Harshita. e Commmerce

Challenges faced by small E-retailers
CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL E-RETAILERS
CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION
Problem Statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to large e-retailers. Internet is one component which has recently become the key ingredient of quick and rapid lifestyle. Be it for communication or explorations, connecting with people or for official purposes, internet has become the central-hub for all. Resultantly, Internet growth has led to a host of new developments, such as decreased margins for companies as consumers turn more and more to the internet to buy goods and demand the best prices, as observed by C.K Prahalad, Professor, Business School, University of Michigan. The implication of perfectly competitive market as the world will observe is that market will produce an efficient allocation of resources. Internet has truly been an effective agent in changing the fundamental ways of doing business.
1.1 E-commerce
Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business activities for products and services. It also pertains to any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact. E-business, on the other hand, is used to enhance ones business. It includes any process that a business organization (either a for-profit, governmental or non-profit entity) conducts over a computer-mediated network. A more comprehensive definition of e-business is: The transformation of an organizations processes to deliver additional customer value through the application of technologies, philosophies and computing paradigm of the new economy. Three primary processes are enhanced in e-business:
Production processes, which include procurement, ordering and replenishment of stocks; processing of payments; electronic links with suppliers; and production control processes. Customer-focused processes, which include promotional and marketing efforts, selling over the Internet, processing of customers purchase orders and payments, and customer support. Internal management processes, which include employee services, training, internal information sharing, video-conferencing, and recruiting. Electronic applications enhance information flow between production and sales forces to improve sales force productivity. Workgroup communications and electronic publishing of internal business information are likewise made more efficient. http://www.slideshare.net/Bhavyamisra/cover-story-15459180
1.2 Benefits of E-commerce over Traditional Commerce

1. Information Exchange Electronic Catalogs (menu selections) Online Product/Service details Pricing and Customization Quality Comparisons and features information Shipping Modes and Payment terms 2. Contract and Order Customized Product Specs, Quantity, Price, discounts Final Payment, Delivery and Service Options 3. Shipping and Payment Exchange of Values
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Digital Product or Service delivery over the net Tangible products delivery tie up with third party Payment Options- Credit Card, Digital Money, Cash-on-delivery
4. Customer Service Direct reach to customer feedback Updates to Customers on newer features and versions Quick tracking and redressing of problems 5. Marketing Internet based Advertising Mechanisms- Banner, Micro-sites 6. Email Campaigns Data Generated using customer feedback, support, clicks on features, feature selections, and transactions can be used
1.3 Types of E-Commerce:

B2B (Business to Business) E-Commerce: Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable. Eg: CISCO, HP B2C (Business to Consumer) E-Commerce: Businesses selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing shopping cart software. By dollar volume, B2B takes the prize, however B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind with regards to ecommerce as a whole. Eg: amazon.com, indiatimes.com
C2C (Consumer to Consumer) E-Commerce: There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums where individuals can buy and sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send and receive money online with ease. eBay's auction service is a great example of where customer-to-customer transactions take place every day. Eg: Ebay.com, souq.com etc G2G (Government-to-Government), G2E (Government-to-Employee), G2B (Government-to-Business), ecommerce that involve B2G (Business-to-Government), with the G2C (Government-to-Citizen), C2G (Citizen-to-Government) are other forms of transactions government--from procurement to filing taxes to business registrations to renewing licenses. The volume of B2B (Business-to-Business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions. The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving sub components or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction
1.4 E-commerce in India

For developing countries like India, e-commerce offers considerable opportunity. Ecommerce in India is still in nascent stage, but even the most-pessimistic projections indicate a boom. It is believed that low cost of personal computers, a growing installed base for Internet use, and an increasingly competitive Internet Service Provider (ISP) market will help fuel e-commerce growth in Asias second most populous nation. Indian middle class of 288 million people is equal to the entire U.S. consumer base. This makes India a real attractive market for e-commerce. To make a successful e-commerce transaction both the payment and delivery
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services must be made efficient. There has been a rise in the number of companies taking up e-commerce in the recent past. Major Indian portal sites have also shifted towards e-commerce instead of depending on advertising revenue. Many sites are now selling a diverse range of products and services from flowers, greeting cards, and movie tickets to groceries, electronic gadgets, and computers. With stock exchanges coming online the time for true e-commerce in India has finally arrived. India has an internet user base of about 137 million as of June 2012. The penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the United States and the United Kingdom but is growing at a much faster rate with a large number of new entrants. The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection point with key drivers being:
Increasing broadband Internet (growing at 20% Month on Month) and 3G penetration. Rising standards of living and a burgeoning, upwardly mobile middle class with high disposable incomes
Availability
of
much
wider
product
range
(including long
tail and Direct Imports) compared to what is available at brick and mortar retailers
Busy lifestyles, urban traffic congestion and lack of time for offline shopping
Lower
prices
compared
to
brick
and
mortar
retail
driven
by disintermediation and reduced inventory and real estate costs
Increased usage of online classified sites, with more consumer buying and selling second-hand goods.
Evolution of the online marketplace model with sites like ebay, Infibeam, and Tradus.
Indias e-commerce market was worth about $2.5 billion in 2009, it went up to $6.3 billion in 2011 and to $14 billion in 2012. About 75% of this is
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travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.). Online Retailing comprises about 12.5% ($300 Million as of 2009). India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 30%.CAGR vis--vis a global growth rate of 8-10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales. India's retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $675 Billion by 2016 and $850 Billion by 2020, estimated CAGR of 7%. According to Forrester, the e-commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR of over 57% between 2012-16. India's e-tailing market in 2011 was about $600 Million and expected to touch $9 Billion by 2016 and $70 Billion by 2020 estimated CAGR of 61%. The report, 'E-commerce: A boon for the current economic downturn' by First Data Corporation and ICICI Merchant Services says that even though there are only under-10 million internet users who actually buy online in India, there are about 150 million internet users or around 75 million households that are 'ready' for e-commerce. According to the report, almost 57 per cent of e-commerce sales come from small towns, while the eight metros account for the remainder. Indias ecommerce industry is on the growth curve and experiencing a spurt in growth. The Online Travel Industry is the biggest segment in ecommerce and is booming due largely to the Internet-savvy urban population. The other segments, categorized under online non travel industry, include e-Tailing (online retail), online classifieds and Digital Downloads (still in a nascent stage). The online travel industry has some private players such as Makemytrip, Cleartrip and Yatra as well as a strong government presence in terms of IRCTC, which is a successful Indian Railways initiative. The online classifieds segment is broadly divided into three sectors; Jobs, Matrimonial and Real Estate. Mobile Commerce is also growing rapidly and proving to be a stable and secure
supplement to e-commerce due to the record growth in mobile user base in India, in recent years. According to the third edition of eBay India census 2010 conducted across 28 states and seven union territories, Indias top five rural e-commerce hubs are Ambalapuzha (Kerala), Sajiyavadar (Gujarat), Adala (Gujarat), Abdalipur (West Bengal) and Kangayampalayam (Tamil Nadu). This means there are two rural e-commerce hubs of Gujarat in top five across India. The survey reveals that Gujarat has emerged as one of the top five online shopping markets in the country. Gujarat is ranked 4th after Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu. Elaborating Indias domestic online shopping scenario, South India has the most active buyers at 41% of all transactions, followed by West India at 27%. However, West India has the most active sellers at 46%, followed by North India at 28%. Delhi entrepreneurs sold the most technology gadgets at 46% of all transactions to buyers in India. Lifestyle scored on the Exports front at 67% of all transactions. Today E-commerce has become an integral part of our daily life. There are websites providing any number of goods and services. Then there are those, which provide a specific product along with its allied services. Indian E-commerce portals provide goods and services in a variety of categories. To name a few: Apparel and accessories for men and women, Health and beauty products , Books and magazines, Computers and peripherals, Vehicles, Software, Consumer electronics, Household appliances, Jewelry, Audio/video, entertainment, goods, Gift articles, Real estate and services. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/e-commerce-websites-seeincreasing-traffic-in-india-survey/194969/on E-commerce Hosting Service Provider
There are many hosting companies working in India but most of them are not efficient and good for E-Commerce hosting purpose. Because they are providing much less secure and threat protected shared hosting. Ecommerce demand highly secure, stable and protected hosting. Marketing There could be various methods of E-commerce Marketing such as Blog, Forums, Search Engines and some online advertising site like Google ad words. India got its own version of the Cyber Monday on 12 December 2012. Google India said it had partnered with many of e-commerce companies including Flipkart, Snapdeal, Homeshop18, IndiatimesShopping, and MakeMyTrip. Cyber Monday is the term coined in the USA for the Monday coming after Black Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Google said that, this was the first time, when an industry wide initiative of this scale was undertaken to offer users an incentive to gain from deals that they can find on the web on a single day. Funding As of 2012, most of the e-commerce companies are yet to start making money. However, due to their growth prospects, many venture capital firms such as Accel Partners have invested considerably. In one of the biggest fund raising, Flipkart.com, million). in August 2012, raised about ticketing 822 crore (US$149.6 by Accel Partners. Unique to India Some of the aspects of Indian e-commerce that are unique to India (and potentially to other developing countries) are: Entertainment
website BookMyShow.com raised 100 crore (US$18.2 million) investment
Cash on Delivery as a preferred payment method. India has a vibrant cash economy as a result of which 80% of Indian ecommerce tends to be Cash on Delivery. Direct Imports constitute a large component of online sales. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail) is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors and e-commerce offerings.
Direct Imports are products imported directly into a country and not through the manufacturer's authorized agent/distributor. Since there is no factory-authorized middleman involved in the import of these products, the added costs are lower and the customer pays less. In addition, many items that are in short supply or are not imported at all by the manufacturer's authorized distributors can be procured as direct imports. There is no difference in the actual products. In most cases, they are manufactured in the same place by the same people and with the same materials. Occasionally, manufacturers will give them a different name. It is perfectly legal to directly import and sell such products. The only caveat is that since they are not procured from a local factory-authorized middleman, the manufacturer's warranty may not be applicable. This type of business is fairly recent and follows the trends of the global economy. In rapidly growing developing economies like India where the demand for international consumer products is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors, direct imports become the only way for consumers to procure a large set of products (especially long tail). In many cases, even if a particular product is available from an authorized middle-man, a direct import may cost much less since in-country middlemen use their exclusive territorial rights to price products much higher than in the country of origin.
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Traditional Payment Methods Cash-on-delivery. Many online transactions only involve submitting purchase orders online. Payment is by cash upon the delivery of the physical goods. Bank payments. After ordering goods online, payment is made by depositing cash into the bank account of the company from which the goods were ordered Electronic Payment Methods Innovations affecting consumers include credit and debit cards, automated teller machines (ATMs), stored value cards, and ebanking. Innovations enabling online commerce are e-cash, e-checks, smart cards, and encrypted credit cards. These payment methods are not too popular in developing countries. They are employed by a few large companies in specific secured channels on a transaction basis. Innovations affecting companies pertain to payment mechanisms that banks provide their clients, including inter-bank transfers through automated clearing houses allowing payment by direct deposit.
1.5 barriers affecting the growth of e business:

IT and Security factors Customer perception & Attitudes Technological factors General factors Internet factors Infrastructural & Internal resisting factors
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Political factors User interface factors 1. Information Technology & Security factors : Major hurdle for growth of e business all over world is the security of online data Ensuring security of payments and privacy of online transactions is key to widespread acceptance of e commerce Virus, spyware, worms, Phishing increases fear Denial of Service attacks & spoofing Lack of transparency in electronic transactions Internet provides greater access to data not only to legitimate users, but also hackers, disgruntled employees, corporate spies. 2. Customer perception and Attitude: Lack of trust among customers for online business Not sure of product quality No touch & feel of product Many Indians prefer to physically go out for shopping Indian customers has attitude to bargain products Impatience to wait for receiving the purchased product its one thing to submit a credit card number to buy a product. Its quite another thing to put your entire personnel dossier online and hope that no one intercepts it , Allan & William [5] 3. Technological factors: E business partners find it hard to invest & update with new technologies Bandwidth: Transmission capacity of a communication channel is a major barrier for products that require more graphical & video data. Rapidly changing technologies & emerging of new technologies Financial costs: Storing information, data mining, processing orders has impact High costs of developing, purchasing new software, licensing of software, Integration into existing systems, costly e business solutions for optimization 4. General factors: Lack of awareness & understanding the value of e business & security involved in it Lack of understanding on how E business operation works Lack of trust: Safety, security, delivery Need for insurance of high cost products Shipping & courier costs Lack of IT knowledge to
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purchase online Different local languages & cultural factors Leaders of many SMEs have less literacy in computers & IT area 5. Internet factors: According to internetworldstats.com, India with a population of over 1.1 billion has estimated 6.9% (81 million) Internet users by 2008 [5] E business depends on speed, bandwidth of communication. Internet connections yet to reach many rural areas. Broadband connections are limited to urban & sub-urban areas. Low internet penetration as well as low credit card population. 6. Infrastructural & Internal resisting Factors Logistics : Deliver the product, safe and secure, in the hands of the right guy in right time frame Need to share your revenue here (~4% or more) even when you get paid by net banking Underdeveloped transportation infrastructure resulting in slow and uncertain delivery of goods and services Bureaucratic wrangles: Fear among elderly staff is significant barrier to e-transformation of organization Survey by the GIIC found out that only 20% of organization covered under CIO segment are trying to use E Business to an extent. 7. Political & Legal factors Taxations : Octroi, entry tax, VAT and lots of state specific forms which accompany are confusing at times Lack of regional legal framework, and legal framework on e-signatures Need of harmonized taxation laws Misuse of E commerce (child pornography, cyber squatting) Rights to e-consumers still a major issue Domain name registration policy, domain name disputes, privacy & data protection issues 8. User Interface factors: Some products require more graphics than textual data Some websites GUI confusing at times Limited menus, poorly designed navigations, difficulty in comparing multiple products on same screen Lack of online support with product selection Room for improvements in sound and picture quality Virtual immaturity. Industry figures suggest that the soaring numbers in the e-commerce space are driven by the young blood and these are expected to grow
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tenfold, being pushed by the Gen Z. The most sought after categories for these buyers currently are: mobile & accessories, computer hardware & consumer electronics and travel products like train and air tickets. Specialised portals in India: 1) Automobiles- On these sites we can buy and sell four-wheelers and two-wheelers, new as well as used vehicles, online. Some of the services they provide are: Car research and reviews, online evaluation, Technical specifications, Vehicle Insurance, Vehicle Finance. 2) Stocks and shares and e-commerce- In India today, we can even deal in stocks and shares through e-commerce. Some of the services offered to registered members are: Online buying/selling of stocks and shares, Market analysis and research, Company information, Comparison of companies, Research on Equity and Mutual Funds. 3) Real estate and e-commerce- They provide information on new properties as well as properties for resale. One can deal directly with developer through consultant. Allied services: Housing Finance, Insurance companies, Architects & Interior Designers, NRI services, Packers & Movers. 4) Travel & tourism and e-commerce- India has a rich history and heritage and e-commerce is instrumental, to a large extent, in selling India as a product, encouraging Indians as well as foreigners to see its multifaceted culture and beauty. The tourist destination sites are categorized according to themes like: Adventure - trekking, mountain climbing etc, Eco-Themes pertains to jungles, flora and fauna. 5) Hobbies and e-commerce- The most popular hobbies from time immemorial are reading, music and films. The books cover a wide range of topics like Business, Art, Cookery, Engineering, Childrens Stories, Health, Medicine, Biographies, Horror, Home & Garden, etc.
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6) Matrimony and E- commerce- It is said that marriages are made in heaven, but in the world of E-commerce they are made on marriage portals One can search for a suitable match on their websites by region of residence (India or abroad), religion or caste. Allied services for registered members: Astrological services, Information on Customs and Rituals, Legal issues, Health & Beauty, Fashion & Style, Wedding. 7) Gifts and e-commerce- In the bygone days, one had to plan what to gift a loved one, trudge across to your favourite shop, and browse for hours before purchasing a gift. The gifts are categorized as: Collectibles like paintings and sculptures, Luxury items like leather goods, perfumes, jewellery boxes, etc, household curios and carpets, etc, Toys & games, Chocolates, Flowers, Woodcraft. 8) Employment and e-commerceTwo major portals like
www.Monsterindia.com and www.naukri.com (meaning job.com in Hindi) are instrumental in providing job seekers with suitable employment at the click of a mouse. The service for job seekers is free and for Employers they charge a nominal fee. Jobs are available online in fields ranging from secretarial to software development, and from real estate to education lanners
1.6 List of Top E-Commerce Companies in India

1) ASA Systel Communications Pvt Ltd: It is a leading E-commerce company in India which provides innovative and superb quality web services which encompasses the building of ecommerce related websites and portals. The company also uses the latest payment modes and security. The company has its offices in Chennai, Lucknow and will shortly set up offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kathmandu, Bhopal. 2) Candid Info:
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This Indian E-commerce company is based in New Delhi. It is a renowned Offshore Outsource Web designing development e-commerce Company. It offers off shore web development, designing, and SEO solutions for large corporations and SME's. 3) Chenab Information Technologies Private Limited: This E-commerce company in India comprises of web enabled business and web bases services, airline and security systems by using the internet technologies and tools of the state of the art. The company has three Software Development centers in Mumbai and the overseas branch office in New York. 4) Euro link Systems Limited: This leading E-commerce company provides consulting and e-business solutions, FlexTCA Systems, Trillium Protocol services to the global community. The company has its office in England, U.S, Switzerland, and India with about 200 employee strength. 5) HashPro Technologies: It offers e-business and traditional analysis, development, implementation, design and strategic planning. It is a leader in the provider of integrated talent management software organization in India. It is key technology consulting provider. It renders services like the E-commerce Hosting, Internet Marketing and Human Resources. The eWorkforce initiative of the company will enable the company to become a 100 percent e-Corporation. 6) Compare Info Base: The company is leading provider of e-commerce portals and IT solutions. The company manages about 1500 websites and portals with 4000 domain names. It has web presence in Maps, SoftwareDevelopment, GISTravel, Education, Media, and Greetings etc. It specializes in Content development services, Website development services; PHP Programming & Development etc. It has its office in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi.
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7) Sanver E-solutions: This Company is based in Mumbai. They believe that Information Technology is a way to the business objectives. It is an IT consulting and Solutions Provider which offers personalized and personal business solutions using Information and Communication Technology. 8) Planet Asia: This E-commerce company in India uses track record and deep experience in externalized applications to produce high quality B2SPEC(Business to Partner, Supplier, Customer) solutions to global enterprises. 9) Candid Web Technology- This fast growing E-Commerce Company in India is a provider of Com Web Solutions for the design and development of dynamic web sites .The clients of the e-commerce company spans from the small scale companies to corporate organizations. 10) Trisoft Design: Trisoft Systems is a software services company that offers solutions exclusively on the Microsoft Platform to customers worldwide. 10 years of experience on the Microsoft Platform puts the company at the forefront of Net Technology.
1.7 Payment procedures

Payment card systems such as MasterCard and Visa involve four main parties The cardholder Top e-commerce sites in India 1. Quikr.com 2. Flipkart.com 3. Amazon.com 4. Snapdeal.com 5. Jabong.com 6. Myntra.com 7. Inkfruit.com Top travel-related sites in India 1. indianrail.gov.in 2. mapsofindia.com 3. indiarailinfo.com 4. makemytrip.com 5. trainenquiry.com 6. cleartrip.com 7. makemytrip.com
The institution that provides the card to the cardholder the issuer The merchant that provides the goods or services to the cardholder The institution that provides services to the merchant the acquirer
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Thus, the system consists of a customer who holds a credit / debit card from his issuing bank (issuer), a merchant who has been given the facility of accepting credit cards by his acquiring bank (acquirer) and the payment network MasterCard / Visa, etc. In this system, first a merchant who decides to accept credit or debit cards in exchange for goods or services establishes a merchant account by forming a relationship with an acquiring bank. This relationship enables the merchant to receive sale proceeds from credit / debit card purchases through credits in his account. However, the acquirer, while paying such credits to the merchant, applies a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), which is a proportion of the sale proceed that is paid by the merchant to the acquirer in consideration for card acceptance services. Thus, the MDR is a percentage of sales that a merchant pays to the acquiring bank to process credit / debit card transactions. In India on MasterCard and Visa card transactions this rate generally varies from 1% to 2%. The MDR is generally greater for premium cards than for standard cards. Thus, considering the average MDR rate to be 1.5%, the revenue generated in the card business, through MDR only, is of the order of Rs.1,340 crore. A component of MDR on every card transaction, called interchange, flows from the merchant acquiring bank to the card issuing bank. The settlement and credit transactions between the issuer and the acquirer are done using the network of MasterCard / Visa, who also gets a share of the fee in exchange.
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Picture 1.1 On the negative side there are many challenges faced by e-commerce sites in India. The relatively small credit card population and lack of uniform credit agencies create a variety of payment challenges unknown in India. Delivery of goods to consumer by couriers and postal services is not very reliable in smaller cities, towns and rural areas. However, many Indian Banks have put the Internet banking facilities. The speed post and courier system has also improved tremendously in recent years. Modern computer technology like secured socket layer (SSL) helps to protect against payment fraud, and to share information with suppliers and business partners. With further improvement in payment and delivery system it is expected that India will soon become a major player in the ecommerce market. While many companies, organizations, and communities in India are beginning to take advantage of the potential of e-commerce, critical challenges remain to be overcome before e-commerce would become an asset for common people. http://cci.gov.in/images/media/ResearchReports/AnkitaIntComp080811.pd f
1.8 Construct
Challenges faced by small e-retailers
Big e-commerce retailers commerce retailers

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Small e-
Metropolitan cities tier cities
Two tier cities
Three
Growth
Sustainability Customer Perception Figure 1.1
1.9 Operational Definitions

1. E-commerce: According to a definition by Laudon E-commerce is the use of electronic communications and digital information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between organizations and individuals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce 22nd January 11:00pm According to me E-commerce refers to exchange of goods and services through the medium of World Wide Web. Not only it involves buying but people can sell on it as well. Here buyers can directly meet their sellers and it does not involve intermediaries like distributors. 2. Secure Socket Layer These are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer 26th January 6:30pm When a communication has to set up between server and client, server provides a certificate of authentication. It proves that clients request travels in encrypted way and is secured. Thawte is the company that
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provides this certificate. It is checked by https in address bar before the name of the site. 3. Cyber Monday It is a marketing term for the Monday after Black Friday, the Friday following Thanksgiving in the United States, the term "Cyber Monday" was created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Monday 26th January 6:45pm Thanksgiving is always on Friday and during that time big stores have heavy discounts on them. Cyber Monday is a marketing strategy during which online stores go on discounts after thanksgiving Friday so that people would shop online and avail the discounts.
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CHAPTER-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Problem Statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to large e-retailers. The research in this section was carried out on 3 main sub topics
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Physical retailing versus online retailing Electronic supply chain or E-supply chain Electronic based customer loyalty or E-loyalty
2.1 Physical retailing versus online retailing

The first topic in the chapter review of literature is comparison of online retailing versus physical retailing. Due to the emergence of many online store it has become a huge debate for the organizations if they should have online presence as well as the brick and mortar and how much share they should give to each of them. Another question which remains to ponder upon is the influence of both type of retailing on actual sales. Brynjolfsson Erik, Jeffery Hu, Rahman Mohammad, May 15, 2009, Battle of the Retail Channels: How Product Selection and Geography Drive Cross-Channel Competition, Available at www.mansci.journal.informs.orgt, February 15, 2013 A key question for Internet commerce is the nature of competition with traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Although traditional retailers vastly outsell Internet retailers in most product categories, research on Internet retailing has largely neglected this fundamental dimension of competition. This paper collects data on local market structures for traditional retailers, and then match these data to a data set on consumer demand via two direct channels: Internet and catalog. Our analyses show that Internet retailers face significant competition from brick-and-mortar retailers when selling mainstream products, but are virtually immune from competition when selling niche products. Furthermore, because the Internet channel sells proportionately more niche products than the catalog channel, the competition between the Internet channel and local stores is less intense than the competition between the catalog channel and local stores. The methods we introduce can be used to analyze cross-channel competition in other product categories, and suggest that managers need to take into
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account the types of products they sell when assessing competitive strategies. http://mansci.journal.informs.org/content/55/11/1755.short Bernstain Fernando, Zheng Xiaona, Song Jing, June 16 2008, Bricks-andmortar vs. clicks-and-mortar: An equilibrium analysis, European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 187, Issue 3, Pages 671690, available at www.sciencedirect.com February 15 2013 The Internet has provided traditional retailers a new means with which to serve customers. Consequently, many bricks-and-mortar retailers have transformed to clicks-and-mortar by incorporating Internet sales. Examples of companies making such a transition include Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, etc. Despite the increasing occurrence of this practice, several fundamental questions remain: (1) Does it pay off to go online? (2) Which is the equilibrium industry structure? (3) What is the implication of this business model for consumers? We study these issues in an oligopoly setting and show that clicks-and-mortar arises as the equilibrium channel structure. However, we find that this equilibrium does not necessarily imply higher profits for the firms: in some cases, rather, it emerges as a strategic necessity. Consumers are generally better off with clicks-and-mortar retailers. If firms align with pure e-tailers to reach the online market, we show that a prisoners dilemma-type equilibrium may arise. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221706007788 Rajamma Rajasree, Paswan Audhesh, Ganesh Gopala, 2011 Services purchased at brick and mortar versus online stores, and shopping motivation, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Available at www.emeraldinsight.com, February 15, 2013 This study seeks to explore the idea that consumers select a particular shopping mode i.e. bricks and mortar versus online outlet based on
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their perceptions about whether a product or service is best bought from one or the other. It aims to prove that this perception is associated with the importance allocated to various shopping motivation dimensions. The results from this empirical study suggest that different shopping motivations indeed influence perceptions of service type and shopping mode congruence differently. In addition, the results also suggest that services are more likely to be associated with the online shopping mode, whereas more tangible products are likely to be associated with bricks and mortar stores. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/case_studies.htm/journals.htm? articleid=1610307&show=html&WT.mc_id=alsoread Ko Myung, Roztocki Narcyz, June 24, 2009, Click-and-Brick, Investigating the Impact of Firm Strategy Click-andBrick, Brick-and-Mortar, and PureClick on Financial, available at 2013 Performance Attracted by the numerous benefits of E-commerce, many traditional brick-and-mortar firms have embraced the Internet to supplement their business operations and have adopted the click-andbrick approach. Despite these changes, insufficient empirical research has been conducted on the impact of different firm types on financial performance. Based on the resource-based view, this study presents empirical research examining the possible ramifications and an overall impact. This study does this by comparing financial performance of clickand-brick firms with the performance of traditional, as well as pure-click firms that rely solely on the Internet. The results of our analysis confirm that firms that use Internet to supplement the existing physical channels of distribution and interaction are able to achieve a higher level of profitability than firms using only a physical channel or those that conduct business solely over the Internet. Second, contrary to our expectations, the cost structures of CB firms seem to be comparable to the cost www.business.utsa.edu, February 16
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structure in BM firms. Third, CB firms are profitable and able to achieve higher efficiency than PC firms, which is reflected in lower costs. http://business.utsa.edu/wps/files/IS/0092IS-299-2009.pdf Otto Jmaes, Chung Q.B, 01 Dec 2010, A Framework for Cyber-Enhanced Retailing: Retailing, Integrating pages E-Commerce available Retailing at with Brick-and-Mortar 185-191, http://www.tandfonline.com,
february 23 2013 Along with the exponential growth of e-commerce activities, the world marketplace is undergoing a rapid transformation and retailing is one of the key areas of this revolution. In this paper, we introduce a concept called 'cyber enhanced retailing'. Cyber-enhanced retailing is a paradigm that melds the advantages of e-commerce with the advantages of traditional physical retailing. The paper introduces a framework that compares and contrasts the general advantages and disadvantages of both e-commerce and traditional 'brick and-mortar' retailing. Based on this framework, we analyze possible approaches to applying ecommerce retailing techniques to the consumer mercantile activities in the traditional retailing realm. This analysis leads to a discussion of a number of potential scenarios for enhancing the traditional retail experience by integrating e-commerce technologies. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10196780050177099 The articles say that Internet retailers face severe competition with brick and mortar retailers but only in case of ordinary products like apparels, accessories, FMCGs, etc but in case of high end niche products, they have very less to no competition as there are very limited stores for such products in India. Besides there exists one more type of selling namely: catalogue selling which also sells moderate to high end items. In order to avert competition online retailers should have some uniqueness or an edge in their products. Many physical retailers are venturing into online retailing as well because of the popularity of e-business. But there are
26
some thing which have to be kept in mind before going online, such as the success of the business, the acceptance of industry and which mode should be given stress or how to make equilibrium between the two. Depending on the product and services, a consumer chooses and selects a particular shopping mode. Shopping of different products have different impact on shoppers and the way they shop. The studies have suggested that the firms who are present both on physical level as well as internet level have high level of profitability as compared to those who choose only one network.
2.2 E supply chain

The second topic to come up is the influence of internet on the supply chain networks. We are aware that that introduction of technology has huge benefits in terms of more stock turns and less lead times but how much difference does it make in case of orthodox supply chain networks. Bendavid, Lefebvre, January 2009, Key performance indicators for the evaluation of RFID-enabled B-to-B e-commerce applications: the case of a five-layer supply chain, Issue 1, pages 1-20, available at www.link.springer.com, February 18 2013 This paper attempts to track key performance indicators in order to assess the impacts of RFID technology in a five layer supply chain in the utility sector. Findings point to some performance improvements especially when RFID enables more integrated and more collaborative B-to-B ecommerce solutions. The research design involves multiple units and levels of analysis, and relies on diverse data collection methods and generates a vast amount of data. The concept of a living laboratory proved to be an insightful approach for exploring issues related to intercompany connectedness and relationship management
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http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10257-008-0092-2?LI=true Bakker Elmer, Harland Christine, Zheng Jurong, Knight Louis, 2008, Putting e-commerce adoption in a supply chain context, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 28 Issue: 4, pages.313 330, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com, February 23 2013 The adoption of e-commerce in supply chains is simultaneously affected by two contextual meta-variables: external pressure, which is influenced by supply chain structure, demand and industry characteristics; and internal readiness, which is influenced by IT, organizational and buying need characteristics. Different combinations of these two main variables lead to four different trade-off situations affecting adoption or nonadoption. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm? articleid=1717805&show=abstract Wang, Liu, Xie, May 2008, On-demand e-supply chain integration: A multiagent constraint-based approach, Expert Systems with Applications, Volume 34, Issue 4, Pages 26832692, available at http://www.sciencedirect.com, February 20 2013 With e-business emerging as a key enabler to drive supply chains, the focus of supply chain management has been shifted from production efficiency to customer-driven and partnership synchronization approaches. This strategic shift depends on the match between the demands and offerings that deliver the services. To achieve this, we need to coordinate the flow of information among the services, and link their business processes under various constraints. Existing approaches to this problem have relied on complete information of services and resources, and have failed to adequately address the dynamics and uncertainties of the operating environments. The real-world situation is complicated as a result of undetermined requirements of services involved in the chain,
28
unpredictable solutions contributed by service providers, and dynamic selection and aggregation of solutions to services. This paper examines an agent-mediated approach to on-demand e-business supply chain integration. Each agent works as a service broker, exploring individual service decisions as well as interacting with each other for achieving compatibility and coherence among the decisions of all services. Based on the framework, a prototype has been implemented with simulated experiments highlighting the effectiveness of the approach. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417407001601 Kehoe, Boughton, 2008, Internet based supply chain management: A classification of approaches to manufacturing planning and control", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, MCB UP Ltd, Vol. 21 Issue: 4, pages.516 525, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com, February 23 2013 Today the Internet provides a real opportunity for demand data and supply capacity data to be visible to all companies within a manufacturing supply chain. Consequently there is a need for manufacturing organizations to explore alternative mechanisms for the management of their operations network, in particular the role of manufacturing planning and control systems. This paper describes current research which examines the classification of manufacturing supply chains and positions Internet-based applications in order to identify the operations management challenges for the next generation of manufacturing planning and control systems. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm? articleid=849331&show=abstract Makris, Mourtzis, 2008, Towards the Internet-based supply chain management for the ship repair industry, Volume 17, Issue 1,available at http://www.tandfonline.com, February 13, 2013
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A current trend of companies in the manufacturing industry is to operate globally in order to expand the limits of their business and integrate their operations with these of their business partners. The growth of the Internet and the software technologies that arise from it provides the means for this globalization. In this paper, we examine the problems arising from the integration of partners, who use heterogeneous information systems. The paper deals particularly with the ship repair industry as a case study of these problems and their solution. In this work, we demonstrate how modern information technology can support the communication of different partners and enable the information flow within the value added chain. Moreover, we describe how the performance of a supply chain can be improved by applying a generic hierarchical model though the appropriate planning of the critical manufacturing operations. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0951192031000080885 The article says that internet has helped in easing out the work like data collection and their analysis at all the levels. The organizations today have a need to use internet so as to enhance their working and data collection. Internet has led to globalization in the whole world. E.business has led to going beyond the production efficiency to customer driven partnership. The concept of e supply chain is affected by supply chain structure, demand and supply and It characteristics. A combination of all these characteristics make a decent e supply chain.
2.3 E-loyalty
In the last topic we will discuss the customer loyalty ratio in case of online retailing and whether it exists in the same manner as normal customer loyalty. It is also to see how shopping sites keep a record of their loyal customers and keep them attracted to their sites.
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Gilbert, Kelley, 2009, How e-CRM can enhance customer loyalty, Marketing Intelligence & Planning,MCB UP Ltd, Vol. 21 Issue: 4, pages.239 248, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com, FebruaRY 25 2013 Internet-based companies need to remain competitive. One way of improving competitive advantage is to attract more customers and increase customer retention; for example, by developing long-term, secure relationships between the buyers and sellers. Little empirical research has been conducted on the link between customer relationship management and customer loyalty within an Internet, or e-commerce, context. This study provides evidence of how to improve planning for customer management by presenting and testing a conceptual model of the process by which the implementation of electronic relationship marketing (e-CRM), can enhance loyalty. While building the research framework, price sensitivity was found to be a primary confounding element on loyalty and was included in the study for control. An exploratory study of Internet retailers, e-retailers, and their customers was conducted and the findings revealed that e-retail companies (with CD, DVD, video and book products) should consider customers perceptions of relationship marketing efforts, as they are fundamental to enhancing customer loyalty and that an enhancement of customer loyalty reduces price sensitivity. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm? articleid=854635&show=abstract Kim, Jin, July 2009, The role of etail quality, e-satisfaction and e-trust in online loyalty development process, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Volume 16, Issue 4, pages 239-247, available at http://www.sciencedirect.com, February 15 2013 The purpose of this study is to propose and test an integrative model of eloyalty development process by conceptualizing that e-loyalty is
31
influenced by e-satisfaction, e-trust and multi-dimensional aspects of e-tail quality. In order to capture the full picture of e-tail quality, we attempt to cover the complete purchase experience by focusing on four dimensions of e-tail quality that go beyond website functionality or system quality aspects: fulfillment/reliability, website design, security/privacy and responsiveness. From the 182 usable data obtained, hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the eloyalty development process is influenced by both e-satisfaction and etrust. The relationship between e-trust and e-satisfaction is found to be significant as well. Components of e-tail quality have differing effects on e-satisfaction and e-trust. Evaluation of fulfillment/reliability influences esatisfaction as well as e-trust. Website design positively influences esatisfaction while security/privacy has a positive effect on e-trust. However, contrary to our expectation, responsiveness affects neither esatisfaction nor e-trust. Managerial implications are provided following presentation of the findings. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698908000647 Sahadev, Purani, 2008 Modelling the consequences of e-service quality, emerald publishing company, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com, 23 February 2013 This paper investigates the antecedents and consequences of customer loyalty in an online business-to-consumer (B2C) context. We identify eight factors (the 8Cscustomization, contact interactivity, care, community, convenience, cultivation, choice, and character) that potentially impact eloyalty and develop scales to measure these factors. Data collected from 1,211 online customers demonstrate that all these factors, except convenience, impact e-loyalty. The data also reveal that e-loyalty has an impact on two customer-related outcomes: word-of- mouth promotion and willingness to pay more.
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http://www.emeraldinsight.com/case_studies.htm/case_studies.htm? articleid=1747076&show=html Gloria, 2010, Measuring the antecedents of e-loyalty and the effect of switching costs on website, The Service Industries Journal Volume 30, Issue 11, pages 1837-1852, available at www.tandfonline.com, February 23 2013 This paper deals with the process by which electronic customer loyalty (eloyalty) is formed. The twofold aim is to analyze e-loyalty, describing its development in terms of how it is influenced by several determinants and to study potential barriers to switching which significantly affect the repeat purchase is decision. to In particular, determine an integrating theoretical of framework proposed the e-loyalty dependency
electronic service quality and perceived value, and how this last relationship can be moderated by switching costs. Results offer evidence for the important role of customer's perceptions of e-service quality and value in e-loyalty. Proposals are made of how companies that are online can use this knowledge to build marketing strategies. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02642060802626774 Huang, 2008, Exploring the determinants of E-loyalty among travel agencies, The Service Industries Journal,Volume 28, Issue 2, pages 239254, available at www.tandfonline.com, February 25 2013 This study aims to explore and empirically build up an e-loyalty model for the burgeoning e-service of Taiwan's travel agencies. Mailed data and data collected in personal from multiple sources is used for helping to identify the determinants of e-loyalty between Taiwan's wholesaler and retailer travel agencies. Several statistical techniques, including confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and a linear structural relationship (LISREL) are used, and a structural equation is implemented to test the e-loyalty model. The results indicate that Taiwan's wholesaler travel agencies might consider e-quality as well as trust as the most
33
important
antecedents
to e-loyalty,
whereas loyalty results
in
the
increased transaction intentions of retailers. No related studies so far have analysed or tried to discern the cause-and-effect relationship between eloyalty and transaction intention for travel agencies. This paper also proposes an optimal e-loyalty model that matches the essential development needs of B2B commerce transaction. Finally, the model herein illustrates how wholesalers can realize e-commerce strategic goals by acquiring the e-loyalty of retailer travel agencies. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02642060701842316
Sahadev, Purani, 2008 Modelling the consequences of e-service quality, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Vol. 26 Issue: 6, pages 605 620, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com, February 24 2013
The purpose of this paper is to model the consequences of achieving better service quality in e-services. The conceptual model finds significant support based on the empirical study. It is seen that the four components of e-service quality: efficiency, fulfillment, system availability, privacy, are linked to trust and satisfaction. The study underscores the need to focus on service quality in the context of e-services. The positive linkages should motivate practitioners to invest more to achieve greater service quality. By focusing on the consequences of e-service quality, the study contributes to the growing stream of e-service quality literature. This is also one of the few studies to look at other categories of e-services apart from e-tailing. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm? articleid=1747076&show=abstract
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The factor which affects the e loyalty is price sensitivity amongst consumers. If they find a site with better prices they are bound to check it out and talk to their friends about it. So the online sites need to make a relationship with customers by coming out with unique methods so as to establish e loyalty. The factors like efficiency in the service fulfillment of desire availability of the tool to buy and privacy of the users are concerned with the trust and satisfaction amongst the consumers thus helping in the building of customer loyalty. Customer loyalty results in more profitability so all the online firms should thrive to come out with ways to build a strong customer loyalty in market. There are eight factors which have an impact on e loyalty which are customization, contact imperceptivity, care, community, cultivation choice and character. Moreover the factors like word of mouth and willingness to pay more also impacts a persons loyalty towards a shopping site. From past few years Indian retail industry has been growing at a tremendous rate and so is the online retailing industry. With rising internet penetration and availability of internet facility people have started buying products online. The three factors which hold special role in this case were: 1. Brick and mortar v/d click and mortar. 2. E-supply chain 3 .e-loyalty. The articles say that any sort of business if done through just one channel can lead to standstill and losses. A combination of online as well as physical business have been proved beneficial according to many studies. But before venturing into both businesses one must make sure if it would be acceptable in the industry or not and how will a balance will be maintained between the two. So physical and online retailing have a lot of competition but if they are combined a firm can achieve higher level of profitability. The rise of internet for operational and data collection and
35
analysis purposes have acted as a boon for many organizations. It has made the work easier and more accurate for a firm. It has become a necessity for organizations to enhance their working. Excellent supply chain network with exceptional analytical processes is the result of esupply chain. Achieving loyalty in case of online sites is pretty difficult as there are only a few attributes like customer service, look and display of site, pricing, uniqueness and shipments which can bind a customer to a particular site. Moreover a site has to implant trust and satisfaction in the customer to make them visit again and also spread the good word.
CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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Problem statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to established e-retailers.
3.1 Rationale
There has been an increasing outburst of many online shopping sites in past few years and inclination of people towards it. The researcher has always been intrigued by the idea of online business and wanted to do something in this field. There are more then 100 sites operating in India at this particular point of time. Out of them some are major players, well known in the industry while others are not much heard of. Like in case of brick and mortar internet retailing has reached to a stage in India where there are some big players having the advantage of initiating online business in India while some are small followers who are trying to compete n sustain in the industry by coming out with some uniqueness. During my training in Shahi Exports (Faridabad unit) I came across with one such e-retailer: Bhane They had their office in the building of Shahi and acted as one of buyers of it. It is not a well known shopping site, still it is very much functional and doing decent business. When I met them, had a word with them, I came to know that there are many problems faced by such small internet retailers, mainly in supply chain, which is supposed to be the backbone of online retailing. Moreover Bhane is a site which
37
designs, manufactures and sells their own clothing. There are some sites like Jabong who sell branded stuff. For them issues like size problem, cloth quality do not exist. Keeping the information collected from the meeting in mind the researcher thought to study the supply chain network of either Bhane or some other internet retailer but it was not practical to stick with one retailer. Moreover minute information gathering of any retailer did not look feasible in case of supply chain. Then the researcher was guided in the righyt direction by her mentor to study overall challenges which the small e-retailers face which would cover their supply chain network as well and would also concentrate on related problems.
3.2 Objectives
1. To understand the consumer perception regarding online shopping. 2. To analyze the effect of technology on the behavior of online shoppers. 3. To evaluate the working of small e-retailers and understand the challenges faced by them. 4. To apprehend the acceptability of online shopping among Indian consumers owing the fact that there is significant rise of international brands coming to online portal. 5. To assess the awareness of Indian consumers in respect to the shopping sites.
3.3 Hypothesis
There will be significant upsurge of small e-retailers in the area of online shopping in the near future. Sub Hypotheses
38
1. Online shopping will rise in the coming years. 2. Small e-retailers will be coming up with unique concepts to make their stand in the market.
3.4 Variables
Dependent Growth of small e-retailers. Independent 1. Consumer perception regarding online shopping. 2. Availability of internet technology. 3. Upsurge of international brand availability.
3.5 Tools
Calculative tools Questionnaire method
3.6 Calculations
There are 4 types of questions in the questionnaire. Total questions the researcher has chosen are 18. So the ratio=2:2:2:4 On solving-2/10*18+=3 Result=3:4:4:7 On dividing questions39
Multiple choice single response=6 Multiple choice multiple response=7 Likard Scale=1 Absolute=4
3.7 Sampling
1. Random sampling method- In a random sample of a given size, all such subsets of the frame are given an equal probability. Each element of the frame thus has an equal probability of selection: the frame is not subdivided or partitioned It refers to selecting random 200 people to get the questionnaire done. 2. Strictly Stratified- A method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller groups known as strata. In stratified random sampling, the strata are formed based on members' shared attributes or characteristics.
40
3. Ex post facto- It is the research that is conducted using events that have already taken place and are impossible to experiment. Many researches have already been conducted in this area.
3.8 Statistical Treatment:

1. Mean: The mean is the sum of a collection of numbers divided by the number of numbers in the collection. The collection is often a set of results of an experiment, or a set of results from a survey of a subset of the public. The following is its formula:
2 . Mean Deviation: In a statistical distribution, the average of the absolute values of the differences between individual numbers and their mean. The falling is the formula:
3. Standard Deviation: In statistics and probability theory, standard deviation shows how much variation or dispersion exists from the average, or expected value. A low standard deviation indicates that the data points tend to be very close to the mean; high standard deviation indicates that the data points are spread out over a large range of values Here is its formula
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4. Variance: A measure of the dispersion of a set of data points around their mean value. Variance is a mathematical expectation of the average squared deviations from the mean. Here is the formula:
42
CHAPTER-4 RESULTS
Problem Statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to large e-retailers.
4.1
Independent
variable:
Consumer
perception
regarding online shopping

Question 1. How often do you use Internet for shopping?
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Mean Score 2-3 times a week 2-3 times a month Once a month Once in 6 months Never 24 47 85 42 2 200 200 200 200 200 0.12 0.24 0.43 0.21 0.01 Table 4.1 0.12 0.23 0.42 0.21 0.1. Total Mean Deviation
Standard Deviation 1.69 3.31 5.98 2.95 0.14
Varian ce 2.85 10.93 35.76 8.73 0.02
Table 4.1 depicts the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of frequency of people using internet for shopping.
Mean
0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0.43
0.24 0.12
0.21
Mean
0.01 2-3 times a week 2-3 times a month Once a month Once in 6 months Never
Graph 4.1 Graph 4.1 shows that maximum people go for online shopping at least once a month.
Question 2. What type of products do you typically buy online? (select any4)
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Mean Deviatio Score Grocerie s Cosmetic s Books CD/ DVD Toys Furniture Clothes and accessori es Gadgets Movie Tickets Jewellery Travellin g ticket 99 200 0.50 Table 4.2 0.49 133 23 200 200 0.67 0.12 0.66 0.11 86 109 200 200 0.43 0.55 0.43 0.54 45 123 57 34 56 200 200 200 200 200 0.23 0.62 0.28 0.17 0.28 0.22 0.61 0.28 0.17 0.28 35 200 0.18 0.17 Total Mean n
Standard Deviatio n Variance
2.46
6.06
3.17 8.65 4.01 2.39 3.94
10.02 74.89 16.08 5.72 15.52
6.05 7.67
36.61 58.81
9.36 1.62
87.56 2.62
6.97
48.52
Table 4.2 shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the products typically bought from online site.
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Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.62 0.43 0.18 0.23 0.28 0.17 0.28 0.12 Mean 0.67 0.55 0.5
Graph 4.2 Graph 4.2 depicts a number of products people buy from an online site in which movie tickets topped the list. Question3. Select an approximate maximum amount you would spend on a single online purchase. Standar d Mean Below 500 500-1000 10005000 Above 5000 Score 25 67 92 16 Total 200 200 200 200 Mean 0.13 0.34 0.46 0.08 Table 4.3 Table 4.3 shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the maximum amount people spend on online shopping in one go.
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Varian ce
Deviatio n 1.76 4.71 6.47 1.27 1.13 3.09 22.22 41.90
Deviation 0.12 0.33 0.46 0.08
Mean
0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Below 500 500-1000 1000-5000 More than 5000 0.13 0.08 Mean 0.34 0.46
Graph 4.3 Graph 4.3 here depicts the maximum amount of money people spend during shopping from an online site during a single purchase which came out to be in between Rs.1000 and Rs.5000.
47
Question 4. Please select the best among the following. I. It is a great advantage to be able to shop at any time of the day on the internet Standar d Mean Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 4 12 5 12 4 200 200 200 200 200 0.39 0.51 0.03 0.06 0.02 Table 4.4 (I) 0.39 0.50 0.02 0.06 0.02 5.49 7.11 0.35 0.84 0.28 Total Mean Deviation Deviatio n 30.12 50.50 0.12 0.71 0.08 Varian ce
Table 4.4 (I) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Strongly Agree Agree 0.39 0.51
Mean
Mean
0.03 Indifferent
0.06 Disagree
0.02 Strongly Disagree
and variance of the benefit of shopping online at any point of time. Graph 4.4 (I)
48
Graph 4.4 (I) depicts that consumers find it beneficial that they can shop from a site any day at any time.
II.
Shopping online is risky Mean Deviatio Score Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 0.04 3 26 12 104 200 200 200 200 0.02 0.13 0.06 0.52 0.01 0.13 0.06 0.52 0.21 1.83 0.84 7.32 3.35 0.71 53.54 ce
Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 55 200 0.28 0.27 3.87
14.97
Table 4.4 (II) Table 4.4 (II) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the risks involved in online shopping.
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Mean
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.02 Strongly Agree Agree 0.13 0.06 Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 0.28 0.52
Series1
Graph 4.4 (II) Graph 4.4 (II) depicts that now very few people think that online shopping is risky.
III.
Shopping on the internet saves time Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 57 119 13 10 1 200 200 200 200 200 0.29 0.60 0.07 0.05 0.01 0.28 0.59 0.06 0.05 0.00 4.01 8.37 0.91 0.70 0.07 Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 16.08 70.10 0.84 0.50 0.00 ce
Table 4.4 (III)

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Table 4.4 (III) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the time saved due to online shopping.
Mean
0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent 0.07 0.05 Disagree 0.29 Mean 0.6
0.01 Strongly Disagree
Graph 4.4 (III) Graph 4.4 (III) depicts that most of the respondents believed that shopping on internet is very time saving.
IV.
I will prefer online shopping only if online prices are lower than actual price Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen 12 36 17 200 200 200 0.06 0.18 0.09
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Varian Standard Deviation 0.71 0.84 2.53 1.20 ce
Total
Mean
n 0.06 0.18 0.08
6.42 1043
t Disagree Strongly Disagree
88
200
0.44
0.44
6.19
38.33
47
200
0.24
0.23
3.31
10.93
Table 4.4 (IV) Table 4.4 (IV) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of preference of online shopping only when its prices are lower than that of actual prices.
Mean
0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 0.06 0.18 0.09 0.24 Mean 0.44
Graph 4.4 (IV) Graph 4.4 (IV) depicts that a large amount people prefer online shopping over physical store shopping if they find the prices lower in comparison.
V.
Selection of goods available on the internet is very broad

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Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 52 89 12 34 13 200 200 200 200 200 0.26 0.45 0.06 0.17 0.07 0.26 0.44 0.06 0.17 0.06 Total Mean n
Standard Varian Deviatio n 13.39 3.66 6.26 0.84 2.39 0.91 39.21 0.71 5.72 0.84 ce
Table 4.4 (V) Table 4.4 (V) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the broad range of products available on internet.
Mean
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Disagree 0.06 0.26 0.17 0.07 Mean 0.45
53
Graph 4.4 (V) Graph 4.4 (V) depicts that maximum people agree to the fact that they find a wide range of products no internet.
VI.
Comparing prices is easier through online shopping Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 67 104 2 24 3 200 200 200 200 200 0.45 0.69 0.01 0.16 0.02 0.44 0.69 0.01 0.16 0.02 5.43 8.43 0.16 1.95 0.24 Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 29.53 71.15 0.03 3.79 0.06 ce
Table 4.4 (VI)

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Table 4.4 (VI) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of comparing prices through online shopping.
Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Strongly Agree Agree 0.01 Indifferent Disagree 0.16 0.02 Strongly Disagree 0.45 Mean 0.69
55
Graph 4.4 (VII) Graph 4.4 (VII) depicts that people find it easier to look out for the products and compare the prices on online shopping rather than going around to stores.
VII.
While shopping online, I hesitate to give my credit card number Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 0 78 10 103 9 200 200 200 200 200 0 0.39 0.05 0.52 0.05 0 0.39 0.05 0.51 0.04 0 5.49 0.70 7.25 0.63 Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 0 30.12 0.50 52.52 0.40 ce
Table 4.4 (VII) Table 4.4 (VII) shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of reluctance of people to give out their credit card number during online shopping.
Mean
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 Strongly Agree Agree Mean 0.39 0.52
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0.05 Indifferent Disagree 0.05 Strongly Disagree
Graph 4.4 (VII) Graph 4.4 (VII) depicts that not many people are hesitant to give out their credit card details.
VIII.
I believe that only those with a credit card or bank account can shop on the internet. Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 12 46 15 82 45 200 200 200 200 200 0.06 0.23 0.08 0.41 0.06 0.23 0.07 0.41 0.84 3.24 1.06 5.77 3.17 Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 0.71 10.47 1.11 33.28 10.02 ce
0.23 0.22 Table 4.4 (VIII)
Table 4.4 (VIII) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the fact that only credit card holders can shop from an online site.
Mean
0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 0.41
0.23
0.23 Mean
0.06 Strongly Agree Agree
57
0.08
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Graph 4.4 (VIII) Graph 4.4 (VIII) depicts that consumers are well aware of the policies like cash on delivery and so do not think that only credit card holders can shop from an online site.
IX.
Internet reduces the monetary costs like travelling, parking fees etc. Mean Deviatio Score Strongly Agree Agree Indifferen t Disagree Strongly Disagree 56 108 18 17 1 200 200 200 200 200 0.28 0.54 0.09 0.08 0.00 0.28 0.54 0.09 0.08 0.00 3.94 7.60 1.27 1.20 0.07 Total Mean n Standard Varian Deviatio n 15.52 57.74 1.60 1.43 0.00 ce
Table 4.4 (IX) Table 4.4 (IX) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of reduction of the monetary costs in case of online shopping.
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Mean
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Strongly Agree Agree Indifferent Disagree 0.09 0.08 0 Strongly Disagree 0.28 0.54
Mean
Graph 4.4 (IX) Graph 4.4 (IX) depicts that respondents consider that costs like parking, travelling etc are reduced when going for an online shopping.
Standar Mean Pigtailsandponies. com aware unaware (I) Score 34 166 Total 200 200 Mean 0.17 0.83 Deviatio n 0.17 0.83 d Deviatio Varianc n 2.39 11.68 e 5.72 136.41
Table 4.5 (I)
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Table 4.5 (I) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of pigtailsandponies.com.
Mean
0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.83
Mean 0.17
aware
unaware
Graph 4.5 (I) Graph 4.5 (I) depicts the awareness shown for pigtailsponies.com
Standar Mean Donebynone. com aware unaware Score 46 104 Total 200 200 Mean 0.23 0.52 Table 4.5 (II)
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d Deviatio n 3.24 7.32 Variance 10.47 53.54
Deviatio n 0.23 0.52
Table 4.5 (II) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of donebytnone.com.
Mean
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 aware unaware 0.23 Mean 0.52
Graph 4.5 (II) Graph 4.5 (II) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for donebynone.com.
Table 4.5 (III) Mean Bhane.co m aware unaware Score 67 133 Total 200 200 Mean 61 0.34 0.67 Deviatio n 0.33 0.66 Standard Deviatio n 4.71 9.36 Variance 22.22 87.56
Table 4.5 (III) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of bhane.com.
Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 aware unaware 0.34 Mean 0.67
Graph 4.5 (III) Graph 4.5 (III) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for bhane.com.
Mean Nineteen.c om aware unaware Score 121 79 Total 200 200 Mean 0.61 0.40 Deviatio n 0.60 0.39
Standard Deviatio n 8.51 5.56 Variance 72.47 30.89
Table 4.5 (IV)

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Table 4.5 (IV) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of nineteen.com.
Mean
0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 aware unaware 0.4 Mean 0.61
Graph 4.5 (IV) Graph 4.5 (IV) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for nineteen.com.
Mean Pepperfry.c om aware unaware Score 117 83 Total 200 200 Mean 0.59 0.42 Table 4.5 (V) Deviatio n 0.58 0.41
Table 4.5 (V) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of pepperfry.com.
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Score
Total
Mean
Mean Deviatio n 0.53 0.46

0.42
Standard Variance Deviatio n 7.53 6.54 56.67 42.81
Mean
Aware 0.6 Unaware
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 aware 0.7
107 93
200
0.59 200
0.54 0.47
Mean
unaware
Graph 4.5 (V) Graph 4.5 (V) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for pepperfry.com.
Table 4.5 (VI) Table 4.5 (VI) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of shophunk.com.
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Mean
0.56 0.54 0.52 0.5 0.48 0.46 0.44 0.42 aware unaware 0.47 Mean 0.54
Graph 4.5 (VI) Graph 4.5 (VI) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for shophunk.com.
Vedicfolks.c om aware unaware Score 23 117 Total 150 150 Mean 0.12 0.89
Mean
Standard Variance 2.62 155.08
Deviation Deviation 0.11 1.62 0.88 12.45
Table 4.5 (VII)
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Table 4.5 (VII) shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the awareness of vedicfolks.com.
Mean
1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 aware unaware 0.12 Mean 0.89
Graph 4.5 (VII) Graph 4.5 (VII) depicts the awareness of the brand amongst people for vedicfolks.com.
3.2.
Independent
variable:
Accessibility
of
internet
technology
Question6: How do you find colors in your favorite shopping site? Score Total Mean
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Mean
Standard
Variance
Deviatio n Bright and catchy Subtle and soothing Irritating to eye Very dull the 4 1 200 200 0.02 0.00 Table 4.6 0.02 0.00 143 200 0.72 0.71 52 200 0.26 0.26
Deviatio n
3.66
13.39
10.06
101.23
0.28 0.07
0.08 0.00
Table 4.6 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the display of the shopping site
Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.02 Bright and catchySubtle and soothing Irritating to the eye 0 Verydull Mean 0.26 0.72
Graph 4.6 Graph 4.6 depicts the choice of type of display and color of peoples favorite shopping site which came out to be subtle and soothing with a mean of 0.72.
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Question7: Is it easy for you to differentiate between different product categories? Mean Deviatio Yes No Score 144 56 Total 200 200 Mean n 0.72 0.72 0.28 0.28 Table 4.7 Standard Deviatio n 10.13 3.94 Variance 102.65 15.52
Table 4.7 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of differentiating between various product categories on an online site.
Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 yes no Mean 0.28 0.72
Graph 4.7 Graph 4.7 depicts that consumers can easily distinguish between product categories in an online shopping site.
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Question8: How easy it is for you to navigate through an online shopping site? Mean Deviatio Score Very easy easy moderat e difficult very difficult 26 73 99 2 0 200 200 200 200 200 0.13 0.37 0.50 0.01 0.13 0.36 0.49 0.01 1.83 5.14 6.97 0.14 0 3.35 26.38 48.52 0.02 0 Total Mean n Standard Deviatio n Variance
0 0 Table 4.8
Table 4.8 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of respondents navigation through a shopping site.
Graph 4.8
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Graph 4.8 depicts that it is moderately easy for people to steer through a shopping site with the highest mean of 0.46.
Question9: Does the products pictures take a lot of time to load? Mean Deviatio Yes No Score 57 93 Total 200 200 Mean 0.38 0.62 Table 4.9 Table 4.9 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the time taken by pictures to load on the site. n 0.37 0.61 Standard Deviatio n 4.62 7.54 Variance 21.37 56.89
Mean
0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 yes no 0.38 Mean 0.62
Graph 4.8 Graph 4.8 depicts that most of the people dont think sites take a lot of time to load the pictures of their products.
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Question10: What are the sites you generally shop from? Mean Deviatio Score Myntra Jabong Snapdeal Infibeam Inkfruit Flipkart Freeculte r 45 200 0.23 Table 4.10 Table 4.10 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the sites people generally shop from. 0.22 3.17 10.02 115 78 71 56 101 134 Total 200 200 200 200 200 200 Mean 0.58 0.39 0.36 0.28 0.51 0.67 n 0.57 0.39 0.35 0.28 0.50 0.67 Standard Deviatio n 8.09 5.49 5.00 3.94 7.11 9.43 Variance 65.47 30.12 24.95 15.52 50.50 88.88
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Graph 4.10 Graph 4.10 depicts that the most preferred site amongst online shoppers is Flipkart.com with the mean of 0.67. Question11: How has your online shopping experience been? Mean Deviatio Score Excellent Fairly Good Moderat e Bad Disastro us 127 56 2 0 200 200 200 200 0.64 0.28 0.01 0 Table 4.11 Table 4.11 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the experience of people in case of online shopping.
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Standard Deviatio n 1.06 Variance 1.11
Total 200
Mean 0.08
n 0.07
15
0.63 0.28 0.01 0
8.94 3.94 0.14 0
79.84 15.52 0.0 0
Graph 4.11 Graph 4.11 depicts that people liked their online shopping experience and rated it as fairly good in most of the cases.
Question12: Are you hesitant in trying out a new online shopping site? Mean Deviatio yes no Score 64 136 Total 200 200 Mean 0.32 0.68 Table 4.12 Table 4.12 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of reluctance of people in trying out a new online shopping site. n 0.32 0.68 Standard Deviatio n 4.50 9.57 Variance 20.28 91.56
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Graph 4.12 Graph 4.12 depicts that online shoppers are not very hesitant in trying out any new shopping site. They readily agree for purchase if they liked the product.
Question 13: On which of the following mediums you rely most to try out a new website? (select any 2) Mean Score Word of 81 200 0.41 0.40 5.70 32.48 mouth Newspaper and magazines 57 TV and 98 200 200 0.29 0.49
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Standard Deviation
Varianc e
Total
Mean
Deviation
0.28 0.49
4.01 6.89
16.08 47.54
radio advertiseme nts Boards and hoardings Internet Events 18 101 45 200 200 200 0.09 0.51 0.23 0.09 0.50 0.22 1.27 7.11 3.17 1.60 50.50 10.02
Table 4.13 Table 4.13 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the mediums one relies upon to try out a new shopping site.
Mean
0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.41 0.29 0.09 Mean 0.49 0.51
0.23
Graph 4.13 depicts that people rely on word of mouth on order to gain knowledge and reviews of any shopping site. They gain information from family, friends or acquaintances. Question14: What are the problems you have faced while shopping online? Score Total Mean
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Mean
Standard
Variance
Deviatio n Discrepa ncy site Slow server Prices not suitable Safety and trust issues 167 Not user friendly Late delivery Limited variety 76 129 82 200 200 200 200 0.84 0.38 0.65 0.41 Table 4.14 0.83 0.38 0.64 0.41 89 200 0.45 0.44 on 145 112 200 200 0.73 0.56 0.72 0.56
Deviatio n
10.20 7.88
104.08 62.09
6.26
39.21
11.75 5.35 9.08 5.77
138.05 28.59 82.38 33.28
Table 4.14 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the problems faced while shopping online.
Mean
0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0.73 0.56 0.45 0.84 0.65 0.38 0.41
Mean
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Graph 4.14 Graph 4.14 depicts that people face safety issues the most during online shopping.
Question17: Which of the following factors helps you to choose a particular shopping site? (Select any 3) Mean Delivery Prices Product range Marketin g Reviews Score 99 121 101 135 144 Total 200 200 200 200 200 Mean 0.50 0.61 0.51 0.68 0.72 Deviation 0.49 0.60 0.50 0.67 0.72 Standard Deviation 6.97 8.51 7.11 9.50 10.13 Variance 48.52 72.47 50..50 90.22 102.13
Table 4.17 Table 4.17 shows the mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the factors that help in deciding and choosing an online shopping site.
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Graph 4.17 Graph 4.17 depicts that review from the friends and family members helps people in choosing a site for shopping with a mean of 0.63.
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Question 18: What are the challenges faced by e-commerce industry today in India? (Select any 2) Mean Deviatio Score Slow penetrati on of internet Touch and feel factor Lack of trust Lack of awarene ss amongst people 91 150 0.60 Table 4.18 Table 4.18 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of the challenges faced by the e-commerce industry in India. 0.60 7.38 54.47 49 107 150 150 0.32 6.71 0.32 6.66 3.97 81.67 15.79 70.48 51 150 0.34 0.33 4.13 17.10 Total Mean n Standard Deviatio n Variance
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Mean
0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Slow penetration Touch and feel of internet factor Lack of trust Lack of awareness amongst people 0.34 0.32 Mean 0.71 0.6
Graph 4.18 Graph 4.18 depicts that the major challenge faced by the e-commerce industry in India is the lack of trust amongst people and their fear of giving out personal details
3.3. Independent variable: Upsurge of international brand availability

Question15: Where do you mostly shop for international brands Mean Deviatio Score physical stores online 133 17 150 150 0.88 0.11
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Total
Mean
n 0.88 0.11
sites Table 4.15 Table 4.15 shows shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of preference of people for buying international brands.
Mean
1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Physical stores Online stores 0.11 Mean 0.88
Graph 4.15 Graph 4.15 depicts that people prefer to go to showrooms instead of shopping for international brands on online shopping sites. Question16: Would you go for online shopping if a particular brand is not available in physical stores? Mean Yes No Score 111 39 Total 150 150 Mean Deviation 0.74 0.52 0.26 0.60 Table 4.16 Standard Deviation 6.40 7.38 Variance 41.05 54.47
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Table 4.16 shows mean, mean deviation, standard deviation and variance of preferring to go for online shopping if a particular brand is not available in physical stores.
Graph 4.16 Graph 4.16 depicts that if people want to buy a particular brand they would even go for online shopping if it is not available in stores.
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CHAPTER 5
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INTERPRETATIONS
Problem Statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to established e-retailers. The research was carried out on the sample size of 200 people in the South Delhi region. Independent Variables: The researcher considered three Independent variables in the research which are the following:1. Consumer perception regarding online shopping. 2. Availability of internet technology. 3. Upsurge of international brand availability. Question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 cater to Independent Variable 1 Question 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 cater to Independent Variable 2 Question 15 and 16 cater to Independent Variable 3
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5.1
Independent
Variable
1:
Consumer
perception
regarding online shopping.

Question 1: How often do you use Internet for shopping? In the first question people are asked about their frequency of indulging in online shopping. If we look into the Figure we will notice that people are aware of the online shopping trend and prefer once a month out of all the other options given. This tells that Indian consumers especially the young generation have started using internet as shopping mode. After that comes the category of people who are not so frequent shoppers and browse through an online website once 6 months. They have decent knowledge of the procedures and concept of online shopping but prefer going to showroom more than buying on internet. There was just one candidate who opted for the option never for online shopping site. This shows the increasing inclination of consumers towards online shopping. Businessworld Marketing Whitebook 2011-2012 New Media, page 119 Question 2: What type of products do you typically buy online? (Select any4) In the second question the researcher is basically trying to understand what all products consumers like to buy from the online shopping sites. A major share in this question is occupied by movie tickets. This is the commodity which most of the people like to buy from sites as they get to avoid long queue in ticket counter and also they can easily select the movie, location and the timings. According to the respondents this is the most convenient way of buying tickets. After that comes books. They are the easiest commodity to buy online, one just have to go through the reviews and prices and then simply buy it. Then comes the gadgets, with the opening of so many sites like people find it easy to compare prices of any gadget like cell phone on and even get them delivered from outside India. It explains the specifications of phone and helps in selecting the
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best location to get the product in right price. After that comes the category of travelling tickets with the mean of as can be seen from the figure. By booking tickets online people save time and energy. They can also view the resort they want to book, their rooms, facilities and surroundings. So the people can have a virtual tour of the resort they are about to book and can make decision accordingly. Later it is followed by clothes and accessories with the mean of as there is a huge online market which is growing day by day. Jewellery is the product which is preferred by least amount of people in case of online shopping as they are hesitant about the purity of the material. Question 3: Select an approximate maximum amount you would spend on a single online purchase Now this question explores the spending power of consumer on online shopping in one go. Maximum people with the percentage of selected the slab of 1000-5000. This tells that a sense of trust is developing amongst people for click and mortar shopping and 2-3 people combined make list and shop in a single purchase. Moreover availability of various international brands drives their spending power.
Question 4: Please rank the following: The following questions are the ranking based questions where people had to rate from strongly agree, agree, indifferent, disagree and strongly disagree. a. It is a great advantage to be able to shop at any time of the day on the internet
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One of the major advantages of online shopping is the fact that one can shop at any point of the day be it office, train, hotel. A percentage of people choosing option agree proves the above statement. shop during rains and even in scorching sun. The convenience of this method of shopping is what I like best about it. Where else can you do shopping even a midnight wearing your night suit? You do not have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant is ready to help you with your purchases. You can do your shopping in minutes even if you are busy apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24 x 7 and also reward us with a no pollution shopping. There is no better place to buy information products like e-books. Immediately after the payment is made one can download the information. And downloadable items purchased online eliminate the need for any kind of material goods at all. Top 10 Benefits of Online Shopping http://websearch.about.com/od/onlineshoppingsearch/f/advantagesonline-shopping.htm b. Shopping online is risky More than 50% of the people declined the above statement saying they are aware of the security issues involved with shopping online. The facilities like tracking order, assures them to shop from online sites. But all this is followed strictly on large e-tailing sites as they take a guarantee to provide an exceptional customer service in comparison to the small less known retailers. They can
c. Shopping on the internet saves time

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One of the major advantages of the online shopping is that it is time saving. One doesnt need to roam around in the streets, looking for a particular product, comparing prices. In online shopping one just has to sit around browse through some sites and get the product. It is especially beneficial for working women who dont get much time to go for shopping spree. Around 61% people agreed to the above fact due to the busy lifestyle.
d.
I will prefer online shopping only if online prices are lower than actual price
The Indian consumers still have this myth that online sites have lower prices than the physical stores. For them it is the discounted stores that is why people prefer to go for online shopping only if the prices are lower than their actual prices with about 48% people supporting this idea. But there are also some people who consider online sites as a brand in its own and understands that it works like a normal physical store.
e. Selection of goods available on the internet is very broad About 55% of people agree to the above statement, from FMCGs to electronics to apparels to books and stationary everything is available on internet. The depth might be lesser as compared to the physical stores but they have extensive amount of range in product categories especially in sites such as flipkart and snapdeal which deals in retailing of all sorts of products. Infinite choice: Shelf space in a brick and mortar store is limited, which means that your variety of goods is limited. Not so with an online store. Plus, if you don't see what you want in one store online, you can simply move on to the next one - you've got the power to do that.
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Boswell Wendy; about.com guide; What are the advantages of online shopping? http://anamikas.hubpages.com/hub/Online-shopping-sitesbenefits
f. Comparing prices is easier through online shopping This question enquires the respondents if they find it easier to browse through a shopping site and compare the prices of various goods. The sites like GSMarena and carwale provide facility of looking through the products and comparing the prices in all the sites in which the product is available to them.
g. While shopping online, I hesitate to give my credit card number Now a days people have become familiar with the working of an online site and have started trusting it with their personal details especially the youth. Although there are a bunch of people who still feel reluctant to give out their credit card numbers but a majority of people feel the other way around. The people who are hesitant have either had bad experience themselves or have heard about it from friends and news.
h. I believe that only those with a credit card or bank account can shop on the internet. As there are facilities introduced especially for Indian market like cash on delivery, people dont really feel that only people who can shop online are those who have credit cards or bank accounts. A normal housewife or
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student who have not availed the card system can also buy from any site as this facility is present in almost all the sites.
i. Internet reduces the monetary costs like travelling, parking fees etc. When shoppers dont have to go to the market and sit around and buy from sites, they save a lot of monetary costs like travelling, petrol, parking etc. These extra costs are not present in case of online shopping. Question 5: Are you aware of the following retailers? (Please tick accordingly) In this question the respondents were provided with the names of seven sites which are not very known amongst people and have very low Google ranks. Those are: i. ii. Pigtailsandponies.com: It is a site started in Bangalore. It deals with exclusively hair accessories which are handmade. Donebynone.com: It is a clothing and accessories site which bring to the customers some unique products which are fashion forward. It is exclusively for women. iii. Bhane.com: It is also clothing and accessories brand both for men and women dealing with contemporary designs. iv. Nineteen.com: It is again clothing and accessories brand only for women dealing with trendy and fashionable products especially for teenagers. v. Pepperfry.com: It is a site dealing with online furniture, home and dcor, furnishings, kitchen and dining, housekeeping and fitness. vi. Shophunk.com: It is a site which deals with everything like apparel, footwear, accessories, books and electronics.
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vii.
Vedicfolks.com: It is a site which has a team of Vedic scholars and consultants that give new insights in destiny of an individual.
Out of all the above sites maximum people were aware of nineteen.com. It has a huge fan following, people appreciated its products followed by pepperfry.com which has got good reviews in terms of packaging. Shophunk.com was also pretty much known amongst people. All the above sites have their advertisements on social networking sites like facebook which makes it easy to target the younger generation. Q11. What are the sites you generally shop from? (Select any 3) In this question the researcher has given out names of 7 well known sites and wants to know from which site people generally shop from. Out of all the names respondents selected Flipkart has the best site because of their excellent customer service, speedy shipments and diverse product categories. After that comes Myntra, people liked their unique home trial policy. They have reasonable pricing and trendy products. Next comes Inkfruit which has now joined with Zovi. These 2 sites are especially known for their cool and funky tee-shirts. These are followed by Jabong, snapdeal and Freeculter. The Indian consumers are getting inclined towards online shopping especially the younger generation. Most of the people go for online shopping at least once a month and spend approximately Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 on single purchase. There are diverse number of products available on an online shopping site out of which movie and theatre tickets, books, electronics and apparels are the most purchased items. Online shopping has it advantages as well as disadvantages. A person can shop around at any point of time on an online site which proves to be time saving and cheaper as one doesnt spend extra amount on travelling, eating out etc. The browsing around for products, comparing prices, can happen anytime while a person is at home sitting in night suit. But at the same time it is risker than shopping from a physical store. It may also happen that a
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person may not find a desired product on an online shopping site and not all sites provide the option of trying out the product at home. A person is unable to touch and feel the fabric, designs so a leap of faith has to be installed in a shopping site for quality assurance. Indian market is opening and growing in this sector but some issues like lack of trust and awareness amongst people might prove to be a hindrance in its course.
5.1 Independent Variable 2: Availability of internet technology.

Question 6: How do you find colors in your favorite online shopping site? On asked about the display of their favorite shopping site almost 70% of people chose subtle and soothing. While browsing a site consumers like to keep it light and gentle which drives focus more on the products. There are some people who like very bright and eye catching background colors which attracts them to the site. Question 7: Is it easy for you to differentiate between different product categories? This question aimed to know how comfortable are people in browsing through a site and if they are aware of the normal functioning and contents of a site. Most of the respondents proved to be tech-savvy and were well versed with the contents and products categories. Moreover the sample size mostly caters to young generation who have good knowledge of technology.
Question 8: Where do you mostly shop for international brands? In this question the consumers were given a choice to choose between online portal or physical stores for the shopping of international brand. A
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large quantity of people around 70% favored going to showrooms, looking around products, feeling the fabrics and see the fits rather than sitting in front on online network, browsing through pages, trying it virtually and selecting it. Most of the people like the ambience and aura of the brand created inside the showroom from where they shop. Question 9: How easy it is for you to navigate through an online shopping site? Now in this question it was enquired if they were comfortable using an online site and how easy it is for them to navigate from various destinations of an online site like for example can a person browse through the product categories, gather information about the company and undergo with the privacy and shipping policy of the company. 46% of people said that they are moderately comfortable in navigating through an online site. They can eventually in a while figure out the functioning of any site. Closely followed by 40% are the group of people who can easily steer through a site. None of the candidates found it very difficult to understand the basics of any site. Question 10: Does the products pictures take a lot of time to load? There are many factors which affect the display of a site. 62% people denied the fact that pictures take to of time to load. If a persons internet speed is low the pictures may take a lot of time to upload. Moreover the RAM of a system also affects the pace. From a sites end if the server is not large enough and the site is catering to a lot of traffic, it may result in slow uploading of pictures. All the large e-retailers have huge server base in comparison to small e-retailers and thus this affects the performance of a site in the eyes of consumers.
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Question 12: How has your online shopping experience been? Around 66% of Indian consumers who have indulged in online shopping have had fairly good experience from it. They were satisfied with the services provided and product range. The respective sites provided them with fine shopping experience which made consumers to come again and shop from the online sites and also maybe try out some new ones, while there were people who had moderate experience. They are not so willing to try online shopping. If they find some good deal then only they would go for click and mortar method. There were also 2 candidates who had bad online shopping experience. They were not entertained properly and their product did not reach timely on correct address respectively. Question 13: Are you hesitant in trying out a new online shopping site? This question was asked to enquire the receptivity of people towards new shopping sites and how much are they ready to try them out. Around 68% people are willing to try out new online shopping sites because they have built trust on online shopping sites while 32% people are hesitant to give out their personal details like credit card number, address and phone number because of the fear of landing it in wrong hands. Question14: On which of the following mediums you rely most to try out a new website? (Select any 2) Internet is the best medium to know about new websites according to 62% of respondents. The advertisements on the side panel of facebook is one such example. Advertisements through such social networking sites and search engines like google are responsible for pulling a lot of crowd towards them and making people aware. That is why all the new websites pay good amount of revenue to such sites. Next comes advertisements on televisions and radio. As these two mediums which cover a wide network in metropolitan, 2 tier, 3 tier and even most of the remote regions so they
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are likely to notify people at large scale when considering whole of the nation. A lot of people in case of online shopping are influenced by the policy of word of mouth as well. It instils faith in people when their friends or family members have already tried a site and are expected to provide with honest feedback. Half the Indian consumers (50%) use social media sites to help them make online purchase decisions. Malhotra Amita; Nielsen report on top online shopping trends in India; September 20, 2010 http://www.indiasocial.in/nielsen-global-online-shopping-report/ Question 17: Which of the following factors helps you to choose a particular shopping site? (Select any 3) The driving force behind selecting a particular shopping site are the reviews given by friends, family, acquaintances and those given by the people on the blog then closely followed by how a site is marketed and promoted in the market. If a site is not known it wouldnt have many customers as they have to be made aware of the presence of a site through advertisements in TV, radio, newspapers, banners etc. Then comes the prices, for example middle and upper middle class people will go for sites like Jabong, Myntra etc and like 99 labels and Rooja which deals with upper class and luxury segment. So pricing also plays a major role in selection of a site. Delivery time taken by a site and the range of products it offer also helps in determining a site. 71 percent Indians trust recommendations from family when making an online purchase decision, followed by recommendations from friends at 64 percent and online product reviews at 29 percent Malhotra Amita; Nielsen report on top online shopping trends in India; September 20, 2010 | 12:26 Am IST
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http://www.indiasocial.in/nielsen-global-online-shopping-report/ Question 18: What are the challenges faced by e-commerce industry today in India? (Select any 2) This question focuses on the holistic problems faced by the e-commerce industry in India. The major problem is the trust factor and security issues. Although people have started trusting sites with their personal details, it happens mostly in cases of large e-retailers and not with small e-retails. The trust factor is still there which hits businesses of many small eretailers. Then comes lack of awareness, consumers in India are still not familiar with the core working of a site and consider it as discounted store or an alternative. People here still prefer to go to malls and stores for shopping. Slow penetration of internet also hinders the growth of ecommerce in the country especially in two and three tier cities. Touch and feel factor is the major drawback of this industry. The conservative consumers of our country would like to feel the fabrics and designs to go further with shopping. This is not provided I n online shopping. Major Challenges faced by Ecommerce Industry in India Posted on September 28, 2012 by eMavens http://www.emavens.com/blog/ecommerce-2/major-challenges-faced-byecommerce-industry-in-india/
5.3 Independent Variable 3: Upsurge of international brand availability

Question 15: What are the problems you have faced while shopping online? (Select any 4) This question ponders over the problems which an online shopper faces while purchasing things. The most important one is the safety and trust amongst users while sharing their personal information. Followed by is the
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discrepancy of original product shown on the site. Often people are not satisfied with the product they receive on ordering as it differs from the one shown on the site, thus they feel cheated. So no assured quality is also one of the troubles people face. Then comes the problem of late delivery of product than the stipulated time. It may happen due to weak supply chain system of the organization or some external factors like curfew, but in the end image of the firm is suffered. Apart from the above mentioned problems slow server especially in case of small e-retailers, unsuitable or over hiked prices for the products, limited variety mostly in case of international brands as inventory in stores have more variety than the online inventory and the sites which are not user friendly, they are either too confusing or take a lot of time to load are some of the other problems faced by people. Technological advancement and understanding is extremely important for online shopping. If a person doesnt know how to open a site, purchase cant happen. Fortunately in this case almost 90% people have a fair knowledge of online shopping sites, browsing through them and differentiating between various favorite product categories. Most of the respondents have had good experience in online shopping, they have knowledge about their sites, colors, designs and layout. Technology is needed at retailers end as well. Their server should be large enough to handle load, pictures should not take long to load, clarity of thoughts regarding planning and displaying of products and complete and accurate information of products should be needs to be provided. Question 16: Would you go for online shopping if you dont find a brand available in physical store? This question is for all those brands which are either not present in India in the form of physical stores or are not easily available. For example Hennes and Mauritz do not have any store in India in spite of the fact that there is a huge market for the brand here, so if someone really wants to buy an HnM product would they like to buy it from their online site?
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Around 74% of the respondents agreed that they would try online site if a brand is not available in the physical stores.
There has been increase of international brands coming to the Indian market. India has very strict FDI policies that some brands do not enter Indian market through licensing, franchising and joint ventures rather they mark their presence in the form of online shopping sites. Although people like to go to the showrooms experience the aura around there while shopping but when the brand or product is not available and they are loyal to that particular brand, they wont mind going for online shopping. Apart from the rise in the number of brands entering Indian market, awareness is also necessary. If people are aware of the presence of a brand in any form they would go for it irrespective of the fact in which form that brand is present in the market.
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CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

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Problem Statement: To study the challenges faced by small e-retailers in comparison to large e-retailers. Hence forth I am accepting my null hypothesis so I do not formulate an alternate hypothesis. HO- There will be significant upsurge of small e-retailers in the area of online shopping in the near future.
6.1 Objectives
1. To understand the consumer perception regarding online shopping. 2. To analyze the effect of technology on the behavior of online shoppers. 3. To evaluate the working of small e-retailers and understand the challenges faced by them. 4. To apprehend the acceptability of online shopping among Indian consumers owing the fact that there is significant rise of international brands coming to online portal. 5. To assess the awareness of Indian consumers in respect to the shopping sites
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6.2 Sampling
6.3 Tools and statistical analysis:

The researcher has used questionnaire method to carry out the research on a sample size of 200 people in south Delhi and Faridabad region. These are the 4 mathematical tools used by the researcher. Mean Mean Deviation Standard Deviation Variance
6.4 Limitations
The research had to be carried out in as elected area. If it had been possible two tier as well as three tier cities would have considered . There was a time constraint that is why the sample size taken is 200 which could have been increased with more time.
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Some of the researches found were obsolete as they had been conducted before 2008, that is why couldnt include them in research.
6.5 Recommendations
More awareness should be there amongst people by means of social media as Indian consumers are moderately aware of the online shopping sites. There is still myth and insecurity related to online shopping which should be cleared out by the means of There are a lot of shopping sites in India so every player has to come up with a certain unique point to make their mark in the industry.
6.6 Conclusion
My problem statement is to study the challenges faced by small eretailers. Hence, I have accepted my null hypothesis.
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Challenges faced by small E-retailers

CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL E-RETAILERS

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.2 Benefits of E-commerce over Traditional Commerce

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.3 Types of E-Commerce:

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.4 E-commerce in India

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

by disintermediation and reduced inventory and real estate costs

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

website BookMyShow.com raised 100 crore (US$18.2 million) investment

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.5 barriers affecting the growth of e business:

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.6 List of Top E-Commerce Companies in India

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

1.7 Payment procedures

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Big e-commerce retailers commerce retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Metropolitan cities tier cities

Two tier cities

Sustainability Customer Perception Figure 1.1

1.9 Operational Definitions

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

CHAPTER-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

2.1 Physical retailing versus online retailing

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

2.2 E supply chain

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

whereas loyalty results

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

CHAPTER-3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

3.8 Statistical Treatment:

Challenges faced by small E-retailers

Challenges faced by small E-retailers