Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
S.NO.
PARTICULARS
1.
Background
2.
PAGE. NO.
1.1 Introduction
4-6
7-8
3.
Research Methodology
9-10
4.
Literature Review
11
5.
Chapter Outline
12-14
Conclusion
15
Suggestions
16
Bibliography
17
1. BACKGROUND
1.1 Introduction to Online Shopping
Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods, services etc. from a
seller interactively in real-time without an intermediary service over the internet. Online
shopping is the process of buying goods and services from merchants who sell on the Internet.
Since the emergence of the World Wide Web, merchants have sought to sell
their products to people who surf the Internet. Shoppers can visit web stores from the comfort oft
heir homes and shop as they sit in front of the computer. Consumers buy a variety of items from
online stores. In fact, people can purchase just about anything from companies
that provide their products online. Books, clothing, household appliances, toys, hardware,
software, and health insurance are just some of the hundreds of products consumers can buy
from an online store.
Many people choose to conduct shopping online because of the convenience. For example, when
a person shops at a brick-and-mortar store, he has to drive to the store, find a
parking place, and walk throughout the store until she locates the products she needs. After findi
ngthe items she wants to purchase, she may often need to stand in long lines at the cash register.
Despite the convenience of online shopping, not everyone chooses to purchase items and
services online. Some people like the idea of physically going to a store and experiencing the
shopping process. They like to touch the merchandise, try on clothing, and be around
other people. Online shopping doesn't permit shoppers to touch products or have any socialintera
ction. It also doesn't allow them to take the merchandise home the same day they buy it. Online
shopping allows browsing through endless possibilities, and even offers merchandise that's
unavailable in stores. If someone is searching for a niche product that may not be distributed
locally, they're sure to find what they're looking for on the internet. What's even more useful is
the ability to compare items, similar or not, online. He can search through multiple stores at the
same time, comparing material quality, sizes and pricing simultaneously.
FOUNDERS OF FLIPKART
Flipkart was founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal (26) and Binny Bansal (25), both alumni of the
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, computer science graduates from the 2005 batch. Sachin
worked at Techs pan for 6 months and then at Amazon
India for a year and a half. Binny worked at Sarnoff India for a year and a half and then at
Amazon India for 8 months. They quit their jobs in September 2007 to begin our start-up
journey.
Flipkart.com was founded on 5th Sept 2007. The website was launched on 15th Oct 2007.
From a start-up with an investment of just 4 lakh rupees
Flipkart has grown into a 100million online retail giant in just five years.
for
Ernst
and
Young
award
for
the
best
entrepreneur
of
2010
Apart from that we have been featured multiple times in start-up news as well as mainstream
news. Today, we are recognized as number one in the industry. As testimony to the superior
customer experience, the company has consistently recorded repeat purchase rates of more than
50%. We have also managed to get a registered buyer in every small town and city. We hope to
constantly improve our service standards.
11million
titles on offer. Initially funded by the Bansals themselves with 400,000, Flipkart has raised
funding from venture capital funds Accel India in 2012 and Tiger Global (US$10 million in 2010
and
US$20
million
in
June
2013).
Flipkart.com, on August 24, 2014 announced the completion of its 4th round of $150 million
funding
On
from
average,
MIH
(part
Flipkart
of
sells
Naspers
Group)
nearly
20
and
ICONIQ
products
per
Capital.
minute
Geographical Scope
: This implies the area or region from where we are going to draw our
sample i.e. area where we going to conduct our research.
The study was constrained to the NCR region. This region was chosen because of the
convenience of location.
Time Scope : This implies the time we have at our disposal to conduct our study. The
time limit specified is approximately 5 months.
are :
Articles are collected from newspapers like Economics Times, Times of India. The
articles collected are latest so that they are relevant.
6
Relevant articles from Journals like Business Today, Business India, Business World, and
India Today. The articles collected are from journals published after 2000 because of paucity
of resources. These articles were chosen as they were the most relevant for the study being
conducted.
The questionnaire was filled by the Flipkart consumers who because of certain apprehensions
might not have given correct details. For instance if the customer complained of the indifferent
attitude of him/her at the customer care the customer but obvious will not tell this.
A recent experience ( good/bad ) might influence, the perception of the respondents and induce a
bias in their ratings
Example: a recent bad experience with the site might change the beneficiaries perception
towards the organization
The sample size selected might not depict a true picture of the population.
The extent of the project was restricted to NCR only, which might not represent a true picture
It is difficult to get appointments from customers at work.
customers may give biased answers which may lead to incorrect results
Time available for the completion of the project was limited
Survey was mostly based on human perceptions related to various factors, which may lead to a
subjective result.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A research methodology defines what the activity of research is, how to proceed, how to measure
progress, and what constitutes success.
A research methodology broadly constitutes: ---3.1 RESEARCH
DESIGN
A Research Design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies
the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and/or solve
marketing research problem.
Research Design
The research design is descriptive in nature.
Sample Design
Population: All consumers of Flipkart
Sample Size: 150 (Male: 120, Female: 30)
Sampling technique: Non-probability sampling
Location: Gurgaon, Delhi
Duration: 3 weeks
Data Collection method: Survey and General Observations
Instrument: Questionnaire
Data Collection
Primary data collected with the help of survey conducted using a questionnaire.
Primary research consists of a collection of original primary data collected by the researcher. It is
often undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into the issue by reviewing
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4. LITERATURE REVIEW
Review of related studies is essential for a well-designed research study. A summary of writings
of recognized authorities and of previous research abstracts provide evidence that the researcher
is familiar with what is already known and what is still unknown and untested. The survey of
related studies implies reading and analyzing the researches already done and reported in
dissertations, thesis, journals, abstracts, encyclopedia, yearbooks and hand books or in any other
published form. Hence, we can say that review of related studies provides direction to the
researcher in putting a fence around the research problem. For this research work, the researcher
has reviewed the researches done in the field of environment both in India and foreign countries.
The purpose of this review of studies is to explore past research conducted on the impact
of co-curricular activities on student performance and achievements. A customer is 'a
person or organizational unit that plays a role in the consummation of a transaction with
the marketer or an entity'.
(Sheath et al., 1999). From this definition, customers of mobile phone companies could
be individuals, households and organizations. Even as these companies pay more
attention to meeting the needs of their individual customers, they need also to make sure
that the needs of their corporate customers are met as well. Customer Satisfaction
Customers' needs desires and expectations'.
Kotler (2003) also defines satisfaction as 'a person's feeling of pleasure or disappointment
resulting from comparing a product's perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to
his or her expectations'. Satisfaction is an overall customer attitude towards a service
provider, or an emotional reaction to the difference between what the customer anticipate
and what they actually receive, as far as the fulfillment of some need, goal and desire is
concerned.
(Hans mark and Albinsson 2004). These definitions all point to the fact that every
customer has in one way or the other something he/she expects from his/her service
providers. These expectations have come into play because of a need that has to be
satisfied. These expectations are not the same as there are many customers.
Kotler et al (2002), posit that the customer gets dissatisfied if performance is below
expectation and vice versa. If performance goes beyond the expectation of the customer,
the customer is highly satisfied and delighted.
Motley, (2003), corroborates the idea of matching service performance with customers'
expectations. He notes that the mission of a business is the creation of satisfied clients
who tend to favor the organization through time by patronizing the services being
delivered by the business. He goes further to mentions that, businesses can achieve this
aim by understanding what satisfies and dissatisfies their customers or clients.
10
5. CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION:
ii)
Flipkart needs about $150 million from new investors in the next six to nine months even
as bulge-bracket private equity firms remain wary of the online retailer's initial public
offering plans in the UScrucial to making handsome return on investments.
PE giants like Bain Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts could look at potential
investment deal but demand clarity on Flipkart's ability to pull off a public issue, said
bankers familiar with the matter. Two existing investors Accel Partners and Tiger
Global are unlikely to pump more capital after $100 million follow-on investment earlier
this
year.
Flipkart would be running out of money unless big investors step in the next nine months.
The poster boy of India's latest e-commerce wave is limiting cash burn and improving
profitability,
iii)
but
that
alone
won't
improve
listing
prospects.
"While there is appetite among US domiciled investors for high growth stories like
Flipkart, recent negative experiences with offshore structures of Chinese tech companies
will cause concern. Flipkart has to be a foreign domiciled (offshore structured) entity for
US listing since Sebi regulations ask Indian companies to trade first on local bourses,"
said Praveen Chakravarty, CEO, Investment Banking and Institutional Equities, Anand
Rathi
Financial
Services.
Chinese e-commerce engines which took the foreign domiciled route to US listing have
seen their valuations plunge in the past one year. Flipkart with revenue topping $350
million has had negative gross margins till recently, but just slipped into 2-3% profit
margins after expanding product catalogue. It wants to boost operating margins to 8-10%
in
the
next
one
year.
Indian market regulator stipulates profitability norms for listing on local exchanges.
Flipkart, which invested heavily into backend logistics as a business differentiator, has
started controlling runaway costs and letting go some employees. It has more than 5,000
delivery
men
servicing
45,000
orders
daily.
11
"We are a privately held company and hence are unable to comment on investments,
margins or ongoing discussions with investors," said a Flipkart spokesperson in response
to
queries
from
his
newspaper.
Last year, General Atlantic Partners walked away from Flipkart being unconvinced about
the financial model. Promoters Binny and Sachin Bansal then turned to existing investors
for a bail out deal. The absence of big PE investors in Indian e-commerce has been
conspicuous with most firms managing to raise only follow-on investments from venture
capitalists.
Bansals control about 37% of Flipkart equity, while the Accel Partners and Tiger Global
together control 48%. Management holds the remaining 15%. This leaves Bansals with
little room in discussing a large deal with PEs beating down valuation. Some bankers
argue that Flipkart would opt for strategic sale with Amazon a likely acquirer if multi
brand
retail
FDI
is
allowed.
"Most e-commerce start-ups follow 'the last man standing' approach in a potentially large
and under penetrated market. But one cannot keep losing money on unit sales," said K
Ganesh, a serial entrepreneur with investments in smaller rivals of Flipkart. Avnish Bajaj,
managing director, Matrix India, explained that e-commerce in India has a lot going for
but most customers are coming in because of the low prices, there are no loyal buyers.
"Raising money for the big players won't be an issue but it's the smaller ventures which
will find it difficult," argued Bajaj whose fund has invested in Quikr. Anand Rathi's
Chakravarty avers that Flipkart's fund raising hinges upon better clarity on its US listing
plans.
4. Competitor analysis.
5. Porters five forces model.
6. Current competitive position- generic porters framework.
7. Actions recommended improving its position.
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Pay zippy
Own Marketplace model
Opportunities:
competitors.
Growth in online retail sector in India
Threats:
its
India
plaza,
Homeshop18 etc.
13
CONCLUSION
.
Flipkart is a story that comes from smart work and an it is possible attitude. There is a
need to for a couple of more stories like these and there would be no cribbing about
Indian E-Commerce not working.
Their aim is to make Flipkart synonymous with the shopping experience in India.
E-commerce in India has a huge potential going forward and this is just the start. They
have a lot of work ahead of us if they are to fully realize this potential they feel it will
be some time before they actually look overseas
The USP of Flipkart is to provide the consumers with the best online shopping
experience. The company aims to provide its customers with good value and wants to be
regarded as one of the most friendly service providers in the domain.
It is also looking to become the biggest e-commerce organization of India while retaining
its focus on serving the customers to the best of their abilities. It will also look to
innovate in this domain and try to expand its offerings so that customers have more to
choose from.
These are the reasons why many love Flipkart. Some people calling it as Amazon of India
which fits to Flipkart.
14
RECOMMENDATIONS
Flipkart has successfully placed itself into the prospects mind making it the Indias
largest online store with huge range of products. But it still needs to work on their core
competence that is books and stationery items.
Delivery services can be improved mainly in rural areas by selecting appropriate courier
service which has services in customer area for dispatching an item.
Can include more coupon codes and gift vouchers for increasing the traffic of the
customers.
Out of stock items can made available as soon as possible and intimate the needy
customers.
Internet users in India is increasing at increasing rate, so Flipkart can target more & more cities
i.e not only tier 1 & 2 but also tier 3 & 4cities, which will help generate stronger customer base
& more revenues.
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Website:
Wikipedia
www.flipkart.com
www.youtube.com
. http://www.pricegalaxyindia.in/2012/09/online-shopping-sites-like-flipkart.html
ACCESSED ON 27/03/2016
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