CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION
In simple words, E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through internet,
especially the World Wide Web. The E-business and E-commerce are the two most significant
development of information technology. There has been a valuable increase in sales worldwide
connected via E-commerce. Innovations of information technology and E-commerce relationships
have resulted in tremendous changes in market competition among various industries. Benefits of
E-commerce have been grown very fast because of many advantages associated with buying on
internet as the lower transaction and cost of product as compared to other types of product.

Electronic commerce is more than just buying and selling online. It also includes the entire other
process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and
services. India has shown tremendous growth in the E-commerce segment. With an internet user
base of over 300 million, India has third largest population after US and China. India has witnessed
a major breakthrough E-commerce success stories particularly in e-retail in Consumer Electronics
& Fashion Apparel & Home Furnishing segments. E-commerce creates new opportunities for
entrepreneurial start-ups. Ease of internet access, safe and secure payment modes coupled with
aggressive marketing by E-commerce giants has revolutionized this segment. Rapid development
in mobile technology has given way for Mobile Commerce with many E-commerce companies
shifting to App only model.

In India, online shopping began in the first decade of 21st century. In last few years consumers are
very interested to do online shopping through various websites and mobile apps. They have mixed
reactions towards online shopping. Now in this era consumers prefer online shopping than offline
shopping. There are many corporations like Amazon, flipkart, which provide online shopping and
large variety of products. There are so many issues in online shopping pertaining to convenience,
privacy, security, satisfaction, quality etc. An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying
products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or shopping center; the process is called
business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. In the case where a business buys from another
business, the process is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. Online shopping is
beneficial because of convenience, more choices, quick, 24 hours availability etc. but there are
also limitations online shopping such as fake website, information leakage risk, risk of not getting
product, purchasing without physical examining of product etc. These affect the perception of
consumer towards online shopping.

Online shopping is a form of E-commerce whereby customers directly purchase goods or services
from a seller over the internet. Online shopping is no doubt the future trend. Online shopping is
still at the early stage of development in India. Online shopping has become popular and easy way
for customers to purchase products at lower costs. Online shopping is done through an online shop
or electronic-shop or electronic-store or internet-shop or internet-store etc. All the products in the
online stores are described through mail, text with photos and with multimedia file etc. Many
online shops will provide their links for extra information about the products and services. Online
shopping is the use of IT (information technology) ( i.e., computer, laptop, smart phone, with the
help of internet) for better marketing performance of the business organization. And retailers are
mixing their strategies to increase the demand of online consumers. The marketing manager of the
organization should understand the customer behavior in order to make decision to purchase the
online products or services. Online shopping allows customers to purchase faster than traditional
shopping; more alternatives of products are available and customers can order products and
services with comparative lower price of product. Consumer’s perception towards E-commerce
refers to consumers’ psychological state in terms of making purchase decisions through online.

Online shopping is no doubt the future trend. Online shopping is still at the stage of development
in India. No doubt that the internet has been influencing our lives deeply in which it plays an
important, indispensable, and irreplaceable role. On consumer’s perspective, online shopping
provides lowest and transparent prices of the products, comprehensive assortment of goods and
services and a much more convenient shopping alternative that has eliminated such traditional
shopping inconveniences of squeezing through crowds, stuck in long queue at cashier counter,
batting for parking spaces at a busy mall. On the other hand, retailers see it as a huge business
opportunity to grab.
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The e-commerce business in India has multiplied in the past few years and changed the way
consumers shop. People are relying more on the online discount sales and schemes, with major
companies launching their products exclusively on online shopping websites like Amazon,
Flipkart, Shopclues, etc. However, with increase in number of e-commerce websites and with
more consumers purchasing from these portals, the problems faced by consumers in e-commerce
in purchasing their favorite watch, or latest phone have also increased.

Here are 5 most common problems faced by consumers while

shopping online:
1. Issues relating to product quality:

The most common problem faced by customers in online shopping is that there is no guarantee
of a product’s quality. With most e-commerce websites acting as aggregators for sellers to sell
their products, more fraudulent sellers are registering on these websites and selling low-quality
or faux products in the name of original and branded products. Sub-par products are sold by
these sellers to fool customers and increase their sales thus increasing problems of online
shopping.

Quality-checks are seldom performed on these products as the magnitude of online sales has
increased, especially during online sale days. Sellers sometimes refuse to replace the faulty
product or refund the consumer’s money, leaving the latter with a low-quality product and
money down the drain. The best consumer court lawyers can help you in filing a complaint with
the appropriate consumer court at district, state or national level.

2. Logistics-related problems:

Another problem faced in online shopping is issues with delivery and logistics. Products are
often lost or damaged while in transit, and order tracking systems are unable to accurately locate
the product. People choose the same-day. One -day or two-day delivery, paying extra money to
get their product delivered.
However, these products often do not get delivered within the stipulated time and consumers
have to wait for days before they finally receive their product. Similar challenges are faced by
consumers when it comes to returning the product. In such cases, the top consumer court lawyers
can assist you in filing a complaint with the appropriate consumer court.

3. Payment issues:

There are lot of online shopping problems faced nowadays. Many consumers become victims to
online payment issues. Even though there are several payment methods like Net Banking, Credit
or Debit Card payments and even Cash-on-delivery, there are payment failures due to website’s
server error, payment gateway error or issues with One Time Password (OTP). Technical
glitches often deduct the payment from buyer’s account or card, but the website does not receive
the payment.

Consumers have to file a complaint with the website’s customer care to get a refund, but they
have to wait for 10-15 days for any action to be taken. Consumers can also contact famous
consumer court lawyers to take a legal action.

4. Hidden costs:
Issues with online shopping have been increasing at a rapid rate. E-commerce marketplaces often
charge hidden costs after the purchase is finalized by the consumer. Websites hide tax charges,
additional shipping and handling charges from consumers till purchases are finalized. Websites
also add an option for consumers to buy products of a particular amount to waive off the
shipping charges, however, sellers add additional charges even on purchases worth more than the
set amount. A consumer complaint can be filed in such case, with the help of a consumer
protection lawyer.

5. Ambiguous Website Policies:

Many shopping websites have no website policies at all or have unclear and confusing user,
return and refund policy. Vague stipulations leave consumers confused about refund and return
of products and product description problems in ecommerce. With no policies defined, sellers
often reject a consumer’s claim to return the product or refund the money. Some websites are
also unclear with regards to warranty and guarantee on products and buyers often end up
purchasing faulty products with no product warranty or replacement option. Good consumer
court lawyers can help you in filing a complaint with the appropriate consumer court at district,
state or national level.

Online shopping has become the most convenient method for consumers to purchase great
product deals at affordable prices, from the comfort of their home. However, a consumer may
face any of the above-mentioned problems while participating in sale festivals or online discount
days.

A consumer complaint can be filed by a consumer in India for any of these problems
encountered in online shopping, in the appropriate consumer forum in India.

The above listed problems faced by consumers in India show that the consumers need to be more
cautious while shopping online.
 SCOPE OF STUDY

The theoretical scope of study includes popularity of online shopping, the need for virtual markets,
their role in influencing the consumption pattern and habits, merits and demerits of e-markets,
major players in online retailing etc.

The research titled “A Study of Consumer’s Perception towards E-commerce With Reference to
Ernakulam District” has geographical and time limits. This study will cover the area of Ernakulam
district. It is undertaken with a broad view of making in-depth study of consumer’s study or
perception towards E-commerce of Ernakulam district.

OBJECTIVES
 To study the attitude of consumer’s towards E-commerce.
 To study the consumer’s awareness about E-commerce.
 To recommend suggestions, if any.
 METHODOLOGY

SOURCES OF DATA
 PRIMARY DATA:
The primary data is collected through structured questionnaire.
 SECONDARY DATA:
The secondary data is collected from books, journals, magazines online journals,
articles, web links etc.

METHODS OF COLLECTION OF DATA

 SAMPLE DESIGN:
Convenient sampling
 SAMPLE SIZE & POPULATION:
The data will be collected with the sample of 50 consumers and the sampling
method used is convenient sampling.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 One of the drawbacks of the study is time limit
 Sample size is relatively small, therefore accurate data not obtained
 Limitations to cover wide geographical area
CONSUMER’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS
E-COMMERCE

SUBMITTED BY : RAHEEMA GAFOOR

CLASS: 3rd B.com B
SUBMITTED TO : LALY PADMAVATI