Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Page 1 of 32
DECLARATION
Sanjay Bhosale
Kishan Shinde
Rohit Umrao
Page 2 of 32
Acknowledgement
Page 3 of 32
Table of contents:
1.Chapter 1 Introduction.... 5
2.Chapter 2 Methodology..13
3.Research and analysis.17
4.Discussion...25
5.limitations...26
6.Constraints......27
7.Future Scope...28
8.Conclusion..29
9.Biblography.31
Page 4 of 32
CHAPTER: 1 INTRODUCTION
We know that the advent of some new technologies has totally devastated
some old business. Thats the reason it is rightly said by someone that a
Manager of a business should keep a close eye on what is going on in his/her
surrounding because u never know that out of nowhere a new invention or a
amazing discovery could be the reason for that unavoidable lock on the door of
your bread and butter, For example, Telegraph business was closed due to the
arrival of telephones and likewise instant messaging has been reducing the no of
users of the short message service for a while now.
While it is true that better service attracts and retains customers but it is
equally true that a large group of customers could get attracted to a new and
more inexpensive product/service with the same thing being done more
efficiently and taking very less time out of their lives compared to the traditional
way. For eg , According to some musicians it is more time and money saving to
use a music production software(like the Sony ACID music studio 9)over the
traditional music studio where one has to make a huge hole in the pocket to
Page 5 of 32
Page 6 of 32
1. The first online shopping site on internet was the pizza shop by Pizza Hut in
1994.
2. The best seller product in shopping sites worldwide is Books.
3. Best-selling book on Amazon for 2012 was the autobiography of Steve Jobs"Steve Jobs".
4. The number of online shoppers in U.S is expected to grow to 170 million in
2015 according to eMarketer estimates.
5. Statistics from the online payment company PayPal show that 20% of those
who abandon or fail to complete an online purchase do so because they have
concerns about the security of their credit cards.
6. U.S e-commerce sales grew from 72 billion U.S. dollars in 2002, to 228
billion U.S. dollars in 2010.
7. Amazon's websites has 94 million visitors per one month (!)
8. Online shopping is more popular among younger and middle-aged user.
Shoppers between the ages of 35 and 44 make up 29 percent of all online
spending, though consumers between 25 and 34 are spending larger amounts
online. (By Transactis research group).
9. 72% of women looking online for apparel, it has become the most popular
cross-shopping categories.
Page 8 of 32
Page 9 of 32
caught the fancy of staying online and thats a positive sign for
ecommerce consumption.
3. Demographic Factors
Consumer stance - The success of ecommerce platforms like OLX and
Quickr has heightened the trusts of Indian consumers in online buying &
selling. They have generated a positive outlook towards online
marketplace that supports ecommerce industry.
Online means on life nowadays - Almost every activity takes place
online these days, whether it is ordering food, mailing a friend, searching
a job or booking a bus ticket. The average time spent per month has
increased from 12.9 to 17.4 and by 2015 it is expected to touch the mark
of 21.
Rise in disposable income - It has significantly added to this sea-change.
The spending power has risen and people are more willing to indulge in
regular shopping.
Computer literacy rate - With overall improvement in education rate,
the number of people disposed to computers is also increasing. Educated
people are seen to be more active in online purchase than the less
educated group.
4. Social Factor
Boom of Social Media - The social bombardment on web is pushing the
online shopping industry by making the consumer savvier. Brands are
getting a way to bridge the gap with its potential buyers through these
networks. India has the Facebooks third-largest audience population in
Page 10 of 32
the world after the US and Brazil. According to statistics, there is a big
fraction of people who use internet first time for just using social
networks and turn into regular internet users soon.
Changing Lifestyle - Urbanization has changed the lifestyle and peoples
needs have changed too. As per United Nations, more than 31% of Indias
population resides in urban areas and the shopping needs of urban people
are quite more than the rural ones.
Globalization- The socio-economic structure of India is heavily
influenced by Globalization. Development on trade, economy &
communication grounds have led to a state where people think globally
and act uniformly.
Young population - India has a major segment of young people that is
likely to reach 64% by 2020. Hence, younger generation is the key factor
behind this immense growth. With youngest generations growing tech
savvy, the eldest of families too are motivated to explore internet.
Product Line - The bigger portion of these online stores consists of
Apparel and other consumer goods which people do not feel apprehensive
to spend on.
Media Reach - FM, Television and outdoors reach in peoples lives is a
chief cause of Indian consumers growing inclination towards online
shopping. It impacts their buying tendencies to a great measure.
Digitalization - The state of National growth and everything being
digitalized is evoking confidence and attraction in people to go online for
fulfilling their routine needs.
Page 11 of 32
While some factors why consumers are shifting to the online stores are pretty
obvious some are not. Either way its pretty much clear why? Lets have a look
at some of the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping and the
traditional one.
So there are people who prefer to do their shopping online and then there are
those that do not. So when it comes to online shopping vs. traditional shopping,
both sides have their advantages and disadvantages. Lets say you are shopping
for fine china or silverware, it will be very difficult to purchase exactly what
you want because simply pictures will not be able to give you an idea of how it
looks and feels. This is where offline shopping or traditional shopping has an
edge over online shopping.
Security is another concern when it comes to online shopping vs. traditional
shopping. With online shopping there is no way of you knowing that someone is
stealing your data. You dont even know if you will actually get the things you
purchase. This makes online shopping a bit more unsecure when compared to
traditional shopping. Another disadvantage to online shopping vs. traditional
shopping is that there are many online stores that will ship within a certain area
for free but many times if you are located outside of the city or area you will
need to pay hefty shipping prices, unlike traditional shopping where you enter
in a store purchase what you like, get your credit card charged and leave.
Finding things online is pretty easy. You just open up a search engine like
Google and type in what you are looking for. This is probably the biggest
advantage of online shipping vs. traditional shopping. With traditional shopping
you will need to search from one shop in the mall to the other looking for what
you want, sometimes driving all over town to several different stores. There
might also be times when you wont find what you are looking for. With online
Page 12 of 32
shopping you will instantly know if you can find what you are looking for, or if
you cant, potentially saving you hours looking for what you want.
Quality is the biggest issue when it comes to online shopping vs. traditional
shopping. There is no way you will know if what you are purchasing is of the
quality you want. There are many online shops that sell cake but you have no
way to really know if the cake is tasty. With traditional shopping you get to
smell and in some cases even taste the cake. This way you know exactly what
you are purchasing and how good it is. Anyways the central reason why the
consumers are shifting to the online stores is the low price at which most
shopping websites sell their products to the customers, and the central question
is why are the able to do that ?
Our research is regarding why is the same product sold at a much lower rate
on the online store compared to a retail outlet ? Is the selling cost greater for the
retailers as they have to pay the shop rent and things like energy bill ? Are the
online sellers keeping a lower profit margin? OR is it something else altogether?
Are the citizens of India willingly accepting the online way to transact or do
they still prefer the traditional baniya system ?
The answers to these questions lie in the mind of retailers, online sellers and
the people of India.
Methodology
Title:
Analyzing traditional Stores with online stores on the grounds of Cost
of Selling
Page 13 of 32
Rationale of the topic:According to us, now a days Indian consumers are complaining to the
retailers (particularly to the ones who are selling the mobile phones)
that the retailers should reduce the price of the mobile phones and
especially the smart phones, the reason being the online stores selling
the same device at a much lower price compared to the traditional
retail outlets. We all might agree on the one thing that most of us have
tried to negotiate with the price of the cellphone by comparing its
price to the online store price tag ! Assuming that we are not wrong ,
this is a major threat to the retailers because in India the of computer
literate rate is only going to increase and with that the number of
people who transact online.
Is this a alarming situation for the retailers to adopt any new
marketing strategy or is it just a rough patch in business for the
retailers? Is it because of the cost to sell higher for the retail stores
compared to the online stores?
6. To find out if the consumers still prefer to get the feel of the
product before buying it?
7. To know if online shopping affecting on retail business because
consumer can shop right from their home?
Objectives :
= 15
= 7
Page 15 of 32
Sample Distribution
Online Sellers
Retailers
Consumers
16
7
Page 17 of 32
Retail
Online
Yes
28.59
No
71.41
Yes
28.59
No
71.41
Result: As mentioned in the pie charts above if we have a look at the retail poll,
the question asked to the retailers was do they think that plenty of the
consumers are opting for online shopping websites for their needs while
rejecting the retail shops ?, majority of the retail sellers take on the first
question is that the more consumers are opting the online shopping compared to
the traditional retail shops while on the other hand when a similar question was
asked to the online sellers they gave a result which was contrary to the one
asked to the retailers, stating that there is still great potential in the online
shopping market which is not optimally utilised and that a lot of potential
consumers are still not turning to online shopping .
Analysis: Trust is the basis of any business to maintain and raise its sales and
according to many consumers in our sample they feel that it is necessary for
them to trust on these online shopping websites so that they could shop there.
This trust is hardwired in the minds of consumers mainly by word of mouth and
the efforts of the website marketing department by promotion and advertisement
of the shopping websites. While it is seen that the retailers say that their sales
have dramatically reduced and the reason is online market, while the online
sellers think that their sales have not increased on such a level as it should have
been! However if a customer wants a particular product manufactured overseas
in a precise quantity, it would be very difficult to get it and would be next to
impossible to find it in a small Indian city.
Topic: Effect of Net Banking when employed by internet enabled devices and
Smartphone on the retail market and the penetration on net banking.
Page 18 of 32
Retail
online
Yes
28.57
No
Yes
No
42.86
57.14
71.42
Result: The questionnaire for the retail sellers has a question which asked the
retailers if the use of Internet and Smartphone affecting them as sellers and the
retail pie chart above clearly depicts that the majority of them said yes, on the
other hand the online sellers were asked if they think that the consumers fail to
use the net banking facility and it was found that almost 57% of the sellers
agreed upon the fact that a considerable amount of the consumers are not able to
use the net banking facility successfully , and when asked to the consumers the
maximum consumers responded to be using the debit/credit card facility while
very few of them agreed upon using the Cash on delivery(COD) and the net
banking or bank transfer facility.
Analysis: There is a lot of internet penetration in India in the last 10 years and
the number of users are doubled in number every (according to The Times of
India) and now a day every other person in India has a Internet enabled phone
or Smartphone which give a easy and effortless way to buy a product and
according to us this is a main reason why the sales of the retail market is
falling , and on the other hand talking about the Net banking , it is a
comparatively a long process to pay and the credentials required are normally
the bank accounts user ID and Password(password even may be of tow types
namely login password and transaction password for some banks eg. ICICI
bank) which are hard to remember while the Credit/debit card credentials are
readily embossed on the card and only the password is to be remembered to
make a transaction.
Topic: If a consumer goes to a retail shop will he get a better discount than the
online shopping websites? And if he does is this affecting the retailer?
Page 19 of 32
Retail
Online
Yes
Yes
28.59
No
No
4
Maybe
71.41
Result: As seen in the above pie chart of the retailers, most of them agree upon
the fact that the consumers are getting the same product a bit expensive in the
retail shop while almost 50% online sellers say that it is not necessarily
expensive in the retail shop every time but it maybe !
Analysis: Most of the retailers agree on the fact that the people will get a better
discount online but according to the online sellers some things may be a bit
more expensive when shopped online for eg the luxury items like hard liquor
and fermented beer are sold at the same price online(right now in begaluru)
excluding the shipping price! As most of us know that products are
comparatively inexpensive if bought online , this is the reason we get a feeling
that online market offers higher discount rate but in fact the retailers try to sell
the same product closer to the MRP unless and until we try to get a bargain on
it!
Topic : Does the online shopping affect the retail shopping because the
customers can right from their homes or maybe because they could see and feel
the product before buying the item ?
Page 20 of 32
Retail
Online
14.28
Yes
No
42.85
Yes
No
57.14
85.71
Result: Approximately 57% of the retail sellers feel that online shopping effects
on the retail business as the customers can shop right from their home while
approximately 43% stood against the statement. On the other hand a large
percentage of the online sellers feel that the consumers buy from the retail shop
not because they could feel and see the product.
Analysis: On one side the retailers agree upon the fact that comfort of shopping
right from the home given to the consumers by the online shopping websites is a
very huge barrier preventing the consumers to interest in the retail shops and as
we have established earlier that the online stores way more discounts then the
retail shops the increase in the sales of the retail sales is very difficult to obtain
but in fact they really have to work hard ever just to maintain their current sales
as the online shopping penetration is hardly going to decrease if not going to
STOP !
Topic: Do online shops give better deals then the retail shops or are the prices
high compared to the retail?
Page 21 of 32
Retail
Online
Yes
28.57
14.28
No
71.42
Yes
No
85.71
Result: As seen above it is clear that both the sellers have agree on the fact that
the online market gives better deals to the consumer and that the retail sellers
are selling it on a higher price.
Analysis: We think that this is probably because the operational cost for the
retailers is way more than their rivals as they need to pay for things like the
power bills + fancy shopping experience+ storage and maintaining the inventory
+ sales men salaries are just a few to be named whereas the two major types of
expenses for the online sellers are the warehouse and shipping cost which are
not as much as what the retailers have to pay for and on the on the hand the
sales of the major players in the online market are huge and a single retail chain
with limited no of shops faces all kinds of competition , The cost of running a
simple website hovers somewhere around INR 200 to INR 3000, while the cost
of running a rented shop for that matter is very high in a country like India
where the commercial property rates are sky high !
Title: Are the online stores and retail stores able to solve the customers
problems and provide a best possible customer support to the buyers of the both
stores?
Page 22 of 32
Retail
14.28
Online
Yes
28.59
No
85.71
Yes
No
71.41
Result: The 85% of the retailers think that they are not able to solve the
problems that quick as compared to online stores .On the other hand 71% of
online store owners think they are successful in customer support and try to
solve the problems as soon as they can
Topic: Which type of Store convinces for busy persons and What priorities the
customer has while buying a product?
Page 23 of 32
Retail
Online
Yes
no
Yes
No
42.85
57.17
100
Result: All the retailers in our sample agree on the fact that online shopping
convinces for busy persons. On the other hand 57% of online sellers think that
things are not moving that fast for the online shopping because the customer can
buy the product anytime anywhere whenever they have time but the has to wait
a lot delivery of the product, this is an advantage to Retailers.
Analysis: Both the stores have some limitations like the retail store has limited
time and place but can handover the products immediately to consumer after
buying. But when a person is too much busy and cannot access a retail store if
he is busy in the open timings of a retail store or the product is wishing to buy is
not available at his location and it is available in a location far away from his
location and he doesnt have time to go to that different location, In all these
conditions the buyer will opt for online shopping for said product. The online
sellers are trying to make the delivery time as least as possible.
Topic: Because of the fast growth of the online shopping do retailer wish to
open their online store?
Page 24 of 32
14.28
Yes
No
85.71
Result: When the retailers were asked that do they wish to open their own
online store by looking at the growth of online stores 85% refused to open their
online store.
Analysis: When retailers were asked that do they wish to open their own online
store many refused and mentioned both the stores have different specialty
one(online) is meant for great deals and anytime shopping facility and
other(retailers ) is for service with decent prices (Services like giving the
detailed description and demonstration of the product before buying)
Discussion
Page 25 of 32
The retailers are really trying to compete with the online sellers and
are constantly trying to bring down the price so that they could attract
some customers lost to the online sellers. The retailers are fully trying
to utilise the face that the customers could see and feel the product
before they buy it and are trying to use it to their advantage. They are
trying to give the full description and demonstration of the product
with a demo. Sometimes they even offer insurance with a discounted
price with accidental damage guarantee on some electronics (eg.Sony
xperia Z1-Accidental damage guarantee)
The online sellers on the other hand have a good return policy of
approximately 30 days. The customers trust the online shopping more
because of the Cash on delivery where they dont need to disclose
their credentials anytime during the transaction. Whereas the online
shopping website offers one stop solution for your need to shop and
compare different brands. This is one of the big reasons why the
consumers are inclined towards shopping online. On the downside it
was found that the consumers feel that it is not user friendly or to be
more precise the consumers are not able to use it conveniently.
It is rarely found that a retail store having a 24X7 helpline but we a
shopping website like eBay.in does offer the same thing. The
automated process of the online shopping websites has reduces the
cost of running the business to face the customers in the form of
payments or salaries of the employees.
Limitations:
Page 26 of 32
1) Our research does not cover a huge sample size which could give
different results and conclusion.
2) It has been found that the retailers are mostly from Mumbai and
Navi Mumbai but the online sellers have been picked from across the
nation due to poor financial inputs and a shorter time period, which is
why our research conclusion ceases to be applied on a National level.
3) Though the sample consumers come from different cultural
backgrounds, it has been seen that there is uniformity in the answers
and some questions have also been answered in a similar fashion as
the other respondents.
Constraints:
Page 27 of 32
Future Scope
Page 28 of 32
CONCLUSION
Page 29 of 32
The online sellers have established a separate empire of their own and
are a very strong competitor to the smaller retail sellers and the big
players. A single insight in the retail questionnaires could uncover the
biggest concern in the minds of the retailers and they are the
humongous online shopping websites offering a wide variety of
product to your doorstep in few clicks. According to the Times of
India many online shopping websites have increased the sales twofold
and the experts take on this is that the rate at which the sales are
increasing are not going to decrease anytime soon.
On the other side the retailers are consistently trying to maintain their
sales if not increase it and not lose any more loyal customers to the
online market just because of the higher discounts flashed at the
consumers. The retailers are providing every other thing, for that
matter a freebee with the product in question, like a theft insurance or
a accidental damage guarantee, a free installation for products like
ACs on most of the brands which is available on the shopping
websites on a very few brands, so that the customer feels that the
money spent by him is worth spending for the same product.
The first topic of our results is where the customers inclined towards a
retail store or online website, and it was found that they trust online
shopping and which is a big reason why some customers choose
online shopping on retail shopping, apart from the discounts they
offer.
It was also found that many consumers dont use Net Banking to pay
for a product but prefer using online debit /credit card payment.
The discount offered by the online websites is affecting the retailers
very much.
Page 30 of 32
Page 31 of 32
BIBLOGRAPHY
www.timesofindia.com
http://blog.pricegong.com/2012/03/10-facts-about-onlineshopping.html
http://www.fatbit.com/fab/stats-figures-facts-learn-gloriousindian-ecommerce-growth/
http://upstreamcommerce.com/blog/2012/02/14/8-reasonsconsumer-likes-shop-online/
Page 32 of 32