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STUDENTS ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING: AN

EMPIRICAL STUDY

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 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

STUDENTS ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS

ONLINE SHOPPING: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Sakti Ranjan Dash 1
Roji Kanungo 2
ABSTRACT:

India has witnessed a sporadic growth of online shopping due to rapid internet penetration
as well as multi feature of online shopping like large product portfolio, home delivery, easy
product comparison, convenient mode of payment, time saving , 24*7 hour service and many
more. Among the consumers of online shopping “the youth,” particularly students occupy a
major proportion. This happens because the e-literacy is highest among them and they easily
adopt the changing trends of the world. This paper exclusively focuses on the attitude and
perception of students towards online shopping in two aspects. The first aspect covers the
relationship between frequency of online shopping with respect to gender & educational
level, while the second aspect deals with relationship between gender and motivation for
online shopping. It also discusses different dimensions of online shopping as well as the
barriers which hinder them to purchase from virtual source.

KEY WORDS: Online shopping, Cash on delivery, Internet penetration, E-literacy

INTRODUCTION:

In the era of digital world internet has transformed the way, people living their lives. Now
everything can be done with a click, which makes our life faster, smarter and smoother. The
recent launch of 4G has brought many netizens to the platform of electronic communication.
Online shopping is one of such aspect which enables the consumers for enjoying better
shopping experience.

There are various reasons of shifting the customers buying patterns towards online retail
shops. The facility of comparing the product with competitive products on the basis of price,
colour, size and quality is one of the biggest benefits of online shopping. It looks hilarious
but this is also one of the most significant reasons reported by the online shoppers. The other
popular names for online shopping are virtual store, e-shop, web-shop, internet shop, web-
store and online storefront etc. These days Mobile commerce or m-commerce is also one of
the popular means of shopping. The facilities of various coupon and discount scheme are also
fascinating the customers in online shopping.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

1
Research Scholar, P.G. Department of Commerce, Utkal University,Bhubaneswar-4, Odisha, Mob
09658279278,E-mail-shaktiranjan.srd@gmail.com
2
Research Scholar, (UGC NET), P.G. Department of Commerce, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar-4, Odisha,
Mob-09583754336, E-mail-rkrojisweet7@gmail.com
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

• Karve, Sunil (Jan 2014) He explored that most of the youth go for online shopping
and unearth some of the habits of the youth while buying online like they purchase on
monthly basis the most and also the mode of payment is preferred through credit card
and spend moderately. He also discovered that Flip kart was ranked highest followed
by Amazon by the respondent. 76% respondents felt that it was safe and secure to do
online shopping. 67% respondents felt that there can be chances of being cheated
while shopping online.
• Preeti Khitoliya (June 2014) has made a study on Customers Attitude and
Perception towards Online Shopping and the scope of the study was confined to
delhities.The result unveiled that 47% respondents shop online frequently followed by
30% who shop online seldom and 23% respondent had never tried it, Which suggests
that online shopping is relatively less popular in India. Online shopping is majorly
done by post graduate respondents. Male and female respondent had shown similar
trend in online shopping behaviour.
• Gagandeep Nagra,R Gopal wrote that the frequency of online shopping is relatively
less in the country and testified statistically that gender does impact Possession of
internet and Frequency of online purchase. Their study revealed that the respondents
had perceived online shopping in a positive manner. They projected the growth of
online shopping in near future on the basis of their results.

RESEARCH GAP:

Online shopping is an emerging topic in this 211st century. Youth particularly students
constitute a major part among the consumers of online shopping. Utkal University is one
of the oldest and leading institution of Odisha which comprises of huge number of
students from diversified areas from within and outside the state. Therefore it is a good
platform for studying attitude and behaviour towards online shopping. Very few research
have been conducted in this aspect which induce us to conduct a study on this areas and
to give an updated findings.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

• To examine the attitude and perception of students of Utkal University towards online
shopping.
• To identify the prime concern of students of Utkal University that hindered them to
shop online.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The scope of the study is confined to Utkal University only. Data is collected from the 150
respondent by using random sampling method. Out of 150questionnaire only 125 were found
valid and considered for hypothesis testing.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

Questionnaire designed: To achieve the research objective a questionnaire having both

open-ended & close-ended has been framed, which consists of 2 sections. Section A consists
of 11 questions including 5 point Likert scale and section B included the demographic profile
of the respondent, which includes gender, age and education level of the respondents.

Sample size: The target sample was of 150 respondents in the age group of 20-35 years, out
of which only 125 responded. The respondent were selected on random basis from different
departments of Utkal University.

Data Collection Method: Both primary and secondary sources of data have been used in the
study. Primary sources were used to collect the information from the respondent through
questionnaire method. Secondary sources i.e. internet, periodicals, magazines, newspapers
and articles were used to study existing literature.

Data Analysis: In order to analyse the data collected, all the figures and variables were
tabulated on excel and statistical tool chi square test of independence was applied to
understand the association between demographic features of respondent and frequency of
online shopping.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY:

In the present days, most of the students purchase through online. Hence, by observing the
attitude and purchasing behaviour of the respondents during the last 6 months following
hypothesis has been developed.

H10 – There is no association between gender and frequency of online shopping

H20 – There is no association between education level and frequency of online shopping

H30 - There is no association between gender and motives of online shopping.

RESULT ANALYSIS:

CHART -1: AVERAGE TIME SPENDING IN SURFING THE WEB PER DAY
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

less than 2 hrs

2-5 hrs
5-8hrs
more than 8hrs

(Source: Self compiled)

This chart shows that on an average most of the respondents use internet less than 2 hours per
day for surfing the web. This shows that there is a regular connection of students with
internet which is likely to be increased in the near future as university campus is going to be
wi-fi. This is a positive factor which will influence online shopping to a larger extent.

CHART -2: INFORMATION SOURCE OF RESPONDENTS

35
30
25
20
15
10 FEMALE
5
MALE
0
TOTAL

(Source: Self compiled)

This graph expresses that friends recommendation acts as a most important source of
information for the respondents regarding online shopping followed by links i.e. e-mails and
social networking sites. That means respondents mostly influenced by word-of-mouth
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

advertising (W.O.M). Hence the online shopping websites should become more concern
towards the word-of-mouth marketing in order to increase their market share.

CHART -3: CATAGORIES OF PRODUCTS RESPONDENTS BOUGHT

Movie/Event tickets
Travel tickets
Helth & fitness products
Dress materials
FEMALE
Cosmetics
MALE
Food
TOTAL
Gifts
Electronic gadgets
Books

0 50 100 150 200

(Source: Self compiled)

By analysing the above graph it is found that books are the most demanding item which has
been purchased by the respondents followed by electronic gadgets and dress materials. In
case of books both male and female have same share. Males are dominating in purchasing
electronic gadget items followed by dress materials as well as travel & event tickets. But
females have a large share in purchasing dress materials followed by electronic gadgets and
gifts.

This happens because these items are more cheaply available in the internet. So online
shopping sites should focus their attention towards the other items as well as try to maintain
the level in leading items.

CHART -4: TOP 5 MOST PREFERED ONLINE SHOPING COMPANIES BY

RESPONDENT
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

80

70

60

50
MALE
40
FEMALE
30
TOTAL
20

10

0
AMAZON FLIPKART SNAPDEAL JABONG MYNTRA

(Source: Self compiled)

Flipkart has gained largest share among students followed by amazon and snapdeal. Most of
the male are preferring amazon while female are preferring flipkart for their e-shopping.
Amazon is popular among male as it provides more male-friendly product as well as large
product portfolio and quick delivery service. As flipkart is providing more trendy product
with affordable cost , thus it is popular among females.

CHART -5: MODE OF PAYMENT BY THE RESPONDENTS

 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

Internet banking

Credit Card
TOTAL

Debit Card MALE

FEMALE
Cash On Delivery

0 20 40 60 80 100

(Source: Self compiled)

Cash on delivery is the most convenient mode of payment among the students. as students are
more risk averse so they prefer cash on delivery rather than internet banking for their e-
shopping. Credit card is not popular among students because they are unemployed Among
the online modes debit card is more popular as it is mostly used by the respondents.

CHART -6: EXPERIENCE OF RESPONDENTS ON ONLINE SHOPPING

Highly satisfied

Satisfied

Neither satisfied nor

dissatisfied
Dissatisfied

Highly dissatisfied

(Source: Self compiled)

This chart advocates that most of the respondents are satisfied in their online shopping
experience. This highlights that most of the online shopping sites are fulfilling needs of the
customer in an active manner. It is a very positive sign for the growth of online shopping
sites. Still they should focus on the different aspects of their services so that they can provide
high satisfaction to customers.

Respondents were asked to assign rank to their barriers which they face when buy online. The
results revealed that respondent find maintenance of privacy and security are the primary
concern for them. The second apprehension for them that the after sale services. Followed by
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

quality, size and colour differ from what displayed on the websites and delay in delivery of
articles purchased. Least bothering factor was network & navigation problem.This is
tabulated hereunder in table 1

TABLE 1: RESPONDENTS BARRIERS RANKED BY THE RESPONDENTS

BARRIERS RANK
Privacy & security issues 1
After sale services 2
Window dressing of website to attract customers 3
Poor delivery services 4
Problem of network & navigation 5

HYPOTHESIS TESTING:

HYPOTHESIS 1

TABLE 2:

RELATION BETWEEN GENDER AND FREQUENCY OF ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping frequency
Onlyonce Sometimes Frequent Never Total
Count 13 26 10 8 57
% with online
Female
shopping
frequency 52% 50% 28.57% 61.53% 45.60%
Gender
Count 12 26 25 5 68
% with online
shopping
Male frequency 48% 50% 71.42% 38.46% 54.40%
Total Count 25 52 35 13 125
% with online
shopping
frequency 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
By analysing the above facts with the help of chi-square test following results have been
found

TABLE 3 CHI-SQUARE TEST FOR H10

Degree of freedom P(Level of Calculated value Table value

significance)
3 0.05 6.34 7.81

Here the calculated value (6.34) is less than the table value (7.81) which leads to acceptance
of hypothesis 1.It can be inferred that there is no association between gender and frequency
of online shopping.
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

HYPOTHESIS 2

TABLE 4

EDUCATION LEVEL VS. FREQUENCY OF ONLINE SHOPPING

frequency of online shopping

Only
Sometimes Frequently Never total
once
Post Graduate 14 30 22 9 75
education level
RESEARCH SCHOLAR 11 22 13 4 50
Total 25 52 35 13 125
By analysing the above facts with the help of chi-square test following results have been
found.

TABLE 5 CHI-SQUARE TEST FOR H20

Degree of freedom P(Level of Calculated value Table value

significance)
3 0.05 0.69 7.81

Here the calculated value (0.69) is less than the table value (7.81) which leads to acceptance
of hypothesis 1.It can be inferred that there is no association between the education level and
frequency of online shopping.

HYPOTHESIS 3

TABLE 6:

GENDER * MOTIVES OF ONLINE SHOPPING CROSS TABULATION

Motives of online shopping

Time Product
Convenience Superior Total
saving comparison
selection/Availability
Female 25 17 9 6 57
Gender
Male 33 17 10 8 68
Total 58 34 19 14 125

By analysing the above facts with the help of chi-square test following results have been
found.

TABLE 7: CHI-SQUARE TEST FOR H30

Degree of freedom P value (Level of Calculated value Table value

significance)
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

3 0.05 0.19 7.81

Here the calculated value (0.19) is less than the table value (7.81) which leads to acceptance
of hypothesis 1.It can be inferred that there is no association between gender and motives of
online shopping.

MAJOR FINDINGS:

1. Chi-square testified that there is no association between gender and frequency of online
shopping, educational level and frequency of online shopping & gender and motives of online
shopping.

2. It is an interesting fact that more than 90% of the respondents are using online shopping.So
online shopping is very popular among students.

3. Most of the students are influenced by word-of-mouth advertising for their online
shopping.

4. Male students are mostly preferring electronics gadgets while female students are
preferring clothing for their online shopping.

5. Amazon is the most favoured shopping website among the male students, while Flipkart
among female students.

6. Overally Flipkart has gained largest share among the students followed by Amazon and
Snapdeal.

7. Cash on delivery is the most convenient mode of payment among students.

8. Most of the students responded that, they are satisfied in their online shopping experience.

9. Privacy and security issues are the most important barrier ranked by the respondents.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Remote location delivery system should be added. So that the services can be reached to
the grassroots level.
2. Delivered product’s colour, size should be matched with the displayed product and there
should be less window dressing.
3. Product portfolio and brand variety should be increased.
4. Delivery system should be more faster as well as affordable.
5. Maintenance of privacy & security should be given more importance
6. After sale services should be customized as per customer needs.

CONCLUSION:

This is a very good sign for online retailers that almost all respondents have purchased
through online. Though most of the respondents are satisfied with their shopping experience
 Utkal Business Review”, ISSN:0975-6191,Volume-XXIX , issue 1&2, 2016

but still there are many challenges before online shopping companies like maintenance of
privacy and security , customisation of after sale services, proper delivery service etc. Hence
it is the time for e-retailers that they should focus more on their quality of services, so that
they can achieve high satisfaction from customer.

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