137034746-a-study-on-consumer-perception-towards-online-grocery-store.docx

A Study on Consumer Perception towards Online Grocery Store

By

Submitted In fulfillment of the requirement for the degree

Masters in International Management To

Institu d' Administration des Enterprises University of Poitiers, France April, 2013

Greater Noida Campus, India

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report titled “A Study on Consumer Perception Towards

Online Grocery Store”, under the guidance of Prof: Debjani Bhattacharyais my work submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of MASTERS IN INTERNATIONAL

MANAGEMENT

from

INSTITU

ADMINISTRATION

DES

ENTERPRISES, Poitiers and not submitted for the award of any degree, diploma, fellowship or any similar titles or prizes

Date: 11/03/2013

Signature:

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION OF DISSERTATION

This

is

to

certify

that

Dissertation

Report

on

A Study on Consumer Perception Towards Online Grocery Store, prepared by the Himansu S Mishra is his genuine effort under my guidance and supervision.

Signature:

Prof: Debjani Bhattacharya Faculty Guide NIILM-CMS Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project proved as an excellent opportunity for me to apply the concepts learnt in the course of my program at the institute. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to my supervisor and mentor, Prof. for guiding and providing complete knowledge about the subject briefing about market and risk calculations Finally, I would like to thank all those who were directly or indirectly related to this project.

Signature Date

Executive Summary

Internet and Information technology have made tremendous contributions for business transformation witnessed nowadays all over the world. This has given birth to E commerce which encompasses several pre purchase and post purchase activities leading to exchange of products or service or information over electronic systems such as the internet and the other Telecommunication networks. Analysing the competitive advantage of E-Commerce it is observed that E-Commerce enables simpler, faster and efficient business transactions. For developing country like India, E-Commerce offer considerable opportunity for growth. E-commerce leads to a boon for the current economic downturn. As India’s e-commerce market is worth about Rs 50,000 crores in 2011. About 80% of this is travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.). Online retailing comprises about 15%. India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 40-45% per annum.The rapid growth of e-commerce in India is being driven by greater customer choice and improved convenience. The project was undertaken under the supervision of Nirala Imex Inc who currently has their business operation in Taiwanese market in selling of Indian grocery items to the local retailers & wholesaler in the Taiwanese market. The company has proposed a plan to launch an online grocery store in the Indian market for which the project was undertaken was to determine whether online grocery shopping will be beneficial to the user with respect to questionnaire which will be analysed in three parts. The project will first study the attitude of customers towards online shopping, also determining the factors which influence the consumer to purchase goods and service. The second half of the project will depict the attributes of online shopping influencing the purchase decision by the respondent. It will also determine the issues regarding the online shopping. The third part of the project determines the purchase decision with respect to grocery. It will determine the place preference of grocery shopping with respect to price, quality, variety, proximity and offers/ discounts. The project will also recommend the business operational plan which works with contracting dealership with the local kirana stores.

Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. List of Abbreviations.............................................................................................................................................. 9 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 1.1 What is e-commerce? ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Purpose of Study ........................................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Existing Issues .................................................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Outline of the Study ........................................................................................................................................ 2 1.5 Organization of report..................................................................................................................................... 3 Literature Review .................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Understanding use of e-commerce ................................................................................................................. 4 2.2 Models of E-commerce ................................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Overview Business-to-consumer (B2C) ......................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 A Consumer Perspective of E-Service Quality .................................................................................... 11 2.3.2 B2C E-Commerce Web Site Quality ..................................................................................................... 11 2.3.3 Customer Expectations and Service Quality Dimensions Consistency ............................................ 12 2.4 Online Shopping In India ............................................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Online Grocery Shopping .............................................................................................................................. 14 2.5 Indian Players in Online Grocery Shopping ................................................................................................... 16 Research Plan ...................................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1. Research Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Research Scope ............................................................................................................................................. 19 3.3 Research Design and Methodology............................................................................................................... 19 3.4 Sampling ........................................................................................................................................................ 20 3.5 Questionnaire Design .................................................................................................................................... 21 Analysis and Findings .......................................................................................................................................... 22 4.1 Demographic observations ........................................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Questionnaire Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................................................. 37 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 40

5.1 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 40 5.2 Limitations ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 5.3 Revisiting objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 40 5.4 Major Findings ............................................................................................................................................... 41 5.5 Future Scope ................................................................................................................................................. 41 5.6 Recommendation ............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 5.7 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Bibliography: ....................................................................................................................................................... 47 Reference Links: .................................................................................................................................................. 47 Web Links ............................................................................................................................................................ 47

List of Figures Figure 1: Gender Distribution.............................................................................................................................. 22 Figure 2: Age distribution of sample ................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 3: Occupation of sample .......................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 4: Average Annual Income of sample ...................................................................................................... 25 Figure 5 : Popularity of online items ................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 6: amount of money spent on online shopping ....................................................................................... 27 Figure 7: Need of shopping online ..................................................................................................................... 28 Figure 8: Features of websites attracting users .................................................................................................. 29 Figure 9: Features effecting the most satisfaction.............................................................................................. 31 Figure 10: Issues considered while shopping online .......................................................................................... 33 Figure 11: Shops preferred for grocery items ..................................................................................................... 34 Figure 12: Preference to buy grocery online...................................................................................................... 35 Figure13: Opinion on buyng grocery online ........................................................................................................ 36 Figure 14 : Parameters beneficial for shopping online ....................................................................................... 37

List of Tables Table 1: Gender Distribution ............................................................................................................................... 22 Table 2: Age Distribution for sample................................................................................................................... 23 Table 3: Occupation of sample ............................................................................................................................ 24 Table 4 : Average Annual Income of sample ...................................................................................................... 25 Table 5: Popular Items online ............................................................................................................................ 26 Table 6: amount of money spent on online shopping ....................................................................................... 27 Table 7 :Need of shopping online ....................................................................................................................... 28 Table 8: Features of websites attracting users ................................................................................................... 29 Table 9: Features effecting the satisfaction most .............................................................................................. 31 Table 10: Issues considered while shopping online ........................................................................................... 32 Table 11: Shops preferred for grocery items ...................................................................................................... 33 Table 12: Preference to buy grocery online ....................................................................................................... 35 Table 13: Opinion on buyng grocery online ........................................................................................................ 35 Table 14: Parameters beneficial for shopping online ........................................................................................ 37 Table 15: Correlation of factors with attitude of online users............................................................................ 38 Table 16 : Regression table ................................................................................................................................. 39

List of Abbreviations Abbreviation

Description

Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 What is e-commerce? Information communication technology and the Internet have made contributions in changing the concept of business. There is a paradigm shift of business model witnessed today all over the world. The proliferation of internet has given birth to E-business and subsequently e-commerce. While e-commerce is confined to a transaction, ebusiness encompasses several pre purchase and post purchase activities leading to the exchange of products or service or information over electronic systems such as the internet and the other electronic mode including telecommunication networks. Analyzing the competitive advantage of e-commerce it is observed that e-commerce enables simpler, faster and efficient business transactions. It helps in developing low-cost leadership in existing markets and introduces product differentiation and mass customization. For a developing country like India, e-commerce offer considerable opportunity for growth. E-commerce has entered every section of business and influenced the retail sector in a big way. The proliferation of internet in remote corners of developed as well as developing countries have proved to be conducive for a steady growth of online market and commerce. The unserved and underserved sections of the society have been privileged to get access to a broader choice of commodities and service.

1.2 Purpose of Study According to a Nelson report, 2012 UK and US are forecast to remain at the center of the growing global market for online grocery retailing, new research has shown, as new technology continues to change the way consumers shop. A report published by just-food.com shows the UK will remain Europe's largest market by some distance. By 2014, market value is forecast to reach GBP20.1bn (US$30. 9bn), having more than tripled on the levels seen in 2009. During this time, the online sector's share of the retail food and drinks market is expected to increase to 4% in 2010, reaching 9.5% by 2013 and then exceeding 12% by 2014.

The US market, by comparison, is expected to reach a value of US$13. 55bn, which represents an increase of almost 75% compared with levels in 2009, the report said. Although the market is forecast to continue to experience doubledigit growth rates in the region of 11-12% per year, its share of the US retail grocery market is unlikely to rise above 2% during this time, the report claimed. Much of the projected growth within the US market is expected to come from the anticipated spread of broadband access across the country. The online market may also benefit from the increasing tendency of shoppers to research products prior to purchase. India‘s e-commerce market is worth about Rs 50,000 crores in 2012 about 80% of this is travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.). Online retailing comprises about 15%. India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 40-45% per annum. The rapid growth of e-commerce in India is being driven by greater customer choice and improved convenience.

1.3 Existing Issues With increasing popularity of e-commerce in all sectors of business world, huge investments are made by business houses enhancing B2C and B2B transactions. Besides there are several other models which have developed e.g. C2C, G2C, and many more. Though e-commerce has seen the boom, there have been many stories of failure. One of the basic reasons of failure is the gap between server perception and customer perception of quality of online service. There have been many scholarly articles (Sasser, Olsen and Wyckoff, 1978; Grönroos 1982; Lehtinen and Lehtinen 1982; Lewis and Booms 1983; Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985; Ennew, Reed and Binks 1993) suggested that service quality is a gap score of what a customer expects from a company and what is offered to them in reality. They reiterated that it is important to understand how customers assess service quality because it is the key factor which differentiates service products and give a competitive edge to business. Parasuraman et.al. (1988, 1991) conceptualized service quality into a measuring scale, SERVQUAL which gained good recognition in many other published studies. It was considered important to study the customer perception of online shopping.

1.4 Outline of the Study The project was undertaken in supervision of Nirala Imex Inc. which conducts its business in Taiwan. The operation include selling of Indian grocery items to the local retailers & wholesaler. The company has proposed a plan to launch an online grocery store in the Indian market for which the project was undertaken to determine whether online grocery shopping will be beneficial to the user with respect to a questionnaire which will be analyzed in three parts. The project had the following objectives:

(1) To study the attitude of customers towards online shopping, (2) To identify factors influencing consumers’ online purchase decision of goods and services. (3) To identify issues related to online shopping from the customer’s point of view. (4) To study the place preference of grocery shopping with respect to price, quality, variety, proximity and offers/discounts. The project will also recommend the business operational plan which works with contracting dealership with the local Kirana stores.

1.5 Organization of Report The report is organized in 5 chapters as follows Chapter 1 introduces the subject of research. The issues have been mentioned in the chapter and objectives identified accordingly for the study. Chapter 2 gives a brief of theoretical background and related works done by different scholars , so that the study can be built on them. Chapter 3 explains the research plan. The type of research study , sampling method adopted and questionnaire design have been explained elaborately in this chapter. Chapter 4 shows Data tabulation and analysis of data. Descriptive analysis has been followed by questionnaire analysis. Correlation and regression has been used to understand the study. Chapter 5 summarises the project, discusses limitations, future scope and recommendation from the study.

Chapter 2 Literature Review

2.1 Related Studies Impact of promotions and value consciousness in online shopping behaviour in India. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management; Dec2012, Vol. 19 Issue 4, p311-320, 10p

Online shopping continues to attract investment from retailers. Online shopping websites offer discounts and promotions to attract online shoppers. Online retailing is in the nascent stages of growth in India. The research examines the influence of deal proneness on Indian consumers' online shopping behavior. The results indicate that Indian consumers are not influenced by deals, offers or other promotional tools being used by online retailers. Promotions may not be necessary viewed by consumers as an important attribute while purchasing products or services online. The instrumental aspects of online shopping websites need to be strengthened to motivate consumers to shop online. E-commerce: A boon for the current economic downturn First Data Corporation and ICICI Merchant Services, has laid down some facts that e-commerce market in India had clocked close to Rs 50,000 cores by the end of 2011. Even though there are less than 10 million internet users who are actually engaging in e-commerce activities, there are about 150 million internet users in India or around 75 million households that are ready for e-commerce. With entry and operational costs being comparatively low than the other countries like US, the second half of 2011 and the beginning of the current calendar have seen the launch of a good number of new e-commerce sites spanning across a variety of businesses – women’s fashion, men’s fashion, shoes, followed by accessories, groceries, sports, toys, home furnishings, jewellery, automotive, bicycles, electronics and electrical equipment etc. Key drivers for success for e-commerce Reduction in operational cost as the entire business can be moved online, the need for physical stores has become obsolete. Less infrastructural investment and associated labour costs drives up the profit margin. It is far easier and quicker to compare prices of goods online, equipping the customer with the information to decide the right price or terms for themselves. With services like COD, customers can trust the process of going online and purchasing.

Market penetration also becomes far more achievable with e-commerce; it is possible for a merchant in Mumbai to extend his reach to north-eastern cities or even rural villages that are now connected by the online network. E-commerce facilitates shopping anytime, anywhere and for almost anything desired. Busy consumers prefer this to the restrictions of when a mall/shop is open and the need to physically travel to a shop. Online business takes shopping a step further by taking itself to the customer creating conveniences of shopping anywhere and at anytime. In India, with the increasing propensity of social media, businesses have now begun to engage their customers on social networking portals such as Facebook. These are likely to be rapidly developing marketing channels for the future.

Factors Influencing Online Shopping: An Empirical Study in Ahmedaba. IUP Journal of Marketing Management; Nov2012, Vol. 11 Issue 4, p51-65, 15p, 9 Charts, 1 Graph

According to an India online landscape study (Juxt, 2010), the number of active Internet users in India stands at 65 million, of which 17 million are online shoppers, indicating a growth of 70% from the previous year. The statistics alone are enough to denote the potential of e-commerce in India. However, as the online market becomes crowded with players, businesses need to have an edge in terms of customer satisfaction to gain a larger market share. With the above-mentioned objective in mind, a primary survey of online shoppers was conducted in Ahmedabad and consumer perceptions were analyzed using factor analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. The paper has found that ease/attractiveness of website, service quality of website and website security are the three dominant factors which influence consumer perceptions regarding their online purchasing experiences. Hence, businesses which focus on these three factors can attract more clicks. Also, the paper has proved that these factors are related to the various types of consumers classified as trial, occasional, frequent and regular (based on their frequency of purchase). The authors have found that regular buyers are most influenced by ease/attractiveness of website and service quality of website, while occasional buyers value website security more than other categories of consumers.

Convenience, Price, Product: Motivators for Online Specialty Food Consumers. (Journal of Food Products Marketing; 2001, Vol. 7 Issue 1/2, p53, 13p) This study by White, Gregory K.1Manning, Barbara J. Examines the factors motivating consumers' purchases of specialty food and beverage products via the Internet. While convenience is often cited as a motivating factor, price and product selection have also been identified. This study considered convenience in terms of time, space, and effort. It also identifies several specific sub-categories for price and products. Among respondents who had made a recent online purchase, convenience-related issues were most frequently cited as being relevant to the purchase decision. Product-related factors were important for nearly one-third of the respondents. Price was of relatively little importance. Consumers' Knowledge:: The Missing Element in Online Purchasing Expenditures. (Journal of Information & Knowledge Management; Jun2011, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p159-168, 10p, 2 Diagrams, 2 Charts ) This study introduces two knowledge-related constructs (i.e., consumer competency and product knowledge) into online purchasing expenditures and then analyses variables (i.e., convenience, trust, and privacy) that have been discussed in existing literature in order to investigate how knowledge plays out in the online purchasing context. The findings, derived from the responses of 124 survey participants, show that consumer competency is the focal element of online expenditures. While convenient service is still one of the most important factors, trust and privacy do not directly impact online expenditures. It is interpreted that competent consumers, who are already determined to purchase something online, are able to locate trustworthy sites and make purchases from those sites; consequently, these issues that are traditionally considered important do not necessarily dissuade consumers' online expenditures, but may affect individual web sites. This study shows that consumers' knowledge about technology and the Web are the main determining factors for online purchasing expenditures.

Get Inside the Lives of Your Customers. Harvard Business Review; May2001, Vol. 79 Issue 5, p80-89, 10p, 1 Diagram, 1 Chart, 1 Cartoon or Caricature

An Article by Seybold, Patricia B. :Many companies have become adept at the art of customer relationship management. They've collected mountains of data on preferences and behavior, divided buyers into ever-finer segments, and refined their products, services, and marketing pitches. But all too often those efforts are too narrow--they concentrate only on the points where the customer comes into contact with the company. Few businesses have bothered to look at what the author calls the customer scenario--the broad context in which customers select, buy, and use products and services. As a result, consultant Patricia Seybold maintains, they've routinely missed chances to deepen loyalty and expand sales. In this article, the author shows how effective three very different companies have been at using customer scenarios as the centerpiece of their marketing plans. Chip maker National Semiconductor looked beyond the purchasing agents that buy in bulk to find ways to make it easier for engineers to design National's components into their specifications for mobile telephones. Each time they

do so, it translates into millions of dollars in orders. By developing a customer scenario that describes how people actually shop for groceries,Tesco learned the importance of decentralizing its Web shopping site and how the extra costs of decentralization could be outweighed by the higher profit margins online customers generate. And Buzzsaw.com used customer scenarios as the basis for its entire business. It has used the Web to create a better way for the dozens of participants in a construction project to share their drawings and manage their projects. Seybold lays out the steps managers can take to develop their own customer scenarios. By thinking broadly about the challenges your customers face, she suggests, you can almost always find ways to make their lives easier--and thus earn their loyalty.

Marketing to mum. B&T Magazine; 6/10/2011, Vol. 61 Issue 2743, p22-26, 5p, 12 Color Photographs The article discusses how to influence a grocery-buying mother's preference for a brand when she goes to the supermarket. It notes that mothers consume a wide range of media with the mainstream media such as television, magazines and catalogues as the best option. The grocery-buyer mother also goes online to research products either through investigation and social or word of mouth. It indicates the stages in influencinggrocery-buyer mother's decision to buy including the awareness stage, the research stage where she turns to the Internet and packaging. Warfare in the aisles. Economist; 4/2/2005, Vol. 375 Issue 8420, Special Section p6-8, 3p, 1 Color Photograph, 1 Graph The article focuses on competition in the local supermarket. Female supermarket shoppers' interests range from health, family matters and the environment to politics and social issues, such as the welfare of overseas workers making some of the products they buy. They also share and discuss the information they acquire, which is how they become attached to certain brands and products. Consumer-goods companies invest in brands to convince supermarkets to stock their products and to get shoppers to buy them. To keep in touch with customers, consumergoods companies are shifting their spending away from traditional media to other types of promotion. To make things more complicated, marketeers detect a growing trend towards "cross-shopping": the same people buying very expensive and very cheap things at the same time. Some people avoid supermarkets and buy groceries online. The internet has also enabled suppliers to go direct to the consumer. To boost sales and negotiating power with supermarkets, consumer-goods companies are concentrating on their most powerful "Superbrands". Some companies are trying a combination of old and new marketing techniques.

These businesses are difficult to turn into profitable ventures due to the low margins and the logistics costs involved. Gaurav Saraf, director of Epiphany Ventures says that, the concept of online grocery shopping faces the problem of turning their business into profitable ventures as the concept is new in the market which leads to low margin along with low margin high cost is involved when it comes to logistics. In addition to these problems the perishable items such as fruits & vegetables have a short shelf life, if these items are not delivered before the expiry of their shelf life it would could cause wastage and also add up the cost. From the above comment a conclusion is arrived that these business ventures have a very thin margin when it comes to business operations. Quality factorsHow to improve the online shopping experience. Strategic Direction; 2013, Vol. 29 Issue 1, p27-29, 3p

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.Findings – The advent of internet shopping in recent decades has radically transformed the retail landscape. Astute businesses have grasped the opportunities generated by this phenomenon. Some focus exclusively on web-based activities, whereas others prefer a strategy blending new and conventional channels. Online markets are advancing towards maturity though. The Less growth potential now exists as a result. Another likely consequence is heightened competition. And what does all this mean? That company will find it even tougher to secure custom from the diverse range of shoppers who make purchases online. Satisfying the needs of customers should always be a priority. Within an increasingly challenging business environment, it becomes even more critical.Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that has influenced some of the world's leading organizations.Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researcher hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to digest format.

2.2 Models of E-commerce Business-to-Business (B2B): B2B e-commerce is simply defined as e-commerce between companies. This is the type of e- commerce that deals with the relationships between and among businesses. About 80% of e-commerce is of this type, and most experts predict that B2B eCommerce will continue to grow faster than the B2C segment. Eg: indiamart.com, eindiabusiness.com, tradeindia.com etc. Business-to-consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce between companies and consumers, involves customers gathering information; purchasing physical goods (i.e., tangibles such as books or consumer products) or information goods (or goods of electronic material or digitized content, such as software, or e-books); and, for information goods, receiving products over an electronic network. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. Its origins can be traced to online retailing (or e-tailing). Thus, the more common B2C business models are the online retailing companies such as flipkart.com Amazon.com, snapdeal.com etc. Business-to-Government (B2G): Business-to-government e-commerce or B2G is generally defined as commerce between companies and the public sector. It refers to the use of the Internet for public procurement, licensing procedures, and other government-related operations. This kind of e-commerce has two features: First, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective. Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process (and reduce the risk of irregularities). To date, however, the size of the B2G commerce market as a component of total commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers. This type of e-commerce is characterized by the growth of electronic marketplaces and online auctions, particularly in vertical industries where firms/businesses can bid for what they want from among multiple suppliers. It perhaps has the greatest potential for developing new markets. Online auction site eBay, Yahoo! Auctions are a couple of examples of C2C websites.

Mobile Commerce in India Mobile is growing in India with more than 800 million subscribers across the country. The advancement in terms of adoption of smart phones with 3G enabled services is happening at a rapid pace. This of course opens up the gates to mobile advertising, mobile application development and mobile commerce in India. According to Buzz City's latest report, India is a top performing mobile advertising region in the whole of Asia. The growth in mobile advertising globally is tremendous with the ads served on a year-on-year growth of 139%. With respect to some number crunching, more than 126 billion ads were served in 2011, compared with 52 billion in 2010. In India, Mobile Commerce is still in the development phase as the use of mobile phones for carrying out transactions is very limited. However, the development is taking place at a nice speed and in the coming years, Mobile Commerce is most likely to make its presence feel as companies and businesses have started understanding the benefits of Mobile Commerce. Some of the companies have even incorporated this technology. Airtel, ICICI, Reliance are some of the companies/businesses that are using this technology as their users are allowed to make limited purchases from their phones. For now, the users are mainly allowed to pay phone bills, utility bills, book movie tickets, book travel tickets with their cell phones. However, more services will be introduced in the coming years. Security is one of the main concerns of Mobile Commerce as it‘s very important to offer secure transactions and this is the reason why Mobile Commerce is still in the development phase in India.

2.3 Overview Business-to-consumer (B2C) Business or transactions conducted directly between a company and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services. Business to consumer as a business model differs significantly from the business to business model, which

refers

to

commerce

between

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(Source:

investopedia).

The significant paradigm shift over the recent years from a brick-and-mortar to an e-commerce shopping preference is clearly evident. As consumers continue to realize the many advantages of online shopping e-commerce will continue to grow exponentially. The bottom line is, if you’re in the business of selling directly to consumers and want to compete with the retail giants you must have the ability to respond quickly to the growth and demands the e-commerce shift presents. Just as important as having an e-commerce presence is choosing the right company for your e-commerce solution. You want a proven leader who has the experience to help you avoid mistakes. Whitestone TEC™ is the industry leader in providing powerful turn-key e-commerce solutions for the retail market that are far superior to the standard “box” applications and cost a fraction of a custom solution. Our expertise in the retail market is unparalleled; our vast experience and sole focus in this market gives us the experience and capabilities

to deliver solutions that are tailored to meet the unique needs of retailers. For Distributors and Buying Groups, our e-commerce solutions enable you to provide your retailers with powerful turn-key Business-to-Consumer (B2C) solutions as an integrated extension of an existing Business-to-Business (B2B) or a new site. Amplify your ecommerce initiatives and boost your sales volume dramatically by increasing your product exposure to thousands of consumers who shop online and create a more loyal retailer base by providing your retailers with the critical tools they need to succeed.

2.3.1 A Consumer Perspective of E-Service Quality

Zhang and Prybutok(2005) concluded e-service is an emerging and rapidly evolving area as demonstrated by new technological innovations introduced to improve e-service. Motivated by the growing interest in online commerce, we focus our research questions on examining the factors that contribute to e-service, the relationships among these factors and the consumers’ attitude toward -service. To explore answers to our research questions, we developed an e-service model. Specifically, our proposed model consists of such constructs as individual differences, e-service convenience, Web site service quality, risk, e-satisfaction, and intention. We develop an e-service quality survey instrument and use empirical data to validate the instrument. The results of our empirical study validate our eight hypotheses. We confirm seven of the eight hypotheses. One hypothesis that tested individual differences and service convenience was not confirmed. However, we found that service convenience, Web site service quality, and risk are significant factors affecting consumers’ satisfaction level, which in turn affects intention. The findings suggest that managers need to understand e-convenience from the consumers’ perspective. In order to provide better services for users, companies need to invest in Web site service quality design and evaluation, and at the same time, control the perceived risk associated with using it.

2.3.2 B2C E-Commerce Web Site Quality

Cao, Zhang and Seydel examined and integrated four sets of factors that capture e-commerce web site quality using an IS success model: system quality, information quality, service quality, and attractiveness. A questionnaire survey was conducted to verify the measures of web site quality. Based on TAM, a framework is also developed relating web site quality to customers’ beliefs (perceived usefulness and ease of use), attitudes (preferences for the site), and intentions (to revisit the site). Findings – A set of instruments of web site quality has been developed and empirically validated by factor analysis.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a sample of students browsing several book web sites and they may not sense the web site quality across different B2C commercial web sites such as music, computer, travel, clothes and flowers. Data in these domains should be collected in any future research to examine further the measures developed here. Practical implications – Guidelines for web interface design are proposed.

2.3.3 Customer Expectations and Service Quality Dimensions Consistency

Sachdev and Verma-Service marketers bemoan what they perceive as an unprecedented increase of customer expectations in many service industries. Customer expectations are on the rise with each competitive advance. While at most everybody has an intuitive sense of what expectations are, service marketers need a far more thorough and clear understanding of expectations in order to comprehend the concept of service quality and to measure and manage it. A literature review suggests that the measurement of service quality is full of controversy associated with many issues, of which an important few are : the type of expectations customers hold in the evaluation, important manageable service quality dimensions /attributes that define it in its full framework and dimensional consistency across the service categories.

2.4 Online Shopping In India The Indian economy is slated to grow by upward of 6 % annually in the next few years which is among the highest rates of any big emerging economy. And quite a lot of this growth would be on the back of domestic consumption of goods and services. E-commerce is emerging as a great level given that organized retail is still not ubiquitous across the length and breadth of the country with large retail chains making up less than 10% of the market.

E-commerce is helping people in smaller towns in India access quality products and services similar to what people in the larger cities have access to. It‘s been forecast that close to 60% of online shoppers would come from beyond the top eight large cities by the end of this year. Increasing internet penetration has helped to expand the potential customer pool. Internet penetration is only about 10% (or about 121 million users) as against about 81% in the US and 36% in China. However this number continues to rise at a consistent pace because of falling prices for broadband connections. Indians are also increasingly taking to mobile devices for not only search but shopping as well. The number of Smartphone users is rapidly increasing in India and with 4G services about to take off it‘s expected to get even more people going online. There are currently about 900 million mobile subscribers and this number is expected to touch 1.2 billion by 2015. Of these about 27 million are estimated to be active mobile internet users. More importantly, 20% users indicated intent to buy products through their mobile phones as against the current 4% and this number is expected to only increase in the next two to three years. Innovation is helping e-commerce companies break the inertia for online shopping by offering benefits to customers not traditionally available in a brick and mortar store. Business models include no question asked return policies ranging from 7 days to 30 days, free product deliveries and the industry dynamics changing ―cash on delivery model. The last innovation has really helped unlock the potential as people can now order products and pay when they get physical delivery of the product.

This has been a tremendous success because Indians are still reluctant to give their credit/debit card details online and want to have the psychological comfort that they would actually get the product once payment has been made. These innovations have led to further innovations downstream as ancillary businesses are developing to support these initiatives. Some companies have begun to develop support mechanisms for the entire cash on delivery model and are trying to reach the far flung corners of India, including in the interiors where traditional logistics companies are still not completely present. The logistics companies are also shoring up their act and have started to build specific verticals

and

expertise

to

address

the

requirements

of

e-

Commerce companies. Divyan Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Keshiha Services Pvt. Ltd, a company with interests in the internet, telecom, healthcare, education and advanced technology businesses has stated that, acceptance of online shopping as a secure shopping mode is has also helped to increase e-commerce uptake.

Currently only about 10 million people do online transactions out of an approximate population of 200 million credit and debit card holders. However the latest industry report by First Data Corporation and ICICI Merchant Services indicate that there are about 150 million users that are ready for e-commerce. More importantly the report indicates that urban Indian consumers are now confident enough to make online purchases of up to US$500 as against US$40-100 in the recent past. So not only are the numbers of online shoppers projected to increase but there has been a real increase in the total value being spent online.

2.5 Online Grocery Shopping Proving that no sector of the retail market is safe from the online shopping revolution, it is now possible for the humble hometown grocery store to become digitized and available on your Smartphone, tablet, or computer. Just think: no longer checkout lines, counting the number of items to see if you qualify for the Express Lane, forgetting your grocery list at home, or carrying heavy bags up your front steps. Online grocery shopping is dramatically changing the consumer's relationship with the food market and making a service that may have once felt luxurious into an everyday convenience.

Ordering Food Online An online grocery store is a website that allows users to purchase food over the Internet to be delivered to the person at a later time. Ordering food on the Internet is similar to ordering any other product--the desired food items can be searched for specific, or one can browse through listings of products or sections, similar to sections one might walk through at an actual grocery store. The products offered by an online grocery store are identical to a normal grocery store. When one has finished shopping, checkout is made with a credit card, and the buyer must specify certain hours that he will be available to receive the food for delivery. Since Internet groceries must deliver the food to the customers, they typically pay a fee for delivery based on the amount of food they buy. Benefits of Online Grocery Shopping The primary benefit of online grocery shopping is convenient. By ordering online, one can quickly search for the products she needs and order them without having to physically walk through expansive aisles. It also saves travel expenses and time going to the grocery store. Considering the wide availability of the Internet, it also means grocery shopping can be done from remote locations or in the middle of doing other tasks. For instance, using an online grocery store can allow a person to do all her grocery shopping during her lunch break at work.

It is also very useful for those without a car or who may be physically unable to move around easily, since the food is delivered right to their doors. The use of online-based grocery stores are increasing in popularity as more and more people become comfortable with using the Internet to make purchases. Disadvantages of Online Grocery Shopping Perhaps the largest disadvantages of shopping online are that it costs extra money, since food must be delivered, and that the food ordered is not obtained immediately. If someone were making a certain recipe and discovered he needed an additional ingredient, he would probably not be able to order it online and get it quickly enough to finish his dish. In the same way, it forces a person to plan his food buying in advance of when he will need it--if delivery will take a day or two, a person needs to plan to have an extra day or two of essential foods available before he runs out. Another disadvantage is that online shopping forces the customer to be home during a certain period to collect the food when it is delivered. Also, online grocery stores will often only cover specific delivery areas.

How Does Online Grocery Shopping Work? Following is the basic parameter that determines the working of online grocery shopping. 

Creating the Website

The most important part of online grocery shopping is the website itself. The website should have a complete list of groceries that are able to be delivered as well as the prices for each item. This website should then have a "shopping cart" where a user can add items to a list of things to be ordered, as well as view and edit items that she is planning to purchase. Finally, this website should have the ability for the user to enter her address and pay for the order. 

Filling the Order and Shipping

The next step is to take the submitted order and use it to collect and deliver the items on the list. In general, fulfillment of the grocery order needs to be done manually by a stock boy or other employee.

This process can be made easier by having a well-organized room where the products can be easily and efficiently located. The stock person should also check to make sure that the items placed in the order match the list that the user created. Then, once the order has been compiled, the collection of food needs to be placed in a vehicle and delivered to the customer. 

Restocking and Processing Payments Clearly It is critical to ensure that all the items listed on the website are in stock and able to be shipped. As a result, the stock room needs to be carefully checked to ensure inventory levels are sufficient.

Also, it is important to have the ability to obtain and process payments made by credit card. Also, in order to encourage repeat customers, it can be helpful to require customers to have a user name, which would allow information to be stored. This can also help create "suggested" carts of food items they commonly purchase.

2.5 Indian Players in Online Grocery Shopping

Fresh n daily Fresh N Daily is Mumbai‘s first online fruits and vegetable store. Our endeavor is to service you at the comfort of your home with the best quality products and at the best possible prices. They procure goods directly from the farmers/ brand owners and ensure there are no intermediaries. Moreover, unlike a physical store – supermarket neighborhood Kirana store sabziwala - we are an online store. This means that the cost structure is very lean: low rental costs, low manpower costs, low overheads etc. The prices are therefore the most competitive. Thirty-year-old VikasChauhan, who quit an IT company, has a delivery van that procures vegetables from local Mandi, brands them with FreshnDaily packets and delivers to areas it has identified as key zones. It has just two delivery boys who supply in key zones. For the rest, it has tied up with small nook and corner shops. At Ghatkopar,

for example the helper of the corner mobile recharge shop collects the vegetables from the delivery van and delivers door to door. Friendly pays the errand boy a monthly salary and the mobile shop gets the boy‘s services for free. The shop even gets an incentive when deliveries cross Rs 5,000 a day.

Farm2Kitchen.com Farm2Kitchen Team is led by SeemaDholi (Founder & CEO), a woman entrepreneur who is committed to the betterment of the lives of Indian families. She started Farm2Kitchen with only one mission - To enhance the quality of life for Indian families and provide the best customer service possible. Farm2kitchen.com, which deals only in organic groceries and textiles, and caters to Gurgaon and surrounding areas. Founder SeemaDholi, who hails from Pearl Academy of Fashion and has several other ventures in her basket, such as Divavee and Fashion Per Inch India, wants to educate local consumers about the benefits of organic groceries and then spread the message to the rest of the country. Set up in 2011, Farm2kitchen is now looking for funds, but even before that, Seema wants to expand operations and go pan-India. They support organic farming & agriculture as organic farming is a holistic approach to food production, making use of crop rotation, environmental management and good animal Husbandry to control pests and diseases. Some of the cities which will be covered under Farm2Kitchen's umbrella for organic food are -Organic food stores/shops in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Pune, Aurangabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Nasik, Vadodara, Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Jaipur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Thiruvananthapuram.

BigBasket.com BigBasket.com (Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited) is India’s largest online food and grocery store. With over 10,000 products and over a 1000 brands in our catalogue you will find everything you are looking for. Right from fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Rice and Deals, Spices and Seasonings to Packaged products, Beverages, Personal care

products,

Meats

–

we

have

it

all.

Choose from a wide range of options in every category, exclusively handpicked to help you find the best quality available at the lowest prices. Select a time slot for delivery and your order will be delivered right to your doorstep, anywhere in Bangalore, Mumbai & Hyderabad. You can pay online using your debit / credit card or by cash / Sodexo on delivery. We guarantee on time delivery, and the best quality! Happy Shopping!

My Grahak It’s an online grocery store from Rei Six Ten Retail Ltd., a retail chain network of about 350 stores in the NCR, Punjab, Baddi and Nagpur. This is one of the first attempts from a retail grocery giant to enter the online space and leverage their existing network of offline stores. Mr. AmbujJhunjhunwala is the founder & CEO of MyGrahak.com MyGrahak covers the basic FMCG categories of food, non-food and grocery. The delivery is currently offered in Delhi-NCR only. The site comes with the regular frills of an online store, viz. Discount on all products (min. 4%), 48hrs delivery, CoD, customer support etc. The portal boasts of 7000+ products.

Key figures of MyGrahak 5000 transactions per month growing at over 30% month on month 

Loyalty rate - repeat purchases have increased to 50% from 30% in last 2 months



8,500 registered families



10,000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) - target of 35,000 SKUs



Delivery vehicles fitted with GPS

Chapter 3 Research Plan 3.1. Research Objectives 

To study the attitude of customers towards online shopping.



To identify the issues faced by the user while Sopping online



Identify the parameters for which influences purchase behavior of the Online Grocery Store.

3.2 Research Scope 

To determine which factor influences the consumer to go for online shopping.



To find out which feature of the website attracts the user to purchase the product from the online shopping



website.



To find out the whether grocery online shopping is beneficial for the user.



To analyze which factors influence the user to buy online grocery.

3.3 Research Design and Methodology The sources of data used in this project report are both primary and secondary data. 1. Primary data Primary data consist of original information gathered from a sample size of 200 respondents residing in Delhi, India. 2. Secondary data Secondary data consists of information that already exists and that was collected in the past for some other purposes.

3.4 Sampling Sample Design: 

Size of Sample: The sample size selected for the research is 200 in the area of South Delhi.



Parameters Who

are

of

Interests:

working

The

major

professionally

parameter and

web

of savvy

interest having

is

the an

subgroup

of

people

experience

in

online

Shopping. The two other subsidiary parameters of interest are: 

The respondent should also have an experience grocery shopping.



And the female respondent who has an online shopping experience.

Sample unit: 1.

Working People (Including Men & Women)

2.

House Wife’s

3.

College Students

4.

Senior Citizens

Sample size: 200 1.

Working People: 32%

2.

House Wife’s: 29%

3.

College Students 23%

4.

Senior Citizens: 16%

Sampling Technique: Quota Sampling: Quota sampling is a method for selecting survey participants. In quota sampling, a population is first segmented into mutually exclusive sub-groups, just as in stratified sampling. Then judgment is used to select the subjects or units from each segment based on a specified proportion

3.5 Questionnaire Design

The questionnaire was administered by focus group consisting of two faculty members, two from online industry and two users. Questions in the questionnaire have been kept simple so that they are understandable to all respondents. This was made to keep the survey simple and user friendly. Also technical jargons are avoided to ensure that there is no confusion for respondents.

Chapter 4 Analysis and Findings 4.1 Demographic observations 1. Gender

Male

Female

Total

116

84

200

Table 1: Gender Distribution

GENDER

42% 58%

Male

Female

Figure 1: Gender Distribution

Graphical Presentation The above diagram depicts that out of the total 200 respondent 42% of the respondent were female as the objective was to study the consumer behavior with respect to online grocery, as grocery is more shopped by female respondent.

2. Age Brackets Age

Respondents

18-24

92

25-30

76

30& above

32

Table 2: Age Distribution for sample

100 90 80 70 60 Series1

50 40

30 20 10 0 18-24

25-30

30& above

Figure 2: Age distribution of sample

Interpretation



The 38 % of the respondent were among 30 & above age bracket as these respondents are well educated and web savvy.



Another 46% of the respondent were ranging from 18-24 age bracket and the remaining 16 % were respondent were ranging from 25-30 age bracket, as these respondents are ready to adapt changes.

4. Occupation

Occupation

Respondents

Services

124

Business

76

Total

200

Table 3: Occupation of sample

OCCUPATION

Business 38%

Services 62%

Figure 3: Occupation of sample

Interpretation For the research to be successful most of the respondents are working officials who are educated and web savvy.

5.

Annual Income

Annual Income

Respondents

1-5 lakhs

76

5-10 Lakhs

82

10 & above

42

Table 4 : Average Annual Income of sample

ANNUAL INCOME 10 & bove 21%

1-5 lakhs 38%

5-10 Lakhs 41%

Figure 4: Average Annual Income of sample

Interpretation From the above pie chart we can determine that 48 % of the respondent have around 5-10 lakhs of annual income which indicates the majority of the respondent have the spending power to purchase grocery items.

4.2 Questionnaire Analysis Q1. Which item you shop online?

Items

No. of Respondents

Apparels

48

Books

28

Electronic

56

Food

16

Games

32

Music

12

Other

8

Table 5: Popular Items online 60 50 40 30

No. of Respondents

20 10 0 Apparels

Books

Electronic

Food

Games

Music

Other

Figure 5 : Popularity of online items

Interpretation

 

The above diagram depicts that book has the highest number transaction in online shopping. Music is the second most item sold in the online shopping, along with electronics appliances like hair dryer, mobile appliances, computer peripherals etc.



The other items that are sold in the online shopping are the apparels which are more preferred by the female respondent.

Figure 6:



Games are the items that are preferred with the respondent ranging the age bracket between

Q.2. The amount spent in the online shop

Amount(Rs)

Number of respondent

100-500

48

500-1000

68

1000-5000

36

5000 & above

48

Table 6: amount of money spent on online shopping

Money spent onnline shoping 80 70 60 50 40

Number of respondent

30 20 10 0 100-500

500-1000

1000-5000

5000 & above

Amount of money spent on online shopping

Interpretation The money spend in online shopping is ranging from INR 1000-5000, which indicates the users are willing to pay more price when there is premium quality products such as electronics, branded apparels, original music etc.

Q.3 .When do you feel the need to shop online? No. of respondents When I need home delivery

68

When I want something unique and special

48

When I need to compare prices

24

When I don’t have time to find things in different market

40

Others

20

Table 7 :Need of shopping online

Need to shop Online 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 When I need home delivery

When I want somenthing unique and special

When I need to compare prices

When I don’t have time to find things in different market

Others

No. of respondents

Figure 7: Need of shopping online

Interpretation

  

From the above we can depict the factor which motivates the respondent to shop online is when they need home delivery. The other factor which motivates to shop online when they compare prices of different products at a same place. The above graph also determines that people shop online when they don‘t have the time to find things in the market for the product to be purchased.



Also respondent shop online when they want some unique & special product which they cannot find in the offline market

Q.4. What features on the online shopping website attracts you?

Very

Somewhat

Important

Important Important

Website user Friendly

110

60

30

cash on delivery

75

105

20

credit / debit card payment

82

82

36

offers and discounts

93

71

36

Free shipping

144

29

9

Table 8:

Not

Features of websites attracting users

160 140 120 100 80

60 40 20 0 Website user Friendly cash on delivery credit / debit card payment offers and discountsFree shipping

Figure 8: Features of websites attracting users

Interpretation

Very Important Some what Important Not Important



The above diagram depicts that website user friendliness forms an important factor when it comes to online shopping, more the website user friendliness will determine the number of visits to a website which will in turn results an increase in the sale transactions for the particular shopping site.



Cash on delivery forms an important aspect of the online shopping website in the Indian online shopping market, the above graph depicts that it does forms an most important part on the online shopping.



The other mode of payment gateway through net banking and credit/debit banking also forms an important part of the online shopping website.



When it comes to tracking the items service in online shopping most of the respondents think that it is an important service which allows the user to track their items in transit.



When it comes to the security aspect of the website Id & password forms an important aspect of the online transaction. The other aspect order confirmation is the like the shopping cart where the user gets the list of items he/she is going to purchase which avoids unnecessary purchase of the product , also forms an important part of the online shopping website.



The above graph depicts that along offers & discounts, free shipping also forms as the most important factor for the online shopping website, which forms a motivating factor for the user to shop

Q.5. While shopping what affects your satisfaction the most?

Features

No. of respondents

Design of website

52

Discount offers

48

Advertisements

64

Range of Products

24

Value of money

12

Table 9:

Features effecting the satisfaction most

Website Features No. of respondents Value of money variety

12 24

Advertisments Discount offers Design of website

Figure 9:

64 48 52

Features effecting the most satisfaction

Interpretation

   

From the above diagram we can determine that people prefer online shopping when discounts offered are offered to them. Also the variety of product offering to the customer also forms an important factor which motivates the respondent to shop online. The other factor that motivates the user to shop online is when the product they purchase is of value of money. Also the design of website along with the different advertisement promotion motivates the user to shop online.

Q.6. What are your issues regarding online shopping?

Issues

No. of respondent

No guarantee

48

Possibility of forgery

52

Highly priced prodcut

44

Too much clutter

28

Security issue

20

Physical Examination

8

Table 10: Issues considered while shopping online

Issue shoping online No guarantee

Possibility of forgery

Highly priced prodcut

To much clutter

Security issue

Physical Examination

10%

4% 24%

14%

26%

22%

Figure 10: Issues considered while shopping online

Interpretation The other factor which demotivates the user to shop online is the security issue, which consists of issues like phishing, hacking of accounts etc.

Q7. Where do you shop for grocery items? Shops

No of respondents

Local Kirana

80

Ration Shop

21

SabziMandi

49

Super Markets

50

Table 11: Shops preferred for grocery items

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

80

49

50

Sabzi Mandi

Super Markets

21

Local Kirana

Ration Shop

No of respondents

Figure 11: Shops preferred for grocery items

Interpretation

The above graph depicts that most of the respondents shop from supermarket for grocery items. The reason for shopping from the particular shopping centre can be depicted below.

Q.8. If given an option to buy grocery online will you buy online?

Yes

68

No

88

May be

44

Table 12: Preference to buy grocery online May be 22% Yes 34%

No 44%

Figure 12: Preference to buy grocery online

Interpretation



The remaining percentage of the respondent may or may not buy grocery online due the factors like physical examination and security issues.



The above graph depicts that around 34% of respondent are willing to buy grocery online if the option is given.

Q.9.Do you think buying grocery online is beneficial?

Yes

136

No

64

Table 13: Opinion on buyng grocery online

No 32%

Yes 68%

Figure13: Opinion on buyng grocery online

Graphical Presentation



The above diagram depicts that most of the respondent think that buying grocery is beneficial which can be determined from the next question.



The remaining respondent thinks that online grocery shopping will be not beneficial due the factors like forgery products, highly priced products and no guarantee ofthe product.

Q10. If yes why do think is beneficial? Parameters

No. of repondents

Easy to order

68

Variety

48

Discount & offers

52

Saves time

20

Avoide long queues

12

Table 14: Parameters

beneficial for shopping online

Parameters 6% 10% 34%

Easy to order Variety Discount & offers

26% Saves time Avoide long queues 24%

Figure 14 : Parameters beneficial for shopping online

Graphical Presentation



The above graph depicts that user respondent think that online shopping will be beneficial as it will save their time to shop for grocery items.



The next relating aspect why consumer will shop grocery online as it will allow the user to avoid long queues resulting in reduction in time spent in shopping.



The other factors why online grocery shopping will be beneficial as it will allow the user to shop all the grocery at a particular place with discounts and offers.

Home Delivery Something unique and special To compare prices Time constraint others User friendly website Cash on Delivery Online payment options offers

buying grocery online beneficial -.114 -.033 -.091 .196** .123 .646** -.089 .472** .341**

options to buy online .215** .128 -.054 .520** .504** .379** -.108 .344** .260**

Free shipping Design of website Discount Advertisements Range of Products Value of Money No guarantee Security issue High priced Product To much clutter Physical Examination

.230** .315** .248** .287** .141* .106 .248** .154* .222** .095 .130

.260** .731** .596** .844** .489** .413** .596** .482** .576** .488** .464**

Table 15: Correlation of factors with attitude of online users From the correlation table it was seen that all the factors influence the decision of an online user to shop online and the satisfaction. It was however seen that factors like facility of home delivery, provision of comparing prices and cash on delivery did not correlate with online buyer attitude. This can be explained as the hich anyhow is also available in offline stores. How significantly the factors contribute is given in the next table.

Unstandardized Coefficients Model

B

Std. Error

(Constant)

1.197

.321

Home Delivery

-.168

.078

.061

To compare prices Time constraints

Standardized Coefficients Beta

t

Sig.

3.726

.000

-.161

-2.148

.034

.080

.060

.766

.445

-.046

.057

-.056

-.813

.417

.050

.118

.055

.419

.676

-.132

.200

-.128

-.658

.512

.568

.102

.672

5.587

.000

-.068

.098

-.048

-.699

.486

Online payment options

.007

.104

.008

.065

.948

offers

.003

.105

.004

.029

.977

-.020

.093

-.028

-.217

.828

.201

.153

.232

1.311

.192

Advertisements

-.116

.100

-.140

-1.152

.251

Range of Products

-.060

.336

-.061

-.179

.858

Value of Money

-.066

.127

-.061

-.521

.603

No guarantee

-.037

.206

-.042

-.177

.860

Security issue

.378

.345

.403

1.095

.276

High priced Product

-.077

.205

-.087

-.373

.709

To much clutter

-.136

.117

-.153

-1.160

.248

Physical Examination

-.157

.199

-.136

-.789

.431

Something unique and special

Others User friendly website Cash on Delivery

Free shipping Design of website

Table 16 : Regression table The t-test values were not found to be significant primarily because in India online grocery is a budding concept and has not been familiarized with users. It holds promise of expansion.

Chapter 5 CONCLUSION

5.1 Summary From the above data analysis it can be conclude that consumer buys goods from the online shopping website on the basis of factors like offers and discounts, variety of product available, free home delivery, website user friendliness and The hypothesis framed for the project Consumer Perception towards Online Grocery Shopping was Online grocery shopping stores are beneficial for the consumer‖. From the above data analysis it can be determined that most of the respondent would agree to buy grocery online rather than shopping of grocery with the traditional method. Out of the agreed respondent to buy online grocery, most of the respondent would think that it would be beneficial to shop grocery online on the basis of factors like easy to order, variety, discounts/ offers, saves time and avoid long queues. With above analysis we can thus prove the hypothesis to be positive.

5.2 Limitations 

The first limitation caused during the market research was to find out the respondent who shop online and are web savvy.



The second limitation caused during the research was searching the women respondents who shop grocery products along with the experience of online shopping.



Other limitation caused in the market research was that the research will only study the consumer perception towards online grocery shopping and not the dealers, wholesalers or retailers’ perception towards online shopping which acts as an agent to the online retail industry to support its business operations.

5.4 Major Findings 

From the data collected above we can observe that there is an increase in the number of respondent in online shopping as there is awareness about this concept in the market.



Certain parameters which motivates the user to shop online are:



User friendliness of the website.



Discounts and offers, offered by the website.



Cash on delivery form an important gateway in online transaction.



Free shipping is the most important factor which motivates the user to shop online.



Physical examination is the important issues in the online shopping which determines the tangibility of the product.



The data depicts that supermarket are the preferred shopping destination as it offers all the basic aspect of the online shopping which are price, quality variety, proximity to home, offers & discounts.



From the above data collection we can determine most of respondent agree to buy grocery online if the option is give.



The data also determines the factors which will be beneficial for the consumer to shop grocery online which are variety at one shop, saves times and avoid long Queues.

5.5 Future Scope Experts predict a promising and glorious future of ecommerce in the 21st century. In the foreseeable future ecommerce will further confirm itself a major tool of sale. Successful ecommerce will become a notion absolutely inseparable from the web, because e-shopping is becoming more and more popular and natural. At the same time severe rivalry in the sphere of ecommerce services will intensify their development. Thus prevailing future trends of ecommerce will be the growth of Internet sales and evolution. Each year number of ecommerce deals grows enormously. Sales volumes of on-line stores are more than comparable with those of “brick-and-mortar” ones. And the tendency will continue, because a lot of people are “imprisoned” by work and household duties, while Internet saves a lot of time and gives opportunity to choose goods at the best prices. Present-day Internet sales boom is the foundation for magnificent ecommerce future. The “quantity to quality” tendency of ecommerce is also becoming more and more obvious, as the Internet has excluded geographical factor from the sale. So it doesn’t matter any more whether your store is situated in New York or London or in a small town. To survive, merchants will have to adapt rapidly to the new conditions. To attract

more customers e-store-owners will have not only to increase the number of available services, but to pay more attention to such elements like attractive design, user-friendliness, appealing goods presentation, they will have to opportunely employ modern technologies for their businesses to become parts of ecommerce future. Of course, those, who acquire e-stores earlier, get better chance for future success and prosperity, though an ecommerce site itself doesn’t guarantee you anything. Only an appropriate ecommerce solution in combination with thorough emarketing and advertising can buy you business insurance

APPENDICES Questionnaire on Online Grocery Store Name: Gender:□Male □ Female Age:□18-24 □ 25-30 □ 30 and above Occupation:□ Student □ Service □ Business Income Level:□ 1 lakh - 5 lakhs □ 5 lakhs - 10 lakhs □ 10 lakhs and above Q1. Which item you shop online? □Apparels □Books □Electronics □Food

□Games □Music □Any other(Please specify) Q2. How much money do you spent in online shopping? (Rupees) □100 - 500 □500 - 1000 □1000 - 5000 □5000 & above Q3. When do you feel the need to shop online? Agree

Neutral

Disagree

When I want something unique and special Value for money When I need to compare prices When I don‘t have the time to find things by different market Others

Q4. What features in online shopping website attracts you? Agree

The design of a website Discounts offered

Neutral

Disagree

Advertisement Variety Value for money

If others specify

…………………………………………………………………………..

Q5. While shopping what affects your satisfaction the most?

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Website user Friendly Cash on delivery Credit / debit card payment Offers and discounts Free shipping

Q6. What are your issues regarding online shopping? Disagree

No guarantee Possibility of forgery Product highly priced Too much clutter Security issue

Neutral

Agree

Physical examination Any other (Please specify) Q7. Where do you shop for grocery items? Local

Kirana

Ration

Shop

Sabzi

Mandi

Supermarkets

Q9. If given an option to buy grocery online will you buy online? 

Yes



No



May be

Q10.Do you think buying grocery online is beneficial? □Yes □No Q11.If yes, why do you think is beneficial? □Easy to order □Variety at one shop □Discounts & offers □Saves time □Avoid long queues □Any other (Please specify)

Bibliography: Reference Books:

 

Marketing Management: Philip Kotler Basic of Marketing: Dr. P. C. Pardeshi

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Web Links http://www.firstpost.com/tech/indias-e-commerce-market-to-touch-260-bn-by-2025report-255350.html. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577308652286295634. Html http://www.businessworld.in/businessworld/businessworld/content/Services- EconomyMoves-Online.html?storyInSinglePage=true http://trak.in/tags/business/2011/08/23/india-online-internet-users-survey-report2011/