BBA III (SEM VI) PUNYASHLOK AHILYADEVI HOLKAR UNIVERSITY, SOLAPUR

A STUDY REPORT
ON

A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE TOWARDS

FLIPKART

SUBMITTED TO

THE SOLAPUR UNIVERSITY, SOLAPUR

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE COURSE OF

“BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”

BBA-III

SUBMITTED BY

ANIKET NITIN BHAMBURE

S.P. MANDALI, PUNE

PRIN. K.P. MANGALVEDHEKAR INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT, CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH

SOLAPUR
2020-21

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CERTIFICATE OF DIRECTOR

This to certify that MR. ANIKET NITIN BHAMBURE has

satisfactorily completed

The project work entitled

A STUDY ON

“A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE TOWARDS FLIPKART”

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

BBA-III

Affiliated to Solapur University, Solapur under the guidance of

MRS. SAVITA VAIDYA and the same hereby approved for the year
2020-2021 hereby

PLACE: SOLAPUR

DATE:

DIRECTOR

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CERTIFICATE OF GUIDE

This to certify that MR. ANIKET NITIN BHAMBURE has

satisfactorily completed

THE PROJECT WORK ENTITLED

A STUDY

“A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE TOWARDS

FLIPKART”

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

BBA-III

Under my guidance and direction to best of my knowledge and

belief that matter presented in this report has not been
submitted earlier

PLACE: SOLAPUR

DATE: PROJECT GUIDE

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DECLARATION

I undersigned hereby declare that project report entitled

“A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE TOWARDS

FLIPKART”

The empirical findings in this report are based on data

collected by us. While preparing this we have not copied from
any other report. Understand that any such copying entitled
to be punished in a way that university authority deemed to
be fit.

Student Signature:

MR. ANIKET NITIN BHAMBURE ( )

PLACE: SOLAPUR DATE:

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A word thanks is much less for the word

encouragement which we have received from people
going online to make us feel comfortable & to make this
thing simple.

Extend my profound thanks to our Director for giving

me opportunity to undertake this project.

Sincerely thanks to Mr. ANIKET NITIN BHAMBURE who

has guide & motivated us every time and shared his
valuable time and provided me with all necessary
information.

Special thanks & sincere gratitude goes to our HOD Mrs.

SAVITA VAIDYA for constructive criticism throughout
the project.

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INDEX

Contents
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................... 7
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 9
2. COMPANY PROFILE ............................................................................ 14
3. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................... 23
4. DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 32
5. OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS ................................................... 43
6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS ........................................... 60

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ABSTRACT

Consumer behavior may be defined as the behavior that

consumers display in searching for; purchasing, evaluating and
disposing of produces, evaluating and disposing of produces,
services and ideas which they expect to satisfy their needs”.
However, it may be noted that consumer behavior research today
goes far beyond “what, why, how, when, where and how often”
facets of consumer behavior and also considers the uses of goods
they buy and evaluations after use. There may be many
repercussions after the consumer makes a purchase. For example,
a buyer may feel sorrow or guilty or dissatisfied with his choice of a
particular scooter, because of continuing maintenance expenses
over it. The buyer may decide not to buy the same make or model
again and may also refer to his friends conveying the dismal
performance of the scooter. Each of these possible consequences
of consumer’s post purchase dissatisfaction has significant
implication for the marketer. For the marketer, the person is
important, who makes the buying decision, not the one who
actually makes the purchase or uses the product. Thus, the study of
consumer behavior is the study of how individuals make decisions

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to spend their available resources- money, time and effort on

consumption related items.

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1. INTRODUCTION

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“Consumer behavior may be defined as the behavior that

consumers display in searching for; purchasing, evaluating and
disposing of produces, evaluating and disposing of produces,
services and ideas which they expect to satisfy their needs”. Thus,
the study of consumer behavior is the study of how individuals
make decisions to spend their available resources- money, time
and effort on consumption related items. However, it may be
noted that consumer behavior research today goes far beyond
“what, why, how, when, where and how often” facets of consumer
behavior and also considers the uses of goods they buy and
evaluations after use. There may be many repercussions after the
consumer makes a purchase. For example, a buyer may feel sorrow
or guilty or dissatisfied with his choice of a particular scooter,
because of continuing maintenance expenses over it. The buyer
may decide not to buy the same make or model again and may also
refer to his friends conveying the dismal performance of the
scooter. Each of these possible consequences of consumer’s post
purchase dissatisfaction has significant implication for the
marketer. For the marketer, the person is important, who makes
the buying decision, not the one who actually makes the purchase
or uses the product.

Flip kart was founded in October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny
Bansal, alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and
former Amazon employees. The company initially focused on
online book sales with country-wide shipping. Flip kart slowly grew
in prominence and was receiving 100 orders per day by 2008. [15] In
2010, Flip kart acquired the Bangalore-based social book discovery
service We Read from Lulu.com.

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THE INTERNET RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA:

The internet retailing industry grew by 34% in 2011 to $ 10 billion
with investments of about $ 900 million over last year1. It is
expected to grow at a compounded rate of 39% over the next 5
years. Online retail account for less than 1% of the total retail
market in India (compared to about 5% in the US), and thus,
presents a huge growth potential for international retailers2.
Internet retailing in India mainly focuses on non-grocery products
such as consumer electronics, media products, sports equipment,
consumer appliances and books; products that do not require
extensive touch and feel. Books and gifts, however are the largest
contributors. Several Internet retailing players are providing much
cheaper prices compared with store-based retailers, which is
attracting consumers in India. High discounts are primarily driving
adoption while gaining the trust of consumers through fraud proof
options such as cash-on-delivery. Investments in logistics and
infrastructure and support by third party companies have led to
ever expanding reach. It is evident that Internet prices are
projected to be more competitive than any other retailers in India.
Most Internet retailers offer services, such as flexible payment
methods, warranties for electronic goods and free home delivery.
The prices from several players are very competitive with all e-
retailing players offering good deals on a variety of products in
order to attract customers. Players with a wide variety of products

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have managed to gain the most value sales. Internet retailing in

India is segmented under different formats, including vertical
shopping, whereby the manufacturer is also the retailer, multi-
product Internet retailers, such as Future bazaar, Shoppers Stop
and comparison shopping. International companies were not
allowed in India up to 2010 as the government put a ban on FDI in
multi-brand retailing. However, in 2011 the ban was liberalized and
over the forecast period some of the major players, including
Amazon.com, are expected to enter the Indian e-retailing
environment.
The industry, however, faces many challenges. The foremost being
high customer acquisition cost (~Rs 1,500) and small basket size.
Repeat purchases are essential to recover acquisition spending.
Companies tend to hold extensive inventory of up to 3 months in-
order to get discounts from their suppliers, this requires substantial
investment. In-house logistics require further investment and third
parties are operationally expensive - delivery costs 5-10% of the
product value. Internet retailers are 'burning cash to fuel growth',
offering discounts deeper than their pockets and spending heavily
on advertising and marketing.

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METHODOLOGY:
We started with secondary research of the internet retail industry
and the major players through news articles, industry reports and
databases. This helped us to get an overall idea of the working of
the industry and understand its dynamics. Then we went on to do
extensive secondary research on Flip kart, its business model and
all elements of its supply chain. Then we did primary research in
the form of interviews of Mr. Shini Patel, and Mr. PavanRaghuveer
both managers-operations and in-charge of SCM and delivery. With
their inputs on procurement, logistics, order processing, supplier
management and customer support and secondary research we
formulated a draft. However, we identified certain gaps and
interviewed the two gentlemen again along with Ex-Flip kart
employee Ms.ShuchiShukla and our batch mates who interned at
Flip kart. With the second round of inputs, we were able to
understand and analyze Flip kart’s supply chain.

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2. COMPANY PROFILE

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ABOUT FLIPKART.COM:
Founded in 2007 by two IIT Delhi graduates, Flipkart.com is today
India’s largest online shopping website. The etymology of the
website lies in the fact that the founders, Sachin and Binny Bansal
envisioned it to be an online store for books – hence the „flip‟
suggests the flipping of the pages of a book while the „kart‟ is
derived from the „shopping cart‟.

It has been cited as a success story in the domain of online retail –

a sphere generally dubbed as impossible to succeed in India.
Started with an investment of Rs. 4 laths by the founders
themselves, Flip kart has grown exponentially in the last 5 years.
This year they are expected to touch Rs. 2500 cr in annual revenues
at a y-o-y growth rate of 400%.

Comparison of percentage of shoppers (globally)

vistingFlipkartvsit‟s competitor sites – Infibeam.com,
homeshop18.com, indiaplaza.com and myntra.com. 6

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But managing expansion at such break-neck speed is not an easy

task. There are several questions raised about Flipkart‟s
profitability figures and core competence of „delighting‟
customers. In fact, Flipkart‟s philosophy is so closely tied to
ensuring customer delight that profitability often takes a back-seat.
It is a strategy that has enabled them to gain lion’s share of the
online retail market – but their operations need to be studied in
greater detail to understand if the company really has a sustainable
future.
While there have been multiple questions raised about creative
accounting techniques and other apparent financial irregularities
on Flipkart‟s books, in this report we’ll concentrate primarily on
the operations side of Flipkart‟s business, From an operations point
of view, one of the fascinating things about Flipkart‟s growth has
been the increase in number of SKUs and different categories that
they now handle. While there are several specialized online
retailers like myntra.com or letsbuy.com (recently acquired by Flip
kart) who specialized in apparel or consumer electronics
respectively, Flip kart handles more, than 14 categories of
products. Increased number of categories complicates the entire
supply chain design and this is something that has been studied in
the latter half of this report.

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAM:

Business development team is responsible for all the activities
related to sales including vendor management to pricing and
discount strategy.

OPERATIONS TEAM:
Operations team deals with all the supply chain aspects of the
company right from procurement and warehouse management till
customer support. The team supports the customers both online
via telephone as well as offline via email.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT TEAM:

Flip kart has a strong focus on customer service with customer
delight as the top most priority. And to fulfill it the company
guarantees a 24/7 full customer support and to cater this facility it
has a dedicated customer support team which offers both inbound
and outbound support. There are two prime responsibilities of
support team:

WEBSITE GUIDANCE: The team basically provides guidance to new

users of the website on how to navigate through it. It also handles
order processing functions like order verification calls, payment
related queries etc.

RESOLUTION OF ISSUES: This includes intimation to customer

about issues such as any delay in delivery as well as resolution of
complaints both pre-purchase and post purchase.

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LOGISTICS:
Logistics is one of the most important facets of any successful
ecommerce venture. Flipkartships more than 30000 items a day
which makes management of the logistics a cumbersome task for
the company. Furthermore, the cost of the delivery is born by the
company itself making logistics a financially complex issue also.
Hence in order to successfully manage logistics Flipkart uses its in-
house logistics (FKL) as well as third party logistics (3PL) services.
While more than 90% of the Cash on delivery (COD0 shipments and
about 60-70% of the overall shipments are delivered by the FKL the
rest of shipments are catered by 3PL service providers. Moreover, if
there are more than 100 deliveries for a particular destination the
company uses FKL. In case of FKL, the shipment is first transported
to Mother hub and then to delivery hub and subsequently from
delivery hub the last mile delivery is done using suitable mode of
transport such as two-wheelers, bicycles, or on foot. The company
has tie-ups with more than 15 courier companies like Blue Dart,
First Flight etc. to deliver their products and Indian post for areas
where courier do not reach. And to manage the 3PL providers
efficiently the company allocates time slots to different logistics
partners and they can pick up deliveries on specified time slots
only.
For delivering the items the logistics service among the three is
decided based on the area where the item needs to be delivered as
well as product type and payment method. FKL is presently
available in major tier 1 cities including metros only. The company
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uses India Post only in case if the shipment location is not serviced
by any of the 3PL as well as FKL primarily because of the higher
delivery time. Moreover, India Post orders are of prepaid nature
only. The delivery time varies between 3 days to 3 weeks
depending on the location and availability of the product. For
example imported products take about 3 weeks‟ time to get
delivered to the customers whereas if product is available in local
warehouse it gets deliver within 3 days. The mode of
transportation is also dependent on the location. For example, the
inter-city, trans-zone deliveries are made using air cargo whereas
satellite cities and others in close proximity; products are
transported overnight by train or truck. For the local parts of the
cities where the warehouses of the company exist products are
delivered using two-wheelers, bicycles, or on foot depending upon
the proximity of the place.

REVERSE LOGISTICS / RETURNS PROCESSING:

The returns for flip kart are 2.6%. If follows a 30 day return policy.
This policy which is primarily aimed to build trust with the
consumers, has led to many customers duping flip kart. For
example there have been several incidents when a customer buys a
book only to read it and then return it within 30 days. Similar
incidents have been observed with mobile phones as well. Flip kart,
through its data management systems, has tried to identify such
frauds.
Return of a product to flip kart can happen if the 3rd party cannot
deliver to the address or the customer does not accept the
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product. Some orders are cancelled while the delivery is being

processes by the courier company. Such order is not recalled but
delivered to the address and then cancelled. Customers can call the
customer support and couriers back the product to flip kart. The
delivery cost is borne by flip kart.
When a customer requests return of a product, there are 3 paths
this request can take:
1. Replacement: Flip kart returns the product to the supplier and
obtains a replacement that is delivered to the customer.
2. Store credit: if the customer is not satisfied with the product, he
or she is given store credit of the same amount. 9 | p a g e
3. Actual cash-back: given out as cash for cash-on-delivery payment
or refunded for online

PROCUREMENT:
When Flip kart started its operations, they had employed the
consignment model of procurement. In this model, the retailer (in
this case Flip kart) holds the inventory owned by the supplier, and
buys it from the supplier only when it is sold to the end consumer.
Since the channel was new and unproven, this was the most risk-
free way to operate. However, they have now discontinued this
now and inventory now is purchased.
Procurement of items could be for:
(a) Inventory: These items are pre-ordered based on previous sales
data to stock as inventory. This category includes items with
relatively low demand elasticity, fast selling items and items with
relatively long shelf life.

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(b) Just in-time: Items procured just-in-time are used to serve

immediate outstanding orders. Items with low or unpredictable
demand are typically procured on an order-to-order basis. Just-in-
time procurement is also used for expensive items or products that
have seen slow sales growth.

As of now, the number of orders served from the inventory is

roughly 75%, with 25% orders being served by procuring just-in-
time. Procuring just-in-time is comparatively more expensive as the
volumes for such orders are low, and the supplier discount offered
therefore is considerably lower. However when ordering for
inventory, bulk purchase is made and hence a much better price is
realized. Therefore the company would ideally like to move to a
ratio of 9:1 ratio of orders served through inventory to those
procured just-in-time.
As a caveat however, there is an inherent trade-off between the
company’s long term objective of reducing just-in-time
procurement, and its motto of “Consumer Delight”. This is because
in order to maximize consumer delight, the company would have to
strive to serve all types of consumer orders and provide them with
the maximum possible variety of products, which would require
just-in-time procurement since many products have limited
demand and cannot be stored as inventory. However, operational
efficiency demands rationalization of product line and choosing
one’s customers.
Sourcing at Flip kart is conducted at two levels:
(a) Regional: By Regional Procurement Teams
(b) Centre: By the Central Procurement Team

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Stock out: Defined as when the product is unavailable in the

inventory (held in warehouses) as well as Flipkart‟s suppliers (as
last updated)
The central procurement team has visibility of all the regional
procurement teams‟ views, and therefore can monitor the stock
levels for their suppliers all over the country. The central team’s
focus is on bigger suppliers with a country-wide reach.

Each regional procurement team has a network of local suppliers

for made-to-stock as well as on on-demand (Just in-time)
procurement. They also have visibility of the stock for different
SKUs with these suppliers, as last updated on the procurement
team’s system by these suppliers. From Flipkart‟s perspective:

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3. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

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THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:-
• Consumer Buying Behavior:
Customer buying behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or
organizations and the Processes they use to select, secure, use, and
dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy their
needs and wants. It is also concerned with the social and
Economic impacts that purchasing and consumption behavior has
on both the consumer and wider society. Consumer behavior
blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology,
marketing and economics, especially behavioral economics. It
examines how emotions, attitudes and preferences affect buying
behavior. Characteristics of individual consumers such as
demographics, personality lifestyles and behavioral variables such
as usage rates, usage occasion, loyalty, brand advocacy, willingness
to provide referrals, in an attempt to understand people's wants
and consumption are all investigated in formal studies of consumer
behavior. The study of consumer behavior also investigates the
influences, on the consumer, from groups such as family, friends,
sports, reference groups, and society in general. The study of
consumer behavior is concerned with all aspects of purchasing
behavior -from pre-purchase activities through to post-purchase
consumption and evaluation activities. It is also concerned with all
persons involved, either directly or indirectly, in Purchasing
decisions and consumption activities including brand-influencers
and opinion leaders. Research has shown that consumer behavior
is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. However, new
research methods such as ethnography and consumer
neuroscience are shedding new light on how consumers make
decisions.

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Customer relationship management (CRM) databases have become

an asset for the analysis of customer behavior. The voluminous
data produced by these databases enables detailed examination of
behavioral factors that contribute to customer re-purchase
intentions, consumer retention, loyalty and other behavioral
intentions such as the willingness to provide positive referrals,
become brand advocates or engage in customer citizenship
activities. Databases also assist in market segmentation, especially
Behavioral segmentation such as developing loyalty segments,
which can be used to develop tightly targeted, customized
marketing strategies on a one-to-one basis. (Also see Relationship
marketing)

DEFINITION:-
The Process by which individual search for select, purchase, use,
and dispose of goods and services. In satisfaction of their needs
and wants, see also consumer decision making.

Types of buying behavior:

There are four types of buying behavior.

1) Complex buying behavior:-

Is where the individual purchase a high value brand and seeks a lot
of information before the purchase is made.
2) Habitual buying behavior:-
Is where the individual buys a product out of habit? E.g. daily
newspaper, sugar etc.
3) Variety seeking buying behavior:-
Is where the individual likes to shop around and experiment with
different product?
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So an individual may shop around for different breakfast cereals

because he/she wants in the mornings.
4) Dissonance reducing buying behavior:-
Is when buyers are highly involved with the purchase of the
product, because the purchase is expensive? There is little
difference between existing Brands an example would be
Buying a diamond ring, as people believe there is little difference
between diamond brands manufactures.

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR PROCESS:-

1) Problem/ Need Recognition:-

This is often identified as the first and the most important step in
the consumer decision process. A purchase cannot take place
without the recognition of the need. The need may have been
triggered by internal stimuli (such as hunger or thirst) or external
stimuli (such as advertising or word of mouth).

2) Information Search:-
Having recognized a problem or need, the next step a customer
may take is the Information Search stage, in order to find out what
they feel is the best solution. This is the buyer's effort to search
internal and external business environments, in order to identify
and evaluate information sources related to the central buying
decision. Your customer may rely on print, visual, online media or
word of mouth for obtaining information.

3) Evaluation of Alternatives:-
As you might expect, consumers will evaluate different product or
brand at this stage on the basis of alterative product attributes -
those which have the ability to deliver thebenefits the customer is
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seeking. A factor that heavily influences this stage is the customer's

attitude. Involvement is another factor that influences the
evaluation process. For example, if the customer's attitude is
positive and involvement is high, then they will evaluate a number
of companies or brands; but if it is low, only one company or brand
will be evaluated.

4) Purchase Decision:-
The penultimate stage is where the purchase takes place. Philip
Kotler (2009) states that the final purchase decision may be
'disrupted' by two factors: negative feedback. For example, having
gone through the previous three stages, a customer chooses to buy
a new telescope. However, because his very good friend, a keen
astronomer, gives him negative feedback, he will then be bound to
change his preference. Furthermore, the decision may be disrupted
due to unforeseen situations such as a sudden job or relocation.

5) Post-Purchase Behavior:-
In brief, customers will compare products with their previous
expectations and will be either satisfied or dissatisfied. Therefore,
these stages are critical in retaining customers. This can greatly
affect the decision process for similar purchases from the same
company in the future, having a knock-on effect at the information
Search stage and Evaluation of Alternatives stage.

Consumer Behavior:-
A consumer's buying behavior is influenced by cultural social and
personal factors.
Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence.

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1) Cultural Factors:-
Culture, subculture and social class are patriotically important
influences on customer buying behavior.

a) Culture:-
Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person's wants and
behavior. The growing child acquires a set of values, perceptions,
preferences and behavior his or her family and other key
institutions

b) Subcultures:-
Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more
specific identification and socialization for their members.
Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial groups and
geographic regions when subcultures grow large and affluent
enough, companies often design specialized marketing program to
serve them.

c) Social Class:-
Relatively homogeneous and enduring division in a society, which is
hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values,
interests and behavior, social classes have served characteristics
First, those within each class tend to behave more like then
persons from two different social classes. Second person are
perceived as occupying inferior or superior positions according to
social class.

2) SOCIAL FACTORS:-
In addition to cultural factors, a consumer's behavior is influenced
by such social factors as reference groups and social roles and
statuses.
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a) Reference Group:-
A person's reference group consist of all the groups that have a
direct or indirect on his/her attitude or behavior, Groups having a
direct influence on a person are called as membership groups.
Some membership groups are primary groups such as family,
Friends, neighbors and co-workers, those with whom the person
interest fairly continuously. Reference groups expose an individual
to new behavior, lifestyle, influence, attitudes and self-concept
they create pressure for conformity that may affect actual product
and brand choices. People are also influenced by groups to which
they do not belong.

b) Family:-
The family is the most important consumer buying organization in
society and family members constitute the most influential primary
reference group. We between two families in the buyer's life. The
family of orientation consists of parents and siblings.

c) Role and status:-

A person participates in many groups, family, clubs, and
organization. The person's position in each group can be defined in
terms of roles and status. A role consists of the activities a person’s
is expected to perform. People choose products that reflect and
Communicate their role and actual or demand status in society.

3) Personal Factors:-
A buyer's decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics.
These include the buyer's age and stage in the life cycle,
occupation, economic circumstances, personality and self-concept

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a) Age and stages in the life cycle:-

Consumption is shaped by the family lifecycle. Marketers often
choose lifecycle groups as their target market. There are nine
stages of the family, lifecycle along with the financial situation and
typical product and interests of each group.

b) Occupation and economic circumstances:-

Occupation also influences a person’s consumption pattern.
Marketers try to identify the occupational groups that have even
specialist is products for certain occupational groups.

c) Life style:-
A life style is the person's pattern of living in the world as
expressed in activities, interests and opinions. Marketers search for
relationship for between their products and lifestyle groups.

d) Personality and self-concept:-

Each person has a distinct personality that influence buying
behavior. Personality is usually described in terms of such traits as
self confidence, dominance, autonomy, difference, sociality,
defensiveness and adaptability. Personality can be useful variables
in analyzing consumer behavior provided that personality types can
classified accurately and that strong co-relation exist between
certain personality types and product or brand choices.
Related to personality is self- concept or self- image. Marketers try
to develop brand images that match the target markets self-image.

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4) Psychological Factors:-
A Person's buying choices are influenced by some psychological
factors such as motivation etc.

a) Motivation:-
Person has many needs at any given time. Some needs are biogenic
they arise from psychological states of tension such as hunger,
thrust and discomfort. A need becomes a motive when it is aroused
to a sufficient level of intensity. A motive is a need that is
sufficiently pressing to drive the person to act.

b) Perception:-
Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes,
and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful pic.

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4. DATA ANALYSIS

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DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPREATION:

This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of collected
data. Analysis of data plays a dominant role in the completion of
project. Data collected are tabulated for easy understanding and
good presentation. Tables and diagrams assist the researchers to
analysis the data.

GENDER WISE CLASSIFICATION:

GENDER NO.OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Male 26 43
Female 34 57
Total 60 100

From the above pie chart, it is observed that 43% of the

respondents are male and 57% female. Majority of the respondents
i.e., 57% are female.

NATURE OF OCCUPTION:
OCCUPATION NO. OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Student 23 38
Professional 15 25
Business Man 10 17
Others 12 20

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Total 60 100

The pie chart shown above portrays that 38% of the respondents
using flip kart are students, 25% are professional, 17% are business
men and 20% are others. Majority of the respondents i.e., 38% are
students.

INCOME:

INCOME NO. OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Below Rs.10000 21 35
Rs.10000-20000 17 28
Rs.20000-30000 9 15
Above Rs.30000 13 22
Total 60 100

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From the above diagram it is significant that 35% of the

respondents earn below Rs. 10000, 28% between Rs. 10000 -
20000, 15% between Rs. 20000 - 30000, 22% of the respondents
earn above Rs. 30000. Majority of the respondents i.e., 35% of the
respondents earn below Rs. 10000.

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Flip kart’s Warehouse Management System:

Flip kart has 7 major warehouses spread across the country in

Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Noida, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore. They
have smaller regional distribution centers’ at over 500 locations
spread across Tier I and high volume Tier II cities.
In Flipkart‟s Warehouse Management System (WMS), there are
three major segments namely, Inward Processing, Storage
Management and Outward Processing. Discussed below are the
some of the details regarding each of the sub-processes involved in
the WMS?

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INWARD PROCESSING:

1. Physical in warding: This is the area where physical delivery of

goods from suppliers to the warehouse is taken.
2. Quality Check + Scan: As soon as the goods are received, they go
through an initial quality check at this stage. After this, they are
scanned to make an electronic entry to record the input of goods
into the warehouse on the IT systems. This step of quality check is
also undertaken at the supplier’s premises depending on the
contract that Flip kart has with them.

3. Pre-packing of products: At this stage, an initial packing of each

of the products is done. This pre-packing varies according to
product. For instance, a book-mark and think transparent film
packing will be done for a book. Similarly, if there is a freebie
attached to a product, then the two products will be packed
together.

STORAGE MANAGEMENT:
1. Put-list generation: When the input of all products is done on the
IT systems, a system generated list of shelves corresponding to the
products is generated to facilitate placement of products on
shelves. This is called Put-list generation, which marks the place
where the respective items need to be put.
2. Order pending check: As soon as the system gets the input of the
incoming products, system checks if any of the orders for the
incoming products are pending or not. If orders are pending, the
respective product is sent directly to the Final Packaging Area for
Outward Processing.

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3. Physical placement on shelves: Based on the Put-list, the

products are placed on the respective shelves. If the marked
shelves are not empty, the product is put on an empty shelf, and
the respective shelf number is updated on the Put-list.

4. Closing Put-list: Once the product placement is done, Put-list is

updated with the actual placement information and the list is
closed.

OUTWARD PROCESSING:

1. Pick-list generation: Based on the orders to be delivered for the

day, a Pick-list is generated by the IT system.
2. Pick-up from shelves: The respective products from the Pick-list
are picked up from the shelves as per the IT system entries and
gathered together to move towards Final Packaging Area.
3. Final packaging: The picked-up products are packed in Flipkart-
branded boxes. At this stage, packaging is done according to the
Category of the product, e.g., electronic items are packed
differently from stationery.
4. Placement in respective delivery hubs’ bags: After the final
packaging, a product is placed in a specific bag which is dedicated
for that destination area delivery hub. These bags are dispatched to
their respective delivery hubs on a fixed timing during the day.

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SOME ISSUES IDENTIFIED AT THE WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

LEVEL:

1. All the scans while conducting inward processing for each of the
products are done manually. There is some scope of automation at
this stage.
2. Due to packaging litter, there emerge chances of difficulty in
mobility within the warehouse. Disposal of packing material may be
addressed for better streamlining and ease of mobility.
3. Currently, there are separate sections for separate categories in
the storage area, e.g., in the Bangalore warehouse, a whole floor is
dedicated to books, while the other floor is dedicated to other
categories. With the increase in the number of SKUs that Flip kart is
undertaking for sale, the Warehouse management system’s
complexity will increase and its scalability in the current form might
come under question. Hence, pre-emptive efforts may be made to
make sure that the systems and processes are scalable based on
increasing variety and quantity of SKUs handled.

ORDER PROCESSING:
Flip kart uses its own ERP systems to process orders and track the
details of all the transactions that need to be carried out. A typical
order at Flip kart starts with the customer searching, selecting the
required item and placing the order. This on an overage takes
around 8-10 clicks to get the order placed. The email Id is
considered to be the unique identification of a customer and all the
records are maintained with reference to this Id.
The payment can be made by using debit card, debit card, Net
banking or COD (Cash on Delivery). The payment gateway used is

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powered by CC Avenue. Flip kart is working to have its own

payment gateway which has not been possible so far because
hosting a payment gateway requires fulfillment of Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

ORDER FULFILLMENT:
Customer orders are fulfilled either via Inventory or JIT
procurement depending upon the availability of the products.

1. As soon as the order is placed and approved, there is an

inventory check done at the local warehouse. If the item is not
found at the local warehouse, then the order goes to the nearest
and then other warehouses. The product is then packaged and
delivered to the customer.
2. If the item is not found in the inventory it is forwarded to the
Regional Procurement Team (RPT) for JIT procurement from local
vendors. If yet not possible, the order goes to the central
procurement team (CPT) for the last option of procurement. After
procuring from the vendor, the product is packaged and delivered
to the customer via the most convenient warehouse. They have an
understanding with their vendors for order tracking, reconciliation
and MIS (Management Information Systems).

As and when the item is found, it is packaged then and there and
shipped to the customer via either courier, Indian post or its own
internal logistics arm depending upon the area where the item
need to be delivered. The customer is kept updated on the status
of his shipment via message, email and/or through website. An

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item is labeled out of stock only if it is not neither present in the

warehouses nor with the vendors.
Flip kart, with its focus on customer delight, ensures an excellent
after-sales service to its customers with regard to the delivery
and/or addressing grievances related to any faulty or
unsatisfactory products. The return of such items is done in an
effective manner without any disputes. This is possible given the
understanding with the vendors. For example, in case of
electronics, warranty and after-sales service is largely
manufacturer’s responsibility. Whenever required,
Flipkartfacilitates a smooth interaction between the customer
and manufacturer/service center.

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Flip kart has fared very well in terms of the delivery time. It varies
between less than 24 hours and 3 weeks depending on the location
and availability of the product. On an average the delivery time is
3-4 days with a typical breakup as follows:
 1 day for order processing
 2 days for delivery
 1 day as buffer

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5. OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS

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A function for an e-commerce website is one of the most important

touch-points for the business in terms of building trust, customer
acquisition and maintaining customer loyalty.
Flipkart‟s Customer Support team consists of call-centre agents
who handle in-bound and out-bound calls and also a team that
handles e-mail queries. The entire team is based out of Bangalore
and forms a core part of Flipkart‟s 6,000-strong employee base.
Given that Flip kart tries to differentiate itself on superior shopping
experience and customer service is an integral part of that – Flip
kart prefers to train its own support staff rather than outsourcing
the function to a BPO agency.

At present, a customer calls due to one of the below reasons:

1. Sales Assistance
2. General Enquiries
3. Product/Shipping related enquiry

One of the major reasons for these calls is Indian consumers poor
familiarity with online shopping protocols. It is important to note
that Flip kart tries to ensure that any order is placed within 6 clicks
on the website.

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There is also an outbound call-centre that performs the following

tasks:

1. Pro-actively inform customers about any delay in deliveries.

2. Pro-actively check the status of refunds or returns.
3. Inform the user in case any delivery has not been successful due
to the customer not being present at his address.

Despite all the good intentions of Flip kart in providing high-quality

customer service, there are several internet blogs that suggest that
their service quality has dipped in the last year or so.7 A major
reason for this could be the growth in number of customer service
executives‟ not keeping pace with the increase in business volume.
There could also be a problem of increased complexity in query
handling due to increase in number of SKUs and product categories
that would demand more rigorous training for the support staff.

OBJECTIVES:

 To identify the respondents perception about online

shopping.
 To analysis social economic status of respondents.
 To know the customers preference towards Flip kart.
 To analysis the quality of products purchased.

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SCOPE:
To know about various aspects of Flip kart in market, the
improvements needed in case of features and process, and the
effect of factors on the buying behavior of online customers.

AREA OF STUDY:
A Study on consumer’s satisfaction towards Flip kart was
conducted in the area of Tuticorin.

COLLECTION OF DATA:
To know the customer preference towards Flip kart, the study was
done on the consumer variables the buying decision process. The
study is analysis with the help of both primary data and secondary
data. The primary data were collected through questionnaire and
secondary data were collected from book, journals, websites and
other periodicals.

SAMPLING DESIGN:
A sample of some respondents residing in various parts of Tuticorin
was selected on a random basis.

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GROUP OF PEOPLE:

Group NO. OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Young 35 58
Middle Aged 16 27
Adults 9 15
Total 60 100

From the above diagram, it is evident that 58% of the respondents

who prefer E-Shopping are young, 27% are middle aged group, and
15% are adults. Majority of the respondents i.e., 58% are young.

E-COMMERCE WEBSITES:

Websites NO. OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Flip kart 36 60
Amazon 8 13
Snap deal 9 15
Others 7 12
Total 60 100

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The above table shows that 60% of the respondents use Flip kart,
13% use Amazon, 15% use Snap deal, 12% uses other websites.
Majority of the respondents i.e., use Flip kart website.

REASONS FOR SHOPPING ONLINE:

REASONS NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Convince 23 38
Wide Range 13 22
Availability
Discounts 15 25
Unavailability of 9 15
Stores Nearby
Total 60 100

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From the above diagram it is inferred that, 38% of the respondents

use it for convenience, 21% use it wide range availability, 25% use
it for convenience and 15% use it for unavailability of stores
nearby. Majority of respondents i.e., 38% use online shopping for
convenience.

REASONS FOR PREFERENCE TOWARDS FLIP KART:

REASONS NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Fast Delivery 26 43
Availability 14 23
After Sales Services 7 12
Easy-Payment 13 22
Options
Total 60 100

The above chart shows that, 43% of the respondents prefer Flip
kart because of fast delivery, 23% for availability, 12% for its after
sales service and 22% for its easy payment options. Majority i.e.,
43% of the respondents prefer flip kart because of Fast delivery.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PURCHASE:

FACTORS NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Friends 16 27
Television 20 33
Advertisements on 15 25
Websites
Newspapers and 9 15
Magazines
Total 60 100

From the above chart, it is evident that 27% of the people come to
know about Flip kart through friends, 33% through television, 25%
through advertisements on websites and 15% through newspapers
and magazines. Majority i.e., 33% of the people come to know
about flip kart through television.

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CATEGORY OF PRODUCTS PURCHASED:

CATEGORY NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Books and 15 25
Stationery
Clothes 18 30
Mobile and 17 28
Accessories
Others 10 17
Total 60 100

From the above chart, it is significant that 25% of the people

purchase books and stationary, 30% people purchase clothes, 28%
purchase mobiles and accessories and 17% purchase others.
Majority of the respondents i.e., 30% purchase clothes.

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PRICE RANGE:
Price NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Less than Rs 1000 15 25
Rs 1000 – Rs 5000 22 37
Rs 5000 - 10000 10 17
More than Rs 10000 13 22
Total 60 100

The above chart shows that 25% of the respondents purchase for
less than Rs.1000, 37% between the range Rs.1000 – 5000, 17%
between Rs. 5000 – 10000, and 22% above Rs.10000. majority of
the respondents i.e., 37% purchase product that ranges between
Rs. 1000 – 5000.

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FREQUENCY OF PURCHASE:
Period NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Once in a Week 10 17
Once in Month 18 30
Once in Six Months 11 18
Once in Year 21 35
Total 60 100

The above chart clearly depicts that 17% of the respondents buy
products once in a week, 30% once in six months and 35% once in a
year. Majority of the respondents i.e., 35% buy products once in a
year.

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QUALITY OF PRODUCTS:
RESPONSE NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Yes 40 67
No 20 33
Total 60 100

From the above diagram it is observed that 67% of the respondents

say that the quality of the product is too good and 33% say that the
quality of the product is not good. Majority of the respondents i.e.,
67% say that quality of the product is too good.

PAYMENT MODE:
MODE NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
Debit Card 10 17
Credit Card 7 12
Net Banking 8 13
Cash on Delivery 35 58
Total 60 100

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From the above chart, 17% of people adopt payment through debit
card, 13% through credit card, 12% through net banking and 58%
through cash on delivery. Majority of the respondents i.e., 58%
adopt payment of cash on delivery.

REASONS INFLUENCING THE PURCHASE:

REASONS NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS
RESPONDENTS
ATTRACTIVE PRICES 18 30
RELIABILITY 8 13
MASS VARIETY OF 20 33
PRODUCTS
POPULARITY 14 24
TOTAL 60 100

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The above chart shows that, 30% of the respondents were

influenced by its attractive prices, 13% by its reliability, 33% by its
mass variety of products and 24% by its popularity. Majority of the
respondents i.e., 33% were influenced by its mass variety of
products.

RATINGS OF OVERALL FLIP KART EXPERIENCE:

RATING NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
EXCELLENT 20 33
GOOD 23 38
AVERAGE 15 25
POOR 2 3
TOTAL 60 100

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From the above chart it is shown that, 33% of the respondents rate
the overall flip kart experience as excellent, 38% as good, 25% as
average and 3% as poor. Majority of the respondents i.e., 38% rate
the overall flip kart experience as good.

PROBLEMS FACED:

Reasons NO OF %OF RESPONDENTS

RESPONDENTS
Out of stock 19 32
Payment Issues 18 30
Delay in Delivery 11 18
Faulty Product 12 20
Total 60 100

The above chart shows that 32% of the respondents say that they
face problem because of out of stock, 30% payment issues, 18%
delay in delivery and 20% faulty product. Majority i.e., 32% say that
they face problem because of out of stock situation.

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FINDINGS:
The following are the findings found through the analysis of data
interpretation.

 It is observed that majority of the respondents using

flipkart.com are female.
 Mostly students are fond of using E-shopping.
 The study reveals that most of the respondents earn below
Rs. 10000.
 It is analyzed that majority of the respondents use Flip kart.
 Majority of the respondents use online shopping for
convenience.
 The analysis reveals that most of the respondents purchase
product that ranges between Rs. 1000-5000.
 Majority of the respondents buy product from Flip kart once
in a year.
 The customers adopt payment of cash on delivery.
 Majority of the respondents rate the services as good.
 Most of the respondents are satisfied with the after sales
service.
 The analysis signifies that most of the respondents face
problem because of out of stock situation.

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6. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

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THE FOLLOWING ARE THE SUGGESTIONS,

 Online companies must focus on providing extra facilities like

goods exchange policy to online shoppers so that shoppers
will easily purchase products over online
 Flip kart should try to reduce the cost and introduce many
cheap plans to make it affordable to those who cannot afford,
which will in turn help them to increase their customers.
 They can provide more information about the product and
service availability which will improve the knowledge of the
customers and help them shop easily.
 Highly discounted products go out of stock quickly, since
customers purchase it as soon as they could when they see
high discount on good featured product. So Flip kart should
have adequate stock of material.
 Convenience of shopping can be developed by bringing in user
friendly methods of making online purchase easier.

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CONCLUSION:

The thorough study is based on the consumer behavior

analysis which serves a great idea regarding consumer
perception, when they go for online shopping. . The concept is
applicable to e-commerce business companies also, as these
industries are very busy to focus on delivery of consumer
service and solutions provider in merchandising with effective
technology and expertise. Flip kart.com has been following
the quality and efficiency of customer service and distribution
with decreased cost and agile work flow through retailers and
other supplier’s network integrally. Flip kart.com is using its
inventory led model focusing on standardization of product

Delivery with long-run retention of customers by winning

their confidence in e-business and commerce market place.
One criticism leveled against Flip kart is that it is using up
funds too quickly, especially as nobody else in the industry has
raised as much money as it has. The Overall Brand Value of
Flip kart is good, but it is facing some tough competition from
its global competitors like EBay and Amazon. Flip kart should
be much focused on consumers and build amazing
experiences for the customers.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEXT BOOKS:
 Business Organization and Management
 Research Methodology – C.R Kothari

WEBSITE LINK: Flip-kart Wikipedia

www.flipkart.com

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QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Can Flip kart automatically collects details about the

model/make of your computer/smart phone?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

2) Can Flip kart advertise products to different users based on prior

product browsing history on Flip kart?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified can’t say

3) You frequently use Flip kart to purchase a medicine that is used

to manage epilepsy. Can Flip kart share this information with a
hospital that is interested in marketing its services?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified can’t say

4) Gem Kart, a subsidiary of Flip kart, offers a customized jewelers

manufacturing service. Gem Kart is interested in getting the names
and contact information of Flip kart users who normally carry out

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transactions worth more than INR 50,000 per month. Can Flip kart
provide this information to Gem Kart?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

5) The tax authorities are carrying out an investigation into your

financial affairs. They write to flip kart requesting a list of all
purchases made by you. Can Flip kart provide this information to
the authorities?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

6) Having recently learnt about the importance of data protection,

you are curious about all the information that Flipkart has on you.
You write to Flip kart requesting them to share this information. Is
Flip kart required to provide it?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

7) If you decide to discontinue your Flipkart account, will Flipkart

delete all the information that they hold about you?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

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8) Flip kart’s servers are hacked and all your personal data is
accessed by a third party. Is Flip kart required to inform you of the
data breach?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

9) You do not understand some of the terms in Flipkart’s privacy

policy. Does the privacy policy inform you of a method through
which you can seek clarification?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

10) You are considering switching from Flip kart to a competing

service provider. Will Flip kart facilitate the download/export of
your data from your account?
 Yes
 No
 Not specified Can’t say

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