A Study on the Perception of Consumers Towards

Online Gifting Platforms: Kolkata

Submitted by

Aarya Sarkar

Room Number: 6

Roll Number: 479

Supervised by: Dr. Sumona Ghosh

March, 2024

1
 St. Xavier`s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Department of Commerce

PROJECT COMPLETION AND PLAGIARISM VERIFICATION CERTIFICATE

Student Name: Aarya Sarkar

Room No.: 6 Roll No.: 479

Title of the dissertation: A Study on the Perception of Consumers Towards

Online Gifting Platforms: Kolkata

The above dissertation was scanned using iThenticate for similarity detection and the similarity index
is as follows:

Similarity Index: 4%

The dissertation may be considered for submission.

Name of the Supervisor: Dr. Sumona Ghosh

Signature

Date:
…………………….

2
 Student’s Declaration

I hereby declare that the dissertation/project with the title “A Study on

the Perception of Consumers Towards Online Gifting Platforms:
Kolkata” was Submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the degree of
B.Com. (Honours) at St. Xavier`s College (Autonomous), Kolkata is my original
work and has not been submitted earlier to any other Institution to fulfill the
requirement for any course of study.

I also declare that no phase of this manuscript in complete or in component has been
incorporated in this dissertation/assignment from any earlier work done by others or by me.
However, extracts of any literature that has been used for this dissertation/assignment have been
duly stated providing information on such literature in the references.

Name – Aarya Sarkar

Room Number- 6
Roll Number- 479

3
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On completion of this project, I would like to express my heartfelt

gratitude to all the people without whose support and guidance this project
and my learning would not have been completed.

At the onset, I owe my profound gratitude to St. Xavier’s College

(Autonomous), Kolkata for presenting me with the opportunity of writing
a research project.

Next, I would express my sincere thanks to my assignment guide Dr.

Sumona Ghosh for getting me started and guiding me all through the
assignment. Without her steady support, know-how, and supervision, this
assignment might not have been possible. She has been a supply of
constant inspiration, allowing me to learn the nuances of the topics, and
making my learning process a worthwhile experience.

I would like to thank my family, friends, and relatives for their constant help
throughout my project.

I respect and thank all the respondents who came forward and volunteered
to take part in this research. Without their support, this study wouldn’t
have been incomplete.

4
A Study on the Perception of Consumers
Towards Online Gifting Platforms: Kolkata

By Aarya Sarkar

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTORY REFLECTIONS

5
 1.1 PREMISE

In the last few years, gifts have become a basic need along with food,
shelter, social interaction. Whatever the occasion, one is always looking
for a gift that will leave the other recipient with a smile on their face. In
connection with this and with the advancement of technology, a fast
growing market has emerged called the e-commerce gifting industry
which is growing by leaps and bounds annually which is mostly
supported by the ever growing industries. Network connectivity and
multiple options available to people.

In this chapter, background information regarding online gifting

platforms is presented that helps justify the rationale behind this study.
Additionally, we identified the research problem and who the study
would benefit from. In addition we review the background literature and
establish the objectives of our study. Finally, we also briefly explain the
research methodology used in the project.

6
 1.2 BACKGROUND OBSERVATIONS

The worldwide gift market surpasses $300 billion, yet the Indian gift
sector remains largely unorganized. To address this, the government
initiated a significant move by establishing India's inaugural specialized
toy manufacturing facility in Koppal, Karnataka. Additionally, the global
toy industry, valued at $90 billion, contributes to this sector. An estimate
from 2007 suggested that the Indian gift market exceeds 1000 crores, with
a consistent annual growth rate of approximately 10%.

The emerging trend in e-commerce revolves around gifting websites. The

Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the digitization of the world, providing
substantial market influence to the online gift industry. In 2018,
Qwiksilver, a gift card manufacturer, published a report on the status of
the country's online gifting sector, projecting its expansion to $84 billion
by 2024, up from the current $65 million. The global gift market is
estimated at $475 billion, with India anticipated to emerge as one of its
major contributors by 2024.

7
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

We found that with the exponentially fast growth of technology, the

Internet has reached millions of people around the world. As a result, it
has created a whole new segment for companies to operate in the world of
e-commerce. In the current situation, the E-Commerce segment is one of
the fastest growing segments and is only one of the few that has grown
over the past year.

However, the E-Commerce segment comes with its own set of challenges
such as logistics and lack of network availability in some places.

Further, not much research has been done on the e-commerce gift
industry and lack of focus on how it is done in the city of Kolkata. With
the e-commerce industry starting to boom and the gift industry reaching
its boom in 2024, this is the perfect time to find out the level of awareness
among consumers and the trends in which they shop.

8
 1.3 BENEFICIARIES OF THE STUDY

“Beneficiaries are those who are likely to be interested in or to benefit from the
proposed research.” The research conducted is going to benefit the researchers
who would like to further continue and progress with their research in the field
of online gifting platforms with a special focus on the Indian scenario.

This study would help to identify the awareness level among people concerning
gifting brands with a special focus on Quirkystore.in . It would also help the other
gifting sites as to what consumers are more likely to buy and what are the trends
concerning various factors.

A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites

and
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata
 1.4 REVIEW OF BACKGROUND LITERATURE

Salem A.F (2010), in his research, found the importance and importance of trust
in e-commerce sites in terms of choosing a particular site. In his research, we
know that "trust is a complex phenomenon that affects social, technological,
behavioral, psychological, and human interactions between human and non-
human technological agents." "A technical approach is necessary to establish
reliability and integrity, but is not sufficient to build a long-term relationship of
trust between consumers and online businesses," the report said.

Devasia Sunda (2010) "Sukabumi Consumer Demographic Survey and Navi

Sukabumi Related to Music Books and Retail Industry Development Category
Gifts" found that gifting is rare from music and reading books. but people spent
the most money on gifts. It also showed the highest sales since sales were
evenly distributed throughout the year.

Ray S (2011) in his study "The emerging trend of e-commerce in India"

highlighted the key post-liberalization factors in 1991 that led to the strong
growth of the e-commerce segment in India and the importance of technological
progress. And the government's role in ensuring the rights of buyers and sellers
10
in various e-commerce business categories.
Chanana N, Goele S (2012) in a study on the future of e-commerce in India
concluded that the e-commerce industry is set to grow rapidly in Asia. However,
"the success of a site like this depends on their understanding of the market and
offering Indian consumers demanding added benefits that everyone wants." In
addition, they continue to identify factors that will play an important role in
expanding the business.

Kaur P.Kubera O (2014) analyzed how in their research on e-commerce in India

E-commerce is changing the nature of competition, movement and speed, and

the nature of leadership. He focused on changing e-commerce beyond just
selling products.

In addition, they "identified various aspects of e-commerce and determined that,

while it may have weaknesses, it outweighs its advantages."

Jain A. Jain R. (2014) "Exploring Factors Influencing Retail Purchases: A

Comparative Analysis of Organized and Non-Organized Retail Buyers in
Rajasthan" focuses on factors influencing consumer purchase decisions through11
various experiences. Purchase stage
Manish, Punia D.K (2016) in his study 'The Role of E-trust in the Adoption of
E-Commerce in India' analyzed the fact that many tech-savvy people have
access to high speed internet and this has led to change. The transition from
traditional retail to e-commerce has been enhanced with clean connectivity and
the ability to upload high-quality product images and information. He also
talked about the various factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions.

12

1.5 IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH GAP

“Research Gap refers to a problem in a field of study that has not yet been addressed.
Although it has been addressed often, not much research has been done on this
particular issue, so there is a gap that needs to be filled.”

There is little research on the e-commerce gift industry and the trends the industry is
following. Further, no research has been done with respect to the geographical area of
Kolkata. There are few studies that provide a link between purchasing trends and
different demographic profiles among consumers.

A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites

and
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata

1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

“Research objectives briefly describe what the research is trying to achieve. They
summarize the achievements the researcher wants to achieve through the project and
provide direction for the study.'

• The level of awareness of buyers with respect to the gift e-commerce website
• Frequency of shoppers buying gifts from e-commerce
13
• Factors affecting purchasing behavior when purchasing from Gifting websites.
• Shopping trends among consumers
• Spend on different items as gifts compared to books as a gift
 1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research can be characterized as "engaging in a structured exploration to discover

previously unknown information" (Walliman and Walliman, 2011, p. 7).

"Methodology serves as the underlying philosophical structure guiding the execution of

research or the fundamental basis upon which research is constructed" (Brown, 2006).

14
1.8.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

"Research design serves as the framework guiding the selection of

research methods and techniques by the investigator. It enables
researchers to focus on methods suitable for their subject, thereby
ensuring the success of their studies.

In this investigation, a descriptive research design was employed.

Descriptive research aims to delineate the characteristics of the
observed population or phenomenon. It does not delve into the
questions of how, when, or why these characteristics manifest.
Instead, it concentrates on the 'what'—what are the attributes of the
15
population or situation under scrutiny? These attributes are
typically organized into categorical schemes, also referred to as
descriptive categories."
1.8.2 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

In this research we have used Convenience Sampling which is a

form of Non- Probabilistic Sampling

Non-probabilistic sampling is a sampling technique where “the samples

are gathered in a process that does not give all the individuals in the 16

population equal chances of being selected.”

Comfort Sampling is a type of Non-Probabilistic Sampling wherein

 subjects are chosen based on their helpful openness and closeness to
the researcher.

1.8.3 SAMPLE SIZE

Due to shortage of time we have used convenience sampling , with a

sample size of 110 respondents. There were 115 responses in total out
of which, we had to remove 5 responses due to there being glaring
errors in the response and this gave us almost 96% response rate.

17
1.8.4 SAMPLING FRAME

The target audience for this Research were not restricted on the basis of age or
income. However it was limited to the Geographical area of Kolkata.

18
PERIOD
A StudyOF STUDY
on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites
and
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata
The period of study for this Research was 30 days spanning from 4th March –
5th April.

1.8.5 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

In this Research, we have made use of Structured Questionnaire.

A questionnaire refers to a series of questions that are asked to respondents with

the intention of getting all relevant data that is required to come to a conclusive 19
conclusion.

A Structured Questionnaire refers to set of standard questions that are asked to

respondents which have a fixed scheme and which specifies the order of the
questions.

20

1.8.6 SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

In this research we used both primary and secondary data.

Primary data refers to the data that the researcher collects specifically for his own
research which is based on his objectives. A researcher can create questions specifically
to help meet his or her objectives.
In this research, we used a structured questionnaire to collect our primary data.

Secondary data refers to data that has been collected as a result of past efforts by
researchers who have collected data for their own research. This research utilizes a
number of research papers, most of which have been taken from Shodhganga.

1.8.7 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

We used both Statistical Analysis and SPSS to interpret the data collected through the
questionnaire. Statistical analysis involves the collection, analysis, interpretation and
presentation of collected data. SPSS was used to detect various trends and distributions
as well as to detect more descriptive statistical research which in turn provides a more
21
accurate analysis of the data collected.
 CHAPTER 2

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

22
2.1 PREMISE

Data Analysis refers to the process of analyzing the

data collected to come to a detailed conclusion which
provides insight into making managerial decisions.

The questionnaire was rolled out with a target response

of at least 100. Once it had reached 110, the
questionnaire was closed. Hence the following Findings
are based on 110 Valid Responses

23
2.2 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
2.2.1 GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS

Gender

43%
57%
Male
Female

Gender N Valid Percentage

Male 47 42.72
Female 63 57.28
Total 110 100

24

The demographic profile of the respondents was

 roughly represented by 57% females and 43%
males.

A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites

and
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata
2.2.2 AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Age

25%

57% 15-23
18 24-39
%
40 years and
above

Age N Valid Percentage

15-23 63 57.27
24-39 20 18.19
40 27 24.54
years and
above
Total 110 100

25

The age of the respondents varied from 15-23 years

represented by 57% of the respondents followed by ages
of 24-39 represented by 18% of the respondents. The
remaining were respondents the age of 40 and above and
comprised of 25% of the representative sample.

2.2.3 OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

The majority of the respondents were Students

represented by 54.1% of the respondents followed by
Business Owners at 24.3%. Coming up in the third
position were Working Professional that accounted for
12.6% of the respondents. Finally the last group were the
Not Working/Retired with them being 9% of the
respondents.

26
2.2.4 INCOME OF THE RESPONDENTS

39.6% of the respondents fall into income category

above INR2,00,000. It was followed by 18.9% within
the range of INR1,00,001-1,50,000 which in turn was
closely followed by INR1,50,001-2,00,000 at 18%.
Rounding up the income distribution were Below
INR50,000 at 13.5% and INR50,001-1,00,000 at 9.9%.

27
 30

2.3 PREFERENCE OF MEDIUM

PREFERENCE OF BUYING
80

OFFLI ONLI
N

Preference N Valid Percentage

Offline 30 27.27
Online 80 72.73
Total 110 100

28

We see that 72% of the respondents prefer to shop

gifts online compared to 27% preferring offline
 gifting platforms/shops. This hints at the possible
market size of the online gifting market space.

2.4 LIKELIHOOD OF GIFTING BOOKS

Likelihood of Gifting Books

4
0

3
5

3
0

2
5

2
0

1
5
Not at Sometime Neutra Like Very

Likelihood of N Valid Percentage

Gifting Books to
People
Not at all 38 34.55
Occasionally 19 17.27
Neutral 25 22.73
Like to 21 19.09
29
Very much 7 6.36
Total 110 100
 Roughly 25% of the respondents are likely to/
prefer gifting books to people compared to 52%
of the respondents not considering books as a
preferred gift. Roughly 23% of the respondents
were neutral towards the idea of gifting books.

This shows us that books are not looked at as a

preferred gifting option by majority of the
people, although some sections feel the contrary.

2.5 SOURCE OF AWARENESS ABOUT GIFTING WEBSITES

Coupon sites

Emails

Family and Friends

Google Ads

Social Media

0 20 40 60 80 100

Source N Valid Percentage

Social Media 88 80
Google Ads 44 40
Family and Friends 83 75.45
Emails 13 11.82 30
Coupon sites 13 11.82
Total 110 100
Majority of the respondents (80%) were exposed
to new gifting platforms via social media
platforms. Referrals from family and friends
were reported by 75% of the people as the
second biggest source of exposure to new gifting
sites. Google ads occupied the 3rd place with an
approximate exposure to 40% of the respondents
followed by Emails and Coupon Sites at 4th
place.

This data can be used to better curate an advertising

budget and more emphasis can be put on investing
in social media platforms along with devising
strategies to create viral marketing campaigns to
increase word of mout

2.6 PREFERENCE OF GIFTS

Gifts Preferred by Respondents

31
 Most respondents liked gifting lifestyle
and fashion accessories (44.1%) followed
by gadget and tech-products(33.3%)

This was followed by Soft toys (28.8%) with Books coming it at 4th
place.

Gift cards too was reported by 23.4% of the

respondents as a likely gifting item. The
remaining gifts occupied the remaining
places within a close interval of each other.

2.7 HYPOTHESIS 1: PREFERENCE OF

FACTORS WHILE SELECTING AN
ONLINE GIFTING PLATFORM

H01: (Null hypothesis): There is no

significant difference in the preference of
different factors when it comes to choosing
an online gifting platform amongst the
respondents of Kolkata.
Respondents were asked to rank the following factors
from most important to least important, 1 representing
the most important factor.

Descriptive Statistics
Percentiles 32

Std. 50th
N Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum 25th (Median) 75th
Brand reputation 110 3.12 1.332 1 5 2.00 3.00 4.00
 Speedy delivery 110 3.01 1.274 1 5 2.00 3.00 4.00
Price Range 110 3.63 1.526 1 5 2.00 4.00 5.00
Customer reviews 110 2.45 1.303 1 5 1.00 2.00 3.00
Packaging/Personalization 110 2.80 1.380 1 5 2.00 3.00 4.00

We see that average ranks for different factors

differ considerably from the table above with
Customer Reviews coming out to be the most
important factor while selecting a
website.Packaging/Personalisation coming in as
the 2nd most important factor. This was followed
by the speed of delivery of the gifts after which
we see Brand reputation taking importance.
Counter intuitively, the least important factor turns out to be the Price
of the gift.

To further see if there was a significant difference, we

conduct a Friedman’s ANOVA.

Brand reputation 3.12

Speedy delivery 3.01
N 110
Price Range 3.63
Chi-Square 33.222
Customer reviews 2.45
df 4
Packaging/Personalization 2.80
Asymp. Sig. .000
a. Friedman Test

The p-value for the test is lesser than 0.05, hence

we reject the null hypothesis and accept the
alternative hypothesis. Hence we can conclude 33

that there is a significant difference in the

preference of different factors when it comes to
choosing an online gifting platform amongst the
respondents of Kolkata.

2.8 HYPOTHESIS 2 : DIFFERENCE IN AMOUNT

SPENT ON GIFTS AS COMPARED TO
BOOKS

H02: (Null hypothesis): There is no significant

difference in amounts spent while purchasing gifts
in general and books amongst the respondents of
Kolkata.

Paired Samples Statistics

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Pair 1 Gifting_amount_General 1307.25 110 1114.898 106.301
34
Gifting_amount_Books 620.98 110 816.874 77.886

We see a big difference in the amount spent on

gifts in general in contrast to the amount spent
while gifting books by over Rs 680 as can be
seen from the means of the two categories.

To see further test this hypothesis we perform a

Samples t-test.

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Std. Interval of the
Std. Error Difference Sig. (2-
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df tailed)
Pair Gifting_amount_General 686.273 848.152 80.868 525.995 846.551 8.486 109 .000
1 - Gifting_amount_Books

We see a p-value of less than 0.05, hence we

reject the null hypothesis and accept the
alternative hypothesis.

Hence we conclude that there is a significant

difference in amounts spent while purchasing gifts
in general and books amongst the respondents of
Kolkata with people willing to spend more on
35
general gifting items in contrast to the amount for
money spent while buying books.
 2.9 HYPOTHESIS 3: PREFERENCE TOWARDS
BIGGER BRANDS (AMAZON,FLIPKART
etc,.) WITH REFERNCE TO GENDER

H03: (Null hypothesis): There is no significant

difference in the preference towards bigger
brands amongst the respondents of Kolkata.

To see if there was a difference towards the

preference of bigger brands such as Amazon,
Myntra etc. between the two genders we conduct
a Chi-square test.

Preference of Bigger brands * Gender Crosstabulation

Count
Gender
Male Femal
e Total
Preference of Bigger Yes 27 29 56
brands No 20 34 54
Total 47 63 110

A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites

and
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata

36
From the descriptive statistic above, it becomes
difficult to draw any conclusions although we see
that more females responded with a No in contrast
to Males. The Chi-square test is expected to further
provide clarity on this.

37

Chi-Square Tests
 Asymptot
ic Exact Exact
Significan Sig. Sig.
Value d (2- (1-
f ce (2-
sided) sided) sided)
Pearson Chi-Square 1.403a 1 .236
Continuity .984 1 .321
Correctionb
Likelihood Ratio 1.407 1 .236
Fisher's Exact Test .254 .161
Linear-by-Linear 1.391 1 .238
Association
N of Valid Cases 110
a. 0 cells (0.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is 23.07.
b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

The p-value of the Chi-square test of 0.236(>0.05)

makes us fail to reject our null hypothesis.

Hence we conclude that there is no significant

difference towards the preference of bigger
brands between the two genders.

38
2.10 HYPOTHESIS 4: DIFFERENCE IN
SPENDING HABITS CONCERNING AGE
GROUP

H04: (Null hypothesis): There is no significant

difference in the amount spent while gifting
between different age groups amongst the
respondents of Kolkata.

Between-Subjects Factors
Value Label N
Age 1 15-23 63
2 24-39 20
3 40 years 27
and
above

To test this hypothesis, we asked we

conduct a One-Way ANOVA on the
amount respondents have spent on
gifting annually.

Levene's
Test of
Equality of
Error
Variancesa,b
Levene Statistic df df Sig
1 2 .
Gifting_amount_Gener Based on Mean 3.273 2 107 .042
al Based on Median 1.643 2 107 .198
Based on Median 39
1.643 2 92.258 .199
and with adjusted
df
Based on trimmed mean 2.425 2 107 .093
 Tests the null hypothesis that the error variance of
the dependent variable is equal across groups.
a. Dependent variable: Gifting_amount_General
b. Design: Intercept + Age

A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites

and
The Levene’s statistic of 0.093(>0.05) [on the basis
Factors Affecting Purchase Behaviour in Kolkata
of trimmed mean to remove outliers], and hence
conducting a One-way ANOVA will be upheld as
the condition of equal variances will be met between
the different groups.

Tests of Between-Subjects Effects

Dependent Variable: Gifting_amount_General
Type III Sum
of
df Mean Square F Sig
Source Squares .
Corrected 2355159.087a 2 1177579.543 .946 .391
Model
Intercept 135278214.57 1 135278214.57 108.725 .000
1 1
Age 2355159.087 2 1177579.543 .946 .391
Error 133131653.78 107 1244221.063
6
Total 323467402.00 110
0
Corrected Total 135486812.87 109
3
a. R Squared = .017 (Adjusted R Squared = -.001)

The p-value for the One-way ANOVA comes out to

be 0.391(>0.05) and hence we fail to reject the null 40
hypothesis and conclude that there is infact no
significant difference in the amount spent while
gifting between different age groups amongst the
respondents of Kolkata.

2.11 HYPOTHESIS 5 : LEVEL OF TRUST IN

GIFTING SITES IN RELATION WITH
GENDER

H05: (Null hypothesis): There is no significant

difference in the trust towards upcoming gifting
platforms between the two genders amongst the
respondents of Kolkata.

Group Statistics
Gender N Mean Std. Std. Error
Deviation Mean
Trust in other Male 47 3.43 1.193 .174
brands Female 63 3.89 1.033 .130

On asking the respondents to give a trust rating

on a scale of 1-5, where 5 represents a high trust
level, we see that both males and females have
comparable rating scores with females having a
slightly higher rating of
0.4 on the scale than males when it comes to

trusting newer gifting platforms.

41
 A Study on the Awareness about E-Commerce Gifting Sites
and
Factors Affecting Purchase BehaviourIndependent
in Kolkata Samples Test

Levene's Test
for Equality
of t-test for Equality of Means
Variances
95%
Confidence
Sig Interval of
. Mean Std. the
F Sig. t df Differenc Error Difference
(2-
tailed) e Differenc Lower Upper
e
Trust Equal 2.110 .149 - 108 .032 -.463 .213 -.885 -.041
in variance 2.177
s
other
assumed
brands
Equal - 90.799 .036 -.463 .217 -.895 -.032
variances 2.132
not
assumed

The levene’s statistic of 0.149(>0.05) shows the condition of

equal variances has been met.
The p-value for the t-test of 0.032(>0.05)
makes us reject our null hypothesis and accept
42
our alternative hypothesis.

Hence we see that there seems to be a significant

difference when it comes towards trusting
upcoming newer platforms between the two
genders among the respondents of Kolkata, with
females likely to be more receptive towards it.

2.12 HYPOTHESIS 6: PREFERENCE OF

FACTORS WHILE SELECTING AN
ONLINE GIFTING PLATFORM

Descriptive Statistics
Percentiles

Std. 50th
N Mean Deviation Minimum Maximum 25th (Median) 75th
Personalisation 51 2.88 1.160 1 5 2.00 3.00 4.00
Support 51 3.47 1.206 1 5 3.00 4.00 4.00
Variety 51 1.86 1.149 1 5 1.00 1.00 2.00
Excitement 51 3.69 1.334 1 5 3.00 4.00 5.00
Referrals 51 3.10 1.500 1 5 2.00 3.00 5.00

We see that average ranks for different factors

differ considerably from the table above when it
came to the reason behind choosing newer
platforms with Variety of gifts available coming
out to be the most important factor while selecting
a website.Personalisation coming in as the 2nd most
43
important factor. Referrals from family and friends
turns out to be the 3rd most important factor
followed by supporting local and new businesses as
 the 4th most important factor while choosing a
newer platform. The excitement received from
ordering from a newer site turns out to be the least
important factor.

We conduct a Freidman’s ANOVA to further test the hypothesis.

Ranks Test Statisticsa

Mean Rank N 51
Personalisation 2.88
Chi-Square 40.988
Support 3.47
Variety 1.86 df 4
Excitement 3.69
Asymp. Sig. .000
Referrals 3.10
a. Friedman Test

The p-value of the test is lesser than 0.05 which

means we reject the null hypothesis and accept
the alternative hypothesis.

Hence we conclude that there is a significant difference

among the different factors when it comes to choosing
an upcoming online gifting platform amongst the
44
respondents of Kolkata.
2.13 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

From the Analysis we have done, we can provide the

following summary on our Findings:

• Almost 73% of the Respondents like to make use

of online medium while purchasing a gift.
• Almost 52% of the Respondents will not
consider giving books as gifts while only 23%
would consider giving books as gifts
• Social Media was the most influencing factor in
getting to know of gifting websites followed by
Family and Friends. 45
• Respondents were mostly inclined towards Fashion
and Lifestyle Products with over 44% giving such
 products as Gifts while Licensed Merchandise was
the least gifted.
• There is a significant difference in the
preference of different factors when it comes
to choosing an online gifting platform
amongst the respondents of Kolkata.
• People spend a lot more on gifts as compared to books.
• There is no biases in trusting gifting website on the basis of
gender.
• Females have more trust in gifting websites.
• Different Factors have different level of impact
behind choosing a gifting website

CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46

3.1 PREMISE

The conclusion is designed to help the readers understand the

importance of our research. It includes the findings of our analysis
which lay emphasis on the key findings that we have derived from
the Research.

47
 3.2 CONCLUSIVE DELIBERATIONS

A majority of respondents surveyed prefer to buy gifts online rather than

visit a brick-and-mortar gift store. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has
played a major part in this in which people are confined to their homes. This
leads people to use more online media as reflected in research. People know
about these gifting sites mainly based on word-of-mouth publicity through
various forms of social media and through their family and friend groups.
Thus it is essential that these websites develop good and functional social
media pages and at the same time ensure that they provide quality services
to everyone because good word of mouth helps such sites get potential new
customers.

Furthermore, we found that respondents buy other gifts instead of giving

books as gifts. Respondents also spend more on gifts and buy a significantly
larger number of gifts than books in a year.

Respondents are equally willing to give sites other than Amazon, Flipkart,
Myntra etc. an opportunity. This is mainly due to the availability of such
sites to provide a variety of gifts out of the box and at the same time give
buyers an opportunity to personalize their products which in turn leads to a
feeling of belonging to the recipient and makes them feel special. . However
a good number of respondents still prefer to use well-known sites because of
the brand image they create along with the inherent sense of security that
comes with them.

Further we find that respondents choose websites based on customer

reviews and personalization options based on price range, indicating that
respondents rely on the experience of others who have used the website and
do not consider price as the main factor.

48
3.3 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

• The E-Commerce gifting sites should focus on small details

such as beautiful packaging, handwritten notes etc,. to help
create a good branding and at the same time increase their
recall value and help spread awareness of the brand.
• The gifting websites should have a good social media
presence as that is what attracts the customers.
• These websites should focus on their niche area of providing
something unique and not available on an Amazon or a
Flipkart and at the same time offer customization to bring in
more customers.
• The E-Commerce gifting websites should also focus on
fashion and lifestyle products as well as gadgets and tech
related products as these were the most common products
given as gift.

49
3.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

• The sample size is only 110 – because of time constraints.

• The area of study is restricted to Kolkata. Hence we only get
the views of only residents of Kolkata and not the entire
nation.
• The study is aimed at finding comparison between books and
other items as a means of gift while there can be various other
items that are given as gifts.

50
3.5 RECOMMENDATIONS

• A lot of Research and Development need to go into what

products the respondents like.
• They should focus on Personalization as it itself commands a
large part of the gifting industry
• The online gifting websites must do whatever it can to make
the entire experience for the receiver much more satisfying
even if it may involve spending a bit more on packaging and
other items.
• In spite of having their own websites they must have more
direct to consumer channels and must make use of the huge
audience of Amazon, Flipkart etc,.

51