CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Online shopping

Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services
from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. If an
intermediary service is present the process is called electronic commerce. An online shop,
eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the
physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a
shopping mall. The process is called Business-to-Consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a
business buys from another business it is called Business-to-Business (B2B) online shopping.
Both B2C and B2B online shopping are forms of e-commerce.

The act of purchasing products or services over the Internet. Online shopping has
grown in popularity over the years, mainly because people find it convenient and easy to
bargain shop from the comfort of their home or office. One of the most enticing factor about
online shopping, particularly during a holiday season, is it alleviates the need to wait in long
lines or search from store to store for a particular item.online shopping is a way to let the
consumer to buy the goods without going to outside.

Significance of online shopping

Convenient
Convenience includes the overall ease of finding a product, time spent on shopping,
minimization of overall shoppoing effort (Schaupp & Belanger, 2005). Online shopping
allows consumers to shop at the convenience of their own home, and to save traveling time to
retail stores and spend their time on other important tasks and hobbies. Researchers idenfity
convenience as a 'fundamental objective' related to online shopping (Schaupp & Belanger,
2005). This is relevant to 72% of online shoppers' claim that they would rather surf online
than go to retail store to attain information about a product (Lokken et al., 2003). According to

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a study, 72% of online shoppers chose convenience over privacy (Bhatnagar, Misra, & Rao,
2000). In addition to ease of finding products online and shopping time reduction, consumers
can shop without time limitation with 24-hr access at their convenience because the World
Wide Web never closees. Lokken mentions 24-hr access as a beneficial characteristic of
online shopping (Lokken et al., 2003). Also, consumers can exchange information online
through chatting and discussion forums to help them make wise consumer decisions.

No need for vendors and no pressure to buy

Online shopping benefits both the society as a whole and individuals. The society can save
human resources when consumers help themselves by browsing freely online instead of
asking for assistance from vendors. In addition, consumers are freed from the pressure to buy
from the vendors and can spend more time to make wise purchase decisions. But it is
imorpant that Web sites have good product descriptions because it is one of the significant
condition that satisfy consumers (Limayem, M., Khalifa, M., & Frini, A., 2000).

"Infinite shelfspace" available

Consumers desire a variety of products because they look for the right product that
will fully satisfy them. There is infinite variety of products available online because online
shopping allows consumers to browse through products that are made all around the world
without geographical boundaries.

Able to compare product price and features

With the online tools that enable product comparison, consumers can compare product prices
and features to make a better decision with less effort. More details are included in solutions
section.

• Online shopping is accessible round the clock. You can buy whatever you want even
at 3 a.m. in the morning. You can choose from a wider variety of things available for
you to shop which may not be available in the local brick and mortar stores. You also
have the benefit to do all from the comfort of your own home. When you buy from
online store you have the comfort to take your time while checking for the things of
your choice, this will lead you to a simple and quick way to perform price comparison
unlike the dissatisfied and hurried shopping you do in the local stores.

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 • In addition, unlike local stores, you can avail discount coupons and get a thing at a
lower rate when shopping online. Besides, when shopping online you can also avoid
long lines to wait in and the unnecessary contact with cranky people. If you feel
uncomfortable dragging your kids for shopping, online shopping is the best way to
counter that. Most of us are sometimes concerned with private shopping; online
shopping offers you a great platform to do so with comfort. Also, when you are buying
gifts, online mode is the perfect way to send your distant friends or relatives the gift
you wanted to send.
• When it comes to payment, you can use anyone's credit card when shopping online. A
lot of us are concerned about the identity theft when hear about online shopping.
Identity theft cases take place in reality in brick and mortar store itself and not online.
Websites are secure these days with powerful encryption procedures that keep your
identity safe and secure. Although there are a few where your information may not be
secure, you can take a peaceful breathe when dealing with the vast majority of online
shopping website. Consider websites that offer free shipping and this is definitely the
way to go. As the price of gas is increasing, shipping and handling might be cheaper
anyway.

Hindrance of online shopping

Enjoyment of retail shopping lost

Many enjoy shopping with others and it is often a good way to make social connections.
When shopping independently online, the enjoyment is lost.

Privacy and security issues

Privacy is the number one reason that non-online shoppers do not shop online. Almost 95% of
Web users have declined to provide personal information to Web sites at one time or another
when asked (Hoffman, Novak, & Peralta, 1999). Another recent study has found that privacy
was the top concern of customers while security ranked bottom (Schaupp & Belanger, 2005).
This proves that many do not trust the privay of the Internet and are concerned with their
credit card fauds, unwanted solicitation, and use of their information for other purposes.

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Security of Web sites is not the top concern because many shop on Web sites that they trust so
that other factors appear to be more important than security.

Access to the Internet and computer necessary

Because one needs money to buy a computer and to have internet connection, online shopping
seems to be limited people of reasonable amount of income. Also, since it is harder to learn
computer at an older age, the elderly people tend shop at traditional retail stores.

Product category risk

Product category risk is related to functional products such as apparel, perfume, and
electronics, that have functions that cannot fully be expeirenced online. Online shopper are
worried that the products will not be what they have expected by viewing online. This is a
clear disadvantage of onlins shopping because it shows that "[t]he likelihood of purchasing on
the Internet decreases with increases in product risk" (Bhatnagar, Misra, & Rao, 20000).
Apparels in particular had negative rating in online shopping because of it is difficult to feel
and see the texture of color online that is incomparable to going to a retail store, even with
magnifying tools online. Also, one cannot try on a clothing before buying it online, so it
would be very inconvenient if the size did not fit the person and he/she had to return it.

Too many choices

Although having access to a very large number of products is highly desirable, consumers
have limited cognitive resources and may simply be unable to process the potentially vast
amounts of information about these alternatives (Haubl & Trifts, 2000). Online stores need to
provide the variety in an organized way that will facilitate shopping online.

• The advent of technology brought many benefits along with it, but the dark aspects are
also not hidden. Activities that used to take a great deal of time are now cut down to a
few clicks you perform online though the internet. When it comes to shopping, the
online mode of it has brought about ease and comfort to a great extent. Shopping
online looks like the easiest thing you can do when you are in a rush to get things.
There you shopped and here you receive your items shipped to you in less than 24
hours time.

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• If you are thinking this is all what online shopping has brought about, then you
certainly have ignored the other part of the story. Here are some advantages and
disadvantages of online shopping.
• Although online shopping is 24/7 available, you cannot feel or touch items rather can
just see what is present on a webpage whereas in brick and mortar stores you can see
many things at a glance and buy after you feel or touch the product. As the term
suggests, online shopping is only possible through the internet, therefore, the
connection speed matter a lot here. Unlike conventional stores which don't close
unexpectedly, online stores incurs frequent malfunction.
• The most common grumble people have with online stores is regarding warranties and
some sort of guarantees, which they fail to offer in most cases. Apparently, these
would mean nothing if the online store went bankrupt. Similarly returns are also very
much difficult on online stores than in local stores.
• It very normal that many online stores don't accept cash or checks, although some sites
do, you still have to use the credit cards. When purchasing online, billing errors are the
common things you may encounter whereas in local stores these errors are nearly
impossible.
• The very big disadvantage an online website may have is the credit card security issue,
despite the fact that how secure the website claims to be, you can not always trust
them. There have been many cases where people realized that their credit card number
has been stolen and has been used by others.
• The bottom line is, online shopping is the ultimate solution people are
finding today, but conventional stores are still here to stay.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To analyse the various factors influencing the customers to go for online shopping.
 To study the various risks involved in the online shopping.
 To study the level of satisfaction of the customers towards online shopping.
 To find out the awareness level and consumer perception in utilizing the online
shopping.
 To study the drawbacks faced by the customers in online purchasing.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The study focuses only Erode city. The result may or may not be applicable to other
areas.

 The samples were restricted only with 100 samples due to time constraint.

 The bias in samples could not be controlled because of their busy schedule in the
respondents.

 The study is based on the availability of facts and figures.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem by

applying various research techniques along with the logic behind the problem.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A Research design is the specification of methods and procedures for acquiring the
information needed. It is the operational pattern or framework of the project that stipulates
what information is to be collected from which sources and by what procedures.

The researcher has adopted the descriptive research for collection and analyzing data.
Because of the research is to report about the existing (or) present scenario as it is i.e. the level
of satisfaction level.

Descriptive research design is one that describes something demographic characters of

consumer who use the product. The Descriptive study is typically concerned with determining
frequency with which something occurs and how two variables vary together.

Here the researcher has no control on variables. In this research the researcher tries to
find causes for functioning of shipping agency and satisfaction level in utilizing the solar
water heater.

SAMPLING DESIGN

Sampling is utilization of a limited of items regarding the population or universe for

studying the characteristics of the whole population or universe.

Convenience sampling technique has been adopted by the researcher in selecting the
respondents for data collection.

SAMPLE SIZE

100 samples have been selected out of the total population in erode for the study.

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DATA COLLECTION

A collection of facts from which conclusions were drawn is called as Statistical Data.
There are two types of methods for collecting the data. They are Primary data collection and
Secondary data collection.

 Primary Data

The Primary Data are those, which are fresh data, and collected for the first time and
that data will be original in character. The present study is based on the Primary data collected
from respondents directly as first stand information through questionnaire method. A
questionnaire consists of a number of question sprinted in a definite order on a form. The
questionnaire is distributed to respondents who are expected to. Read and understand the
questions and write down the reply in the space mean for the purpose in the questionnaire
itself. The respondents have to answer the question on their own.

 Secondary Data

The secondary data are those which have been already collected by someone and
which are secondary in nature and which have already been passed through the statistical
process. Details of company and relative areas are collected from the previous studies in this
research work and especially from the company website.

TOOLS USED FOR ANALYSIS

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  Simple percentage Analysis

Percentage analysis refers to a special kind of ration percentages used making

comparison between two or more data and to describe relationships. Percentage can also be
used to compare the relation terms the distribution of two or more sources of data.

Number of respondents

Percentage of respondents = ---------------------------------x100

Total respondents

 Chi-square test (x2)

The chi-square test is the one of the simplest and most widely used non-
arithmetic test in statistical work.

(O – E) 2
Chi-square = -----------
E
O = Observed frequency

E = Expected frequency

Degrees of freedom = (R-1) (C-1) where

C = No of columns

R = No of rows

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
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 Bigne, Enrique.(2005) In his study explained 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
behaviour research, there are general models of buying behaviour 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 behaviour.

The classic consumer purchasing decision-making theory can be characterized as a

continuum extending from routine problem-solving behaviours, through to limited problem-
solving behaviours and then towards extensive problem-solving behaviours 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. The development and comparison of purchasing evaluation
criteria result in the actual decision to buy. Finally, post-purchase behaviour is critical in the
marketing perspective, as it eventually affects consumers’ perception of
satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the product/service.

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Bigne, Enrique.(2005) The Impact of Internet User Shopping Patterns and Demographics on
Consumer Buying Behaviour. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, VOL. 6.

Jarvenpa and Todd [1997] Consumers' attitude towards online shopping is a

10
prominent factor affecting actual buying behaviour. 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, tested a model of consumer attitude towards
specific web-base 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. Them concluded that the attitude and the risk perception affected the consumer's
intention to buy from the store.

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Jarvenpa and Todd [1997] Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the world wide web.
International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1, 59–88

Peterson, R. A., Balasubramanian, S., & Bronnenberg, B. J. (1997) in their study

11
explained that Consumers’ perceived risks associated with online shopping have a critical
effect on their decision making. Risk perception refers to the “……trustor’s belief about
likelihoods of gains and losses outside of considerations that involve the relationships with the
particular trustee”. Although some early research suggests that risk perception may play a
minor role in the adoption of online shopping, recent results from several studies have
identified that consumers’ risk perception is a primary obstacle to the future growth of online
commerce. 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. One of the consequences of trust is that it reduces the
consumer’s perception of risk associated with opportunistic behaviour by the seller. 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. identified four categories of trust related issues: “personal information, product
quality and price, customer service, and store presence” As a new form of commercial
activity, Internet shopping involves more uncertainty and risk than traditional shopping.

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Peterson, R. A., Balasubramanian, S., & Bronnenberg, B. J. (1997). Exploring the

implications of the Internet for consumer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 25, 329–346.

Stephen F. King en Juhn-Shiuan Liou, in his study explain that Developed a model which
combines traditional marketing philosophy on consumer motivation to buy and the trust
model. In this model, trust propensity; which is a personality trait possessed by buyers; is an

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important antecedent of trust. 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. 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 good’. Sellers have to convince buyers that they genuinely want to do good
things for buyers, rather than just maximize profit. Integrity refers to the buyer’s perception
that the seller adheres to a set of principles which the buyer finds acceptable. A high level of
trust by buyers has been found to stimulate favourable attitudes and behaviour.

A consumer’s trust in an Internet store can be thought as the consumer’s trust directly
in the store. They argued that the effectiveness of third-party trust, certification bodies and the
public key encryption infrastructure for ensuring financial security, are the central success
factors for building consumer trust in Internet shopping. Kini and Choobineh [1998]
suggested that trust in the Internet business is necessary, but not sufficient, for an Internet
buying behaviour to take place. The consumer must also trust the transaction medium for
online shopping.

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Stephen F. King en Juhn-Shiuan Liou, "A framework for internet channel evaluation",
International Journal of Information & Management 24 (2004), 473–488

Falk, Louis K.; Sockel, Hy; Chen, Kuanchin. (2005) in their study explained that The
impact of perceived ease of using the website and of transactional control, vary with the type

13
of task the consumer is undertaking. The effects of three perceived channel utilities;
communication, distribution and accessibility; and four types of consumer shopping
orientations; recreational, experiential, convenience and economic. Their results showed that
online buying behaviour was affected by a mix of consumer shopping orientation and
perceived channel utilities. They proposed that two broad categories of behaviour in which
consumers engage during the phase of pre-purchase on the Internet are goal-directed and
experiential behaviour. They also indicated that the flow experience is a crucial antecedent of
online purchase behaviour. When shoppers are in the flow state, irrelevant thoughts and
perceptions are screened out and they are immersed in the interaction with the websites. As
flow experience occurs during network navigation, an issue E-marketers must consider is
whether consumers’ skills are competent to meet the challenges of the virtual environment.

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Falk, Louis K.; Sockel, Hy; Chen, Kuanchin. (2005) "E-Commerce and Consumer's
Expectations: What Makes a Website Work." Journal of Website Promotion, (65–75)

CHAPTER-II

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 AN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE SHOPPING

Electronic commerce has become one of the essential characteristics in the Internet era.
According to UCLA Center for Communication Policy (2001), online shopping has become the
third most popular Internet activity, immediately following e-mail using/instant messaging and
web browsing. It is even more popular than seeking out entertainment information and news,
two commonly thought of activities when considering what Internet users do when online. Of
Internet users, 48.9 percent made online purchases in 2001, with three-quarters of purchasers
indicating that they make 1-10 purchases per year (2001). When segmented into very versus
less experienced Internet users, the very experienced users average 20 online purchases per
year, as compared to four annual purchases for new users

Online shopping behavior refers to the process of purchasing products or services via
the Internet. The process consists of five steps similar to those associated with traditional
shopping behavior (Liang and Lai 2000). In the typical online shopping process, when
potential consumers recognize a need for some merchandise or service, they go to the
Internet and search for need-related information. However, rather than searching actively, at
times potential consumers are attracted by information about products or services associated
with the felt need. They then evaluate alternatives and choose the one that best fits their
criteria for meeting the felt need. Finally, a transaction is conducted and post-sales services
provided. Online shopping attitude refers to consumers’ psychological state in terms of
making purchases on the Internet.

There have been intensive studies of online shopping attitudes and behavior in recent
years. Most of them have attempted to identify factors influencing or contributing to online
shopping attitudes and behavior. The researchers seem to take different perspectives and
focus on different factors in different ways. Ho and Wu (1999) discover that there are
positive relationships between online shopping behavior and five categories of factors, which
include e-stores’ logistical support, product characteristics, websites’ technological
characteristics, information characteristics, and homepage presentation. Schubert and Selz
(1999) examine the quality factors of electronic commerce sites in terms of information,
agreement, and settlement phases. They also review those factors related to e-commerce

15
community.

These studies have all made important contributions to our understanding of the
dynamics of online shopping field. However, there is a lack of coherent understanding of the
impact of relevant factors on online attitudes and behavior and an inconsistent identification
of relevant independent and dependent variables. This makes comparisons of different
studies difficult, applications of research findings limited, and the prospect of synthesizing
and integrating the empirical literature in this area elusive.

The objective is synthesize the representative existing literature on consumer online

shopping attitudes and behavior based on an analytical literature review. In doing so, this
study attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of the status of this subfield and point out
limitations and areas for future research.

I systematically searched the following nine primary Information Systems (IS)

journals: Communications of the ACM, Decision Support Systems, e-Service Journal,
International Journal of Electronic Commerce, International Journal of Human-Computer
Studies, Information Systems Research, Journal of the Association for Information Systems,
Journal of Management Information Systems, and, Management Information Systems
Quarterly. In addition, we searched three primary IS conference proceedings volumes:
International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Americas Conference on
Information Systems (AMCIS), and Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science
(HICSS). We also checked the reference sections of the selected articles to identify and
include additional prominent articles in this area.

A Taxonomy of Consumer Online Shopping Attitudes and Behavior

Bellman, Lohse and Johnson (1999) examine the relationship among demographics,
personal characteristics, and attitudes towards online shopping. These authors find that
people who have a more “wired lifestyle” and who are more time-constrained tend to buy
online more frequently, i.e., those who use the Internet as a routine tool and/or those who are
more time starved prefer shopping on the Internet. Bhatnagar, Misra and Rao (2000) measure
how demographics, vender/service/ product characteristics, and website quality influence the
consumers’ attitude towards online shopping and consequently their online buying behavior.

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They report that the convenience the Internet affords and the risk perceived by the consumers
are related to the two dependent variables (attitudes and behavior) positively and negatively,
respectively.

Jarvenpaa, Tractinsky, and Vitale (2000) investigate how consumers’ perceived store
size and reputation influence their trust in the store, risk perception, attitudes, and willingness
to buy at the specific store. They discover that there is a positive relationship between
consumer trust in Internet stores and the store’s perceived reputation and size. Higher
consumer trust also reduces perceived risks associated with Internet shopping and generates
more favorable attitudes towards shopping at a particular store, which in turn increases
willingness to purchase from that store. Jahng, Jain, and Ramamurthy (2001) propose and
validate a Technology/Product Fit Model to describe and predict the relationship between
product characteristics, e-commerce environment characteristics, and user outcomes. They
classify products sold on the Internet as belonging to four categories based on social and
product presence requirements: simple, experiential, complex, or social. When a positive fit
is established between the e-commerce environment and the product requirements, favorable
user outcomes are generated that include user satisfaction, decision confidence, e-commerce
acceptance, and purchase intent.

After examining the 35 empirical studies, we identify a total of ten interrelated factors
for which the empirical evidences show significant relationships. These ten factors are
external environment, demographics, personal characteristics, vender/service/ product
characteristics, attitude towards online shopping, intention to shop online, online shopping
decision making, online purchasing, and consumer satisfaction. Five (external environment,
demographics, personal characteristics, vendor/service/product characteristics, and website
quality) 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 in the empirical literature.

Few of the 35 studies examined cover all ten factors, and there is some inconsistency

17
in the empirical results of those that include similar factors. Nevertheless, for the sake of
discussion, we integrate these ten factors in a model (Figure 1) in which the expected
relationships among them are depicted. The five factors identified as antecedents are
normally independent variables, although some studies have treated Website Quality as a
dependent variable. These five factors directly determine attitude towards online shopping.
Attitude and intention to shop online have been clearly identified and relatively widely
studied in the existing empirical literature. Decision-making is the stage before consumers
commit to online transaction or purchasing, and is sometimes considered to be a behavioral
stage. The depicted relationships among attitude, intention, decision-making, and online
purchasing are based on the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975), which
attempts to explain the relationship between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and actual behavior.
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, two of the antecedents, vendor/service/product characteristics and
Website quality, have been found to have direct impact on consumer satisfaction.

External Environment

External environment refers to those contextual factors that impact consumers’ online
shopping attitudes and behavior. It includes three dimensions. The first is the existing legal
framework that protects the consumers from any kind of loss in online transactions. The
second is the system of the Third Party Recognition in which many third party certification
bodies are working to ensure the trustworthiness of online vendors (Borchers 2001). These
two factors are positively associated with consumers’ trust attitude to the online stores. The
third factor is the numbers of competitors, which can be defined as “the number of Internet
stores that provide the same service and products” (Lee et al. 2000). Lee and colleagues
(2000) argue that the fewer the competing vendors, the greater the possibility of opportunistic
behavior on the part of existing vendors so as to maximize profits. This increases transaction
costs for the consumer, decreasing intention to revisit a specific online store.

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Demographics

Demographics include such variables as age, gender, level of education, income, and
time online. Bellman and colleagues (1999) report that “Internet surveys agree that the online
population is relatively younger, more educated, wealthier, although the gaps are gradually
closing”. They argue that demographics appear to play an important role in determining
whether people use the Internet, however once people are online, demographics do not seem
to be key factors affecting purchase decisions or shopping behavior. Bhatnagar and
colleagues (2000) provide evidence that demographics are not relevant factors in determining
which store to patronize or how much to spend, though men and women do tend to buy
different types of products or services via the Internet. In summary, the literature suggests
that the impact of demographics on Internet buying behavior is not strong.

Personal Characteristics

It can be defined as a group of specific customer features that may influence their
online shopping attitudes and behavior, such as their Internet knowledge, need specificity,
and cultural environment.

Li and colleagues (1999) found that customers who purchase Internet stores more
frequently are more convenience-oriented and less experience-oriented. These consumers
regard convenience during shopping as the most important factor in purchase decisions,
because they are time-constrained and do not mind buying products without touching or
feeling them if they can save time in this way. Potential consumers are often prevented from
shopping online by their concern for security (Han et al. 2001). However, perceived risk can
be reduced by knowledge, skill, and experience on the Internet, computer, and online
shopping (Ratchford et al. 2001; Senecal 2000; Sukpanich and Chen 1999; Ha et al. 2001). In
another study, Bellman and colleagues (1999) propose that people living a wired lifestyle
patronize e-stores spontaneously. These consumers use the Internet as a routine tool to
receive and send emails, to do their work, to read news, to search information, or for
recreational purposes. Their routine use of the Internet for other purposes leads them to
naturally use it as a shopping channel as well.

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 Other factors found to impact consumers’ online shopping attitudes and behavior
include cultural environment, need specificity, product involvement, disposition to trust, the
extent to which they would like to share values and information with others, the extent to
which they like being first to use new technologies, and tendency to spend money on
shopping (Borchers 2001; Koufaris et al.2002; Lee et al.2000; Kimery and McCord 2002;
Bellman et al 1999).

Vender/Service/Product Characteristics

Vender/service/product characteristics refer to features of the Internet stores, the

products they sell, and the service they provide to support the transactions. These factors are
found to influence customers’ online shopping attitudes and behavior significantly.

Measures employed to value vender characteristics in the empirical studies include

(1) real existence of the store/physical location,

(2) store reputation,

(3) store size,

(4) reliability,

(5) number of Internet store “entrances”,

(6) assurance-building mechanisms (e.g., seals, warranties, news clips), and

(7) use of testimonials (van der Heijden et al. 2001; Liang and Lai 2000; Bhatnagar et
al. 2000; Kim et al. 2001; Lowengart and Tractinskky 2001; Grazioli and Wang 2001; Pavlou
2001; Jarvenpaa et al. 2000; Lee et al. 2000).

Among product features that impact customers’ online shopping behavior are

(1) variety of goods,

(2) product quality/performance/product uncertainty,

(3) product availability,

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 (4) price,

(5) social presence requirement,

(6) product presence requirement,

(7) dependability of product,

(8) possibility of customized products, and

(9) brand (Jahng et al. 2001; Liang and Huang 1998; Kim et al. 2001; Cho et al. 2001;
Lowengart and Tractinskky 2001; Muthitacharoen 1999).

In addition, researchers examine different aspects of service provided by the venders through
the online shopping process. Service factors related to online shopping attitudes and behavior
include

(1) customer communication channels/ease of vendor contact,

(2) response to customer needs,

(3) accessibility of sales people,

(4) reliability of the purchasing process/process uncertainty,

(5) timeliness of orders or services/waiting time,

(6) availability of personalized services,

(7) ease of return and refunds,

(8) fraud,

(9) delivery (speed, tracking and tracing),

(10) transaction costs,

(11) peripheral costs, and

(12) promotion (Ho and Wu 1999; Liang and Huang 1998; Lohse and Spiller 1998;

21
Liang and Lai, 2000; Bhatnagar et al. 2000; Kim et al. 2001; Cho et al. 2001; Li et al. 2001;
Muthitacharoen 1999).

Website Quality

Gefen and Straub (2000) investigate the impact of perceived ease of use (PEOU) and
perceived usefulness (PU) on e-commerce adoption using 202 MBA students as subjects.
They report that while PU affects intended use when a Web site is used for a purchasing task,
PEOU only has an indirect influence on online shopping behavior by directly influencing PU.
Lee et al. (2001) obtain the similar findings in their recent study of design factors affecting
consumer loyalty. In one study, Song and Zahedi (2001) classify website quality elements
into five categories according to their purpose: for promotion, service, informational
influence, self-efficacy, and resources facilitation. These investigators find that each of the
five significantly and positively reinforces the consumers’ perceptions in these factors, which
in turn positively influence consumer online shopping attitudes and behavior.

Zhang, von Dran, Small, and Barcellos (1999, 2000), and Zhang and von Dran (2000)
make an attempt to evaluate website quality from user satisfaction and dissatisfaction
perspective. Their studies show that website design features can be regarded as hygiene and
motivator factors that contribute to user dissatisfaction and satisfaction with a website.
Hygiene factors are those whose present make a website functional and serviceable, and
whose absence causes user dissatisfaction. Some of the categories of hygiene factors are:
Privacy and Security, Technical Aspect, Navigation, Impartiality, and Information Content.
Motivator factors are those that add value to the website by contributing to user satisfaction.
Five categories of motivation factors are: Enjoyment, Cognitive Outcome, User
Empowerment, Credibility, Visual Appearance, and Organization of Information Content. In
their continued effort, they further discover that the most important website quality factors
ranked by e-commerce consumers are hygiene factors (von Dran and Zhang 1999; Zhang et
al. 2000; Zhang and von Dran 2001a, 2001b; Zhang et al. 2001). Liang and Lai (2000)
review website quality factors influencing Internet buying behavior by categorizing them into
three groups, two of them are also named motivators and hygiene factors, and third media
richness factors. In their opinion, motivators are those who support the transaction process
directly while hygiene factors protect the consumers from risks or unexpected events in the

22
transaction process. Media richness factors “add more information channels or richness in
information presentation” (Liang and Lai 2000, p. 2). They suggest that providing good
transaction support will help Internet venders to beat their electronic competitors, while the
hygiene factors need to be paid attention if they want to attract consumers from traditional
stores.

Overall, the measures employed to value website quality by the researchers include
the websites’ information content, information presentation, interaction between customers
and venders, navigation, searching mechanism, security, site technical feature, media
richness, and so forth (Zhang and von Dran 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Grandon and Ranganathan
2001; Cho et al. 2001; Kim et al. 2001; Lohse and Spiller 1998; Koufaris et al. 2002; Ho and
Wu 1999).

A variety of factors related to website quality have been demonstrated to significantly

influence consumers’ online shopping attitudes and behavior. Better website quality can
guide the consumers complete transactions smoothly and attract them to revisit this Internet
store. In contrast, worse quality would hinder their online shopping moves.

Attitudes Towards Online Shopping

Consumers’ attitudes toward online shopping have gained a great deal of attention in
the empirical literature. Consistent with the literature and models of attitude change and
behavior (e.g., Fishbein and Ajzen 1975), it is believed that consumer attitudes will affect
intention to shop online and eventually whether a transaction is made. This is a
multidimensional construct that has been conceptualized in several different ways in the
existing literature. First, it refers to the consumers’ acceptance of the Internet as a shopping
channel (Jahng et al. 2001). Secondly, it refers to consumer attitudes toward a specific
Internet store (i.e., to what extent consumers think that shopping at this store is appealing) .
These first two dimensions are negatively associated with the third, customers’ perceived
risk. According to Lee and colleagues (2001), two main categories of perceived risk emerge
in the process of online shopping. The first is the perceived risk associated with
product/service and includes functional loss, financial loss, time loss, opportunity loss, and
product risk. The second is the perceived risk associated with context of online transactions,

23
and includes risk of privacy, security, and nonrepudiation. Among them, the influence of
financial risk, product risk, and concern for privacy and security is significant (Senecal 2000;
Borchers 2001; Bhatnagar et al. 2002). However, the fourth dimension of attitude,
consumers’ trust in the stores, can reduce perceived risk. In addition, perceived control/users’
empowerment, enjoyment/playfulness, and perceived real added-value from membership
have also been shown to be important dimensions of consumers’ attitudes towards online
shopping (Koufaris et al. 2002; Cho et al. 2001).

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. Jarvenpaa and
colleagues (2000) assess consumers’ intention to shop online by asking a series of questions
assessing the likelihood of returning to a store’s website, the likelihood of purchasing from
the store within the next three months, the likelihood of purchasing within the next year, and
general the likelihood of ever purchasing from a particular store again.

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 appears to be an impact on users’
satisfaction. Though it is important, there are only five studies that include it.

According to Haubl and Trifts (2000), 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. Using a controlled
experiment, these authors discover that the “interactive tools designed to assist consumers in
the initial screening of available alternatives and to facilitate in-depth comparisons among
selected alternatives in an online shopping environment may have strong favorable effects on
both the quality and the efficiency of purchase decisions” (Haubl and Trifts 2000).

24
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 (Koufaris et al. 2002) and Internet store sales (Lohse and Spiller 1998).
For example, in Lee and colleagues’ (2001) examination of the relationship between online
purchasing behavior, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk of the
product/service, and perceived risk in the context of the transaction, the measures used are
total amount spent and frequency in last 6 months.

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 (Andrade 2000; Bellman et
al. 1999; Bhatnagar et al. 2000; Cho et al. 2001; Grandon and Ranganathan 2001; Jarvenpaa
et al. 2000; Lee et al. 2000; Sukpanich and Chen 1999).

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 and purchasing
behavior. If expectations are met, customers achieve a high degree of satisfaction, which
influences their online shopping attitudes, intentions, decisions, and purchasing activity
positively. In contrast, dissatisfaction is negatively associated with these four variables (Ho
and Wu 1999; Jahng et al. 2001; Kim et al. 2001).

25
 CHAPTER-IV

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

TABLE NO. 1

Gender of the respondents

S. No Gender No of percentage
respondents

1 Male 62 62%

2 Female 38 38%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 62% of the respondents are male, 38% of the respondents
are female. So we conclude that majority of the respondents are male.

26
 CHART NO 1

Gender of the respondents

percentage

70%
62%
60%

50%
38%
40%
percentage
30%

20%
10%

0%
Male Female

27
 TABLE NO. 2

Age group of the respondents

No. of
S. No Age Percentage
respondents

1 Less than 20 07 08%

2 20 – 30 35 12%

3 30 -40 38 43%

4 40 and above 20 37%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that, 8% of the respondents belongs to the age group of
less than 20, 12% of the respondents belongs to the age 20 – 30, 43% of the respondents
belongs to the age group of 30 – 40, 37% of the respondents belongs to the age group 40 and
above. So we conclude that majority of the respondents belongs to the age group of 30 – 40.

28
 CHART NO 2

Age group of the respondents

Percentage

50%
43%
45%
40% 37%
35%
30%
25% Percentage
20%
15% 12%
8%
10%
5%
0%
Lessthan 20 20 – 30 30 -40 40 and above

29
 TABLE NO. 3

Occupation of the respondents

S.No Occupation No. of percentage

respondents

1 Employee 28 28%

2 Business 32 32%

3 Student 06 06%

4 Professionals 30 30%

5 Others 04 04%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 28% of the respondents are employee, 32% of respondents
are business, 06% of respondents are students, 30% of respondents are professionals and 04%
of respondents are others. So we conclude that majority of the respondents are doing business.

30
 CHART NO 3

Occupation of the respondents

percentage

35%
30%

25%
20%
32% 30%
15% 28%

10%

5% 6% 4%
0%
Employee Business Student Professionals Others

TABLE NO. 4

31
 Education of the respondents

No. of
S. No Education Percentage
respondents

1 School level 12 12%

2 Graduation 35 35%

3 Post graduation 53 53%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 12% of the respondents are school level, 35% of
respondents are graduates, 53% of respondents are post graduates. So we conclude that
majority of the respondents are post graduated.

32
 CHART NO 5

Education of the respondents

Percentage

60%
53%
50%

40% 35%

30% Percentage

20%
12%
10%

0%
School level Graduation Post graduation

TABLE NO. 5

Income of the respondents

33
 No. of
S. No Income Percentage
respondents

1 10000 – 20000 45 45%

2 20000 – 30000 30 40%

3 30000 – 40000 17 17%

4 40000 – 50000 08 08%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 45% of the respondents are having 10,000 – 20,000 as
their income level, 40% of respondents are 20,000 – 30,000, 17% of respondents are 30,000 –
40,000 and 8% of respondents are 40,000 – 50,000. So we conclude that majority of the
respondents are having 10,000 – 20,000 as their income level.

CHART NO 5

34
 Income of the respondents

Percentage

50%
45% 45%
40% 40%
35%
30%
25% Percentage
20%
17%
15%
10%
8%
5%
0%
10000 – 20000 20000 – 30000 30000 – 40000 40000 – 50000

TABLE NO. 6

Preference of online shopping of the respondents

35
 No. of
S. No Prefer online shopping Percentage
respondents

1 Time saving 38 38%

2 Easy to buy 47 47%

3 Easy transaction 15 15%

INFERENCE

From the above analysis it is found that, 38% of respondents prefer online shopping
for time saving, 47% of respondents prefer online shopping for easy to buy and 15% of
respondents prefer that online shopping is easy transaction. So we conclude that majority of
the respondents prefer online shopping for easy to buy.

CHART NO 6

36
 Preference of online shopping of the respondents

Percentage

Easy transaction
15%
Time saving
38% Time saving
Easy to buy
Easy transaction

Easy to buy
47%

TABLE NO. 7

Awareness of online shopping of the respondents

37
 No. of
S. No Awareness Percentage
respondents

1 Friends 34 34%

2 Neighbours 29 29%

3 Relations 22 22%

4 Others 15 15%

INFERENCE

From the above table it is found that 34% of respondents are getting awareness
through their friends, 29% of respondents through their neighbors, 22% of respondents
through their relations and 15% of respondents are influenced by others. So we conclude that
majority of the respondents are influenced by their friends.

CHART NO 7

Awareness of online shopping of the respondents

38
 Percentage

35%
30%
25%
20%
34%
29% Percentage
15%
22%
10% 15%
5%
0%
Friends Neighbours Relations Others

TABLE NO. 8

Factors influencing for using online shopping-Rank Analysis

39
 Factors Rank Value Rank

product price 335 VI

available variety of prd 439 I

easy operation 420 II

time saving 415 III

24 * 7 service 403 IV

quality of the prd 375 V

CHART NO 8

Factors influencing for using online shopping-Rank Analysis

40
 450

400

350

300

PERCDENTAGE
250

200

150

100

50

0
product available easy tim e 24 * 7 quality of
price variety of operation saving s ervice the prd
prd
PARTICULARS

INFERENCE:

The above ranking factor table shows that product price is 6th rank, available variety of
product is 1st rank, easy operation is the 2nd rank, time saving is 3rd rank, 24 hour service is the
4th rank and quality of the product is the 5th rank. So we conclude that highest ranking is for
availability of variety of products.

TABLE NO. 9

Risk of online shopping of the respondents

No. of
S. No Risk Percentage
respondents

41
 1 Low quality 37 37%

2 Payment 47 47%

3 Easy to cheat 16 16%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 37% of respondents are facing risk at low quality, 47% of
respondents facing risk at payment and 16% of respondents are facing risk of easy to cheat. So
we conclude that majority of the respondents are facing risk during payment.

CHART NO 9

Risk of online shopping of the respondents

42
 Percentage

50%
47%
45%
40%
37%
35%
30%
25% Percentage
20%
15% 16%
10%
5%
0%
Low quality Payment Easy to cheat

TABLE NO. 10

Types of products usually bought by the respondents

S. No Types of product No. of Percentage

43
 respondents

1 Medicine 23 23%

2 Food product 13 13%

3 Luxury products 25 25%

4 Oil products 39 39%

INFERENCE

The above analysis shows that 23% of respondents are using online shopping for
buying medicines, 13% of respondents for food products, 25% of respondents are buying
luxury goods and 39% of respondents are buying oil products. So we conclude that majority
of the respondents are using online shopping for buying oil products.

CHART NO 10

Types of products usually bought by the respondents

44
 Percentage

23%
39% Medicine
Food product
Luxary products
13% Oil products

25%

TABLE NO. 11

Product quality

S. No Product quality No. of Percentage

45
 respondents

1 Advertisement 40 40%

2 Know the product 12 12%

3 Already using the product 23 23%

4 Friends 25 25%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 40% of respondents know about the products through
advertisement, 12% of respondents already know about the product, 23% of respondents are
already using the product and 25% of respondents know through their friends. So we conclude
that majority of the respondents are knowing about the product through advertisement.

CHART NO 11

Product quality

46
 Percentage

25%
Advertisement
40%
Know the product
Already using the product
Friends
23%
12%

TABLE NO. 12

Paying money for online product

S. No Paying money No. of Percentage

47
 respondents

1 Bankers cheque 38 38%

2 Demand draft 25 25%

3 Debit / credit card 37 37%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 38% of respondents are paying money through banker’s
cheque, 25% of respondents through demand draft, and 37% of respondents are using
debit/credit card. So we conclude that majority of the respondents are paying money through
Banker’s cheque.

CHART NO 12

Paying money for online product

48
 Percentage

40% 38% 37%

35%
30%
25%
25%
20% Percentage
15%
10%
5%
0%
Bankers cheque Demand draft Debit / credit card

TABLE NO. 13

Advantages of online shopping

No. of
S. No Advantages Percentage
respondents

49
 1 Time saving 25 25%

2 Door delivery 47 47%

3 Easy transaction 28 28%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 25% of respondents believes that get online shopping
advantage is time saving, 47% of respondents feels door delivery, 28% of respondents feels
easy transaction. So we conclude that majority of the respondents feels door delivery as the
advantage of the online shopping.

CHART NO 13

Advantages of online shopping

50
 Percentage

28% 25%

Time saving
Door delivery
Easy transaction

47%

TABLE NO. 14

Safe in dealing in online purchase

S. No Safe in dealing No. of Percentage

51
 respondents

1 Yes 53 53%

2 No 47 47%

INFERENCE

From the above analysis, the table shows that 53% of respondents believe that online
shopping is safer to deal and 47% of respondents not believing that online shopping are safe.

CHART NO 14

Safe in dealing in online purchase

52
 Percentage

54% 53%
53%
52%
51%
50%
49% Percentage
48% 47%
47%
46%
45%
44%
Yes No

TABLE NO. 15

Major drawback in online purchasing

No. of
S. No Major drawback Percentage
respondents

1 False reality in good 13 13%

53
 2 Fake websites 21 21%

3 Online hacking 31 31%

Theft in password & bank

4 15 15%
account

5 No customer service 20 20%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 13% of respondents believe false reality in goods is the
drawback in online shopping, 21% of respondents believe in fake websites, 31% of
respondents believe Online hacking, 15% of respondents believe theft in password and bank
account and 20% of respondents believe no customer service is the most draw back. So we
conclude that majority of the respondents believe that online hacking is the major drawback in
the online shopping.

CHART NO 15

Major drawback in online purchasing

54
 Percentage

False reality in good

20% 13%
Fake websites
21%
Online hacking

15%
Theft in password & bank
account
31%
No customer service

TABLE NO. 16

Most attractive in online purchasing

55
 No. of
S. No Most attractive Percentage
respondents

1 On door delivery 25 25%

Variety of goods can be seen in

2 20 20%
online

Compare in price range in various

3 26 26%
dealer

4 Easy to buy 16 16%

5 One click purchase 13 13%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 25% of respondents feels on door delivery is the most
attractive in online purchasing, 20% of respondents feels that variety of goods can be seen in
online, 26% of respondents feels that comparison in price range in various dealer, 16% of
respondents feels that it is easy to buy and 13% of respondents feels that one click purchase
is most attractive in online shopping. So we conclude that majority of the respondents feels
that comparison in price ranges among various dealers is the most attractive in online
shopping.

CHART NO 16

Most attractive in online purchasing

56
 Percentage

On door delivery
13%
25%
Variety of goods can be
seen in online
16%
Compare in price range in
various dealer
Easy to buy
20%
26% One click purchase

TABLE NO.17

Opinion about Quality of the product of by the respondents

57
 No. of
S.No Quality of the product Percentage
respondents

1 Highly satisfied 16 16%

2 Satisfied 28 28%

3 Neutral 30 30%

4 Dissatisfied 18 18%

5 Highly dissatisfied 08 08%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 16% of respondents are highly satisfied with quality of the
product, 28% of the respondents are satisfied, 30% of the respondents are neutral, 18% of
respondents are dissatisfied and 8% of respondents are highly dissatisfied with quality of the
product. So the majority of the respondents are neutral with the quality of the product in the
online shopping.

CHART NO 17

Opinion about Quality of the product of by the respondents

58
 Percentage

8%
16%

18% Highly satisfied

Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
28%
Highly dissatisfied

30%

TABLE NO 18

Opinion about cost of the product of by the respondents

S.No Cost of the product No. of Percentage

59
 respondents

1 Highly satisfied 15 15%

2 Satisfied 25 25%

3 Neutral 28 28%

4 Dissatisfied 20 20%

5 Highly dissatisfied 12 12%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 15% of respondents are highly satisfied with the cost of
the product, 25% of the respondents are satisfied, 28% of the respondents are neutral, 20% of
respondents are dissatisfied and 12% of respondents are highly dissatisfied with the cost of the
product. So majority of the respondents are neutral with the cost of the products in online
shopping.

CHART NO 18

Opinion about cost of the product of by the respondents

60
 Percentage

30%
28%
25% 25%

20% 20%

15% 15% Percentage

12%
10%

5%

0%
Highly Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly
satisfied dissatisfied

TABLE NO. 19

Opinion about online shopping procedure of by the respondents

Online shopping No. of

S.No Percentage
procedure respondents

61
 1 Highly satisfied 23 23%

2 Satisfied 28 28%

3 Neutral 33 33%

4 Dissatisfied 10 10%

5 Highly dissatisfied 08 08%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 23% of respondents are highly satisfied with online
shopping procedure, 28% of the respondents are satisfied, 33% of the respondents are neutral,
10% of respondents are dissatisfied and 08% of respondents are highly dissatisfied with online
shopping procedure. So majority of the respondents are neutral with the procedure of the
online shopping.

CHART NO 19

Opinion about online shopping procedure of by the respondents

62
 Percentage

Highly dissatisfied 8%

Dissatisfied 10%

Neutral 33% Percentage

Satisfied 28%

Highly satisfied 23%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

TABLE NO 20

Opinion about kind of service of online shopping by the respondents

S.No Kind of service provided No. of Percentage

63
 respondents

1 Highly satisfied 20 20%

2 Satisfied 24 24%

3 Neutral 36 36%

4 Dissatisfied 15 15%

5 Highly dissatisfied 05 05%

INFERENCE

The above table shows that 20% of respondents are highly satisfied with the kind of
service provided, 24% of the respondents are satisfied, 36% of the respondents are neutral,
15% of respondents are dissatisfied and 05% of respondents are highly dissatisfied with the
kind of service provided. So majority of the respondents are neutral with the kind of service
provided in online shopping.

CHART NO 20

Opinion about kind of service of online shopping by the respondents

64
 Percentage

40% 36%
35%
30%
24%
25%
20%
20% Percentage
15%
15%
10%
5%
5%
0%
Highly Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly
satisfied dissatisfied

TABLE NO 21

GENDER AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (TWO-WAY TABLE)

65
 .

Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between

Gender and customer satisfaction towards online
shopping customers.

Level of Satisfaction
Gender Highly Highly Total
Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied
Satisfied Dissatisfied

Female 10 20 5 3 -
38
(10.26) (18.24) (6.4) (2.28) (0.76)

Male 17 28 12 3 2
62
(16.74) (29.76 (10.54) (3.72) (1.27)

Total 27 48 17 6 2 100

Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close significant relationship between

Gender and customer satisfaction towards online
shopping customers.

TABLE NO - 22

GENDER AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

USERS (CHI-SQUARE TEST)

66
 Calculated χ 2

Variable Table Value D.F Remarks

Value

Gender 2.381 9.488 4 Significant at 5% level

INFERENCE

It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value is less than the
table value at 5% degree of freedom and null hypothesis is accepted. So, we conclude that,
there is close significant relationship between the Gender and Customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers.

TABLE NO – 23

AGE GROUP AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE RESPONDENTS

(TWO-WAY TABLE)

67
 Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between
age group and customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers.

20 – 25 4 3 1 - -
years 8
(3.28) (3.2) (0.8) (0.56) (0.16)

26 – 35 3 3 3 3 -
Years 12
(4.92) (4.8) (1.2) (0.84) (0.24)

36 – 45 20 14 5 3 1
43
Years (17.63) (17.2) (4.3) (3.01) (0.86)

Above 46 14 20 1 1 1
37
Years (15.17) (14.8) (3.7) (2.59) (0.74)

Total 41 40 10 7 2 100

Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close significant relationship between

age group and customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers.

TABLE NO - 24

AGE GROUP AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

USERS (CHI-SQUARE TEST)

68
 Calculated χ 2

Variable Table Value D.F Remarks

Value

Age Group 16.868 21.026 12 Significant at 5% level

INFERENCE

It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value is less than the
table value at 5% degree of freedom and null hypothesis is accepted. So, we conclude that,
there is a close significant relationship between the age group and Customer satisfaction
towards online shopping customers

TABLE NO - 25

OCCUPATION AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (TWO-WAY TABLE)

69
Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between age
group and customer satisfaction towards online
shopping customers

occupation Highly Highly

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Total
Satisfied Dissatisfied

Employee 10 12 3 2 1
28
(11.76) (10.92) (3.64) (1.12) (0.56)

Business `15 12 4 1 -
32
(13.44) (12.48) (4.16) (1.28) (0.64)

2 2 2 - -
Student 6
(2.52) (2.34) (0.78)) (0.24) (0.12)

13 12 3 1 1
Professional 30
(12.6) (11.7) (3.9) (1.2) (0.6)

2 1 1 - -
others 4
(1.68) (1.56) (0.52) (0.16) (0.28)

Total 42 39 13 4 2 100

Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close significant relationship between

age group and customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers

TABLE NO - 26

OCCUPATION AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (CHI-SQUARE TEST)

70
 Calculated χ 2

Variable Table Value D.F Remarks

Value

occupation 5.695 26.296 16 Significant at 5% level

INFERENCE

It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value is less than the
table value at 5% degree of freedom and null hypothesis is accepted. So, we conclude that,
there is a close significant relationship between the age group and Customer satisfaction
towards online shopping customers

TABLE NO - 27

EDUCATION AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (TWO-WAY TABLE)

71
Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between age
group and customer satisfaction towards online
shopping customers

Education Highly Highly

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Total
Satisfied Dissatisfied

Upto school 5 3 2 1 1
level 12
(6.12) (3.24) (1.92) (0.48) (0.24)

College level `18 12 3 2 -

35
(17.85) (9.45) (5.6) (1.4) (0.7)

28 12 11 1 1
Professional 53
(27.03) (14.31) (8.48) (2.12) (1.06)

Total 51 27 16 4 2 100

Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close significant relationship between

age group and customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers

TABLE NO - 28

EDUCATION AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (CHI-SQUARE TEST)

72
 Calculated χ 2

Variable Table Value D.F Remarks

Value

Education 7.8005 15.507 8 Significant at 5% level

INFERENCE

It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value is less than the
table value at 5% degree of freedom and null hypothesis is accepted. So, we conclude that,
there is a close significant relationship between the age group and Customer satisfaction
towards online shopping customers

TABLE NO - 29

INCOME LEVEL AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF

THE RESPONDENTS (TWO-WAY TABLE)

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 Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between age
group and customer satisfaction towards
online shopping customers

Income level Highly Dissatisfie Highly

Satisfied Neutral Total
Satisfied d Dissatisfied

Below 10,000 6 3 4 2
15
(6.45) (5.1) (2.55) (0.75) (0.15)

10,000 to `10 8 5 2 -
25
15,000 (11.25) (8.5) (4.25) (1.25) (0.25)

15,000 to 9 11 2 - -
22
20,000 (9.9) (7.48) (3.74)) (1.1) (0.38)

18 12 6 1 1
Above 20,000 38
(16.34) (12.92) (6.46) (1.96) (0.38)

Total 45 34 17 5 1 100

Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close significant relationship

between age group and customer satisfaction
towards online shopping customers

TABLE NO –30

INCOME LEVEL AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION OF THE

RESPONDENTS (CHI-SQUARE TEST)

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 Calculated χ 2

Variable Table Value D.F Remarks

Value

INCOME
12.555 21.026 12 Significant at 5% level
LEVEL

INFERENCE

It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value is less than the
table value at 5% degree of freedom and null hypothesis is accepted. So, we conclude that,
there is a close significant relationship between the age group and Customer satisfaction
towards online shopping customers

CHAPTER-V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

FINDINGS

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 It is identified from the analysis that most of the respondents (38%) belong
to the middle-aged group, i.e., 30 – 40 years.
 It is divulged from the analysis that more than half of the respondents
have post graduation
 Here most no. of the respondents (32%) are doing business
 It is learned from the analysis that most of the respondents (45%) have
high wealth of income 10,000 – 20,000
 Most of respondents (47%) prefer easy to buy in online shopping
 The study reveals that (34%) of the respondents are aware about the online shopping
through their friends
 It is learned from the analysis that most of the respondents (47%) are facing risk at the
time of payment
 It is pinpointed from the study that 39% of the respondents are frequently buying oil
products
 It is lime lighted from the empirical analysis that 40% of the respondents are knowing
about the product through advertisement
 It is learned from the analysis that 38% of the respondents prefer the mode of payment
through bankers cheque
 Most of the respondents (47%) are in comfortable with the door delivery in online
shopping
 It is identified from the analysis that 53% of the respondents are in favour of
having safety in dealing with online purchase
 It is observed from the empirical analysis that 31% of the respondents are finding
online hacking as major drawback in online purchasing
 This analysis point out 26% of the respondents are finding more attractive in
comparing the price range among various dealers
 It is observed from the empirical analysis that 30% of the respondents are neutrally
satisfied with the quality of the product of online shopping
 It is identified from the analysis that 28% of the respondents are neutral about the cost
of the product of online shopping

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 Most of the respondents (33%) are having neutral opinion about online shopping
procedure of online shopping
 It is pinpointed from the study that 36% of the respondents are finding neutral about
the kind of service provided in online shopping

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SUGGESTIONS

 The kind of services provided could be more better by the way of feedback, checking
of quality and quantity etc.,
 Online shopper should concentrate on safer mode of purchasing
 Online shopper has provide sample of the product, that will increase the customer
satisfaction level and create good image of the product
 In order to create permanent online account to prevented from online hacking .
 Online shopper should ensure that delivery of product and quality of product

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CONCLUSION

The study has aimed to analysis the various customers needs and wants regarding
online shopping. It has made all important contributions to our understanding of the dynamics
of the online shopping field. It has been concluded that customers who purchase from internet
stores are more convenient oriented and less experience oriented customers who use internet
for other purposes leads them to naturally use it as a shopping as well. So the online shopper
should provide sufficient information to think customers it will enhance quality and number of
users. This study attempts to provide a comprehensive picture of the status of online shopping
and point out the areas for future research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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  Bigne, Enrique.(2005) The Impact of Internet User Shopping Patterns and
Demographics on Consumer Buying Behaviour. Journal of Electronic Commerce
Research, VOL. 6.
 Jarvenpa and Todd [1997] Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the world
wide web. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 1, 59–88
 Peterson, R. A., Balasubramanian, S., & Bronnenberg, B. J. (1997). Exploring the
implications of the Internet for consumer marketing. Journal of the Academy of
Marketing Science, 25, 329–346.
 Stephen F. King en Juhn-Shiuan Liou, "A framework for internet channel evaluation",
International Journal of Information & Management 24 (2004), 473–488
 Falk, Louis K.; Sockel, Hy; Chen, Kuanchin. (2005) "E-Commerce and Consumer's
Expectations: What Makes a Website Work." Journal of Website Promotion, (65–75)

URL:

 www.google.com
 www.yahoo.com
 www.wikipedia.com

Questionnaire:

Name :

80
Gender : ( ) Male ( ) Female

Age : ( ) less than 20 ( ) 20 - 30 ( ) 30 - 40 ( ) 40 & above

Education : ( ) school level ( ) Graduation ( ) post graduation

occupation : ( ) employee ( ) business ( ) student ( ) professional ( )others

Income : ( ) 10000 – 20000 ( ) 20000 – 30000 ( ) 30000 – 40000

( ) 40000 – 50000

1. Why did you prefer online shopping?

a) Time saving b) Easy to buy c) Easy transaction

2. How did you get awareness of online shopping?

a) Friends b) Neighbors c) Relations d) others

3. Rank the factors influencing online shopping?

No. Factors Rank

1 Product price
2 Available variety of products
3 Easy operation
4 Time saving
5 24*7 service
6 Quality of the product

4. What types of risk are you facing online shopping?

a) Low quality b) Payment c) Easy to cheat

5. Which types of product you are buying usually?

a) Medicine b) Food product c) Luxury products d) Oil products

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6. How did you know the product quality through online?

a) Advertisement b) Know the product

c) Already using those product d) Friends

7. How do you pay money for online product?

a) Bankers cheque b) Demand draft c) Debit / Credit card

8. What are the advantages of online shopping?

a) Time saving b) Door delivery c) Easy transaction

9. State the level of satisfaction towards following factors?

Highly Highly dis-

No Factors Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied
satisfied satisfied
Quality of the
1
product
Cost of the
2
product
Online
3 shopping
procedure
Kind of service
4
provided

10. Do you think its safe in dealing in online purchasing?

a) Yes b) No

11. What is major drawback in online purchasing ?

a) False reality in good

b) Fake websites

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 c) Online hacking

d) Theft in password and bank account

e) No customer service

12. Which is most attractive in online purchasing ?

a) On door delivery

b) Variety of goods can be seen in online

c) Compare in price range in various dealer

d) Easy to buy

e) One click purchase

13. State your suggestion regarding online shopping.

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