A SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT

ON

IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE ON CONSUMERS

AT

FUTURENXT,

RANCHI

A Report Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor’s Degree in Business

Administration

(St. Xavier’s College Ranchi)

BY

KUMAR MAHEEP

Exam Roll No. 17PBBA036292 Session. 2017-2020

Department of BBA
St. Xavier’s College- 834001
Ranchi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from
many people and we are extremely fortunate to have got all along the completion of our project.

I respect and thank Mr.Ravi Kumar Sharma for giving me an opportunity to do the project work
in the FutureNxt and providing me with all support and guidance which made me to complete the
project on time. I am extremely grateful to him for providing such a nice support and guidance
through he had such a busy schedule.

I would not forget to remember Mr.Abhijit Dey H.O.D of B.B.A dpt, St.Xavier’s College Ranchi
for providing me with an opportunity to do my internship in The FutureNxt.

I am thankful to and fortunate enough to get constant encouragement, support and guidance from
all the employees of FutureNxt who helped in successfully completing the project work. Also ,I
would like to extend my sincere regard to all the sales boy and girls for their co-operation.

Al last not forgetting my family and friends, who where always beside me all along completion
of my projects.

KUMAR MAHEEP

B.B.A 3rd YR

Semester: V

Session: 2017-2020
 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

This is to certify that the undersigned have assessed and evaluated the project on “IMPACT OF
E-COMMERCE ON CONSUMERS OF FUTURENXT, RANCHI” submitted by KUMAR
MAHEEP of part - III (Semester –V) for the academic year 2017-2020. This project is original to
the best of our knowledge and has been accepted for Internal Assessment.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

 DECLARATION
I, KUMAR MAHEEP student of BBA (Part – III) Roll No.: 17PBBA036292 hereby declare
that the project titled “IMAPCT OF E-COMMERCE ON CONSUMERS OF FUTURENXT,
RANCHI’’ submitted by me for Semester – V of the academic year 2017-20, is based on actual
work carried out by me under the guidance and supervision of MR.RAVI KUMAR SHARMA of
FUTURENXT, Ranchi and PROF. ABHIJIT DEY . I further state that this work is original and
not submitted anywhere else for any examination.

(KUMAR MAHEEP)

Name & Signature of student

CONTENTS:
INDEX
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.CHAPTER 1
E-COMMERCE
E-COMMERCE IN INDIA
TRADITIONAL TO E-COMMERCE
2.CHAPTER 2
COMPANY PROFILE
3.CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
OBJECTIVES
INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
METHODS OF MEASURING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
E-COMMERCE AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
4.OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS
OBSERVATION
QUESTIONNAIRES
HYPOTHESIS
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 shoppers 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 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.
 TO WHOM SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Kumar Maheep student of BBA, Roll no. 17PBBA036292,
session 2017-2020 of St Xavier College,Ranchi, has successfully completed his
training under my supervision &I am satisfied with his internship during the period
25th May TO 10th July 2019 in our FutureNxt, Ranchi under the guidance of Mr
Ravi Kumar Sharma,(Chief Advisor)Project Titled “Impact of e-commerce on
consumers”

He has been inquisitive and hardworking throughout her internship

We wish her ALL THE BEST in all future endeavours.

RAVI KUMAR SHARMA

(CHIEF ADVISOR)
 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION
E-COMMERCE

Although the terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably,
there are differences. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services
on the Internet or other computer network. Any brick and mortar store can become
an e-commerce business by adding a virtual storefront with an online catalogue. In
most cases, e-business refers exclusively to Internet businesses, but it may also
refer to any business that uses Internet technology to improve productivity and
profitability.

E-BUSINESS

Business transactions that involve the exchange of money are covered by the term
e-commerce. E-business includes all aspects of running a business that sells goods
and services, including marketing, earning and retaining customers, procurement,
developing business partners and customer education. In order to be successful, e-
commerce and e-businesses must have quality storefronts that are simple to
navigate and peruse, with accurate and thorough catalogue information. E-business
became an extension of e-commerce to encompass all aspects of businesses that
function online. E-business involves e-commerce, but e-Commerce does not cover
all aspects of e-business.

BUSINESS MODELS E-Commerce or Electronics Commerce business models

can generally be categorized in the following categories:-

 Business - to - Business (B2B)

 Business - to - Consumer (B2C)
 Consumer - to - Consumer (C2C)
 Consumer - to - Business (C2B)
 Business - to - Government (B2G)
 Government - to - Business (G2B)
 Government - to - Citizen (G2C)

Business - to - Business (B2B)

Website following B2B business model sells its product to an intermediate buyer
who then sells the product to the final customer. As an example, a wholesaler
places an order from a company's website and after receiving the consignment,
sells the end product to final customer who comes to buy the product at
wholesaler's retail outlet.

Business - to - Consumer(B2C)

Website following B2C business model sells its product directly to a customer. A
customer can view products shown on the website of business organization. The
customer can choose a product and order the same. Website will send a notification
to the business organization via email and organization will dispatch the
product/goods to the customer.
Consumer - to - Consumer (C2C)

Website following C2C business model helps consumer to sell their assets like
residential property, cars, motorcycles etc. or rent a room by publishing their
information on the website. Website may or may not charge the consumer for its
services. Another consumer may opt to buy the product of the first customer by
viewing the post/advertisement on the website.
Consumer - to - Business (C2B)

In this model, a consumer approaches website showing multiple business

organizations for a particular service. Consumer places an estimate of amount
he/she wants to spend for a particular service. For example, comparison of interest
rates of personal loan/ car loan provided by various banks via website. Business
organization who fulfills the consumer's requirement within specified budget
approaches the customer and provides its services.

Business - to - Government (B2G)

B2G model is a variant of B2B model. Such websites are used by government to
trade and exchange information with various business organizations. Such websites
are accredited by the government and provide a medium to businesses to submit
application forms to the government.

Government - to - Business (G2B)

Government uses B2G model website to approach business organizations. Such
websites support auctions, tenders and application submission functionalities.

Government - to - Citizen (G2C)

Government uses G2C model website to approach citizen in general. Such

websites support auctions of vehicles, machinery or any other material. Such
website also provides services like registration for birth, marriage or death
certificates. Main objectives of G2C website are to reduce average time for
fulfilling people requests for various government services.

NEED OF THE STUDY (E-COMMERCE)

1.     Exploitation of New Business

Broadly speaking, electronic commerce emphasizes the generation and exploitation
of new .business opportunities and to use popular phrases: “generate business
value” or “do more with less”.

2.     Enabling the Customers

Electronic Commerce is enabling the customer to have an increasing say in what

products are made, how products are made and how services are delivered
(movement from a slow order fulfillment process with little understanding of what
is taking place inside the firm, to a faster and rt1ore open process with customers
having greater control.

3.     Improvement of Business Transaction

Electronic Commerce endeavors to improve the execution of business transaction

over various networks.

4.     Effective Performance

It leads to more effective performance i.e. better quality, greater customer

satisfaction and better corporate decision making.

5.     Greater Economic Efficiency

5.     Greater Economic Efficiency

We may achieve greater economic efficiency (lower cost) and more rapid
exchange (high speed, accelerated, or real-time interaction) with the help of
electronic commerce.

6.     Execution of Information

It enables the execution of information-laden transactions between two or more

parties using inter connected networks. These networks can be a combination of
‘plain old telephone system’ (POTS), Cable TV, leased lines and wireless.
Information based transactions are creating new ways of doing business and even
new types of business.

7.     Incorporating Transaction

Electronic Commerce also inco11'orates transaction management, which organizes,

routes, processes and tracks transactions. It also includes consumers making
electronic payments and funds transfers.

8.     Increasing of Revenue

Firm use technology to either lower operating costs or increase revenue. Electronic
Commerce has the Potential to increase revenue by creating new markets for old
products, creating new information-based products, and establishing new service
delivery channels to better serve and interact with customers. The transaction
management aspect of electronic commerce can also enable firms to reduce
operating costs by enabling better coordination in the sales, production and
distribution processes and to consolidate operations arid reduce overhead.
9.     Reduction of Friction

Electronic Commerce research and its associated implementations is to reduce the

“friction” in on line transactions frictions is often described in economics as
transaction cost. It can arise from inefficient market structures and inefficient
combinations of the technological activities required to make a transaction.
Ultimately, the reduction of friction in online commerce will enable smoother
transaction between buyers, intermediaries and sellers.

10.   Facilitating of Network Form

Electronic Commerce is also impacting business .to business interactions. It

facilitates the network form of organization where small flexible firms rely on
other partner, companies for component supplies and product distribution to meet
changing customer demand more effectively. Hence, an end to end relationship
management solution is a desirable goal that is needed to manage the chain of
networks linking customers, workers, suppliers, distributors and even competitors.
The management of "online transactions" in the supply chain assumes a central
roll.

11.   Facilitating for Organizational Model

It is facilitating an organizational model that is fundamentally different from the

past. It is a control organization to the information based organization. The
emerging forms of techno-organizational structure involve changes in managerial
responsibilities, communication and information flows and work group structures.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Several researchers have carried out studies in their effort to examine consumers
‘online buying behavior. For example, Bellman et al (1999) investigated various
predictors for whether an individual will purchase online. These authors concluded
that demographic variables, such as income, education and age, have a modest
impact on the decision of whether to buy online, whereas the most important
determinant of online shopping was previous behavior, such as earlier online
purchases. This is consistent with Forrester Research which proved that
demographic factors do not have such a high influence on technology as the
consumers ‘attitudes do (Modal, 2000). Stein field and Whitten (1999) suggested
that the combination of the Internet, plus physical presence, provides more
opportunities to capture business than the online-only presence, because they can
provide better pre-purchase and post-sales services to lower consumer transaction
cost and build trust in online stores. However, it is worth mentioning that beliefs
and attitudes that are found in the stage prior to the adoption of e-commerce are
different to those in the ―post-adoption‖ stage (Geffen et al, 2003; Venkatesh and
Brown, 2001; Yu et al, 2005.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

 To find the factors that leads a website user to return to or recommend the
website
 To discover the key factors that influence online buying behaviour of
consumers in India
 To identify who are the online shoppers in terms of demography
 To understand the customer awareness on website
 To determine the factors responsible for customer satisfaction
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

No research is complete without admitting the limitations that was faced while
conducting a study which will contribute to present learning. This study too like
the others have certain constrains which has been discussed below.

 The sample of the size will be limited to time and resources

 The information will be collected valid until there is no any technical change
or any innovation
 The result is assuming that respondents have given accurate information
E-COMMERCE IN INDIA

India has an internet users base of about 475 million as of July 2019, about 40% of
the population. This number is expected to be 627 million by the end of
2019. Despite being the second-largest userbase in world, only behind China (650
million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to
markets like the US (266 million, 84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing,
adding around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry consensus is that
growth is at an inflection point.

In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating

75% of the e-retail activities. Demand for international consumer products
(including long-tail items) is growing faster than in-country supply from authorised
distributors and e-commerce offerings.

In 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India

were Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Paytm, and Snapdeal. In 2018, Amazon beat
Flipkart and was recorded the biggest ecommerce in india in terms of revenue.
Market size and growth

2009

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in 2009.

2011

As per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus Capital, the Indian e-commerce
market is estimated at Rs 28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year 2011. Online
travel constitutes a sizable portion (87%) of this market today. Online travel
market in India had a growth rate of 22% over the next 4 years and reach Rs
54,800 crore ($12.2 billion) in size by 2015. Indian e-tailing industry is estimated
at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and estimated to grow to Rs 53,000
crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015.

2013

The market went up to $12.6 billion in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was
worth US$2.3 billion. About 79% of India's e-commerce market was travel related
in 2013.

2014

According to Google India, there were 35 million online shoppers in India in 2014
Q1 and was expected to cross 100 million mark by end of year 2016. [11] CAGR vis-
à-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest
categories in terms of sales.

2015
Overall e-commerce market had reached Rs 1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the
year 2015 with both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big
segment in e-commerce is mobile/DTH recharge with nearly 1 million transactions
daily by operator websites.[12]

2016

2016 also saw online sales of luxury products like jewellery also increased. Most
of the retail brands have also started entering into the market and they expect at
least 20% sales through online in next 2–3 years. According to Google India
Research in 2016, by 2021 India is expected to generate $100 billion online retail
revenue out of which $35 billion will be through fashion e-commerce.

2017

The ecommerce industry was reported at USD 24 billion in 2017 and was
recognised as the fastest growing industry in India.

2018

The ecommerce market grew to USD 38.5 billion in 2018.

The Change from traditional commerce to E-Commerce

For nearly 25 years, Dinesh Chopra lived with a locational handicap. Chopra sells
computer parts, electronic gadgets and accessories from his outlet in Nehru Place
— an assembly of several four-storey buildings. Although Asia's largest computer
market registers thousands of footfalls every day, only a fraction brave the filth and
dilapidation to climb up. "I'm on the first floor and that's my weakness," says
Chopra, director, Softek Surya. "I don't get regular walking customers."

But Chopra does not mind anymore. "Now, they land on my shop via online
marketplaces," he smiles. Softek is a registered seller on five online marketplaces,
including eBay and Flipkart. "About 35 per cent of my marketplace buyers are
from South India, who have never seen my shop," he says. His annual sales have
rocketed from Rs 14 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 60 crore now; and 70 per cent of it is
from online marketplaces, which are adding "muscle to business".
Chopra is a prime example of online marketplaces — branded e-tailers who host
sellers, and connect them to buyers for a commission — empowering a small
business to scale up.

An example of another kind of empowerment they are enabling is India Trend,

which is in business only because of online marketplaces. Seven years ago, Parul
Arora Mittal and her mother "tried their luck" by putting 20 pieces of jewellery on
eBay. All were sold in a week. Today, Mittal's small operation exports handmade,
alloy-metal jewellery, via eBay. "We never had the resources to set up a physical
store," says the 30-year-old. Now, she has no reason to. "Since then, I have never
even thought of a physical store. The online marketplace is my business place."
And their numbers are increasing.

Amazon is the latest, launching its online marketplace in India in June. Globally,
the world's largest retailer earns 40 per cent of its 2012 revenues of $61 billion (Rs
3,66,000 crore) by selling other people's goods.
Sensing the groundswell and business logic even Flipkart, India's largest online
retailer, started selling goods of other sellers — the online marketplace model
— along with its own goods. "It's the right time as we have now built the Flipkart
brand," says its co-founder & CEO Sachin Bansal, adding the online marketplace
is the "right model for India". Such moves by e-commerce players is opening up a
world of possibilities for small entrepreneurs like Chopra and Mittal.

The figure above clearly shows the meteoric rise of E-Commerce in Market
Capitalisation by Retail stores in the new Millenium.
It is all because of online shopping sites such as e-bay, FLIPKART, Amazon, etc.
This is a survey conducted to find out how E-Commerce has impacted businesses
in India. It clearly shows increase of an average of 70% in all the categories of
change, thus, emphasising on the fact of the Rise and Rise of E-Commerce, and its
Main Player, FLIPKART, in India.
 CH-2
COMPANY’S PROFILE
 FUTURE NEXT GROUP

Future Next is the group of people who came together for a marketing purpose. A
smart and convenient way for the people to refer and earn money just by becoming
the advisors for the

application produced by the group. It helps people to build leadership qualities in

them and help them the importance of team work. Fturenext Group help every
individual grow and become more Skilful.

It connects people form different part of the country

and help them to earn money without investing much of their time. Helps to earn
money by even working form the home itself.
 WORK OF FUTURE NEXT GROUP

“A goal is created twice. First mentally and then put into action”
Setting goals with the finest team of achievers and start winning in life

Future Next Group helps individual to grow by Guiding and counselling that aims
to help them to develop both personally and professionally.
 CH-3
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of consumer behaviour analysis are mostly consumer researches are
undertaken to find out the attitudes of the consumer about a product. Their
preferences, likes and dislikes which lead to the further modernization of the sales
strategies by the marketer
Researches can be conducted to find out the percentage of people using a certain
product or facility (a pager or mobile phone).
Researchers may also like to know the types of consumers and their demographic
characteristics for a particular product.
They may also like to experiment with new promotional campaigns, and since
these campaigns require a lot of expenditure, they may do researches to be sure of
the campaign’s success, before the final launch of the campaign.
The decline in sales may require the marketer to conduct researches which can give
a clue of the changing consumer behaviour.
The objective therefore, must be clearly set and followed strictly. Then only can
we decide what type of Research Design should be used. The researches can be
quantitative or qualitative in nature.
Qualitative research design is undertaken to come up with new ideas, and in this
design ,brain storming tools and other face to face techniques with experts are
used. This is confined indoors, and is less expensive than the quantitative research.
Quantitative research design is used in the market place where we have to
interview people, to find out the number of persons using the product, or how
frequently they use the product etc.
 INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

MEANING:

As a consumer we are all unique and this uniqueness is reflected in the

consumption pattern and the process of purchase. The study of consumer
behaviour provides us with reasonswhy consumers differ from one another in
buying using products and services.We receive stimuli from the environment and
the specifies of the marketing strategies of different products and services, and
responds to the stimuli in terms of either buying or not buying product.In between
the stage of receiving the stimuli and responding to it, the consumer goes through
the process of making his decision.

Introduction to Consumer Behaviour in Marketing

The study of consumer behaviour (CB) is very important to the marketers because
it enables them to understand and predict buying behaviour of consumers in the
marketplace; it is concerned not only with what consumers buy, but also with why
they buy it, when and where and how they buy it, and how often they buy it, and
also how they consume it & dispose it.According to Professor Theodore Levitt of
the Harvard Business School, the study of Consumer Behaviour is one of the most
important in business education, because the purpose of a business is to create and
keep customers.

Customers are created and maintained through marketing strategies. And the
quality of marketing strategies depends on knowing, serving, and influencing
consumers. In other words, the success of a business is to achieve organisational
objectives, which can be done by the above two methods. This suggests that the
knowledge & information about consumers is critical for developing successful
marketing strategies because it challenges the marketers to think about and analyse
the relationship between the consumers & marketers, and the consumer
behaviour& the marketing strategy.

Consumer Behaviour Meaning and Definition

The term consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumer display in
searching for purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of product and services
that they expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer behavior focuses on how
individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort)
on consumption related items. This includes what they buy, why they buy it, when
they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how
they evaluate it after the purchase and the impact of such evaluation on future, and
how they dispose of it.
In another words, consumer behavior can be define as the behaviour of individuals
in regards to acquiring, using, and disposing of products,services, ideas or
experiences. Consumer behavior also includes the acquisition and use of
information. Thus, communication with consumers and receiving feedback for
them is a crucial part of consumer behavior which is of great interest to marketer.

METHODS OF MEASURING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR:

Companies study consumer behavior to learn how consumers respond to or use

products. Whether testing new products or services, refining existing products or
designing new marketing campaigns, collecting data about consumer behavior
helps companies better target their efforts. The data gathered may be objective,
such as statistics about purchasing habits, or subjective, such as consumer opinions
about products or issues. Research firms may use a variety of methods to gather
information and construct a complete profile of consumer behavior.
Surveys and Questionairres
Surveys and questionnaires differ in the amount of information they can solicit. A
survey is usually fairly short and general. Questionnaires tend to be longer and ask
for more detailed information. A survey may consist of a brief telephone call or a
few questions in an online poll. Surveys and questionnaires may collect objective
data, such as asking how many times a consumer purchased or used an item, but
more often they solicit opinions about issues, products or services. Researchers
usually have no way to verify if those being surveyed or questioned are answering
honestly.
Focus Groups and Interviews
Focus groups collect information from a group of people. Focus group participants
meet in small groups with a facilitator who is trained to solicit opinions and
reactions. Focus group participants might watch a commercial and give their
opinions about its effectiveness, or they might share opinions about several similar
products. Interviews are similar to focus groups, but the facilitator works with
consumers one on one to gauge their response to a product or idea. While focus
groups and interviews allow researchers to gather a lot of data, participants may be
influenced by dominant personalities in the group or swayed by facilitator bias.

Ethnographics
Ethnographic is a more in-depth look at consumer behavior. Ethnography looks at
a consumer's lifestyle and daily activities. A product or service may be only one
small part of a person's life. An ethnographer spends extended time with study
subjects and assesses their habits and attitudes. This kind of consumer behavior
research is expensive and time-consuming and may be intrusive. It requires the
researcher to interpret non-verbal and well as verbal communication.
Panels
Panels also operate long term, even for years. Researchers survey panel members
regularly, and the resulting data provides a picture of consumer habits over time.
Examples of panels include Neilsen ratings and Arbitron. With panels, companies
can assess the effect of different advertising campaigns, packaging or other
changes.

IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Importance of Consumer Behaviour to business managers

The main purpose behind marketing a product is to satisfy demands and wants of
the Consumers. Study of consumer behaviour helps to achieve this purpose. As
consumers are the most important person for marketer or sales person, therefore it
is important for them to consider the likes and dislikes the consumers so that they
can provide them with the goods and services accordingly (Solomon, 2009). The
more careful analysis helps in more exact prediction about the behaviour of
consumers of any product or services. The study of consumer behaviours helps
business manager, sales person and marketers in the following way.

 To design the best possible product or service that fully satisfies consumer’s
needs and demands.
 To decide where the service or product would be made available for easy
access of consumers.
 To decide the price at which the consumers would be ready to buy that
product or service.
 To find out the best method of promotion that will prove to be effective to
attract customers to buy a product.
 To understand why, when, how, what and other factors that influence buying
decision of the consumers.

Importance of Consumer Behaviour to Marketers

It is important for marketers to study consumer behaviour. It is important for them

to know consumers as individual or groups opt for, purchase, consumer or dispose
products and services and how they share their experience to satisfy their wants or
needs (Solomon, 2009). This helps marketers to investigate and understand the
way in which consumers behave so that they can position their products to specific
group of people or targeted individuals.
In regard to the marketer’s view point, they assume that the basic purpose of
marketing is to sell goods and services to more people so that more profit could be
made. This principle of making profits is heavily applied by almost all marketers.
Earlier, the marketers were successful in accomplishing their purpose. However,
today, as the consumers are more aware about the use of product and other
information of the product, it is not easy to sell or attract customer to buy the
product (Kumar, 2004). Thus, in order to sell a product or service or to convince
consumers to buy product, the marketers have to undergo through proper research
to win them over.

The following are some of the points discussed that explains the value to marketers
of understanding and applying consumer behaviour concepts and theories.

1. To understand buying behaviour of consumers

2. To create and retain customers through online stores
3. To understand the factors influencing customers buying behaviour
4. To understand the consumers decisions to dispose a product or service
5. To increase the knowledge of salesperson to influence customer to buy
product
6. To help marketers to optimize sale of products and create focused market
stratergies

1. To understand Buying Behaviour of consumers

The study of consumer behaviour helps marketers to recognize and forecast the
purchase behaviour of the consumers while they are purchasing a product. The
study of consumer behaviour helps the marketers not only to understand what
consumer’s purchase, but helps to understand why they purchase it (Kumar, 2004).
Moreover, other questions like how, where and when they purchase it are also
answered. The consumption and the reasons behind disposition of that particular
product or services help marketers to be fully aware of the product that is
marketed. The consumer behaviour studies also help marketers to understand the
post purchase behaviour of the consumers. Thus, the marketers become fully aware
about every phase of consumption process i.e., pre-purchase behaviour, behaviour
during purchase and post purchase behaviour. Many studies in the past shows that
each consumer behaves differently for a product i.e., they buy the product for
different reasons, pays different prices, used the product differently and have
different emotional attachments with the product (Solomon, 2009).

2. To create and retain customers though online stores

Professor Theodore Levitt says that consumer behaviour is of most importance to

marketers in business studies as the main aim is to create and retain customers
(Kumar, 2004). If the consumers are satisfied with the product, he or she will buy
the same product again. Therefore, the product should be marketed by markers in
such a way that convince customer to buy the product. Thus, creating customer and
the retaining those customers are important. These can be done through
understanding and paying close attention towards the consumer’s behaviour while
making purchase decision or buying a product in market place. Moreover, the
information published on the websites largely influence the customer’s buying
behaviour. Such information on published sources arouse consumer to buy a
product or service. Moreover, updating such information will help the consumer to
retain to a product or re try the product if the product has dissatisfied them
(Solomon, 2009).
3. To understand the factors influencing Consumer’s buying
Behaviour

It is important for marketers to consider the factors that affect the buying behaviour
of consumer before entering the market. There are many factors that can influence
the purchase decision of consumers such as social influence, cultural influences,
psychological factors and personal factors (Super Professeur, 2011).
Understanding these factors helps marketers to market the product on right time to
the right consumers. For example, if marketer is marketing a product which is
Halal. The marketers first consider all the factors that can influence consumers to
buy Halal products, where they can target specific areas where Halal food is more
sold.

The marketers need to pay attention to cultural influences such as religion, values
and norms of the people or societies targeted and lifestyle of the targeted
consumers. The marketers can propose different strategies that convince the
targeted consumers to buy marketed products or services.

Moreover, the marketers should be ascertain the factors that influence and affects
purchase decision of consumers (Solomon, 2009). If the marketers failed to
understand the factors that might influence consumers, they will fail to convince
the consumer to purchase that product or will fail to meet the demands of
consumers. Some variables cannot be directly observed (Super Professeur, 2011).
In such case, thorough understanding of concepts and theories of consumer
behaviour helps marketers to predict the consumer’s buying behaviour to a
reasonable extent. Thus, understanding consumer’s behaviour to buy a product is
complex and requires marketers to continuously understand and apply various
concepts and theories for successful marketing.
4. To increase the knowledge of sales person influence consumer to
buy product

All the products and services marketed revolve around the behaviour of consumers
that how they will respond to them. Effective marketing of a product by sales
people may help to deliver right product to right people. Consumer behaviour deals
with the knowledge of what the consumers need and want to buy and what goods
and services are available to satisfy their needs. Thus, consumer behaviour deals
with particularly with the behaviour of people i.e., consumers.  It is important for
sales person to be fully aware of the customer’s requirement so that he or she could
clearly communicate the benefits of the product to the customers. Moreover, the
sales person by understanding consumer’s demand and need for a product can sell
goods that are most closely related to their requirement. Besides understanding
consumer behaviour, the sales person should also have command over their spoken
language. This is because any miscommunication could harm brand reputation.
Moreover, if the consumers have more knowledge about the product than the sales
person, the sales might fail to meet their targets. Thus, analysing consumer’s
behaviour and knowledge for effective marketing of products by sales people are
important. The sales people must be fully aware of the consumer’s behaviour in
different situations so that they could help them in meeting their demands and
satisfaction (Solomon, 2009).

5. To understand the consumer’s decision to dispose a product or

services

Disposal of product involves throwing away of products by the consumers

(Solomon, 2009). This behaviour of consumer is very complex and requires more
importance by the marketers. Understanding the consumer’s behaviour about how
and when consumers dispose a product, the marketers or the companies can
position themselves so that this behaviour could be limited (Raghavan, 2010).

If the product or services that have failed to deliver required or expected

satisfaction by the consumers, the product is disposed by the customers. For this,
some marketers track the follow up from the consumers so that they can gauge the
reason behind failure of the product. Moreover, in order to retain customers, some
marketers or organizations offer customers with services like exchange of product,
money back guarantee etc. Although, these tools are helpful to influence post
purchase behaviour of consumers to some extent.

The method of disposition varies transversely from product to product. Some of the
factors that lead to consumer’s behaviour to dispose a product include
psychological characteristics, situational factors or the intrinsic factors of product.
The psychological characteristics include attitude, mood, emotion, social class,
social conscience, perception etc. The situational factors such as urgency,
functional use, fashion change etc. and intrinsic factors such as product style,
durability, reliability, adaptability, replacement cost, colour, size etc. can lead to
consumer’s decision to dispose a product (Rao, 2011).

For example, the personal computers sold previously were largely demanded by
consumers. However, due to change in size, advancing technology, affordability,
convenience; most people have switched to laptops and mobiles with operating
systems have disposed personal computers to a greater extent.

6. To help marketers to optimize sale of product and create focused

marketing strategies
The theories and concepts of Consumer behaviour help marketers to optimize their
sales and to create efficient marketing strategies. Moreover, these theories provides
marketers with information on the consumer’s behaviour to spend money, likely
causes that incline them to spend more money on a product, and these two
information help to plan strategies that should be practiced by the marketers for
successful marketing of a product (Goessl, 2011). Studying different consumer
behaviour theories helps to understand the different choices that consumers make
to buy a product. There are some factors that need to be carefully analysed by the
marketers which help them to increase their sales and develop effective marketing
strategies. These factors are discussed as follows:

Consumer’s rational behaviour: It is foremost important for a marketer to

understand the situations where consumers behave rationally. Many consumer
behaviour theories suggest that the consumers want to get maximum benefit and
satisfaction from the product by spending minimum amount of money. This shows
that consumers do not spend all their money to buy a product and keeps a certain
amount of money as their savings. However, on the other hand, the consumers
having limited money spend all their money on purchase of their basic needs such
as shelter, food and clothing. Thus, the marketer must carefully analyse these two
situations of consumers before marketing a product or services (WiseGEEK, n.d.).

Consumer’s taste and preferences: Understanding consumer taste and preferences

helps marketers to revamp their product so that they could meet customer
satisfaction. These factors may change from time to time. The change in
consumer’s behaviour affecting by these factors should be carefully monitored.
The marketers need carefully understand the consumer’s interest in the products by
breaking down the targeted consumers into demographics, like age, occupation and
location as they contribute investigating information about consumer preferences.
Price of Products: Prices of products are a widely discussed factor in consumer
behavior theories. The theories suggest that marketers should keep their prices low
without affecting the quality to attract consumers. This is because consumers go
mostly for products that are of low price but satisfies their demand (Open Learning
World, 2011).

Features of Product: Increased number of features offered by the product tends to

increase the price of products. In such case, consumers go for added features in a
product at affordable price. Therefore, the markers design their products in such a
way that the product gives maximum value or features to consumers at affordable
price (Goessl, 2011)

Consumer’s knowledge about a product: The marketer must know to what extent
the consumers have knowledge about a product. Mostly, consumers select products
with which they are familiar with. For example, if the consumers are aware of the
health effects of eating high fat food or fast food, marketing of such a product to
health conscious consumer will end up in failure.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, consumer behaviour theories and concepts are of most importance to

the sales people or the marketers. As products are made to cater consumer’s needs
and demands, therefore, the products should be carefully marketed for the
successful achievements of organizational goals. The study of consumer behaviour
helps them in analysing different factors that has influence on the buying decision
of the consumers. If the marketers failed to understand these factors, they would
not meet their targets.

ECOMMERCE AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The concept of e-commerce relates to the practice of buying and selling products
over the internet (Lee, 2008) and it has a significant impact on consumer consumer
behaviour. Pozzi (2009) divides online retailers in two following categories:

 First, retailers that sell online, as well as, maintaining traditional physical offline
stores. Retailers belonging to this category have commenced their businesses in
traditional offline stores and they adopted online sales channel as well during the
last decade in order not to miss convenient opportunity of increasing their
revenues. Major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Next, Debenhams and many
others belong to this category.

Retailers employing both, online and offline sales channels have wide range of
marketing tools available for them to be used in affecting consumer behaviour
(Callen, 2009). Online customers of these businesses usually represent individuals
and organisations that have formed their brand loyalty prior to the adoption of
online sales channel by the retailer.

Second, retailers that rely only on online sales channel and do not have any offline
stores. Global retailers such as Amazon, EBuyer, very.co.uk do not trade through
offline physical stores and they rely only on online sales channel in order to
conduct their business operations.
While adopting such a strategy may offer substantial benefits in terms of cost
savings, because no stores need to be maintained and accordingly, fewer numbers
of employees are sufficient to be employed, nevertheless this strategy limits the
opportunities for retailers in terms of impacting consumer behaviour.

Specifically, online-only retailers are in a disadvantaged position compared to their

offline competitors in terms of affecting consumer behaviour through enhancing
the quality of store atmosphere and effective positioning of products within the
stores.

Moreover, unlike offline retailers, online-only retailers lack the opportunities of

impacting consumer behaviour through providing ‘warm’ customer service
experiences offered by a human. Besides, a certain level of security concerns
associated with online shopping compromise the effectiveness of customer
attraction and retention strategies initiated by online-only retailers.

Nevertheless, online-only retailers can have a positive impact on the level of

consumer behaviour through enhancing technical capabilities of the website,
providing comprehensive information about the products, increasing delivery time
of product and in a range of other ways.

Furthermore, e-commerce has impacted consumer behaviour through widening

choices for consumers in several levels. Specifically, nowadays consumers have an
opportunity of comparing various aspects of products online prior to making a
commitment of purchasing from a specific brand.

 
 CH-4
OBSERVATION AND
ANALYSIS
This chapter aims obtain the objective of the study by critically
analyzing the qualitative data through thoroughly examining the
interviewee‘s responses and beliefs. This has been achieved through
evaluating the most relevant responses by the participants. The data
has been analysed and discussed by comparing the comments made by
the respondents with the literature review keeping in mind the research
objective of the study. Thus, the rationale of this analysis is based on the
personal answers provided by the respondents. An appropriately
designed questionnaire was used to collect the primary data for the
study. The data for 50 respondents was organized systematically in
tables and graphs and then was subjected to analysis using appropriate
statistical tools. The results of the analysis are presented in the following
section in order to assess the customer perception towards online
shopping on Flipkart.com in India. Here for analyzing, we are
considering two factors. That is:

 Demographical factors
 Behavioural factors
DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

1. Age Group:

Table: Age wise respondents

45&
  15-25 25-35 35-45 above Total

No. of Respondents 30 12 12 1 50

Percentage 60 24 24 2 100

Graph: Age wise respondents

12 1

15-25
24 25-35
35-45
45& above

63
Analysis and Interpretation:
Below figure shows that 63% respondents are between 15-25 years old, 24%
respondents are between 25-35 years old, 12%respondents between 35-45
years old, and 1% respondents are between 45& above. Overall result shows that
between all of the respondents who has age between 15 to 35 years (63%
+24%=87%) people are more familiar to shop online on my target population.

2. Gender of Respondents

Table: Gender wise respondents

  Male Female Total

Responses 58 42 100
Percentage 58 42 100
 Graph: Gender wise respondents

42
Male
Female

58

Analysis and Interpretation:

According to demography profile, in this study 58% male and 42% female
respondents are part of my target population and they help me to fulfil my
questionnaire from different area of Bangalore city. From these groups total
respondents are 100. So, according to the survey result, the male respondents are
more and can be told that they interested to shop online than female, even though
both of them shop online.

3.Occupation
Table: Occupation wise respondents
Business Housewif
  person e Salaried Student Total
 No. of Respondents 8 7 46 39 100
Percentage 8 7 46 39 100

Graph: Occupation wise respondents

7
8
39

Business person
Housewife
Salaried
Student

46

Analysis and Interpretation:

In this survey, 46% of the respondents are salaried and 39% are students. So they
both together made majority of respondent‘s percentage (85%). 8% are business
persons and 7% are House wife. Salaried persons and students will always look for
new technologies and new services which make them more comfort.

4. Annual Income:
Table: Income wise respondent
9&
  0-3L 3-6L 6-9L above
No. of Respondents 60 23 13 4
Percentage 60 23 13 4
Graph: Income wise respondents

13
4
0-3L
3-6L
6-9L
9& above
23
60

Analysis and Interpretation:

Since 39% of this survey is students most of them are of 0-3L

income range, ie 60%. 23% of them are in 3-6L income range, 13% in 6-
9L and 4% is 9 & above.

5. Educational Qualification

Table: Educational wise respondent

Graduat Post SSC or Others
   e Graduate Equivalent (Phd)
No. of Respondents 63 36 0 1
Percentage 63 36 0 1

Graph: Educational wise respondent

1
36
Graduate
Post Graduate
SSC or Equivalent

Others (Phd)
63

Analysis and Interpretation:

All of them in this survey are graduate and above qualified peoples only. Among
these 63%are graduates, 36% are post graduates and one person is PhD.
BEHAVIOURAL FACTORS:
Charts of Satisfaction with Schemes, Satisfaction with Discount and Barrier in
Online Shopping. From the survey it was found that 82% respondents purchase
new products. And don’t purchase the old products. It was found that 44 %
respondents have faith with online in shopping. From the survey it was found that
Online Shopping is beneficial that amongst respondents 82 % respondents believe
for them. Also 74 % respondents believe that Online Shopping save time and
money. 77% respondents are satisfied with quality and price of online selling
products.
Hypothesis:-
1. Internet shopping adoption rates are higher for countries with relatively
lower uncertainty avoidance levels.
2. Internet shopping adoption rates are higher for individualists than for
collectivist countries.
3. For countries with relatively high uncertainty avoidance levels,
individualism-collectivism shows little impact on internet shopping rates.
4. For countries with relatively low uncertainty avoidance level s, the
individualist’s countries shows higher internet shopping adoption rates than
the collectivist countries.
5. Internet shopping may be more prevalent in the category of goods with low
risk rates with respect to quality. People who are willing to experiment may
be frequent users of the service.
6. Their likings and disliking about traditional shopping methods may define
their preferences. Their individual needs define their preference.
7. Satisfaction levels can be affected by various things like security systems
offered, requirements of the consumers, variety of goods etc…
Research Methodology:-

Data for this study was collected by means of a Survey conducted in Pune. The
sample size was 500.The Questionnaire was used mainly to test the model
proposed for Attitude towards online shopping. The type of research was both
exploratory as well as Descriptive. We took around fourteen different factors by
studying the existing models of consumer attitudes that play an important role in
online purchase, and then proposed a model leading to online shopping. This
model was then tested in our research by the mode of factor analysis in SPSS.

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.

Descriptive Research Method:-

We will conduct our research in order to collect primary data and reach
the objective of the Dissertation. We will also be discussing which
different types of Methodologies that were used. Since our research is of
descriptive character our primary intention was to collect secondary
data and analyze it. By doing so we found the factors Price, Trust and
Convenience. We then collected primary data through a survey. The
main purpose of the survey was to collect data about Online Consumer
Behavior and the significance of the established factors, Price, Trust,
and Convenience In order to be able to find and establish Online
Consumer Segments, Consumer Traits and Online Behavior had to be
identified. The segments were used in order to further identify what
impact the factors Price, Trust, and Convenience have on Online
Consumer Segments.

Sample Design:-

The factors that we intended to examine can be applied to and

investigated at any population that uses the Internet and buys online
products Online. Since there are time and resource restraints, a specific
Population had to be identified in order to generalize and create relevant
segments. We decided that the sample size should contain over 100
respondents and we collected answers from 100 respondents. The
populations for this research were at Pune, chosen on a convenience
basis. Convenience sampling involves using samples that are the easiest
to Obtain and is continued until the sampling size that is need is
reached. We will attempt to collect as many respondents as possible but since
we will be studying students we assume that there will be little variation in the
population making it more approved to generalize the response rates. The sampling
method for students took also place on a Convenience basis since the students that
agree to answer the questionnaire are those that were chosen.

Type of Research: -
 Descriptive
 Sample Size -100

Secondary Research:-

Our secondary research includes:

Secondary Data:-

Secondary research was undertaken for the project as a summary or collection of

existing data. As the problem was somewhat defined but to reach specific
hypothesis secondary data analysis was also undertaken.

The secondary sources include previous research reports, newspaper, magazine and
journal content, and government and NGO statistics. The secondary information
and data was required in the preliminary stages of research to determine what is
known already and what new data are required, or to inform research design.

Information Research:-

For the research problem at hand we had studied various secondary sources so as
to define the problem more precisely. There were number of blogging sites viewed
which conveyed that there is still little uncertainty among the users regarding
internet shopping so we decided to test how uncertain the consumer are towards
online shopping through are primary research. News, articles from variety of
sources provided statistical information regarding the growth of “citizens” in India.
Indians have been now logging in to the internet for several purposes; internet
shopping is surely one of them. Moreover several reports conducted internationally
such as Nielsen, India has emerged as the 3 rd biggest nation when it com to online
shopping and using a credit card online. Drawn by the facilities offered by the web
and the diversity of products available on it, Indian citizens have emerged as the
third biggest credit card users globally for online purchasing, next only to the
turkey and Ireland. But there is also a lot of research released that suggests
websites are failing to persuade people to buy, and to convert them into customers,
due to the lack of information available. Persuading people to buy online is about
being able to answer their questions and to remove the hurdles blocking the sale.

The statistics and research project had generated our interest to further see the
scope of internet shopping in India through primary research.

Primary research:-

Focus groups:-

Design to focus group interviews were conducted among consumers with different
degrees of experience with internet shopping. This diversification of respondents
was chosen to capture a broad range of the consumer believes that predict
intentions to buy goods online or not. One group was conducted as a respondent
moderator group and second as a telesession group.

Research limitations/amplifications:-

An important potential limitation of theses research is the choice of focus groups as

research methodology, which can prevent the elicitation of certain types of beliefs.
If important beliefs concern issues of a more sensitive, personal character they are
not likely to be maintain in a focus group. Another limitation is the explorative
nature of the research, which makes it impossible to attach weights to the
importance of the elicited beliefs in predicting internet shopping behavior.

Practical implications:-

The findings could be used to direct attention to consumer beliefs about internet
shopping which have the potential of acting as barriers to this line of e-commerce.

Experience surveys (through questionnaires)

We designed a questionnaire to know about the experiences of the consumers to

get a better insight into their mindset about internet shopping. It covered some of
the basic points which come across hour mind when we think of internet shopping.
We had a sample size of 100 and we got them administered into waved:-

 Personal Contact:-
We personally contacted individuals and got the questionnaires filled up.
 Through mail:-
We mailed it to our know contacts and got their replies through mail itself.
The questionnaires which were incomplete where ignored. We got around
120 replies in all which were cut down to 100 on basic on completeness.
CONCLUSION

It is found that since online marketing is a new concept it will take time for people
to trust these sorts of shopping activities. At present people feel that there are
major security concerns in online transactions and do not feel comfortable doing
the shopping online. They feel that there are high risks of fraud and hoax in online
business. Online advertising is just beginning to root itself in the business world of
INDIA because of which not all the products are available. Even famous brands
place only selective items online and hence there are fewer choices available on the
internet. Since it’s a new concept people are still not totally used to it because of
which they feel uncomfortable shopping online. They feel that the product would
be tampered with and the quality wouldn’t be the same. India is a developing
country where major chunk of its population live in rural areas and hence do not
have access to the internet. By this a major portion of the target market is lost.
People in India prefer going to the malls and looking, touching various items
before purchasing them. They are not quite willing to give up on shopping
physically so even if they have access to the internet.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.commodityindia.com
 www.marketoperation.com
 www.nextbigwhat.com
 www.britannica.com
 www.ecommerce-land.com
 www.commodityindia.com
 www.marketoperation.com
 WIKIPEDIA
 https://eprawisdom.com/jpanel/upload/articles/823am1.Dr.%20Hemanth
%20Kumar.%20S.%20&%20Dr.%20Umakanth.S.pdf
 https://research-methodology.net/the-impact-of-e-commerce-on-consumer-
behaviour/