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SUBMITTED
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT
Of
I take this opportunity to express my heartiest gratitude to Global Institute of Technology &
Management for permitting me to undertake this research and supporting me during this research
and otherwise also.
I would like to thank Mr. Intsar Ali who not only played the role of my philosopher and guide
but also mentored me at every stage of my project work. I would like to extend my hearty thanks
to entire faculty members of BBA department for their constant cooperation and support to take
decision during the course of my research. I would also like to thank my parents for their support
and blessing without which this project could not have been completed. Indeed I shall remain ever
grateful to them.
I am also thankful to college library and computer centre management staff for their constant
support.
The experience I gained during this research project is of immense importance in the academically
and more on professionally.
Gagan Sharma
02090101715
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled CUSTOMER ATTITUDE TOWARDS
FLIPKART ONLINE SERVICES PVT. LTD. submitted by GAGAN SHARMA is a bona
fide piece of work conducted under my direct supervision and guidance. No part of this work has
been submitted for any other degree of any other university. It may be considered for evaluation
in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of Bachelors of Business
Administration.
2.1 Universe 12
4.1 History 19
7.1 Conclusion 46
7.2 Suggestions 47
Annexure 48
Bibliography 49
Sample Questionnaire 50
List of Charts and Tables
Sl No Title Page No
1 Charts and Tables Regarding using flipkart.com 32
Flipkart (Company) was founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, both alumni of the
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. They worked forAmazon.com, and left to create their new
company incorporated in October 2007 as Flipkart Online Services Pvt. Ltd. Flipkart had a revenue
of 4 crore in FY 2008 - 2009, 20 crore in FY 2009 - 2010, 75 crore in FY 2010 - 2011, and the
revenue for FY 2011 - 2012 which ends on 31 Mar 2012 is expected to be 500 crore. This is indeed
a massive growth. The company targets revenues of 5000 crore by 2015. The company started
from 2 employees and now has around 4500 employees. Flipkart started with consignment model
as discussed above, since most of the customer issues like delivery delays etc. result from
procurement model, the company started opening its own warehouses as it started getting more
investments. The company opened its first warehouse in Bangalore and later on opened
warehouses in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Today the company works with more than 500
suppliers. As on date more than 80% orders of Flipkart are handled via warehouses which help in
quick and efficient service. A humble beginning from books, Flipkart now has a gamut of products
ranging from: Cell phones, laptops, computers, cameras, games, music, audio players, TV's,
healthcare products, washing machines etc. etc. Still, Flipkart derives around 50% of its revenue
from selling books online. Flipkart is the Indian market leader in selling books both offline and
online, it enjoys an online share of around 80%. The electronic items have a large number of
players like Naaptol, Letsbuy, Indiaplaza, Tradus, Infibeam, Yebhi etc. The electronic market
share is distributed among them in different unknown proportions. India has around 13.5 crore
internet users today where as the number of homes with Cable and Satellite (C&S) television is
10.5 crore. The expected internet users will reach a figure of 30 crore by 2014 and C&S homes are
expected to be 14 crore by 2014. Thus India has a tremendous internet growth and with the
customers getting accustomed to e-commerce, the future of e-commerce sector is definitely rosy.
An approximated 25 lac people have transacted online this year, the number is all set to increase
with time. Also to mention most of the Flipkart customers use internet from PC's/Laptops to order
goods. The use of mobile internet is very less at the moment, but with the advent of smart phones
the use of mobile internet for e-commerce transactions will soar with time. India has 8 crore mobile
net users at the moment, the number is expected to swell to 22.5 crore by 2014.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
It experiences 2 million unit sales and 4 million unique visitors per month with sales
growing at 25% per month, eyeing a $50 million run rate.
With close to 11.5 million titles, Flipkart is the largest online book retailer in India with
80 per cent market share.
It has a registered user base of two million customers and ships out as many as 30,000
items a day, clocking daily sales of Rs 2.5 crore.
Following are the important limitations faced during the research work; these limitations always
pose a challenge to the research
The study was conducted in few areas of South Delhi and Central Delhi. Hence the study may
not be useful for projection of behavioral aspect of customers of other cities.
Money virtually fall short of what ideal field work would cost and may require shortcuts for
the validity of findings.
People lack the time so they did not take interest in Filling questionnaires
Limited time of working and cost involved can be considered as one of the important limitation.
CHAPTER- 2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 Universe
The Research work is based on both primary and secondary data, primary data was collected with
the help of questionnaire. Secondary data has also been utilized in order to fabricate the present
research work. Different studies, surveys, reports and other research work have also been referred
to find out the customer satisfaction towards flipkart.com. With respect to the present work all the
consumers who use flipkart were the part of the universe and their respective sum represents the
universe.
Research Design - The present research work is based upon the concepts of Exploratory
Research as the prime aim is to explore the customer satisfaction of the people who use
flipkart.com.
Sampling - Researcher collect needed information from various persons who are associated with
this subject. When such associated persons are in new number research can get information from
all of them in such some people among associated persons are selected and collect information
from them. This selected person represents the whole universe and are called sample.
Sample Size - The sample size of 100 respondents was taken for the current study.
Sampling Technique - The sampling technique used for the study was convenience sampling,
wherein the population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample based on the convenience
of researchers
2.3 Data Collection
For the present minor project work both primary and secondary data were extensively used. These
data were collected from primary and secondary sourced respectively
Primary data
Secondary data
Primary data for the present research work has been collected through
A. Observation method.
B. Interview method.
C. Questionnaires.
The secondary data required for the project has been collected from company website, Newspaper,
Magazines, Journals, published work of other researchers and little part has also been referred from books.
For the current study, different presentation tools were used for presentation of the relevant
information. The following tools were used for analysis:
Bar Chart
Pie Chart
Table Diagram
CHAPTER-3
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
3.1 Past, Present and Future Trends
India has an internet user base of about 250.2 million as of June 2014. 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. Unique to India (and potentially to other developing countries),
cash on delivery is a preferred payment method. India has a vibrant cash economy as a result of
which 80% of Indian e-commerce tends to be Cash on Delivery. However, COD may harm e-
commerce business in India in the long run and there is a need to make a shift towards online
payment mechanisms. Similarly, direct imports constitute a large component of online sales.
Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is growing much faster
than in-country supply from authorized distributors and e-commerce offerings. India's 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 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 810%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales.
Key drivers in Indian e-commerce are:
Snapdeal.com is an online marketplace, headquartered in New Delhi, India. The company was
started by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, in February 2010.
This market research report identifies players like Alibaba Group, Amazon.com, Apple, eBay,
Google, and PayPal to be the key vendors in the global e-commerce market. This research report
also presents a detailed segmentation of the market by appliances (home appliances, clothing and
footwear, books, cosmetics, baby goods, groceries, and others) and by geography (the Americas,
APAC, and EMEA).
Vendors in the market are switching from website platforms to app-only services owing to the
increase in online shopping transactions through mobile apps. Shifting to app-only can be a risky
situation for vendors as many developing countries, such as Africa, India, and South Korea face
grave issues of internet connectivity, which restricts the customers from making an online
purchase. The e-commerce vendors are coming up with a lighter version of the apps that work
even with slow internet connectivity. They are focusing to develop lighter versions of their mobile
sites that support browsing even at moderate internet connectivity like Google, Facebook, and
LinkedIn.
Alibaba
Amazon.com
Apple
eBay
Google
PayPal
Other prominent vendors in the e-commerce market include ASOS.com, Barnes & Noble, Best
Buy, Costco, GameStop, Groupon, J. C. Penney, Kohl's, Liberty Interactive, LL Bean, Lowes,
Macy's, Newegg, MasterCard, Sears Holdings, Softcard, Staples, Target, The Home Depot, Visa,
and Walmart.
Segmentation by application and analysis of the e-commerce market
Home appliances
Clothing and footwear
Books
Cosmetics
Baby goods
Groceries
The home appliances segment is the largest revenue segment in the e-commerce market and
accounted for more than 32% of the total market share in 2015. The segment includes consumer
electronics, houseware, and other kitchen appliances. Much of the segments growth can be
attributed to the increasing credibility of the of brands online and the frequent tendency of
consumers to upgrade their homes. Moreover, the growing trend towards recycling and the use of
smart energy in consumer electronics will be a mjor factor augmenting the growth prospects for
this segment in the coming years.
Americas
APAC
EMEA
Among all geographies, APAC will be the fastest growing region in the e-commerce market during
the forecast period due to the increasing internet penetration and high purchasing power of the
middle class population. The local vendors dominate the regions market and restrict the influence
of foreign players, thereby maintaining the revenue growth. With the growing adoption of smart
devices and latest digital technologies, the region is anticipated to grow at a tremendous CAGR of
more than 25% over the next four years.
Although the terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably, there are
differences. E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet or other
computer network. Any brick and mortar store can become an e-commerce business by adding a
virtual storefront with an online catalog. In most cases, e-business refers exclusively to Internet
businesses, but it may also refer to any business that uses Internet technology to improve
productivity and profitability.
Facts
Business transactions that involve the exchange of money are covered by the term e-commerce.
E-business includes all aspects of running a business that sells goods and services, including
marketing, earning and retaining customers, procurement, developing business partners and
customer education. In order to be successful, e-commerce and e-businesses must have quality
storefronts that are simple to navigate and peruse, with accurate and thorough catalog information.
E-business became an extension of e-commerce to encompass all aspects of businesses that
function online. E-business involves e-commerce, but e-commerce does not cover all aspects of e-
business.
History
E-commerce, in its initial form of commercial transactions, came about in the late 1970s. At this
point, businesses began to send commercial documentation electronically to other businesses. The
general public was introduced to the Internet in 1994, but it took an additional four years to create
the security protocols necessary for a ready Internet connection. By 2000, businesses in America
and western Europe were presenting their goods and services online. This is when e-commerce
became online buying and selling, and e-business was born. Amazon and eBay were two of the
first e-businesses to allow electronic transactions.
Advantages to Vendors
E-businesses have distinct advantages over brick and mortar stores. First, they can be found with
search engines without the use of pricey advertising campaigns. Beyond this, e-business allows
vendors to track purchases and preferences of customers, leading to marketing catered to each
individual. Advantages for e-commerce, which also extend to e-business, are great monetary
savings (because of fewer employees and low overhead) and the ability to reach consumers across
the globe.
Advantages to Consumers
Consumers can access e-commerce and e-businesses at any time of the day or night, from their
workplace or in their pajamas. Consumers can search through countless products and services
using online databases. Prices are quickly compared online to find the business that offers the best
products at the best prices. Consumers are quickly exposed to e-business because it uses more
targeted marketing and offers more in-depth education compared to traditional businesses.
Features
E-commerce and e-businesses offer online storefronts, complete with virtual shopping carts and
wish lists that can be emailed to friends and family. Along with this, e-businesses often have an
electronic chat function that is used for technical and customer support. Virtual computer systems
allow businesses to remotely access their customers computers to correct problems or navigate
software and hardware specifications. E-business extends from these features to work with internal
processes like product development, risk management, production and inventory management,
among other things.
The e-commerce market has changed the way business is transacted, whether in retail or business-
to-business, locally or globally. Prior to the Internet, success in retail was said to hinge on location,
location and location. Now, the Internet is a global marketplace, affording even the smallest retailer
a national -- if not a global -- presence. Brick-and-mortar locations now have websites, and new
companies now sell products that were unthinkable prior to the Internet and the boom in related
technology. The scope of the e-commerce marketplace is difficult to measure. The e-commerce
market has become such a vital part of the economy that is difficult to pinpoint exactly where e-
commerce begins and the old world economy ends.
Online Retail
One of the largest segments of e-commerce is the online retail sector, which is dominated by the
sale of consumer electronics, apparel and accessories. According to the U.S. Commerce
Department, U.S. online retail sales during 2011 totaled roughly $194 billion. By 2013 this figure
had increased to $262 billion, an increase of 13.4 percent over the prior year. Fifty retailers account
for 80 percent of this market, and pure-play online retailers generally hold the advantage of speed
and dynamics over brick-and-mortar brands that have expanded online. Consumers have become
more sophisticated and online retail has become more competitive. Holiday sales account for a
large portion of sales -- roughly $47 billion during 2013 -- and were up 10 percent over 2012 sales.
Digital Advertising
Advertisers are spending record amounts on digital advertising, including dominant brands that
have partnered with e-commerce sites and outside logistics companies to expand online sales, to
expand internationally, and to deliver products directly to consumers. As of the time of publication,
in the U.S. digital advertising spending roughly equals spending on television advertising and is
sure to overtake it. Internet ad revenues grew by 15.6 percent during the first quarter of 2013. Total
domestic digital advertising equaled $109.7 billion, but the mobile market, which still accounts for
only 3.7 percent of U.S. digital advertising, is growing at the fastest rate. Mobile advertising
spending was up 81 percent during 2012, and is dominated by Google and Facebook along with
their peer companies.
Business-to-Business
The business-to-business market in the U.S. is massive, recording sales of roughly $559 billion
during 2013. Big players in the B2B market include networking and infrastructure companies such
as Oracle Corporation, Cisco and Alcatel, as well as enterprise systems companies such as SAP
and IBM. Other B2B segments are growing quickly, including B2B social networks and
advertising, and cloud computing, a segment that includes industry heavyweights like Google and
Amazon. One of the fastest growing B2B segments is the software-as-a-service market, a market
pioneered by Salesforce.com, which is benefiting from corporate Americas desire to reduce tech
spending along with the proliferation of cloud computing services.
Outlook
According to Forrester Research, online retail sales are projected to outpace brick-and-mortar sales
for at least several years. At the time of publication, online retails sales were expected to reach
$370 billion by 2017, boosted by expanding use of smartphones and tablets and also by increased
investment by traditional retailers in expanding online sales. By 2015, mobile ad spending was
expected to increase to $33.1 billion while total digital advertising spending was estimated to equal
roughly $133 billion. Projections for mobile ad spending had it rising by 61 percent during 2014
and 53 percent during 2015. The report titled 'Indian E-commerce Industry Outlook 2017 - Far
Reaching Opportunities in B2B Marketplaces' focuses on various segments of the e-commerce
industry in the India, including online B2B, B2C, travel, job, finance, advertisements and online
payment gateways. The report focuses on the various growth drivers in the industry and in each of
these specific online market. These online markets have been further segmented on the basis of
different online services offered. The industry has been analyzed on the basis of various growth
divers and macro economic indicators affecting the market and thus a detailed future forecast of
the industry has been inculcated in the report. The report also includes detailed competitive
analysis of each of the online market with comprehensive company profiling and business
strategies. The report also provides for a detailed view of the Asia-Pacific E-commerce industry
comprising of different countries namely Japan, South Korea, Thailand, China and India.
The online B2B market of India is an emerging segment of the overall e-commerce industry with
large number of wholesale buyers and sellers interacting at different marketplace. The industry
growth has been forecasted to augment in the future given the rise in the application of internet
technologies in the country. The industry is fragmented among various online marketplace portals
with few dominating the industry. The market has been segmented on the basis of micro, small
and medium enterprises. Indiamart.com is the leading player in the sector with the market share of
~% in FY'2012. The company has pan India presence and operates in more than 60 cities with
2,800 employees.
The online B2C E-commerce market is the major component of the Indian e-commerce industry
and can be segmented on the basis of online travel and non-travel market. The non-travel market
has been further segmented on the basis of online retail, online financial services, online mobile
downloads and other online preferred services.
The online travel market of India has inclined at a CAGR of 55.5% from 2007-2012. The market
showcased the highest growth of 68.9% in 2010 with travel portals offering a host of new services
as well as due to the increase in the domestic travel and tourism industry in India. In 2011, the
online hotel booking market has witnessed high growth in terms of transactional scale with a
growth of 207.5%. The Indian online travel market is fragmented among various online travel
portals out of which the Indian Railways has the highest percentage reach of ~% among the internet
users followed by makemytrip.com with ~%.
Online retailing or e-tailing accounts for about 5.1% share of the INR ~ crore industry leading the
forefront of the rapid growth. In the online retail market, personal items such as jewelry, apparels
and fashion accessories have the highest contribution of ~% in 2012, followed computer
accessories and peripherals. There are close to 400 non-travel independent online retailers that are
active in the Indian e-commerce industry
The online advertisement is a form of market products via communication on the internet to
persuade the internet users to purchase or take an action based on content displayed on a website.
The online advertisement market in India has showcased a CAGR growth of 32.7% from FY'2007-
FY'2012 with the highest growth of 40.3% in FY'2011 on account of display and search
advertisements.
India online payment gateways market market has grown on account of the increase in the number
of online users and consumer confidence in making online payment because of the secure safety
measures offered by the online payment gateways and the augmented use of credit/ debit cards and
internet banking for making online payments. The market has been segmented on the basis of
payment in online travel and non-travel market of India. CC Avenues is the largest player in the
segment with around 100 million transactions processed in FY'2012.
- Market size of Asia-Pacific e-commerce industry, the segmentation of the overall industry on the
basis of countries and type of business model
- Market size of India e-commerce industry on the basis of transaction scale, trends and
development and future forecast
- The market size on online B2B market of India on the basis of net revenue, market segmentation
on the basis of contribution by the type of enterprises, market share of major players and future
projections
- The report includes the market size of the online B2C market of India and has been segmented
on the basis of travel and non-travel
- The report further involves the market size and the segmentation of online non-travel market and
also includes a detailed analysis of the competition in the market
- The online advertisement market and its segments have been included in the report. The report
also includes future projections of the same
- The segmentation of online advertisement market has been done on the basis of online classifieds,
display, search and mobile advertisements. These type of advertisements have been further sub-
segmented on the basis of expenditure by different type of industries and the type of technology
platform used
- The online payment gateways market has been defined on the basis of net transaction fee charges
by the gateways. The market has been segmented on the basis of the payment made in online travel
and non-travel purchases
CHAPTER - 4
COMPANY PROFILE
4.1 History
Things are easier said than done! To realize our dreams and that also in such a grand manner is
really a tough task. The founders of Flipkart have probably conquered their dreams with the
amazing success of Flipkart. Flipkart is something which has really opened up the Indian e-
commerce market and that also in a big way.
Flipkart was co-founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in Oct 2007. Both are graduates from
IIT-Delhi and have prior work experience in Amazon.com They both were solid coders and wanted
to open a portal that compared different e-commerce websites, but there were hardly any such sites
in India and they decided to give birth to their own e-commerce venture - Flipkart.com
Thus was born Flipkart in Oct 2007 with an initial investment of 4 lac (co-founders savings). It
was never going to be easy since India has bad past experiences with e-commerce trading. It was
not an easy segment to break into, people were very particular in paying money for something
which they had not seen and received. The trust was missing in the Indian customers. So what
Flipkart had to do was to instill trust and faith in their customers. And they did exactly the same,
will discuss more on how they did so later in the post. Flipkart began with selling books, since
books are easy to procure, target market which reads books is in abundance, books provide more
margin, are easy to pack and deliver, do not get damaged in transit and most importantly books
are not very expensive, so the amount of money a customer has to spend to try out one's service
for one time is very minimal. Flipkart sold only books for the first two years.
Flipkart started with the consignment model (procurement based on demand) i.e. they had ties
with 2 distributors in Bangalore, whenever a customer ordered a book, they used to personally
procure the book from the dealer, pack the book in their office and then courier the same. In the
initial months the founder's personal cell numbers used to be the customer support numbers. So,
in the start they tried their best to provide good service, focus on the website - easy to browse and
order and hassle-free, and strove hard to resolve any customer issues. Since there were not any
established players in the market, this allowed them a lot of space to grow, and they did in fact grew
very rapidly.
4.2 Vision Mission and Objectives of the Company
Vision
The vision of FLIPKART is stated as below
To become Amazon of India.
Mission
The mission of FLIPKART is stated as below
Providing a delightful customer experience.
Objectives
The objectives of FLIPKART are
To treats its employees and stakeholders with utmost respect and dignity.
To observe and adhere to the highest standards of ethical corporate behavior.
To produce the catalogue products to cater to the changing market requirements. Based on
the customer feedback, improvements are being made continuously in the existing services
4.3 Organizational Structure
Following hierarchical pattern is followed at FLIPKART
Management team of FLIPKART
Flipkart CFO Karandeep Singh
VP (marketing Ravi Vora
President (engineering) Mekin Maheshwari
VP (categories Ankint nagori
VP (digital business) Sameer Nigam
VP (operations) Manish Mittal
President (operations) Sujeet Kumar
Website is great, easy to use, easy to browse through the products, add products to wishlist or to a
cart, get product reviews and opinions, pre-order products, make convenient payments using
different methods and better Search Engine Optimization. Quality level of the products is
absolutely fine E.g., If we take the quality of books available in Crossword and Landmark is same
as the quality of books ordered by Flipkart.com. Products are packed in such a way that they are
Tamper proof, weather proof and breakage proof. Product line on Flipkart.com have warranties as
promised by the brand of the product if applicable. E.g., Bajaj MX 2 1200 Watts Iron with 2 Years
Bajaj India Warranty and extra paid warranty for the particular brand is available if applicable.30-
day replacement guarantee for faulty products. (Video for the same).
Product line is extensive one as discussed earlier. Derives around 50% of its revenue from selling
books online. Flipkart as a brand has already differentiated itself as a pioneer in book retailer,
trustworthy in terms of swift services and secure payments, quality-oriented products with lower
price offerings than retail market), innovative product line, customer delightful service which has
helped them to form its own distinctive image better than few unheard competitors such as
Tradus.in and Indiaplaza.com.
Wishlist
E-gift voucher
Flipkart launched a new Electronic Wallet feature that allows shoppers to purchase credit to their
Flipkart account using creditor debit cards, and can subsequently be utilized to make purchases on the
site, as and when required.
Affiliate
Price
Price of the product taking account of various expenses such as Supplier expenses, Transportation
expenses, Packaging expenses, Shipping expenses, Courier expenses, inventory maintenance expense,
office and stationery expenses, sales and advertisement expenses, taxes, depreciation, discount
allowances and many more expenses. Roughly about 5-7% profit per book orders which indicates that
generation of revenue is on volume basis. Differentiated themselves by giving best selections, best
services at lowest best possible prices. Discounts up to 35% across all categories.
Upper edge in competitive pricing. Special discount for loyal customers and regular buyers. As
shipping is within India the shipping cost reduces, which indirectly reduces the overall cost for the
company and thus company offers less price as compared to other players. Free shipping overall
Indian boundaries after certain amount of purchase done from the site and even without minimum
purchase for the regular and loyal customers. For expensive products transit cost is borne by
company. Maximum discounts in the occasional time like Diwali, Eid etc.
Word of mouth (initial marketing even now they want to satisfy customer so they come
back for more)
We DO NOT sell old books or used books. All the books listed at Flipkart.com are new
books. The books listed at Flipkart.com are NOT available for free download in ebook or
PDF format
Thus when you search free ebooks or pdf books old or used books flipkart will be
displayed.
Ads at proper places and use pay per click to pay for ads
Very easy web interface
Payment convenience
Cash/card on delivery there by encouraging students and people with no credit/debit card
to purchase in flipkart, with mobile internet penetration there is chances of capturing rural
market (60% revenue by COD)
Wallet customer can recharge money online and purchase then and when needed those
entering details always is rectified, target heavy purchase and luxury customer
Inventory turnover is lower, thus more inventory again flipkart is at the upper hand
Cash on delivery
They will look at bigger investments in their supply chain and technology.
Investment will be made in large warehouses and increased automation of their process,
so that the product is not delayed.
They intend to enter in to various new categories and expand their current categories as
well.
Everything except for groceries and automobiles will be available on Flipkart in future.
To go further in the value chain, Flipkart is looking at associations with a larger number
of suppliers and partners, both nationally and internationally.
Chapter-5
Theoretical Prospective
Meaning of Customer Satisfaction
Customer Support function for an e-commerce website is one of the most important touch-points
for the business in terms of building trust, customer acquisition and maintaining customer loyalty.
Flipkarts Customer Support team consists of call-centre agents who handle in-bound and out-
bound calls and also a team that handles e-mail queries. The entire team is based out of Bangalore
and forms a core part of Flipkarts 6,000-strong employee base. Given that Flipkart tries to
differentiate itself on superior shopping experience and customer service is an integral part of that
Flipkart prefers to train its own support staff rather than outsourcing the function to a BPO
agency. At present, a customer calls due to one of the below reasons:
Sales Assistance
General Enquiries
One of the major reasons for these calls is Indian consumers poor familiarity with online shopping
protocols. It is important to note that Flipkart tries to ensure that any order is placed within 6 clicks
on the website. There is also an outbound call-centre that performs the following tasks:
Inform the user in case any delivery has not been successful due to the customer not being
present at his address.
Despite all the good intentions of Flipkart in providing high-quality customer service, there are
several internet blogs that suggest that their service quality has dipped in the last year or so.A
major reason for this could be the growth in number of customer service executivesnot keeping
pace with the increase in business volume. There could also be a problem of increased complexity
in query handling due to increase in number of SKUs and product categories that would demand
more rigorous training for the support staff.
Chapter-6
Strength:
Weakness:
Already working towards customer delight will obtain customer loyalty gradually
Supplier database interface with flipkart website for JIT procurement
Mobile internet usage is increasing there by chances of increase in sales through mobile
shopping.
Development of m-commerce in the e-market
Increasing internet penetration
Target social medias to reach young population
High interest among VC/PE.
Threats:
TABLE - 1
Response No. of Respondent Percentage
No 0 0%
CHART - 1
Purchase on flipkart.com
Yes =100%
No = 0%
Interpretation: All the response has been taken from the consumers who were the users or have
either used flipkart.com
Q2. Main consideration while shopping on flipkart.com are?
Price Brand
Quality Promotion activity
TABLE-2
Reason for purchase No. of respondents Percentage
Price 19 19%
Brand 22 22%
Quality 44 44%
Promotion activity 15 15%
Total 100 100%
CHART-2
Brand = 22%
Quality = 44%
TABLE 3
Yes 82 82%
No 18 18%
CHART - 3
customer satisfaction
Yes = 82%
No = 18%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (82%) were satisfied
with the services of flipkart.com and the rest 18% respondents are not satisfied with its services..
Q4.Compared to other online shopping platforms that is available would you say that flipkart.com
is:
much better much worse
somewhat better dont know
TABLE 4
Scaling Much Much Somewhat Dont
better worse better know
Frequency 50 34 11 5
CHART-4
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (50%) think that
flipkart.com is a much better platform compared to others in terms of its services and price. (34%)
of them think that is much worse than others while (11%) think that is somewhat better and the
remaining (5%) had no opinion.
Q5.Based on your experience with product, how likely will you buy flipkart.com?
Very Unlikely Unlikely
Extremely Likely Very Likely
TABLE 5
Scaling Very Unlikely Extremely Very Likely
Unlikely Likely
Frequency 7 14 55 24
CHART-5
Very Unlikely = 7%
Unlikely = 14%
Extremely Likely = 55%
Very Likely = 24%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (55%) will
extremely likely buy on flipkart.com because it is more affordable than others followed by 24%
respondents who will very likely buy the product while other 14% respondents will unlikely buy
the product and the remaining 7% will very unlikely buy the product.
Q6. Would you like to recommend shopping on flipkart.com to others?
definitely will recommend probably will not recommend
probably will recommend definitely will not recommend
TABLE 6
Frequency 59 18 16 7
CHART-6
Recommendations of flipkart to
others
Definitely will recommend
= 59%
Probably will not
recommend = 18%
Probably will recommend
= 16%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (59%) will
definitely recommend flipkart.com in terms of its affordable price, quality and its advertising
followed by 18% respondents will probably not recommend the product, another 16% will
probably recommend the product and the remaining 7% will definitely not recommend the product.
Q7. Please rank the services of flipkart.com on the following scale?
Outstanding Satisfactory
Somewhat Satisfactory Not Sure
TABLE 7
Scaling Outstanding Satisfactory Somewhat Not Sure
Satisfactory
Frequency 50 25 15 10
CHART-7
services of flipkart.com
Outstanding = 50%
Satisfactory = 25%
Somewhat Satisfactory =
15%
Not sure = 10%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (50%) have
ranked the services offered by flipkart.com impressed to be outstanding followed by 25%
respondents have ranked the services to be satisfactory, another 15% respondents have ranked the
services to be somewhat satisfactory and the rest 10% were not sure about their services.
Q8. Are you satisfied with the quality that flipkart.com serves?
Satisfied Very Satisfied
Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied
Neutral
TABLE 8
Frequency 44 28 13 10 5
CHART-8
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
Column1
15%
10%
5%
0%
Satisfied = Very Dissatisfied Very Neutral =
44% Satisfied = = 13% Dissatisfied 5%
28% = 10%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (44%) were satisfied
with the quality that flipkart.com offered in terms of its speed and maintenance followed by 28%
respondents who were very satisfied with their products, while other 13% respondents were
dissatisfied with the products, another 10% were very dissatisfied with the products and the rest
5% respondents were neutral.
Q9. Do you find prices at flipkart.com reasonable?
Yes No
Cant Say
TABLE 9
Frequency 55 34 11
CHART-9
60%
50%
40%
30%
Column1
20%
10%
0%
Yes = 55% No = 34% Can't say =
11%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (55%) found the
price at flipkart.com reasonable while other 34% respondents do not find it reasonable and the rest
11% respondents had no response about the price of the products.
Q10. Do you find the Advertisement of flipkart.com attractive & knowledgeable?
Yes No
cant say
TABLE 10
Scaling Very Attractive Not Attractive Cant
Say
Frequency 75 20 5
CHART-10
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30% Column1
20%
10%
0%
Very Attractive = Not Attractive = Can't Say = 5%
75% 20%
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (75%) found the
advertisement of flipkart.com attractive and knowledgeable while other 20% respondents do not
find it attractive and knowledgeable and the remaining 5% respondents had no response about the
advertisement.
Q11. Are you satisfied with the Marketing Strategy of flipkart.com?
TABLE 11
Frequency 52 20 13 10 5
CHART-11
Interpretation: According to the response obtained, most of the respondents (52%) were satisfied
with the overall marketing strategy of flipkart.com because of its price, quality and services
followed by 20% respondents were very satisfied while other 13% were dissatisfied , another 10%
respondents were very dissatisfied and the rest 5% were neutral.
CHAPTER - 7
Following are the important limitations faced during the research work; these limitations always
pose a challenge to the research
The study was conducted in few areas of South Delhi and Central Delhi. Hence the study may
not be useful for projection of behavioral aspect of customers of other cities.
Money virtually fall short of what ideal field work would cost and may require shortcuts for
the validity of findings.
People lack the time so they did not take interest in Filling questionnaires
Limited time of working and cost involved can be considered as one of the important limitation.
7.2 Conclusions
A credible rival can do wonders to an enterprise and Flipkart is no different. The entry of Amazon
in India has enabled Flipkart develop a lot of in-house innovation and organically developed best-
practices - that have now become the industry standard. Flipkart began operations on the
consignment model; goods were procured from suppliers on demand, based on the orders received
through the website. Later, the books-to-electronics e-shop adopted the warehouse model. The
company had its own warehouses, and maintained its own inventory. However in July 2013,
Flipkart launched its model of marketplace just one month after Amazon launched its marketplace
in India. It introduced payments brand PayZippy for online merchants and customers seeking fast,
hassle-free and safe payment options. Some 70 per cent of its shipments are done by its own
logistics company and about half of deliveries are on a cash-on-delivery basis. Flipkart has recently
introduced the next day guarantee delivery service and shopping from its own mobile application.
Given the critical mass of transactions Flipkart controls - about 100,000 a day - the company is
betting that it has the volumes to lay the foundation of what will be a profitable business. Last but
not the least; Flipkart has very clearly prioritized customer delight as its chief avenue for customer
acquisition and retention. This causes them to build a lot of slack into their existing systems
causing higher costs at several points in the supply chain. How they address this challenge is what
will determine their future success.
7.3 Suggestions
Flipkart has successfully placed itself into the prospects mind making it the Indias largest online
store with huge range of products. But Flipkart still needs to work on their core competence that
is books and stationery items. With the entry of Amazon.com it will be a huge competitive market
for Flipkart and hence will have to position itself better, as we still see that huge percentage of
females are still unaware of Flipkart. Those female who purchase, has a very less frequency which
has remained unchanged. Therefore they need to get aggressive at providing better services which
can be fulfilled by reducing the delivery time, selling second hand products which will increase
consumers affordability much more and enhance penetration into the market. They can even have
their retail stores which can give an access to consumers to feel and analyse the products, which
will help them win the consumers faith. Price will still be a factor as amazon being a huge company
will use its economies of scale to remove their competitors from the market; therefore they need
to be more competitive on that aspect. Be very focused on consumers and build amazing
experiences for the customers.
ANNEXURE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.flipkart.com
www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-flipkart.../article3290735.ece
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-10-
15/news/43068552_1_marketplaces-flipkart-online
http://academic.reportlinker.com/d012905924/The-Indian-E-commerce-Industry.html
www.startupdunia.com/interview-with-flipkart-founder-binny-bansal-776
www.facebook.com/flipkart
www.hindustantimes.com/technology/industrytrend/how-flipkart-broke-indias-online-
shopping-inertia/so-article1-780440.aspx
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE
Q4.Compared to other online shopping platforms that is available would you say that flipkart.com
is:
much better much worse
somewhat better dont know
Q5.Based on your experience with product, how likely will you buy flipkart.com?
Very Unlikely Unlikely
Extremely Likely Very Likely
Outstanding Satisfactory
Somewhat Satisfactory Not Sure
\Q8. Are you satisfied with the quality that flipkart.com serves?
Satisfied Very Satisfied
Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied
Neutral
Yes No
Cant Say
\
Q10. Do you find the Advertisement of flipkart.com attractive & knowledgeable?
Yes No
cant say