CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

The rise of the digital era has completely changed the retail industry, making online shopping more
popular than ever. This change has brought a lot of benefits, such as making shopping easier, more
varied, and more accessible for everyone. However, it has also brought new types of risks and
uncertainties, especially for certain groups of people. This study focuses on the experiences of
middle-aged individuals in the Tirurangadi region, a group that has not been studied much in the
context of digital commerce.

Tirurangadi, with its unique mix of social, economic, and cultural characteristics, offers a
fascinating setting to study the online shopping habits of middle-aged people. The main goal of
this research is to look into the factors that influence the risks associated with online shopping for
this age group. These factors include age, education, and past experiences with online shopping.
By understanding how these elements impact their perception of risk, retailers and online shopping
platforms can create better strategies to meet the needs of this group. Additionally, the study
examines the specific risks that middle-aged people in Tirurangadi face when shopping online.
Issues like payment security, the process of authorization, return policies, and the quality of goods
received are all looked into. Getting insights into these concerns is crucial for making online
shopping platforms more user-friendly and trustworthy for middle-aged customers. Another key
part of this research is to find out how middle-aged individuals in Tirurangadi manage the risks of
online shopping. This includes strategies they might use, such as reading reviews, asking for
recommendations, choosing to pay on delivery, or sticking to well-known platforms.

The study also aims to discover what kinds of products middle-aged people in Tirurangadi tend to
buy online, which platforms they prefer for online shopping, and why they choose these options.
This information can help e-commerce businesses adjust their products and marketing strategies
to better suit the preferences and interests of this demographic group.

Overall, this research project aims to provide a thorough overview of the risks, behaviors, and
preferences of middle-aged individuals in Tirurangadi when it comes to online shopping. This
introduction highlights the importance of the study and its goal to offer useful recommendations
and valuable insights for both the academic world and online retailers looking to serve the middle-
aged market better.

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1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The statement highlights the necessity of investigating the online shopping perceptions and
challenges faced by middle-aged individuals in Tirurangadi. It emphasizes exploring their
concerns related to online shopping risks, such as payment security, personal information safety,
product quality, return policies, and the reliability of online reviews. Additionally, there is a gap in
understanding their preferences for specific products and websites, which, if addressed, could aid
online retailers in tailoring their offerings and marketing strategies to meet the needs of this
demographic. The core issue identified is the lack of comprehensive research on how middle-aged
consumers in Tirurangadi perceive online shopping risks, their coping mechanisms, and their
purchasing preferences, underscoring the importance of filling this research void to enhance the
online shopping experience for them.

.1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study investigates the risk perception of middle-aged individuals toward online
shopping in Tirurangadi, providing important insights into the impact of age, education, and
previous online shopping experiences on their risk perception. It aims to help e-commerce
businesses and retailers improve their services for this demographic by identifying and addressing
their perceived risks, thereby enhancing customer trust and loyalty. The research also offers data
for targeted marketing and product development, and it could guide the creation of policies to
protect online shoppers, particularly those more vulnerable to risks. Additionally, the study
addresses a gap in the literature on the online shopping behaviors of middle-aged people in specific
areas, aiming to enhance online shopping experiences, support e-commerce growth, and contribute
to digital literacy and inclusion, with broad social and economic benefits.

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1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research focuses on understanding the online shopping perceptions and behaviors of middle-
aged people in Tirurangadi, looking into how their age, education, and past experiences affect their
view of online shopping risks like payment security and product authenticity. It examines the ways
they try to reduce these risks, their product and platform preferences, and how local factors like
internet access and cultural attitudes shape their shopping habits. The goal is to provide insights
that help create safer, more accommodating online shopping environments for this demographic,
aiming to improve their online shopping experience by addressing their specific needs and
concerns. This study not only adds to academic discussions on digital commerce but also offers
practical recommendations for e-commerce strategies and policy development.

1.5 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1) To assess the risk of middle-aged people in Tiruragadi in online shopping.

2) To analyze how middle-aged people in Tiruragadi manage online shopping risk
3) To examine how factors such as age education and the previous online shopping experience
affect shopping risk among middle aged people
4) To know what types of goods middle aged people in Tirurangadi buy, their preferred online
shopping platform and why.

1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLAGY

The overall research design is descriptive and exploratory in nature. The project is
concentrated on various online shopping risks faced by middle-aged people in the Tirurangadi
locality. The data collection was done with the help of structured questionnaire and secondary data
was collected through various sources such as internet, Related research paper, and articles. The
survey was conducted for 54 middle-aged people using non-probability purposive sampling.

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 RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is a systematic planning of research usually including formulation of

particular question. Research design is a blue print of a study. On it is a conceptual frame work
within which research is conducted. This study is based on the descriptive method Research based
on primary data. Descriptive research design is fact finding investigation with adequate
interpretation. The findings thus obtained were tabulated analyzed and recommendations were
taken into consideration on analysis.

SAMPLE DESIGN

Sample design is a definite plan determined before any data actually collected for obtaining
a sample from the giving population. In this study purposive sampling of non-probability sampling
techniques is used .sample is selected according to the purpose of research.

• SAMPLE SIZE:

54 is the sample size

• SAMPLE TECHNIQUE:

Purposive sampling

PERIOD OF THE STUDY

The period of the study is 21 days

SOURCES OF DATA:

Data for the study has been collected from both primary and secondary sources.

• PRIMARY DATA: The data are collected directly from middle-aged people by using
questionnaire. The questionnaire is the combination of open-ended questions and close ended
questionnaire. The questionnaire contain 29 questions.
• SECONDARY DATA: Secondary data refers to data that was collected by someone other than
the user. The secondary data sources are books, internet, and journal.

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TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY

• TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION

A well-structured questionnaire is used for collecting primary data from respondents. The
website and books are used for collecting secondary data.
• TOOLS FOR DATA ANALYSIS
For the analysis and interpretation of the data collected tools like percentage, scaling,
statistical measure is used.
• TOOLS FOR DATA PRESENTATIONS
Tables and graph are used for presenting the data

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

• Findings may not extend beyond Tirurangadi, limiting applicability to diverse cultural
contexts
• Changing technology and online shopping trends could affect the relevance of the findings
over time.
• Assumptions about technological literacy may impact participant representation.
• Participants may provide responses influenced by societal expectations