2.

1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A brief literature would be of immense help to the researcher in gaining insight into
selected problem. The researcher would gain good background knowledge of the problem
by reviewing certain studies. A reference to these entire studies will be related in the
contest of the shaping the present study. There are very limited studies, which are directly
relevant to the study concerned. They have been taken from journals, articles, PhD thesis
and unpublished research work.
Weber, K. and Roehl, W. S. (1999), conducted a study on those who search
for or purchase travel products through on-line with the age group of 26 to 55 years.
Results on the basis of the study concerns about credit card security, evaluation of
product quality, and privacy issues are the main problems faced while on-line
purchase of travel products, were made
Jarvenpaa et al, Tractinsky & Vitale (2000), tested a model of consumer
attitude towards specific web base stores, in which perceptions of the store's reputation
and size were assumed to affect consumer trust of the retailer. The level of trust was
positively related to the attitude toward the store, and inversely related to the
perception of the risks involved in buying from that store. The study concluded that the
attitude and the risk perception affected the consumer's intention to buy from the store.
According to the study by Armstrong and Kotler, (2000), a person’s shopping
choices are influenced by four major psychological factors: motivation, perception,
learning and beliefs and attitude. This means that, through motivation and perception,
attitudes are formed and consumers make decisions. Attitudes serve as the bridge
between consumers’ background characteristics and the consumption that satisfies their
needs.
Goldman Sachs (2001), found in his study price, quality of service and
information, speed and reliability of delivery, ease of on-line ordering, and trust towards
vendors are important factors for consumers considering online purchases that will
increasingly determine their propensity to engage in e- commerce.

Volk and Ferderick Allen (2001), made an internet survey of 201 people using the
internet worldwide. The Internet has evolved from a communications tool for a
select group of scientists to a commercial juggernaut that is predicted to change the
way people buy and sell things across a number of industries. The study f o c u s e d
o n t h e c o n s u m e r behaviour. The Consumer Decision Process can be categorized
into five sub- processes such as motivation and need recognition, information search,
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 alternatives evaluation, purchase decision and purchase and purchase outcomes.
Internet user attitudes and intention to use the internet for each of the behaviors were
studied within the theoretical constructs of the theory of reasoned action. It was found
that the attitudinal component of the theory of reasoned action was consistently
predictive of the users’ intention to participate in all nine of the consumer behaviors
during the year 2000 holiday shopping season.
Corbitt, Thanasankit, and Yi (2003), argue that information to make the
purchase and to be able to make comparisons with alternative offers, plays an
important role in the absence of sales staff and the inability to see

and try the product. The cost of accessing the Internet is also a decisive factor for
engaging in Internet activities. While low prices do not guarantee high penetration, they
are an important factor for more widespread development of the Internet and
consequently, of electronic commerce.
Lillian Clark and Peter Wright (2004), in their study reviewed the research into
the various issues that may differentiate online consumer behaviour and whether they
are able to produce the understanding needed to construct behavioral models that can
help realize the full potential of e- commerce. The study concluded that a more
comprehensive approach to modeling online consumer behaviour is needed in order
to coherently describe the online consumer experience.
Nik Kamariah Nik Mat (2005), studied that the higher website trust will create
higher intention for online shopping. The study provides the consumers do not trust the
website during online shopping. Maybe another factors are very important than trust
like types of products. This result however is in contradiction with the result depicted
in other research which shows trust level may affect consumers’ willingness to purchase
and propensity to return to the site.
Ainin Sulaiman (2005), focused on Internet users working in an urban area of
Malaysia. It was found that out of 123 respondents 65.9 % of them have transacted
online. They bought air tickets and books as well pay their utility bills online. The study
concludes that guarantee, confidentiality of identity, product information and product
variety were the main factors will be considered while doing online purchase.
Internet and Online Association of India (2005), made a survey of e- commerce
security in 2005. The study was conducted through online and gathered information

10
regarding the solicited information on the user’s profile, internet usage, their perception
of the security associated with transacting online, their areas of concern and factors that

would increase their faith of online transactions. It was found from the study that 45
percent of window shoppers at e-commerce sites represent an audience that shopping
sites make informed decisions, a huge opportunity not exploited by marketers. It was
further found out from the study that majority of the online customers are male in the
age group of 26 years to 35 years and they are well aware about the plastic money.
Shweta Puneet (2006), in her article made an attempt to analyze about how
business value enhancement can be done through technology in the retail sector. It
was observed that the business is more competitive because the expectations of the
customers are going higher and hence the need to find out the new methods to drive the
business in the innovative way is also increasing. A fully integrated merchandising
supply chain network enables the retailer to overcome long standing operating
problems and to provide the customers with the better experience in shopping. Once
the customer builds the trust that gets what they want, they will come back to the same
retail store.
Tim Maton (2006), made an attempt to study about online grocery shoppers.
The study revealed that percentage of adults buying online has risen by five percent
points since 2003 to 20 percent in 2005 but the proportion of online grocery
shoppers has remained static at just 5 percent while general internet shopping increases
steadily. It was found that the customers find buying grocery through online very
inconvenient. The study suggested that grocery retailer should think differently to make
online grocery more attractive with added benefits to suit modern consumers.
Ahasanul Haque (2006), mentioned that only two factors, gender and family
income has significant relationship with overall attitudes towards online shopping. The
results also indicated that weekly internet use, having experience in e-shopping, and
willingness to shopping online in the future have significant relationship with
overall attitude towards online shopping. Moreover, results proved that there is
significant difference between human senses in online decision-making process and it
is explored to customers who experienced shopping a product or they were satisfied
previously, which have stronger confidence to do online shopping.

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 Dejan Petrovic (2007), in his study examined the ways to find, compare and
evaluate product information required by online consumers. The major findings of
the study are, the consumers use search engine on both global and local level, the
result pages are scanned for context corresponding to a supplied search term, pace of
search decreases in population to the depth of the research, intrusive advertising

campaign can create negative image, amount of information online directly affects
consumer search behaviour, integrated time saving features of online customer value
and consumer value human review than automated recommendations
Prof. Mohsin Islam (2008), has conducted a study on Changing Attitude of
Indian Consumer towards Online Shopping. He pointed out in his research, that three
out of the five dependent variables such as consumer attitudes, intentions, and
purchasing behavior and three out of the five independent variables such as perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, information on online
shopping, security and privacy, quality of internet connection gets the most attention.
Hence found that the personal characteristics such as vendor/service/product
characteristics and website quality significantly affect online shopping attitudes,
intention, and behavior.
Syed Shah Alam & Zaharah Bakar (2008), have investigated in their study the
relationships between young consumers’ perceptions of the factors that influence their
intention to buy through online. The analytical results are generally consistent with
consumers’ perceptions of the customer service, reliability and trust of online
purchasing. Trust has received the most consistent support as factors that influence
online buying. Marketers need to realize that the online marketing environment affects
the way consumers view and develop relationships.

Chih-Chien Wang (2009) analyzed that knowledge is one important factor

influencing the level of trust. The results revealed that knowledge is positively
associated with trust and online shopping activities. In other words, people who know
more about online shopping will trust and go shopping more online. Online retailing
practice should make the public knowledgeable about online transaction security
mechanisms to build users’ trust in online shopping.
Leva Andersone (2009), has examined the differences in behavior between online
and traditional shopping of Latvian consumers. According to the study the consumers are
looking for information about product, shopping frequency, about pricing, buying

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volume and time. Most important benefits of the shopping process at traditional buying
process are buying process, contact with equal and for e-shopping money saving, time
saving, conveniences and all around a clock. The study concludes that average size of
purchase in traditional shopping still is larger than in the internet shopping and friends
are main sources of information to search the products.The author also pointed out
that one can expect changes towards the internet as a main source in the nearest future

and no special time or day for purchasing.

A study has conducted by Feng Zhu (2010), indicates that how product and
consumer characteristics moderate the influence of online consumer reviews on product
sales using data from the video game industry. The findings reveal that online reviews
are more influential for less popular games and games whose players have greater
Internet experience.
Narges Delafrooz, Laily Hj. Paim & Ali Khatibi (2010) in their study title Students
Online Shopping Behavior: An Empirical Study and the study reveals that consumers have
different personalities that affects online shopping and can be classified into two orientations
of utilitarian and hedonic. Consumer who have utilitarian have goal oriented, rational,
deliberate, task oriented shopping behavior whereas hedonic have experiential, fun, fantasy,
arousal, excitement, entertaining behavior. The findings showed that utilitarian orientations
had higher effect on attitude towards online shopping and this may be due to the low level of
young consumers who have experience in online shopping. Moreover convenience, price and
a wider selection influenced consumers’ attitudes towards online shopping.
Ankur Kumar Rastogi (2010) conducted the study on a study on Indian online
consumers and their buying behavior and the study attempts to analyze the features related to
the buying behavior of online shoppers. Consumer buying behavior in respect of online
shopping was studied using different socio-economic variables. It also provides a support that
helps researchers understand the drivers of consumers’ attitude and goal to shop on the
Internet, and consumers’ perceptions regarding ease of use and usefulness. Conclusions
derived from the analysis can be used as useful guide for market orientation. The outcomes
of the study suggest that assessment of consumer buying behavior can contribute to a better
understanding of consumer buying behavior in respect of online shopping.
Demery (2010) reports, the advantage of the online channel is that some customers
find it convenient, think that it saves their time, and observe that it is easier to find a
particular item in online store.

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 Wells et al. (2011) in his study entitled online impulse buying: understanding the
interplay between consumer impulsiveness. The study found and proposed the model
considered the direct influence of website quality on the urge to buy impulsively.
Herna´ndez et al. (2011) in a study “Age, gender and income: do them really
moderate online shopping behavior?” analyzed whether individuals’ socioeconomic
characteristics – age, gender and income influence their online shopping behavior. The
individuals analyzed are experienced e-shoppers i.e. individuals who often make
purchases on the internet. The results of their research show that socioeconomic variables

moderate neither.
Mohammad Hossein Moshref (2012) in the study entitled “An Analysis of
Factors Affecting on Online Shopping Behavior of Consumers“, examined that e-retailers
should make their website safer and assure customers for delivery of their products. has
Positive effect attitude toward online shopping on online shopping behavior of consumers
indicate that considering attitude variables make a substantial contribution in online
shopping. Also, subjective norms have positive effect on shopping behavior. This means
the more people suggest e-buying to each other, the more this buying method will be
popular among people. This makes necessary the use of word of mouth marketing for
retailers. Domain specific innovativeness has positive effect on online shopping behavior.
This means that marketing specialists should target this society in their marketing strategy
formulation for better effectiveness of their marketing program.
Dahiya Richa (2012) in the study entitled “Impact of Demographic factors of
consumers on Online Shopping Behavior: A Study of Consumers in India found that
consumers response across different demographics factors shows that gender impacts
frequency of on-line shopping positively and Family Size impacts overall spend on on-line
shopping. The overall results prove that the respondents have perceived online shopping in a
positive manner. This clearly justifies the project growth of online shopping in the country.
However, the frequency of online shopping is relatively less in the country. Online shopping
organizations can use the relevant variables and factors, identified from the study, to formulate
their strategies and plans in the country. The organizations can prioritize the consumer implicit
and explicit requirements in online shopping environment. The results can also be used by
various organizations to identify their target customer segments.
Arjun Mittal (2013) in the study E-commerce: It’s Impact on consumer Behavior
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examines those factors that affect the consumer’s online shopping behaviors. It starts with the
current status of the Internet development, and mentioned the background of marketing as
representation and its difference with physical stores which in order to show the developing
history of Internet shopping since the E-commerce become popular The research focus on the
Internet shopping (include the nature of Internet shopping, E-commerce website, and online
security, privacy, trust and trustworthiness) and online consumer behaviors (include
background, shopping motivation and decision making process). Those factors were looked
at, and examined to reveal the influence at online consumer behaviors.
Nidhi Vishnu Sharma & Varsha Khattri (2013) in the Study of online shopping
behavior and its impact on online deal websites found that the prominent factors affecting this

buying decision are impulse, information of availability and option to provide a review. This
brings us to the conclusion that since most of the e-shopping of the deals is taking place on
impulse, marketers should put their focus on increasing awareness about the availability of
goods and services and building a feedback mechanism. There should also be some technique
by which consumers can be comforted of security concerns. Trust on this tight security
mechanism leads to repeat purchase, as is established here. Higher the level of trust on the
website more the number of times coupons have been bought by consumers.
Prashant Singh (2014) in a study Consumer’s buying behavior towards online
shopping A case study of flipkart.com user’s in Lucknow city examined that future of e-tailers
in India looking very bright. E-tailers give us the best way to save money and time through
purchasing online within the range of budget. Flipkart.com offering some of the best prices
and completely hassle-free shopping experience. The whole concept of online shopping has
altered in terms of consumer’s purchasing or buying behavior and the success of E-tailers in
India is depending upon its popularity, its branding image, and its unique policies.
Sanjeev Kumar & Savita Maan (2014) in the study Status and Scope of Online
Shopping: An Interactive Analysis, indicated that online shopping is a fun and convenient
way to locate hard-to-find items, to make purchases and discover bargains, but also with
some level of risk. Online shopping can be easy and enjoyable with some precautions.
India’s online market is at an early stage but is expected to see huge growth over the next
four to five years. Retailers have a sizeable opportunity as the online population starts to
spend more and buy more frequently online.
Haiping Wang & Guona Gu (2014) in the study Understanding Online
Consumer Stickiness in E-commerce Environment: A Relationship Formation Model
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revealed that sticking to a special website not only means that consumers like shopping
on the website but also means a kind of psychological reliability appears on consumers
and vendors. It will encourage e-vendors to provide better products or service for
consumers and promote the quick development of online transactions.
Chaitra Sharma (2015) studied Consumer Buying Behavior towards Online
Shopping’ analyzed the characteristics of buying behavior of online shoppers. Consumer
buying behavior in respect of online shopping was studied using different socio-economic
variables. There were two factors mainly influencing the consumers for decision making: Risk
aversion and innovativeness. Highly risk adverse consumers need to be very certain about
what they are buying. Whereas less risk adverse consumers can tolerate some risk.

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