CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Production and marketing of goods and services are the essence of economic life in any society. All
organizations perform these two basic functions to satisfy their commitments to their stakeholders – the owners,
the customers and the society, at large. They create a benefit that economists call utility which is the want-
satisfying power of a good or service. There are four basic kinds of utility – form, time, place and ownership
utility. Form utility is created when the firm converts raw materials and component inputs into finished goods
and services. Although marketing provides important inputs that specify consumer preference, the organization’s
production function is responsible for the actual creation of form utility. Marketing function creates time, place
and ownership utilities. Time and place utility occur when consumers find goods and services available when
and where they want to purchase them. Online retailers with 24*7 format emphasize time utility. Vending
machines focus on providing place utility for people buying snacks and soft drinks. The transfer of title to goods
or services at the time of purchase creates ownership utility.

Define marketing?
The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It
includes the coordination of four elements
4 P's of marketing:
(1) identification, selection and development of a product,
(2) determination of its price,
(3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and
(4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

Definition: - Kotler had defined the marketing as “the social process by which individuals and groups obtain
what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others”.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has given the definition for marketing as “marketing is the
management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably.”

Important elements that can be understood from the concept of marketing are:
 Marketing focuses on the satisfaction of customer needs, wants and requirements.
 The philosophy of marketing needs to be owned by everyone from within the organization.
 Future needs have to be identified and anticipated.
 There is normally a focus upon profitability, especially in the corporate sector. However, as public
sector organizations and not-for-profit organizations adopt the concept of marketing, this need not
always be the case.
 In this context, I selected the title “A DELIBERATION ON HOW DISCOUT RATES EFFECT
EMPTOR’S BUYING COMPORTMENT” as my DELIBERATION in order to get the practical
knowledge regarding marketing concept. In addition to understand the ground reality of any business
irrespective of the field the practical knowledge of marketing is essential. The study is all about hoe
customer buying behavior affected by the discount rates.

Today customer is the foundation of the business. Without customer, the businesses cannot survive in the
market. If a business man fails to satisfy the customer, simply he is thrown away by the customer from the
market.

1
 During the last 30 years the access of personal computers has increased all over the world. Along with
the development of new technology and computers, the ability to connect computers all over the world emerged
in the 1970s. This worldwide computer network was called the Internet. Along with the Internet an opportunity
has emerged; the possibility to make purchases online which is called Electronic commerce (E-commerce), and
is defined as;

“Maintaining business relationships and selling information, services and commodities by means of computer
telecommunications networks.”

The recent rapid growth of E-commerce has resulted in that many companies have decided to start up
web sites for E-commerce. For companies targeting a younger audience, the startup of a web site for E-
commerce is probably a good strategic move, since young adults are frequent Internet users. But for companies
targeting an older group, the success of the web site depend of the ability and willingness of middle aged
consumers to shop online.

Generally, men make purchases online more frequently than women do and younger consumers purchase online
products more often than older consumers, based on this, older women should be the least probable consumers
in an online environment. What does older women’s Internet purchasing behavior actually look like, and how
can it be increased?

Men purchase products through the Internet more often than women do, 55 percent of men bought a
product online in 2006 versus 46 percent of women. The reason for this difference might be the focus of most
Internet business, which mostly has men as their target group. The research of Belanger et al (2002), support the
notion of men as more frequent online buyers than women. Their research also concluded computer use, email
use, prior web use and access to a credit card as significant determinants of online purchasing. The gender issue
is also supported by study which revealed women to be less content with online shopping than men.

Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly purchase
products or services from seller over the internet using web browser . Online shopping provides all type of
goods to be available in the virtual world. It is just like a shop in the neighborhood, selling all type of goods but
with some prominent differences. Here one can access these shops any time without stepping out of their
home /office. It can be accessed any time when you are on the move, relaxing in your home or having a time out
at your office. Here all the products are displayed with the price and detailed mention of the features. Potential
customers can have a look at them, analyze what other similar online shopping outlets are offering and can get
the best deal out of it.

Nowadays, the concept “DIC” i.e. double income couples are becoming all the more prominent in
India. With the long working hours and increased distances to travel, they are not having enough time to devote
it to shopping as people don't feel like going out for buying day to day things after a very hectic day at office.
They want to reserve it for other works like socializing, entertainment etc. Now the companies are coming up
with the ways so that this section of society can be tapped to the maximum and only way to attract them is just a
click away and that too at any time 24X7. Moreover, this is located in the virtual world and can be accessed any
time when you are watching your favourite TV show or having a coffee break at office. This is the online
shopping concept

2
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objectives of this study were;

 To explore individual characteristics of women online shoppers;

 To assess whether these women characteristics induce a shopping online; and

 The main objective is just those who shop online more whether men or women.

 Their main aim is diversity products portfolio into home appliances, electronics, etc

We then construct a research framework and data collection. This is followed by data analysis and the
discussion of the findings. Managerial implications and future research directions are suggested.

NEED FOR THE STUDY

 In today’s world, people don’t have time to do tradition shopping. By using E-commerce web sites they can
avail service 24*7 according to their convenience by saving cost, time, period etc..,

 This study mainly focuses on the awareness among the society about E-commerce websites

 There is also need to analysis of women’s behaviour in online on the basis of age group of users, maximum
number of products purchased.

 To know the number of users in the online either women or men

 To know the method of payment, which is more i.e., like credit card, debit card, neting, online payment, wallet,
cash on delivery etc..,

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Rajamahendravaram city as the main area for the research purpose:

1. The study is limited to Rajamahendravaram city only.

2. The sample size does not give clear representation of the total universe.

3. The study is going to tell about women’s online purchasing behaviour with reference to the flipkart.com

4. The analysis is deeply going on Flipkart because considered for; it is number one site in the India. It have
royalty and brand.

3
 CHAPTER 2

RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY

The research is based upon primary and secondary data both.

Primary data:-

The primary data was collected through a questionnaire designed exclusively for the study. The questionnaire
was designed to collect information about demographic profile of the respondents such as age, gender, education
and family monthly income. In addition to this various questions related to the knowledge and experience about
online shopping, reason for choosing online shopping, type of products purchased online, factors affecting
consumer's behaviour while online shopping etc…,

Secondary data:-

Secondary data was taken from research papers, Journals, magazines and websites.

Sample size: - 42

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

It was difficult to find respondents as they busy in their schedule and collection data was very difficult.

Therefore, the study has to be carried out based on the availability of respondents.

The sample size does not give clear representation of the total universe..

Some of respondents were not ready to fill the questionnaire and

Some of respondents were not ready to come out openly.

4
 CHAPTER 3

INDUSTRY PROFILE

Flipkart an e-Commerce company founded in the year 2007, by Mr. SachinBansal and
BinnyBansalboth alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. They had been working for Amazon.com
previously. It operates exclusively in India, where it is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. It is registered in
Singapore, and owned by a Singapore based holding company. Started with an initial capital of four lakhs it now
aims for annual turnover of around Rs.4500 crores. Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name
“DigiFlip”,Flipkart also recently launched its own range of personal healthcare and home appliances under the
brand “Citron”. During its initial years, Flipkart focused only on books, and soon as it expanded, it started
offering other products like electronic goods, air conditioners, air coolers, stationery supplies and life style
products and e-books.

HISTORY AND GROWTH OF FLIPKART:-

Flipkart is not an Indian company since it is registered in Singapore and majority of its shareholders are
foreigners. Because foreign companies are not allowed to do multi-brand e-retailing in India, Flipkart sells
goods in India through a company called WS Retail. Other third-party sellers or companies can also sell goods
through the Flipkart platform. Flipkart now employs more than 15000 people. Flipkart allows payment methods
such as cash on delivery, credit or debit card transactions, net banking, e-gift voucher and card swipe on
delivery.

Flipkart is presently one of the largest online retailers in India, present across more than 14 product
categories & with a reach in around 150 cities. Flipkart is currently a 10,000 member strong team, with 3000
sellers on its platform and delivering 5 million shipments per month. Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Day’ sale helped the
company to achieve record single day sales of Rs. 600 Crores on Monday It made its presence felt in online
retailing by offering path breaking services like Cash on Delivery (COD), 30 Day replacement Guarantee, EMI
options, Flipkart mobile app , etc.

OBJECTIVES:-

 The main objective is not just those who shop online .They want to highlight the convenience of e- commerce to
traditional offline shoppers and thus help grow the market.

 Their main aim is diversity products portfolio into home appliances, electronics, etc.

 The main target is stronger supply chain and aggressive acquisitions.

5
 The main target in 2020 is entering global market.

MARKETING STRATEGY:-

a) Flipkartas been mostly marketed by word of mouth.

b) Customer satisfaction has been their best market medium.

c) Flipkart very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization)& Google Ad-words as the marketing tools to have
a far reach in the online world.

d) All in all to create a great customer experience. Kids were used to create the adverts to send out the message -if
a kid can do it, we can also do it.

BRAND AWARENESS:-

Brand Awareness is key success factor in the market. Flipkart is the industry leading with 80% market
share having a very high Brand Awareness and lowest price.

BRAND LOYALTY:-

Excellent user experience on the e-commerce website in term of usability speed clarity will enhance the
loyalty of existing customer and move a step ahead of brand awareness towards customer retention.

CHAPTER 4

COMPANY PROFILE

Flipkart is an E-Commerce company founded in 2007 by SachinBansal and BinnyBansal. It is registered in

Singapore and it operates in India, where it is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. Flipkart has launched its
own product range under the name "DigiFlip" with products including tablets, USBs, and laptop bags.In May
2014, Flipkart received $210 million from DST Global and in July it raised $1 billion led by existing investors
Tiger Global and South Africa's media group Naspers. Flipkart's last fundraising round in December had pegged
its valuation at $12 billion.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:-

6
 According to Mohanapriya.s “Online shopping has grown in popularity over the years mainly because
people find it convenient from the comfort of their home or office.

One of the most enticing factor about online shopping is popularity during a holiday season, it alleviates the
need to wait in long lines or search from store to store for a particular item.

The main scope of the study is to know about customer satisfaction towards online shopping. The present study
reveals about reasons for preferring an online website and satisfaction towards online websites”.

FLIPKART’S SUCCESS MANTRA:-

 Flipkart users are most satisfied than that of their competitors great customer service has been its
hallmark.

 The user interface is sleek and easy to use.

 Cash on delivery creates trust in the mind of Indian customers who are always have feared of making
payments online.

 Flip kart focuses on providing the relevant information possible into every single page.

 Easy understandable gateway of payment

 Clear description is there for each product

 Different angles of each picture

FUTURE ROAD MAP:-

Everything except for groceries and automobiles will be available on flip kart in future. They will look at bigger
investments in their supply chain. To enter into various new categories and expand the categories also.

7
 CHAPTER 5

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

This framework is most suitable to our investigation because the understanding of the determinants of women’s
attitude has both a direct and positive effect on women’s intentions to actually use the Internet for shopping
suggested, we integrated additional factors including ‘control’. These factors are proposed to act as significant
determinants for ‘ease of use’ introduced ‘consumer traits’ and ‘situational influences’ to the TAM framework,
resulting in their attitudinal model of technology-based self-service. Although various researchers have modified
the original TAM framework to suit their investigation, apart from ‘ease of use’, ‘usefulness’, and ‘enjoyment’,
we integrated six factors for understanding women’s intentions to shop online including ‘consumer traits’,
‘situational factors’, ‘product characteristic’, ‘previous online shopping experience’, ’trust in online shopping’,
and ‘product attributes’.

Framework for consumers’ intention to shop online:-

Dellaert et al. (2004) have constructed the „framework for consumers‟ intentions to shop online‟.
Dellaert et al (2004) developed this model based on TAM. This model was chosen to be included in the study
because it is an extension of the original TAM and applied to the E-commerce context. Compared to the
previous mentioned modified model, this one is more extended, as the authors of this model have added more
factors to TAM than the previous mentioned one.

The authors of this thesis have chosen to use this model as it relates to computer knowledge, and
positive and negative issues with online shopping. The factors „usefulness‟ and „ease of use‟ are related to
computer knowledge. „Enjoyment‟ is related to the positive outcome of online shopping. Trust in online
shopping is related to potential negative aspects of E-commerce. This model also includes „situational factors‟

8
and „consumer characteristics‟, which also are important factors that affects the consumer’s online purchasing
behavior.

As this model included more factors than the „extended TAM for online shopping‟, it was used as a
foundation for some of the questions in the questionnaire, in which the online purchasing behavior was mapped
out. Common for the both modified models are that they both have added „enjoyment‟ and „trust‟ to the
original TAM. This is why the two models are interesting to compare in the analysis of the research findings.

Usefulness:-

Usefulness is defined as the perception of the individual that his or her performance will be improved
or enhanced by using the new technology. It classifies the new technology as shopping on the Internet and the
individual’s performance as the outcome of the online shopping experience. In their interpretation of the model,
„usefulness‟ refers to the perceptions of the consumers that by using the Internet as a shopping means, the
outcome of their shopping experience will be enhanced.

Ease of Use:-

According to Dellaert et al. (2004), and their extension of the TAM model, „ease of use‟ implies that
the consumer perceive the online shopping to require a minimum of effort. The difference between „ease of use‟
and „usefulness‟ is that „ease of use‟ is more focused on the consumers‟ perception of the process that leads to
the final shopping outcome, whereas „usefulness‟ refers to only the outcome of the online shopping experience.
It can be concluded, in a simplified manner, that „ease of use‟ is how easy the Internet is to use as a tool for
shopping, and „usefulness‟ describes how effective online shopping is in helping consumers in completing their
task.

Enjoyment:-

In their modified model, Dellaert et al. (2004), refer to the factor enjoyment as the outcome of the
playfulness and fun of the online shopping experience. This is compared to only shopping for the completion of
the task shopping in itself. According to Dellaert et al. (2004), the actual purchasing of goods might be
subsidiary to the actual experience of shopping online. Due to this, consumers‟ perceptions concerning the
potential entertainment of online shopping is reflected by the factor „enjoyment.

Consumer traits:-

To understand why consumers choose to shop online one needs to address different consumer traits,
such as „personality characteristics‟ and „demographic factors.Gender is another factor that is relevant for
attitudes among consumers to perform online shopping. In general, men are more interested in using different
types of technologies in their shopping process. Female consumers prefer to use a catalog when shopping from
their homes, whereas men are more positive towards using the Internet as a shopping means. However, those
female consumers that do perform online shopping, tend to do this more frequently than men that are using the
Internet as a shopping means.

Education is a third factor that is relevant in the relationship between the three basic determinants and the
attitudes of the consumers to shop online. Consumers with higher education are more likely to feel comfortable
using non-store channels for shopping. -income households often correlates positive with possessions of

9
computers and Internet access. They also correlate positively with consumers with higher level of education.
Consumers with higher levels of income also intend to shop online to a larger extent.

Situational factors:-

The attitude towards online shopping becomes less important because the main drive for online
shopping is that it is always available and time saving. The situational factors lack of mobility and geographical
distance are also important for consumers to shop online. Some consumers are not able to visit traditional stores
due to illness or large travel distances

Previous online shopping experiences:-

There is a positive relationship between consumers‟ previous Internet shopping experience and their
intensions to shop online. Previous research findings demonstrate that intensions towards online shopping are
directly influenced by prior online shopping experience.

Product characteristics:-

Consumers‟ attitudes towards shopping online are also influenced by the characteristics of the product
or service that is under consideration. For example clothing, the customer has a need to feel, touch and try them
on and these types of products can therefore be difficult to purchase over the Internet. This entails that more
standardized products like books, CD‟s and videotapes are more likely to be considered for online shopping

Trust in online shopping:-

Online shopping involves more uncertainty and risk than traditional shopping and the lack of „trust‟
in Internet shopping is still an unresolved issue for consumers who intend to shop online.

Due to the lowered risk involved in exchanging information, a high level of privacy and security in the Internet
shopping experience will affect consumer trust in a positive way. The level of trust is generally positively related
to the attitudes and intentions of the consumers to shop online. At the same time, abuse of consumers‟ trust in
online shopping will have a negative effect on consumers‟ attitudes towards online shopping.

Assessing Women’s Apparel Shopping Behaviour on the Internet:-

This investigation evaluates women’s attitude as an overall inclination towards apparel shopping online.
Its findings suggest that women generally show positive attitudes towards shopping online for apparel. Women
who shop for apparel online are aware of some of the discouraging features of online shopping, but these
features do not deter them from buying online. The implication for online retailers is that they should focus on
making the experience of online shopping more accommodating and more user-friendly. This is important
because the positive features of online shopping (‘convenience’, ‘usefulness’, ’ease of use’, and ‘efficiency’)
appear to be more important than the negative features (‘lack of security’, ‘privacy of information’ and ‘online
fraud’).

Offline and Online Consumer Decision-making Process:-

The process of making decision are very similar whether the consumer is offline or online. But one
some major differences are shopping environment and marketing communication. According to traditional

10
consumer decision model, Consumer purchase decision typically starts with need awareness, then information
search, alternative evaluations, deciding to purchase and finally, post-purchasing behavior.

In terms of online communication, when customers see banner ads or online promotion, these advertisements
may attract customers’ attention and stimulate their interesting particular products. Before they decide to
purchase, they will need additional information to help them out. If they do not have enough information, they
will search through online channels, e.g., online catalogs, websites, or search engines. When customers have
enough information, they will need to compare those choices of products or services. In the search stage, they
might look for the product reviews or customer comments. They will find out which brand or company offers
them the best fit to their expectation.

A Framework of Online Consumer Decision:-

When consumers want to buy product, they will look at the brand and the characteristics of product or service.
Some products can be purchased and shipped easily online such as, software, books. On the other hand, some
products are hard to decide through online channel. Web site features, firm capabilities, marketing
communication stimuli, and consumer skills are also important, in terms of the proposed framework.

When consumers want to buy product, they will look at the brand and the characteristics of product or service.
Some products can be purchased and shipped easily online such as, software, books. On the other hand, some
products are hard to decide through online channel. Web Site feature is one of the important things that can
influence consumers to buy product online.

11
 CHAPTER 6

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The following table shows the demographic profile of the respondents..,

Table 1:-

Basic factors Categorization No. of Respondents % of total sample

Male 26 61.90
Gender
Female 16 38.10

Total 42 100

Table 1 shows that; Ratio of male consumers is very high in online shopping (61.90%).

Table 2:-

Basic factors categorization No. of Respondents % of total sample

18-30years 22 52.38

31-40years 11 26.19

Age 41-50years 7 16.67

Above 50 years 2 4.76

Total 42 100

This shows that, the number of more persons who age 18 – 30 years

12
Table 3:-

Education of respondents;

Basic factors Categorization No. of Respondents % of total sample

High school/diploma 4 9.52

Under-graduation
9 21.42

Education Post-graduation 27 64.28

Others 2 4.78

Total 42 100

Table 3 shows that; Correlation is also done on education to see the trend of online shoppers with different
education levels, the result showed that which is very high positive correlation between education and attitudes
towards online shopping and would indicate that higher education makes online shopping more attractive.

Table 4:-

Experience of online shopping:-

particulars No.of Respondents % of respondents

Below 1year 4 9.52

1-2 years 19 45.23

3-4 years 11 26.19

Above 5 years 8 19.06

13
 Total 42 100

experience of online shopping

20 19
18

16

14
no of respondents

12 11
10
8
8

6
4
4

0
Ta
ble 4 shows that; Max. People have an experience of 1-2 years of online shopping (45.23%)

Table 5:-

Reasons for choosing online shopping

particulars No.of Respondents % of respondents

Wide Varity of products 12 28.57

Different types of payments 1 2.38

Lower prices 3 7.14

Easy buying products 22 52.38

14
 More discounts 4 9.53

Total 42 100

reasons for choosing online shopping

25
22

20
no of respondents

15
12

10

5
3
1
0
1

This one shows that; mostly people felt that online shopping has easy buying procedures (52.38%)

Table 6:-

Products purchased in online shopping,

particulars No.of Respondents % of respondents

Books 12 28.57

CD/video 6 14.28

Soft wares 0 0

15
 Gifts 6 14.28

Tickets 1
2.38

Clothes 1 2.38

Gadgets 16 38.11

Total
42 100

18
16
16
14
12
12
10
8
6 6
6
4
2 1 1 1
0
0
Books CD/video Soft wares Gifts
Tickets Clothes Gadgets
This
one shows that; majority of the respondents preferred in online available gadgets(38.11%)

Table 7:-

Online shopping saves time,

particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Strongly agree 12 28.57

Agree 21 50.00

16
 Neutral 2 4.76

Disagree 7 16.67

Strongly disagree 0 0

Total 42 100

25

21
20

15
12

10
7

5
2

0
0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that; majority people agreed that the online shopping saves time(78.57%)

Table 8:-

Online shopping saves money

particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Strongly agree 9 21.42

Agree 21 50.00

17
 Neutral 3 7.14

Disagree 7 16.67

Strongly disagree 2 4.77

Total 42 100

25

21
20

15

10 9
7

5
3
2

0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that; 71.42% majority of people agreed that the online shopping saves money

Table 9:-

Online shopping is risky

particulars No.of.respondents % of respondents

Strongly agree 3 7.14

18
 Agree 5 11.90

Neutral 4 9.52

Disagree 22 52.38

Strongly disagree 8 19.06

Total 42 100

25
22

20

15

10
8

5
5 4
3

0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that; 71.44% majority of people not agreed that the online shopping is risky

Table 10:-

It is easy to choose and make comparison with other products while shopping online..,

particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Strongly agree 11 26.19

19
 Agree 21 50.00

Neutral 2 4.76

Disagree 7 16.67

Strongly disagree 0 0

Total 42 100

25

21
20

15

11
10

0
0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that; 76.19% majority of people agreed that It is easy to choose and make comparison with
other products while shopping online.

Table 11:-

Get on-time delivery by shopping online..,

particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Strongly agree 7 16.67

20
 Agree 23 54.76

Neutral 8 19.04

Disagree 3 7.14

Strongly disagree 1 2.39

Total 42 100

25
23

20

15

10
8
7

5
3
1
0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that ; majority people agreed that Get on-time delivery by shopping online (71.43%)

Table 12:-

The website design helps in searching the product easily..,

particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

21
 Strongly agree 23 54.76

Agree 11 26.19

Neutral 5 11.90

Disagree 2 4.76

Strongly disagree 1 2.55

Total 42 100

25
23

20

15

11
10

5
5
2
1
0
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree Strongly disagree

This one is shows that; 80.95% majority of people agreed that the website design helps in searching the product
easily.

Table 13:-

Recommendations to non-online buyers for online shopping..,

22
 particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Recommended 34 80.95

Not- recommended 8 19.05

Total 42 100

40

35 34

30

25

20

15

10 8

0
Recommended Not- recommended

This one is shows that; 80.95% majority of people agreed that Recommendations to non-online buyers for
online shopping.

Table 14:-

Who are more interested to spend time in online..,

23
 particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

men 27 64.28

women 15 35.72

Others 0 0

Total 42 100

30
27
25

20

15
15

10

0
0
men women Others

This one is shows that; 64.28% majority of people agreed that Who are more interested to spend time in online.

Table 15:-

Who are more attracted to online advertisements and promotions..,

24
 particulars No. of Respondents % of respondents

Men 13 30.95

Women 29 69.05

Others 0 0

Total 42 100

35

30 29

25

20

15 13

10

0
0
Men Women Others

This one is shows that; 69.05% majority of women agreed that who are more attracted to online advertisements
and promotions.

Findings

The findings that we gained in this study are as follows:

25
1. Starting from demography, the results of correlation results of age indicated that there is a quite strong
correlation between age and attitude towards online shopping, i.e. elderly people are not so keen to shop online.
This will help online retailers to make strategies according to different age brackets.

2. Correlation is also done on education to see the trend of online shoppers with different education levels, the
result showed that which is very high positive correlation between education and attitudes towards online
shopping and would indicate that higher education makes online shopping more attractive.

3. Table 2 shows that; high percentage of sample of age group is 18-30 years

4. Table 5 shows that; Mostly people felt that online shopping has easy buying procedures (52.38%)

5. Table 9 shows that; Most of the respondents feel that there is no risk in online shopping (71.44%)

6. Table 10 shows that; 76.19% respondents agreed that while online shopping, it is easy to choose and compare
with other products.

7. Table 13shows that; Maximum number of respondent suggests non online buyers to become online buyers
(80.95%)

Shop online:-

1. I would probably not purchase a product online because I would not know how to do it.

2. I’m afraid of making purchases online since I have read many stories about fraud and other problems that have
occurred.

3. I do not feel comfortable paying or using my visa card online either, I am afraid that someone could steel the
card number or my personal information.

4. I prefer to shop in a physical store where I can touch and see the product.

5. I think it is also much easier to buy a product in a physical store because I go in the store, pick a product, then
buy it and then I am finished.

6. I do not perceive it as it is more easy to buy something online, on the contrary I find it more difficult. You have
to order the product, then wait for it to arrive and then pick it up from the post office.

Factors that could make me buy more online :-

 To increase the security online

 Make the shopping process online more user friendly.

Problem:-

A major drawback with E-commerce is the intangibility of the products sold online, which can increase the
difficulty for the customers to decide whether or not the product fits their needs. This implies it would be
difficult to sell clothing and textiles using the Internet as a sales channel, since for these products a customer
decision is based on the fabric, colour, fit and quality of the textile or garment. The home textile industry is an
industry in which competition has increased during the past years due to both the entry of new actors, as well as
an expansion of the market into the Ecommerce context . During the past years the interest of design and home

26
 décor has increased rapidly in rajahmundry mostly with women as the main customers. The increased
competition, the entry into the E-commerce context combined with the difficulty of selling those products online
makes the industry an interesting area for research.

SUGGESTIONS

1. More awareness towards online shopping:-

We find through this study that the demo-graphical issues like age, education and income were agreed for online
shopping but the rate is higher when the respondents are young, when the education is higher the respondents
agreed for the same and the higher income group respondents strongly agree for the same. It means an
awareness program for online shopping is very much necessary. The retail online shoppers should be planned
for awareness towards online shopping through different ways.

2. Varied payment options:-

In order to attract more and more customers, online shoppers have to increase the payment options as there are
only small section of people in India who have credit cards so this also hampers some who are willing to shop
online. More options like Cash-on-delivery, money transfer, cheques or demand drafts, end-to-end payment
should be made available to the customer who can adopt the best suited method.

3. Awareness regarding security measures:-

Security issues still continue to be a major drawback and trends like AVS (Address Verification System), PIN for
credit cards, smart cards, digital signatures, e-cards, and easier infra-and inter-bank transactions online need to
be made more prominent. Teaching consumers to transact only on secure internet connections is also necessary.

4. Highlight the benefit of shopping at home:-

Potential customers should be convinced of the benefits of shopping from home without having the pain of
going out in the crowded placed.

5. Make the prices more competitive:-

The price offered for online shopping should be made more competitive as compared to the prices of the goods
available in the local shops then only the customers will feel motivated to buy online.

6. Stress on the special offers:-

Customers should be made aware about the varied sales promotion schemes, which will make this online buying
more attractive and popular among the buyers.

27
7. Emphasis on after sale service:-

As the biggest hindrance in the path of online shopping becoming more popular is the question “who is to
blame” If the product is not functioning well? Therefore, there should be more stress on the quality of products
and the durability of the products, which are offered for sales and along with that assurance for after sales
service

CONCLUSION

The thesis determined computer experience and age of women to have an impact on whether they make online
purchases or not. The largest obstacle for online shopping was payment discomfort and the largest benefit of
shopping online was the conveniece factor. Several factors that could increase the probability for women of
making online purchases was discovered, and specific recommendations for marketers which target women in
this group were developed. Furthermore, one of the models concerning consumers‟ intention to make
purchases‟ in an online environment was modified to focus the intentions of women to shop online.

This thesis has found evidence suggesting that frequency of computer and Internet use as well as computer
experience relate to the probability of making purchases online for women. Higher frequency of computer and
Internet use as well as computer experience correlate to a higher probability of making purchases online. The
intention of women to shop online was also discovered to relate to age even in this fairly narrow age range;
women in the age category above 50 years made fewer online purchases than women in the age group 18-30
years.

The three most important obstacles regarding Internet shopping for women was in order of importance; payment
discomfort, worry about Internet fraud and worry about misuse of personal information. These three obstacles
can be perceived as intertwined and the underlying reasons for their influential roles as difficulties are multiple.
The discomfort concerning the three obstacles is derived from worries about losing money from ones bank
account and not receiving the ordered product. These fears might be overestimated and can be a result of intense
media coverage, as well as failure of banks and online companies to present safe payment methods to their
consumers.

Convenience along with an ability to save time was in this study attributed as the most important benefits
women perceived Internet shopping to entail. Other important benefits were that online stores offer lower prices,
as well as Internet allows women to make purchases from stores not available in their residential area. The
reason for convenience and time saving to be the largest benefits of online shopping is the pressed time
schedules of women.

Several factors were discovered which could have an ability of increasing the target group‟s level of Internet
shopping. These were categorized into three areas,

28
1.The first area was „price related factors‟. These factors related to price level of products sold in the web shop
and marketing activities which aimed at offering lower prices.

2.The second area was „catalog related factors‟ which indicated an increase of online shopping if a catalog
would be distributed from the company managing a web shop.

3.The third area was „advertisement related factors‟, which brought up the importance of extensive advertising
to remind the women in the investigated age range of the existence and the possibilities connected to making
purchases online.

The online purchasing behavior of middle-aged women is an interesting area for research since it is a large
demographic group, with a large purchasing power and is a group which increases their amount of Internet
purchases every year. Further research could consider a different industry for the research or a wider age group.
The research could entail a nationwide quantitative study with an aim of yielding extensive information about
the habits and attitudes women have concerning shopping on the Internet. The aspiration would be to find
methods to customize marketing strategies to further increase the online shopping behavior of women in the
selected age group.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear sir/madam,

I D.N.SUKUMAR studying 1st year MBA in GIET, pursuing this mini project entitled “A STUDY
ONIMPACT OF E-COMMERCE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCES TO“A STUDY OF WOMEN’S ONLINE
PURCHASING BEHAVIOR”.We seek your help and cooperation to fill the following questionnaire freely and
frankly. We ensure confidentiality and your responses will be used for study purpose only. Please tick the right
answer,

1. Name :

2. Classification of sex
Ο Male Ο Female
3. Age :
Ο18-30 years Ο 31-40 years
Ο41-50 years Ο Above 50 years
4. Educational qualification :
Ο High school Ο Intermediate
Ο Under-graduation Ο Post-graduation
Ο Others
5. Occupation :

Ο Student Ο Home maker

Ο Salaried Ο Business

29
6. What is your annual income:
Ο Below 240000 Ο 240001-360000
Ο 360001-480000 Ο Above 480000
7. Any experience of online shopping :
Ο Yes Ο No
8. How many years of experience in online shopping :
Ο Below 1year Ο 1-2 years
Ο 3-4 years Ο Above 5years
9. What is reason for choosing online shopping?
Ο Wide variety of products
Ο Different types of payments
Ο Lower prices
Ο Easy buying products
Ο More discounts
10. How frequently use of online purchasing?
Ο Very often Ο Often
Ο Occasionally Ο Frequently

11. What type of products purchased in online shopping?

Ο Books Ο Gifts
Ο Cd/dvd Ο Tickets
Ο Softwares Ο Clothes Ο Gadgets
12. Any availability of information about product and services?
Ο Excellent Ο Good
Ο Average Ο poor
13. Is it online shopping saves time?
Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree
14. Is it online shopping saves time?
Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree
15. Is it online shopping risky?
Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree
16. Is it easy to choose and make comparison with other products while shopping online?
Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree

17. Is it get on-time delivery by shopping online?

Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree
18. Is it website design helps in searching product easily?
Ο Strongly agree Ο Agree
Ο Neutral Ο Disagree
Ο Strongly disagree
19. Would you recommend to non-online buyers for online shopping?
Ο Recommended Ο Non-Recommended
20. Who are more interested to spend time in online shopping?
Ο Men Ο Women
Ο Others
21. Who are more attracted to online advertisements and promotions?
Ο Men Ο Women
Ο Others

30
 22. Who is more money spending in online shopping?
Ο Men Ο Women
Ο Others
23. Who are more times visit to online shopping?
Ο Men Ο Women
Ο Others

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(i) Book title; kotler on marketing (how to create win and dominate markets). Publisher simon & Schuster. Author
“Philip kotler”.

(ii) Book title; marketing management (hard cover) by Author “Philip kotler”. Publisher “pearson”

(iii) Internet marketing ; integrated online and offline stargies , author adsworth publishing co inc, author Roberts
and zahay.

31
 WEB REFERENCES

1. http://www.letsintern.com/employer-page/internships-at-Flipkart/999

2. http://www.Flipkart.com/about-us

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart

32