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Bipal Goyal

Dr. Ting Xiao

ESL 2089

05 September 2020

The General Public's Opinion About Shopping Online Through eCommerce Websites in India

DISCUSSION

Our findings suggest that the perception of the general public is increasingly getting

better when it comes to shopping online through eCommerce websites in India. According to

Mitra (2013), the Internet economy will become more meaningful with more Internet users in the

next 3 to 5 years. Over the past few years, the number of people who use the Internet has been

rapidly increasing at a tremendous pace in India. According to a joint report by the Internet and

Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen Holdings (2019), over 500 million people use

the web as of November’ 2019. With so many people on the web, it is no wonder that

eCommerce has grown rapidly in India. In a past research, it was seen that only 15% of people

spent more than Rs. 5000 every month on eCommerce (Bhatt 46), however, now more than 25%

of people spend the same amount on the Internet every month. With people being more confident

in shopping online, it becomes very important for businesses to make the transition into the

digital world as well so that they may stay relevant in the upcoming days.

Solid reputation, relevant product description, clear product pictures, and variety in

payment options were amongst the most important factors for buyers when choosing to shop

online. According to Bharadwaj (2019), better quality and range of products were important
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reasons why people were switching from Flipkart to Amazon, which are two of the biggest

eCommerce websites in India (398). A common theme that comes from the research by

Bharadwaj and the findings of this study indicate that products being sold have to be good for a

business to be successful in India.

Furthermore, our results suggest that there is a positive outlook towards the future of

eCommerce, with beliefs that the eCommerce sector is going to grow and provide greater

consumer satisfaction in India. According to Battase and Shankar (2020), eCommerce is the

future of shopping and is changing the way of buying and selling products in India (308). With

an ever-growing customer base of Internet users and the optimism of the general public, now is

the perfect time for businesses to get into the digital side and start growing.

Like any research, this paper has its limitations as well. The sample size of this paper was

very small (n = 50), which might lead to coming at conclusions that might not be applicable to a

very broad audience. Another shortcoming in the research methodology was that the maximum

number of candidates (over 90%) were between the ages of 15-25, so coming at general

conclusions might be shortsighted over here as well.

As for next steps, I believe that further research must be conducted on this area with a

larger sample size. This will allow companies to gain a deeper understanding of the wants, needs,

and hopes of their customers, which would lead to their growth as well as better consumer

experiences. Today, a lot of people are getting on the web and spending their money over there

in India.
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WORKS CITED

Battase, Dr. Shankar T., and Smt. Sunanda Shankar. “Ecommerce in India – An Overview.”

International Research Journal of Marketing & Economics, vol. 7, no. 2, February 2020,

pp. 302-310. Accessed 04 September 2020, tinyurl.com/y2hv3mbq

Bhatt, Ashish. “Consumer Attitude towards Online Shopping in Selected Regions of Gujarat.”

Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 2, no. 2, June 2014, pp. 29-56. Accessed 03

September 2020, dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3451860

Bharadwaj, Samrat. “The War Between Flipkart and Amazon India: A Study on Customer

Perception.” International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature, vol. 7,

no. 5, May 2019, pp. 391-402. Accessed 06 September 2020, tinyurl.com/y55l5pzy

Gray, H. and Louis Sanzogni. “Technology Leapfrogging in Thailand: Issues for the Support of

eCommerce Infrastructure.” The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing

Countries, vol. 16, no. 3, 2004, pp. 1-26. Accessed 05 September 2020,

doi:10.1002/j.1681-4835.2004.tb00104.x

Mitra, Abhijit. “Ecommerce in India – A Review.” International Journal of Marketing,

Financial Services & Management Research, vol. 2, no. 2, February 2013, pp. 126-132.

Accessed 04 September 2020, tinyurl.com/yyevwawo

Vatanasakdakul, Savanid, et al. "What prevent B2B eCommerce adoption in developing

countries?: a socio-cultural perspective." Faculty of Engineering and Information

Sciences - Papers: Part A, no. 788, 2004, pp. 1-15. Accessed 05 September 2020,

ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers/788
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“Digital in India.” Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen Holdings,

2019. Accessed 06 September 2020, tinyurl.com/y592mh7z