in their study showed that there are product types, which are more likely to be sold
online such as software, books, electronics and music. Reason for this is that when purchasing these
types of products, one does not require personal inspection and most, if not all features, can be outlined
in the product description and images. Most products in the mobile phone family belong to this category.
According to the recent research on consumer behaviour on the Internet users Cotte, Chowdhury,
Ratenshwar & Ricci, 2016, there are four distinct consumer groups with different intentions and
motivations:

Customer interactions with an organization's website create opportunities for positive experiences that can
lead to long‐term relationship building. The range of potential interactions is now quite diverse, including
product information search, purchase transaction and/or service delivery. The domain of customer experience
(CE) is well developed in the face‐to‐face context, but little attention has been paid to exploring the concept in
the online context. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the online consumer literature in order
to inform understanding of the antecedents and consequences of online customer experience (OCE) in the
purchase context. The paper offers four important contributions for both academics and practitioners. First, it
adds to understanding of OCE in the purchase context and, second, specifically recognizes and discusses the
antecedents of OCE by drawing on existing literature relating to online consumer purchase. Third, it proposes
the potential consequences of OCE and provides a framework for future testing. Finally, the paper addresses a
problem of relevance to both academics and practitioners, and proposes future research and managerial
implications.

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David Anderson 02 .02.2016 in their research carried out by a consumer behaviour researcher at
Henley Management College has investigated what drives people to search online. The findings reveal
that convenience, time-efficiency and personal control are the key drivers for consumers to search
online, rather than cost. It also shows that the relationship between traditional and online retailing outlets
needs to be more unified E-shopping has changed the face of retail, and surfers are now looking for
spring sale bargains. This is following a bumper e-Christmas, where Internet shopping soared almost
50% during the 10-week run-up to Christmas 2015 (IMRG).
However, the new findings reveal that convenience and personal control are the key drivers for
consumers to search online. Dr. Susan Rose, from Henley Management College, said: “What motivates
online shoppers is the ability to shop, where, when and how they like. Now a days people can shop over
their Shreddies in the morning. The research, that analyses data from 304 electrical goods Internet
shoppers, provides businesses with a guide to getting the information highway buzzing with potential
customers. Big-ticket items such as digital TVs, cameras, or iPods now feature on our e- shopping list.
The Internet provides a rich source of information about brands and retail channels that enable us to
search and find information to help us with our final purchase decision. For businesses there are some
steps to help them embrace the Internet revolution with success. A key factor driving Internet use for
„online window shopping‟ is its usefulness in our personal lives. The Internet frees time and makes the
information search process, Research suggests that people search online for some goods, yet buy from a
traditional high street retailer, or look around for goods in shops, then take their search online. In turn, it
is essential for retailers who operate both on and off line to ensure that they embrace a joined up process
that appears seamless to the customer. Some retailers have still to successfully unite the two retailing
methods - this is key to contemporary customer service. Factors such as how much the medium
challenges us mentally and our confidence to navigate and understand the technology can turn us on or
off the idea of browsing online for products. A clear divide is appearing between the occasional online
shopper and the regular experienced user.

There is a huge difference between a physical store and its electronic counterpart. A help button on the home
page of the web-shopping site replaces the sales clerks‟ friendly advice and service. The familiar layout of the
physical store becomes a maze of pull down menus, product indices and search features. Now more than ever,
the promise of electronic commerce and online shopping will depend to a great extent upon the interface and
how people interact with the computer. At the same time, there are some inherent difficulties in maintaining
an online inventory. In a regular store, the managers can pull out a product from the shelf if they feel that it is
not fast moving or has no demand. This is a privilege that cannot be extended to the online retail store.

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Anders Hasslinger; Selma Hodzic; Claudio Opazo (2018-02-01) in their study they showed that developed
into a new distribution channel and online transactions are rapidly increasing. This has created a need to
understand how the consumer perceives online purchases. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine if
there are any particular factors that influence the online consumer. Primary data was collected through a
survey that was conducted on students at the University of Kristianstad. Price, Trust and Convenience were
identified as important factors. Price was considered to be the most important factor for a majority of the
students. Furthermore, three segments were identified, High Spenders, Price Easers and Bargain Seekers.
Through these segments we found a variation of the different factors importance and established implications
for online book stores

Harris Interactive 2018 in their study of online customer experience. The survey found that online customer
experience reached an inflection point in 2018. The percent of consumers who have experienced problems
when conducting transactions online showed its first substantial decrease in five years -- from approximately
87% in all previous Tealeaf surveys to 80% in 2018. While the percent of consumers experiencing online
transaction problems, at 80%, remains high (the potential online shopping dollars impacted by transaction
problems rings up at $47.6 billion, this improvement points to a growing business focus on delivering better
customer experiences. The survey sheds light on forces driving this accelerated online customer experience
focus, including the down economy and increased consumer power due to experience-sharing via social
media. It also examines consumer behavior when transacting online, call center behavior related to online
issues and mobile commerce. Verticals represented in the findings include retail, insurance, travel and
financial services

Bikramjit Rishi 2017 in their study on Online shopping is an innovative option of distribution available in
the hands of marketers. It is innovative and creative because marketers can experiment with it in form,
content, visibility and availability. In India online shopping is considered as a relevant alternative
channel for retailing and it is now an important part of the retail experience. This research study is an
empirical study to find out the motivators and decisional influencers of online shopping. The sample has
been selected from the youth population as this group of people actually use internet to buy online. The
study highlights that reliability; accessibility and convenience are the major motivator factors which
motivate the Indian consumer to buy online. Similarly, reluctance and preference are the two decisional
factors which influence the decision.

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Kamali and Loker 2015, in their study Internet retail sales represent a new and increasingly vital
commercial milieu. E-commerce or electronic commerce saw sales revenues grow 12.1 percent in 2012
to $31.4 billion a figure expected to reach $81.1 billion by 2016, Kamali & Loker, 2012. While it is clear
that many more consumers are electing to shop online than in the past a shift in behavior that may be due
to the sense that online shopping is safer and more secure than it was initially and to the adoption of
alternative shopping avenues. This essay will examine these issues, arguing that browsers become buyers
in cyberspace as perception of safety, product quality, and retailer reliability increase an idea also
advanced by Li, Luo, Lepkowaska-White and Russell .

Atanasov 2011 in their study it is anticipated that the worldwide market for business- to-business and
business-to-consumer e-commerce will total $3.1 trillion in 2004 as compared to $350.4 billion in fiscal
2010-2011. Among the most profitable products and services sold online are consumer goods such as
books, videos, music, computers and other tech products, and travel Schmerken, 2011. Other profitable
sectors include investment transactions, which Schmerken 2011 considers to have generated a wave of
corporate spending on e-commerce. The Internet and its myriad e-commerce or marketing sites,
represents what researchers believe to be the security concerns of online shoppers and potential shoppers.
These researchers and others reported that online buyers are also concerned about security issues when
making online purchases. Though many consumer concerns regarding the inherent safety of financial
transactions online have been resolved through the development of sophisticated encryption programs,
many consumers require additional assurance that their financial data will be held in confidence. Other
security issues that were identified by Mauldin and Arunachalam (2002) focus on retailer disclosures,
information risk, product risk, and familiarity with the retailer and the product. Generally, Mauldin and
Arunachalam found that intent to purchase rather than merely browsing online increases in direct association
with a sense of security and comfort. Retailers who offer their products online are therefore advised to
emphasize product disclosure and retailer disclosure and reduced information risk in their e-commerce sites.
Though most online retailers do provide clear descriptions of security procedures, some Internet shoppers still
avoid using credit cards online. Overcoming resistance to this fear is one of the key tasks that must be under
taken.

Ruiliang Yan, John Wang (2009) in their research it provides a useful framework to help business marketers
identify the effect of consumer online purchase costs on firm performances in online and traditional channel
competition. A game theory model is developed to determine the optimal strategies for online and traditional
retailers. We demonstrate that consumer online purchase costs always have a valuable impact on firm profits,

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and further show that consumer online purchase costs always have a much more valuable impact on firm
profits whenever the traditional retail transaction costs and the product web-fit change. We also find that
consumer online purchase costs have a greater impact on the retailer's profits in a Stackel berg competitive
system than in a Bertrand competitive system. Based on our results, managerial implications are discussed and
probable paths of future research are identified.

A.M. Sakkthivel, in their research paper aims to identify the impact of demographics on consumer buying
behaviour towards online purchase of different products based on the involvement and investment (High,
Medium and Low). It attempts to unearth the impact of the demographics on online purchase which is at
present relatively limited. It would help the marketers to identify the demographic profile of consumers which
is otherwise not known due to the intangible nature of internet. The findings would help the marketers to
design their offerings based on the demographic profile of online consumers and would help the online
marketers to identify and segment the online consumers which will enhance their focus and eventually leads
to financial growth.

Tomomi Hanai, Takashi Oguchi in their study to investigate what kind of information contributes to trust
formation in online shopping. Twenty-seven female undergraduate students were recruited and asked to
evaluate the trustworthiness of 20 online shopping websites. All the online shopping websites dealt with
branded products where there is greater emphasis on the trustworthiness of online shops or products. The
results show that information described on the websites was classified into two categories, firstly, information
about the shop and its procedures and services. Secondly, the concrete information necessary for the
consumption process, such as payment information and return information, which heightens the reliability of
these shops. The term “brand” originally refers to a “description or trademark which indicates a type of
product made by a particular company.” However, in modern Japanese society it refers to those branded
products that are perceived to have a higher quality than other similar products. Thus, the term “brand”
authenticates that its products belong to a high-class,

Music Videos, Lyrics - Daily updated collection of music videos and lyrics. Majority of young adults
interviewed for purpose of this research tend to be active information seekers. A high level of
technological confidence within this group tends to be an encouraging factor when it comes to product
information research online. The following analysis presents both, focus group results and behavioral
theory in a parallel fashion divided into two main research topics:

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Information Retrieval and Search Patterns:

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

Rajeev Kamineni in their study The World Wide Web can change human behaviour and human interactions to
a very large extent. Web based shopping behaviour is one major example to point out the trends in this
direction. This study is of a very exploratory nature and it intends to establish the differences between several
web- based shoppers from different parts of the world. Several critical factors associated with online shopping
behaviour will be explored. A cross cultural data set will be collected and an illustrative description of the
shoppers will be provided. As a final step the cross cultural differences between several shoppers will be
explored. One question which will run as a theme throughout the course of this paper is, “Will the traditional
consumer behaviour theory and research be altered by the advent of web based shopping?”

There is a huge difference between a physical store and its electronic counterpart. A help button on the home
page of the web-shopping site replaces the sales clerks‟ friendly advice and service. The familiar layout of the
physical store becomes a maze of pull down menus, product indices and search features. Now more than ever,
the promise of electronic commerce and online shopping will depend to a great extent upon the interface and
how people interact with the computer. At the same time, there are some inherent difficulties in maintaining
an online inventory. In a regular store, the managers can pull out a product from the shelf if they feel that it is
not fast moving or has no demand. This is a privilege that cannot be extended to the online retail store.

Anita Desai in her study E-tailing is the practice of selling retail goods on the internet. It is the abbreviated
version of “electronic retailing” which essentially constitutes business to consumer transaction. While the
concept of online retailing or e- tailing is no longer in its nascent stage; it continues to evolve, as advanced e-
commerce applications act as a potent catalyst in the development of e-tailing.

The idea of online retailing or e-tailing which almost every net-savvy individual is familiar with; offers a
convenient mode of shopping online and the consumer gets to choose from a diverse range of products and
services as opposed to the analogous physical shopping experience. Furthermore, online retailers or e-tailers
get to expose and sell their products to a global audience through their e-stores. (Also termed as online stores,

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internet shops, web shops etc.)

The E-commerce industry plays a vital role in its growth and development. The consumer or buyer is usually
provided with detailed information and description of the product which helps them make a judicious choice
before making an online purchase. For consumers who face a paucity of time or want a diverse range of
products to choose from, e-tailing proves to be an ideal option. Every e-tailer wants his/her share of domain
amidst the vast World Wide Web galaxy. Due to the intense competitor quotient involved, every e-tailer out
there wants to offer their customer/buyer a smooth and pleasant shopping experience. Therefore, e-tailing is
just not restricted to putting up products for sale for consumers to buy. As consumers today are well-informed,
it is understood that they would make a well informed decision as well. This involves a fair amount of product
research, price comparison and checking the credibility of the e-store

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 CHAPTER – 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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3.1 RESEARCH METHODOLODY

The project methodology started with understanding few concepts and terminologies related to Customer
online Shopping Behaviour. The project would include data collected from consumers as per the objectives of
the study, appropriate tools like pie charts, bar diagrams, etc. are used to analyse the data. This would help in
arriving at a better representation of the reach of my objectives.

Fig. 2 Research Designs types

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research plan is an action plan, for collecting and analysing data in an economic, efficient and relevant
manner.

3.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY

When collecting data to approach the purpose of a research there are two ways in which the data can be
collected. In order to acquire a General knowledge about the topic, secondary data is primarily used and
is one of the ways by which data can be collected. The second way to collect data is the primary data
collection.
Usually when a study is conducted, secondary data is not sufficient enough and needs to be
completed with primary data which is collected by the research.
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3.4 SOURCES OF DATA
The study is descriptive in nature which means that it makes use of both types of data i.e. primary and
secondary data.

Primary data:-

Primary data means original data that has been collected specially for the purpose in mind. It means someone collected
the data from the original source first hand. Data collected this way is called primary data.
So in this research I had collected data from the respondents through questionnaire.

Secondary data:-
Secondary data refers to data that was collected by someone other than the user.
I had used secondary data like the annual reports of the company, working experience, books, articles,
company website, MBA projects, and internet.

3.5 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN FORMULATION

Questionnaire has structured type questions as well as unstructured type questions. Structured objective type
questions are prepared for the respondents with fixed response categories. Some of the questions are of
multiple-choice type. The questions have more than one alternative.

Questionnaire: A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to respondent for their

answers. It can be Closed Ended or Open Ended.

Close Ended: Pre-specify all the possible answers & are easy to Interpret and Tabulate.

TYPES OF QUESTION INCLUDED:

DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS:
Which has only two answers “Yes” or “No”?

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
Where respondent is offered more than two choices.

IMPORTANCE SCALES:
A scale that rates the importance of some attribute.

SAMPLE SIZE: Sample size of respondent 100.

29
 CHAPTER – 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

30
 4.1 DATA PROCESSING

Age

15 - 20
30 & above
12%
18%

20 - 25
24%

25 - 30
46%

Fig. 3

INTERPRETATION

The above diagram shows us the percentage in the age of respondents. As it shows that from age 15-20 the
number of respondents are 12 % and from age of 20 -25 it is 24 % and from 25-30 it is 46% and 30 above are
18%, this is the above data which is shown by the this pie chart.

31
 Gender

Females
47% Males
53%

Fig. 4

INTERPRETATION

As our respondents are mostly those who shop daily online and are working or running their own business .we
use to get more data from males as they were ready to give their experiences, in this graph itself is showing
more percentage of males rather than females, the percentage of male respondents is 53% and percentage of
female respondents is only 47%.

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 Q1. Do you purchase any specific
products/services online ?

No
10%

Yes
90%

Fig. 5

INTERPRETATION

From the above graph I have interpreted that most of the customers are ready to do online shopping because
of convenience and the time and cost is saved. The maximum percent of people that do online shopping are
90% and rest 10% people believe in ofline shopping i.e. going to the stores directly for purchasing.

33
 Q2. How frequently do you purchase online?

Twice
Once
moreinthan
aamonth
month
that
Once in a month
0% 25%
more than that
38%

Twice in a month
37%

Fig. 6

INTERPRATATION

34
 Q3. Are you ready to purchase all your products
online?

Maybe
15%

No
16%

Yes
69%

Fig. 7

INTERPRETATION

35
 Q4. Is online shopping better than purchasing
through shops?

Strongly Disagree
4% Disagree
4%
Strongly
Strongly
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Disagree
Agree
0%

Strongly Agree Neutral

50% 33%

Agree
9%

Fig. 8

INTERPRETATION

After analyzing the above graph shows that the people are in favour of that online shopping is better than
physical store, The percentage of people who says online shopping is better is 45% and the people who says it
not good is 38 %. Still the percentage of people who says yes is more than other who says no.

36
 Q5. When you shop online, what do you look for?
70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Information about dealers that
Price information Brand Information
carry the products
Series1 66 65 13

Fig. 9

INTERPRETATION

37
 Q6. what are the reasons for purchasing
online?
90.00%

80.00%

70.00%
Reasons for purchasing

60.00%

50.00%

40.00%

30.00%

20.00%

10.00%

0.00%
Convienience Cost Time Saving Products varieties
Series1 45.20% 78.50% 65.60% 84.90%

Fig. 10

INTERPRETATION

38
 Q7. Are you satisfied with products qualities which
is being purchased online and which is delivered.

Sometimes
27%

No
7% Yes
66%

Fig. 11

INTERPRETATION

39
 Q8. Are you satisfied with the services provided
for online transactions

Maybe
13%
No
6%

Yes
81%

Fig. 12

INTERPRETATION

40
 Q9. What factors affect your online purchasing
decisions?
80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Previous Online
Friends Family Mmbers Time Saving
experience Advertisements
Very dissatisfied 4 2 3 2 3
Dissatisfied 6 8 11 11 6
neutral 5 43 49 36 5
Satisfied 21 25 18 28 17
Very satisfied 64 22 19 23 69

Fig. 13

INTERPRETATION

41
 Q10. Do you feel that online advertisements provide all
required information necessary to make purchase
decision.

Can't say
12% Yes
24%

No
5%

Sometimes
59%

Fig. 14

INTERPRETATION

42
 Q11. Do you feel that paying online is safe
transactions?

No
10%

Yes
90%

Fig. 15

INTERPRETATION

43
 Q12. What is your monthly income level?

0 - 10K
50K & above
12%
18%

10K - 20K
24%

20K - 50K
46%

Fig. 16

INTERPRETATION

44