Chapter 1

Introduction
1.1 Background of the study

Commerce is simply the process of buying, selling, or exchanging the products and
services between and among organization and individuals.

Before diving into other things about e-commerce, first we have to know e-commerce
actually is. Electronic commerce or e-commerce simply is a business model that lets
firms and individuals buy and sell things over internet. E-Commerce is digitally enabled
commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. It is a
modern business methodology that addresses the needs of organizations, merchants, and
consumers to cut or reduce costs while improving the quality of goods and services and
increasing the speed of delivery.

E-commerce operates in the following major market segments:

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Business to Business
It is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. It deals with relationships
between and among businesses. Producers and traditional commerce wholesalers
typically operate with this type of electronic commerce. Example: Amazon is an online
bookstore that sells books from various publishers including Wrox, O’Reilly, and
Premier Press. There are numerous benefits like transaction costs, disintermediation, and
transparency in pricing, economies of scale and network effects.

Business to Consumer
B2C model involves transactions between business organizations and consumers. It
applies to any business organization that sells its products or services to consumers over
the Internet. This type of e-commerce is distinguished by the establishment of electronic
business relationships between businesses and final consumers. It corresponds to the
retail section of e-commerce, where traditional retail trade normally operates. It includes
e-shops, e-malls, online stores, online services, auction stores, online banking, travel
services, and health information.

Consumer to Consumer
C2C model involves transaction between consumers. A consumer sells directly to another
consumer. Websites like bazee.com, hamrobazar.com, ebay.com are some of the
examples that provide a consumer to advertise and sell their products online to another
consumer. However it is essential that both buyer and seller must register with these
websites.

Consumer to Business
C2B model involves transaction that is conducted between a consumer and a business
organization. In this kind of a transaction, the consumer decides the price of a particular
product rather than the supplier. For example monster.com is a website on which a
consumer can post his bio-data for the services he can offer, any business firm that is
interested in deploying the services of the consumer can contact him and then employ
him, if suitable.

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1.2 Introduction of the topic
www.thulo.com

Thulo is a website which combines facilities of online shopping. It is a subsidiary

company of thulo group of companies. It is also a platform for new, events, deals, offers,
quizzes, contests. Using this shopping site people can buy products from a huge pool of
options provided by different verified sellers. On thulo.com, consumer can shop online
for their basic necessities to any other thing they might need and browse through
thousands of products from their array of online categories such as Personal Care,
Electronics, Apparel, Sports and Outdoors, Office Supplies, Fashion, Books, Groceries,
and many more. They provide a guarantee for delivering fresh and quality items with the
bill which consumer is purchasing. Online payments can be made through banks, PayPal,
VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Cash-on-delivery without any additional
charges. They also offer discounts and organize events to attract customers. This website
is supporting the community and women by featuring products that would not be easily
available in the market and online.

How to buy at Thulo.com website

First step is to enter www.thulo.com in the URl of the browser or access it with their
mobile application. After that we have to search for the product and if we decide to buy
that product we have to login to proceed further. After adding to the shopping cart we can
order the items immediately to be delivered within 3 days or more depending on the
location or we can schedule it to be delivered in given time. We have to give the recipient
information where contact & addresses are required. After filling the recipient
information we are asked to choose the payment methods where there are lots of options
like Visa/MasterCard, eSewa, IMEpay, PayPal, Union pay, cash on delivery, e-banking,
etc. After making payment for the product with any of the payment method a phone call
or email is sent to confirm the order, after confirmation the product is delivered to the
mentioned address.

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How to sell on Thulo.com
To sell your products on this website, first we need to make a seller account and register
to the website. After the registration of seller account is done thulo.com creates an online
shop on their website listing all your products. Now the customer can access all your
products list and start ordering.

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1.3 Network Security used by Thulo website
Network Security is the process if taking physical and software preventative measures to
protect the underlying networking infrastructure and unauthorized access, misuse,
malfunction, modification, destruction, or improper disclosure. Thulo.com is created
using a very sophisticated object-orientated programming language. Their administration
panel is not accessible to attackers because it's only available on their internal network
and completely removed from our public facing servers. Additionally, it has a secondary
authentication that authenticates users with our internal Windows network.

They use strong SSL [Secure Sockets Layer] authentication for Web and data protection.
SSl is a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted links between a server
and a client- typically a web server (website) and a browser. It allows sensitive
information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and login credentials to
be transmitted securely. SSL certificates are a must for transactions and to validate the
credit cards they use a payment gateway that uses live address verification services right
on one’s checkout.

Thulo.com has adopted SET, it is an open encryption and security designed to protect
credit card transactions on the internet. This was emerged from a call for security
standards by MasterCard and Visa. They require strong passwords. While it is the
responsibility of the retailer to keep customer information safe on the back-end, they can
help customers help themselves by requiring a minimum number of characters and the
use of symbols or numbers. Longer, more complex logins will make it harder for
criminals to breach the site from the front-end.SET provides confidentiality of
information, integrity of data, cardholder account authentication, and merchant
authentication.

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1.4 How to register at thulo.com?

Registration is the first step in buying and ordering goods and services. We have to
register and create an account for that.

To register we have to follow these steps:

 Go to www.thulo.com from browser or mobile app,

 At the top right corner we will see a profile icon ,
 Click the profile icon and choose login with different social media account or
create an new account,
 A signup form will appear according to what you select,
 Fill up the form by providing your valid information,
 Click the register option at the bottom,
 Now you are a registered member of thulo.com and can order goods and services
to your heart’s content.

1.5 Payment Methods

Making payment at Thulo.com is very easy because it provides a wide range of payment
options for its customers. Some of them are as follows:

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MasterCard or Visa Credit/Debit Cards: Customers can buy products from
thulo.com using their international MasterCard or Visa Card. This method is widely used
methods in the world. All the payment made from Visa/MasterCard is secured by 2C2P
(Cash & Card Payment Processor) secure payment which is adopted by thulo.com

Fonepay: Fonepay is a digital payment processor that connects consumers, banks and
merchants in an interoperable network to facilitate mobile/ digital payments. Customers
can easily pay through fonepay, it is similar to eSewa and is created by the same parent
company F1soft.

PayPal: Paypal is the faster, safer way to send money, make an online payment, receive
money or set up a merchant account. It is one of the most used payment method which is
widely used by people all over the world. Payment through PayPal is accepted in Thulo’s
website.

Connect IPS: Connect IPS is a single payment platform that allows the customers to
link their bank accounts to enable payment processor, fund transfer and more. This
payment method can only be used by linking the connectIPS account with the customer’s
bank account. Through this customer can directly pay from his bank account because the
bank account is linked with connectIPS account.

Khalti
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Khalti is a digital wallet for instant, secure and hassle-free online payments in Nepal. It is
a digital wallet which the consumers can use to pay at thulo.com, they can make
convenient payements through khalti app.

Cash on Delivery COD

It is the most common method of payment in e-commerce website; customer prefers this
method because they feel safe paying cash after receiving their products at their
doorsteps.

1.6 Full Store Directory of thulo.com

Supermarket Gifts and Pastries

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  Cooking essentials Soft Toys
 Daily products Cake and Pastries
 Liquor and beverages Gift items
 Home cleaning
 Packaged food
 Baby care
 Pet care
 Personal care

Electronics Women fashion

 Home appliances Women’s clothing

 Camera and accessories Bags
 Gadget and electronics Shoe and footwear
 Large appliances Jewelers
 Apple store Sunglasses and Lens
 Kitchen appliances
 TV and video

Mobile phones Books

 Smartphone Science Fiction

 Feature phone Poetry
 Mobile phone accessories Business
 Tablet

Mahila Udhyami

 Health and safety

 Personal care
 Food and clothing

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 Chapter 2

Objective and Feature

2.1 Objectives of the study

Main Objective

The main objective of this report was to study how consumers are evaluating ecommerce
sites for their purchases and to learn and evaluate about the operations of thulo.com

Specific Objectives

Objective provides the track for conducting any kinds of work. Thus, the major objective
of preparing this project is cited below:

 To study online marketing situation in Nepal

 To understand the workflow of ecommerce company
 Comparative analysis of the ecommerce website
 To know how the company manages all the big information and data from
different sources.
 To study how company effectively manages security of its users.
 To evaluate the network security used by thulo.com
 To analyze the feasibility and study market position.
 To find the potential threats and problems that may occur by the use of various
marketing strategies.
 To provide the methods and suggestions to overcome those obstacles effectively
 To facilitate in the decision making process for the company.
 To study the present state of the organization and make future plans accordingly.
 To know how they use the e-commerce strategies to connect people and make
online payments, transfer funds.

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2.2 Stand-out feature of Thulo.com

MA-Udhyami (Mahila Udhyami) is a campaign conceptualized by Thulo to empower

women entrepreneurs & women led businesses in Nepal by providing access to
appropriate DIGITAL TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES. It is initiated as a part of the project
“Revitalizing Women’s Businesses Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic” being led by the
Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs’ Associations of Nepal (FWEAN) in collaboration
with EMERGE and Thulo.Com.

In this project, this campaign currently focuses on online promotion and sales of products
of women entrepreneurs’, affected amidst COVID-19 Pandemic, by providing wider
market access through Thulo.Com and its affiliated web, mobile and social platforms. 

We request our customers to come and support our amazing women entrepreneurs by
buying their products and also providing honest feedback, so that we all support this
campaign as well as enjoy the wonderful products.

This campaign is made possible by the generous support of the American people through
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this
webpage are the sole responsibility of FWEAN and do not necessarily reflect the views
of USAID or the United States Government.

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Some of the products available which are offered by the Mahila Udhyami entrepreneurs
and led businesses are shown below:

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 Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Method for developing the project

To make this report, first step was to gather and compile information about the company
as much as possible. It was necessary to identify want kind of programming language and
techniques do the company uses in order to function effectively and efficiently. After that
it was imperative to ask the company itself about the addition information about the
company since there was not a lot of information on the internet. Through the various
articles published about the company I gathered all the information I could find and
started asking friends and other people about the products and services of the company,
how well their services are and how well the relationship is between them and the
company with the help of a questionnaire. Their website was a great help and the
previously made reports on similar companies made it easier to collect information about
this company in general. Other various methods were also used to collect data from the
environment.

3.2 Sources of Data Collection

When it comes to data collection, there are two methods in general used by researcher to
collect data, primary and secondary. Primary method includes observation method,
interview/questionnaire method, and case study method. Secondary method is the method
in which already collected data. The present study is based on combination of both
qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data is collected through the sampling
from the consumer. Random consumer is selected for the sampling purpose. The sample
individual is selected from different age group, different sex and from different location
of Bhairahawa. The different group of people including student, employee and
unemployed, housewives, etc is considered as sample for the study. The exploratory
study was done by circulating the questionnaire within the educational campuses, in some
work place and to some online users. Quantitative research in the form of a structured

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questionnaire was carried out. Sampling was done through non probability convenient
sampling. Questionnaires were circulated in the form of handouts.

3.2.1 Sources of Primary Data Collection

Primary data will be the data that you gather particularly with the end goal of your
research venture. Leverage of Primary data is that it is particularly customized to your
analysis needs. A drawback is that it is costly to get hold of. Primary data is otherwise
called raw information; the information gathered from the first source in a controlled or
an uncontrolled situation. Cases of a controlled domain are experimental studies where
certain variables are being controlled by the analyst.

The source of primary data is the populace test from which you gather the information.
The initial phase in the process is deciding your target populace. For instance, if you are
looking into the attractiveness of another washing machine, your target populace may be
newly-weds. Clearly, it’s impracticable to gather information from everybody, so you
will need to focus on the sample size and kind of sample. The specimen ought to be
arbitrary and a stratified random sample is frequently sensible. In our washing machine
illustration, sub populations may incorporate adolescent couples, moderately aged
couples, old couples, and previously wedded couples.

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3.2.1.1 Questionnaire

To collect data first-hand about the website and other ecommerce website in general, I
made a questionnaire consisting of open ended, choice, subjective questions and sent it to
my friends, campus, online groups and to various portals and forums. The respondents
answered all my questions and sent the form back to me and that’s how I collect the data
by questionnaire. Below are the questions from the questionnaire:

Q1. Please tick the age group you belong to

 16-24[ ]
 25-34[ ]
 35-49[ ]
 50 or above[ ]

Q2. Gender

 Male [ ]
 Female [ ]

Q3. Please tick your occupation

 Professional [ ]
 Self Employed [ ]
 Service [ ]
 Student [ ]
 Others [ ]

Q4. Please tick your income range

 Less than Rs.2 lakhs per annum [ ]

 Rs.2 to Rs.5 lakhs per annum [ ]
 Rs.5 to Rs.10 lakhs per annum [ ]
 More than 10 lakhs per annum [ ]

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Q5. Please tick your education as relevant

 Post graduate [ ]
 Graduate [ ]
 Higher secondary school certificate [ ]
 High School certificate [ ]
 Less than 12 years in school [ ]

Q6. How often do you buy from online?

 Daily[ ]
 Weekly[ ]
 Monthly[ ]
 Never[ ]

Q7. What device do you use to access online shopping sites?

 Mobile phones [ ]
 Tablets/pad [ ]
 Desktop [ ]
 Laptop [ ]

Q8. Do you know how your personal data are used by ecommerce websites?

 Yes [ ]
 No [ ]

Q9. How many ecommerce services are you aware of?

 1[]
 2[]
 3[]
 More than 3 [ ]

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Q10. Do you think ecommerce sites provide genuine products?

 Maybe [ ]
 Yes [ ]
 No [ ]

Q11. What payment method do you prefer?

 Credit/Debit Card [ ]
 Digital Wallet [ ]
 Cash on Delivery [ ]
 Internet Banking [ ]

Q12. What aspect of ecommerce you like the most?

 Cheap rates [ ]
 Easy payments [ ]
 Accessibility [ ]
 Customer Services [ ]

Q13. Has ecommerce made buying and selling mechanism easier?

 Strongly agree [ ]
 Agree [ ]
 Neutral [ ]
 Disagree [ ]
 Strongly disagree [ ]

Q14. What suggestions would you like to give concerning ecommerce?

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3.2.2 Sources of Secondary Data Collection

Secondary data are basically second-hand pieces of information. These are not gathered
from the source as the primary data. To put it in other words, the secondary data are those
that are already collected. So, these are comparatively less reliable than the primary
data. These are usually used when the time for the enquiry is compact and the exactness
of the enquiry can be settled to an extent. However, the secondary data can be gathered
from different sources which can be categorized into two categories. These are as
follows:

1. Published sources

Secondary data is usually gathered from the published (printed) sources. A few major
sources of published information are as follows:

 Published articles of local bodies, and central and state governments,

 Statistical synopses, census records, and other reports issued by the different
departments of the government,
 Publications and reports of chambers of commerce, financial institutions, trade
associations, etc.,
 Magazines, journals, and periodicals,
 Publications of government organizations like the Central Statistical Organization
(CSO), National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO)
 Reports presented by research scholars, bureaus, economists, etc.

2. Unpublished sources

Statistical data can be obtained from several unpublished references. Some of the major
unpublished sources from which secondary data can be gathered are as follows:

 The research works conducted by teachers, professors, and professionals

 The records that are maintained by private and business enterprises

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  Statistics maintained by different departments and agencies of the central and the
state government, undertakings, corporations, etc.

CHAPTER 4

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 SUMMARY
E-commerce is doing business transactions over the internet, but is more than just buying
and selling the goods. Online shopping has been increasing in past few decades and
various organizations have started their transaction through online media. Thus, to learn
about the increasing popularity of one of the online shop i.e. a detailed study was carried
out. The employees of thulo.com were interviewed to learn about its working methods,
network security etc and some college students were sent a questionnaire to know about
the popularity of thulo.com. The report encloses the details regarding the different safety
measures thulo.com have adopted in ensuring that details of its customers are safe and the
popularity of thulo.com among the common consumers.

4.2 CONCLUSION

The e-commerce has been in the peak in Nepal during past couple ofyears, the fast
growing technological changes has opened an option of online selling and purchase for a
common man in Nepal. But according to this research paper analysis if talking about
domestic market i.e. Nepal, Thulo is the most superior E-business portal in terms of
value of products which is aggressively expanding & planting its roots deep into the
Nepalese market & at the same time shifting the mindset of the people i.e. from going &
shopping from physical store to online stores.

Most of the respondents are aware about thulo.com but, only few are comfortable
purchasing from the organization. The study assessed the reasons for buying from the
particular organization and among the buyers; most of them chose thulo.com because
they offer better products, reasonable prices and delivery on time. The consumers also
show a neutral perspective towards the organization regarding the services thulo.com

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provides to the customers and the simplicity of the buying and methods. It is found that
although thulo.com is gaining popularity among people and has numbers of fan
followings across the country, it still has to compete with renowned ecommerce
organizations like Daraz.com.np and Sastodeal.

4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the study of thulo.com, the following things can be recommended to them.
They are:

1. The customer base needs to be increased

2. Thulo.com should focus on educating the potential sellers on managing their e-
store in the website.
3. Marketing needs to be done through proper channels to bring more visitors to
their site
4. They should try to grab the market share as much as possible by developing new
business policies, strategies and get a place better than its competitors

REFERENCES
Saud, A.S & Bhusal R. E-COMMERCE, Putalisadak, Kathmandu : Kriti Publication Pvt.
Ltd.

Adhikari, S.N. (2008). Introduction to Management Information System. Kathmandu:

Buddha Academics (P) Ltd.

Laudon, K.C., & Traver, C.G. E-Commerce Business, Technology, Society. London,
England: Pearson Education.

https://byjus.com/commerce/sources-of-data-collection/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304703920_A_Review_Paper_on_ECommerce
, https://thulo.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce ,

https://www.slideshare.net/siddhesh130995/e-commerce-31086645

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https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ecommerce.asp

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