Smartphones in India

Analysis of purchase patterns of consumers with
respect to online vs. offline channels in the

Smartphone segment.
By
Anish Koul, Arnab Bose, Veyom Bhargava
Sub: Introduction to Specialized Research and Analytics
Master of Business Administration

(Communication Management)
Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (PG), Pune
Symbiosis International (Deemed University)
March 2019
Academic Year 2018-19
1
Sr No Chapter Page
Number
Abstract 03
Chapter 1 Introduction 04
Chapter 2 Objectives & Scope of the Research 06
Chapter 3 Literature Review 07
Chapter 4 Research Methodology 16
Chapter 5 Data Analysis 19
Chapter 6 Findings 22
Chapter 7 Conclusion 40
Chapter 8 Suggestions & Limitations 41
Bibliography 42
Annexures (All mandatory) 43
• Research Instrument – Questionnaire & Discussion Guide

• Plagiarism check report
Abbreviations
2
Abstract
The Indian retail environment is one that is governed by the emergence of mobile technology, high
connectivity and mediums which limit human interaction to a minimum level, the Indian FDI
regulations however have brought forth a new restriction to the degree of attractiveness the e
commerce platforms can provide through discounts, promotions and exclusive releases. It has thus
become more important to know what behaviours compel consumers to buy the products they desire
and what experience they choose to purchase it through.
The aim of this study is to understand to what extent smartphone features have an impact on a
consumers buying behavior, providing an emphasis on specific motivating factors that sway users
to adopt a particular consumer experience between online or offline mediums of purchase.
The finding of this study provide an insight to what medium consumers prioritise for their purchase
medium while taking into account technical and aesthetic features of their devices from a cognitive
standpoint, where studies are found to be limited. The implications for retailers and researchers are
then discussed with emphasis on retailers need to develop new promotional tactics based on the
features and the functionalities of the devices within their inventory.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
Smartphones as a device have grown to a multi functionality device and accessory to an individual’s
persona. The introduction of cheaper data rates and accessibility to information has developed the
smartphone to a versatile tool in an individual’s life. The Indian smartphone market today is led by
Chinese phone manufactures who compete against Korean giant Samsung and brands such as Nokia
making a comeback in the market for the tops spot in the world’s second largest market for
smartphones. Xiaomi entered the market with low margins and specifically targeting sales in online
mediums of purchase which then incentivised other manufactures such as Oppo and Huawei to enter
the online space with brands specifically designed to disassociate from the original Image and
provide distinct product offerings in both offline and online mediums. Brands such as OnePlus and
Honor have grown from the necessity to split the different businesses of both offline and online retail
thus giving rise to competing brands on distinct channels with defined product offerings for both.
Offline brands from this competition retained premium marketing practices with lifestyle related
values associated to their brands while online brands aimed to provide a better price to performance
ratio on their devices.
Indian consumers first experience portable devices through feature phones released by Motorola,
LG, Nokia and other brands that sold specifically on offline retail stores at high prices and a
guarantee of durability and clarity in calling. Indian consumers were adapted to touch surface devices
late with resistive touch devices that often offered internet browsing capabilities as well, which
brought our country to the advent of a digital age. Accessibility of mobile phones at the time were
limited to those who could afford the experience, with heavy prices, data prices and bandwidth being
significantly less attractive compared to their current counterparts. Consumers beliefs of a good
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cellular device relied specifically on limited factors such as battery life, durability of the phone and
the innovation that was expected from the brands they purchased.
As android showed the highest rate of adoption among manufacturers with its open source unix base
due to rising competition from Apple that entered the cellular device market with the ground-
breaking IPhone which brought the idea of personal computing and connectivity together into one
device. India’s adoption of devices such as the IPhone grew from an aspirational value which was
leveraged by corporations such as Samsung to satisfy the new need for a device known as the
“Smartphone”.
Indians learned to understand the functionality of these smartphones through successes such as the
Galaxy series from Samsung to momentary home-grown successes such as Micromax that offered
value for money devices to an ever expanding market. With the emergence of e commerce platforms,
internet penetration and a rise in disposable income Smartphones began to become an essential
device that fuelled the growth of businesses, trade and education.
The online market for Smartphones now provides a great value for money, performance oriented
devices, low after sales support, low middle man commissions and a generally low advertising cost.
The offline market provides relatively low value for money, highlight features such as front camera
qualities, aesthetic features with well-designed exteriors and high advertising cost.
Today Indian consumers exhibit brand associations and specific requirements from their devices that
define what brand they are most likely to choose and what features they are most likely to prioritise
their choices upon.
5
Rationale
The topic has been proposed with the objective of identifying trends in the retailing environment
of smartphone users with specific focus on online mediums and offline mediums and intention
behind users, using different variables like demographics, attitudes and beliefs, before purchasing
a smartphone.
Chapter 2 Objectives & Scope of the Research
 Objectives:
 To identify effects of certain demographic factors on the channel selection in
buying process while purchasing smartphones.
 To understand the effects of smartphone attributes on the channel selection in
buying process while purchasing smartphones.
 Scope
 The scope of the research covers marketplace decisions of consumers pertaining to
smartphone purchase.
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Chapter 3 Literature Review
Smartphones have seen a major change in the purchasing pattern as a part of online retailing.
(Rahim, 2015) have put forward their findings that the product features, brand name and social
influence have a positive relationship with the purchase pattern of the smartphones among the
university students. 367 sets of questionnaire were distributed to diploma students who study in
University Teknologi MARA which was used as primary data and journals, articles, internet, text
book, media publications were used for the secondary data in order to find out the purchasing
intentions of smartphones. Another interesting argument (Rahim, 2015) has made that the product
sacrifice has no significant relationship with purchasing intention. The findings of their paper helps
us to understand the variables which are significantly positively or negatively related to purchasing
intention. These variables are – 1. Product Features 2. Brand Name 3. Social Influence 4.
Product Sacrifice.
(Gafni R., 2013) further builds on the smartphones as they are purchased both by youngsters and
adults which are alike. So how many of them actually use the “smart” functions of the mobile
phone, such as normal internet services available on the smartphones. Gafni R., also finds out that
if there are any differences between the Gen X and Gen Y in the smartphone adaption. The study
helps them to identify smartphone adoption as the free choice of its owners. There is liking of
smartphone users to use mobile internet services when they have personal computer available
nearby. Based on the hypothesis, it was found that the average tendencies of generation Y and
generation X to use their smartphone while having a computer nearby are very similar. There was
no significant difference. Hence, we can easily argue that nowadays smartphones are dominating
7
young as well as adult people lives while it is used in all their activities from entertainment to
education and is defining interaction with the world.
(Dr Jana Hawley, 2008) in her exploratory study examined channel switching behavior using the
theory of planned behavior in three retail channels: bricks and mortar stores, catalogues, and the
Internet. The theory assumes that individual’s attitudes and beliefs, along with subjective norms
ad control factors, will lead to an intention to perform a certain behavior, whether to switch
channels or not. An online survey was administered at four different research sites and resulted in
547 usable surveys. Factor analysis and regression were used for data analysis. Her findings have
found that attitude towards channel switching was significantly influenced by hedonic and
utilitarian beliefs in stores and catalogues. In the case of internet channel, attitude towards channel
switching was only influenced by utilitarian beliefs. The findings help us to identify the role of
attitudes and perception in the purchasing patterns of the consumer. Also attitude based on
demographics, hedonic and utilitarian beliefs result in the shift from offline store to online retail
store and vice versa.
(GV Muralidhara, 2014) has tried to establish the fact points of the disruptive nature of the business
model which the Xiaomi has set up in the industry. With the launch of Xiaomi in 2010, the
company started by selling cheap mobile phones. The researcher has done the study of the business
model of Xiaomi and how it has gained so much market penetration and through which medium
exactly. It was found that the company sold its smartphones, comparatively to its competitors at
cheap and affordable rates. Later took advantage of the revenue streams generated by selling its
software such as apps, cloud computing, and games. The company sold its smartphones online in
flash sales with razor thin margins. As there were no retailers and distributors, they can afford to
8
lower the prices of their smartphones. Xiaomi spent no money on traditional advertising and
communicated with their audience via social media. These findings help us to understand the
difference in offline sales and online sales. There is no distribution cost for online stores and the
device can be sold within minutes. This help us understand that online retailing of smartphones is
as significant as offline and may even overtake the offline stores in the future. Online stores have
large inventory and can reach to anyone around the globe.
(Namita Rajput, 2017) studies the Impact of Impulsive Buying Behavior and Opinion Leadership
on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Satisfaction of Smartphone
buyers. Due to an increased usage of smartphones among the youth of India, it has become a
challenge for today's marketers to find out the factors which affect, directly or indirectly, the sale
of smartphones. The Partial Least Square technique of Structural Equation Modelling was applied
using SmartPLS 2.0.M3 to understand the proposed relationships. Both Impulsive Buying
Behavior and Opinion Leadership were found to be significant mediators of the relationship
between Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Satisfaction. The paper helps identify the factors
that affect and eventually may aid in the buying decision process of smartphone users.
(Jo Black, 2002) With channels of distribution changing rapidly and multi‐channelling becoming
increasingly widespread, studies of consumers will need to focus not just on understanding product
choice, but also on understanding the reasons for channel choice. Using the example of financial
services, where multi‐channelling has been the norm for some time, this paper reports on an
exploratory study to identify those factors which influence channel choice. Based on the results of
focus group discussions, the paper argues that channel choice in financial service can usefully be
9
conceptualized as being determined by consumer, product channel and organizational
characteristics, with product‐channel interactions and consumer‐channel interactions being
particularly important. Describes the importance of product-channel and consumer channel
interactions. Also provides framework as to how to approach the study of those relations in other
contexts.
(Heitz-Spahn, 2013) Cross-channel free-riding, in which consumers use one retailer′s channel to
prepare a purchase and then switch to another retailer′s channel to purchase, can substantially erode
profit margins. This research aims to understand such free-riding from a consumer empowerment
perspective, investigating shopping motives and sociodemographic covariates, as well as how this
behavior might differ across product categories. A survey study of decision-making behavior
shows that cross-channel free-riders mainly seek to fulfil price comparison, convenience and
flexibility needs. The likelihood of free-riding is higher when consumers adopt cross-channel
rather than single-channel behavior, which highlights a negative outcome of multichannel
retailing. The likelihood of cross-channel free-riding differs across products but not
sociodemographic covariates. Finding of this study help us understand the use of retention
strategies and what factors are to be analysed for our product specifically to retain customers in
their respective distribution channel based on their preferences or specific needs required from
their respectively desired smartphones.
(Banerjee, 2019) presents in his research the organized retail landscape in India with focus on the
retail growth in online trade. The research paper has mapped the journey of consumers from
physical stores to e-commerce, multi-channel and omnichannel retailing. (Banerjee, 2019) has
also discussed the steps that need to be contemplated by retailers who are moving towards building
10
an omnichannel strategy. Also the characters of Indian consumers and their behaviors are also
further discussed as they define India’s markets and future growth opportunities. There is also
comparison between Indian and Chinese retail markets. The findings show that even though India
is a country with extensive rural areas, the flourishing population and a substantial middle class
provides huge potential for retail. This gives a holistic perspective on the current situation of retail,
the challenges being faced, pace of development, demographic shifts, along with logistics and
infrastructure capabilities.
(Juaneda-Ayensa, 2016) focus their research on the factors that contribute to a consumer selecting
a particular channel when placed in an omnichannel and the influencing forces over those factors.
For the same, experimental research that employs unified theory of acceptance and use of
technology were done through survey to collect sample data. Quota sampling was used to set the
parameter for subject having the compulsion of having covered at least two channels for a purchase
process. The findings of the research were that the key factors which determine purchase intention
in an Omnichannel environment include personal innovativeness, effort expectancy and
performance expectancy, in the mentioned order. It helps us to understand how experimental
models are created and executed to interpret and analyse collected information.
(Punj.G., 2011) has used economics, mental accounting, cognitive psychology as conceptual
framework of his study. The research was observational in nature where telephonic interviews
were conducted. The respondents were answering from their homes. A combination of Area
sampling and Quota sampling and hence multi-stage sampling was used, for the final selection of
samples. The results of the paper were that the most of the people who had been exposed to online
11
retail prefer it to offline retail with time, money and relevancy of searches and product fit were the
main drivers for going for online retail, and all demographic factors which were included in the
study also had some effect but the effects were not significant when considered individually, but
combination of certain demographic factors and belief sets has higher tendency for online
purchase. The research paper helps us to build a knowledge base of how demographic factors
combine and influence each other. Also how certain demographics overpower others in a purchase
environment.
Theoretical Framework
For this research we have chosen to use an adapted theoretical framework from the Hawkins, Best
and Coney model (Hawkins, 1995) with Demographics, Attitudes, Values and Beliefs as
parameters that have effects on Problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation,
selection, use and post purchase evaluation to determine their effects on purchase intention,
channel selection and final purchase pattern.
(Hawkins, 1995) is grounded on the Engel, Kollat and Blackwell model and further widens it to
external and internal influences. (Hawkins, 1995) regarded the consumer need is influenced by
both external factors such as culture, subculture, demographics, social status, reference groups,
family, and marketing activities and aspects such as personality, learning, perception, memory,
motives, emotion, and attitudes that serve as internal factors. (Punj.G., 2011) has described how
certain demographic factors and certain beliefs that consumers hold about online purchase, in
isolation and when intertwined as well affect the purchasing pattern in online channels.
12
Purchase Pattern of Consumer on the basis of demographics, attitudes and beliefs
Theoretical Framework Adapted from HBC Model
13
Demographics
They include factors such as Age, life-cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, and ethnicity.
These factors affect purchase intention, channel selection0 and final purchase pattern as
demographics often display traits of clustered populations, where there may be one single binding
factor such as lack of education which may make access to online channelsinconvenient due to a0
much tougher learning curve associated with them, but otherwise internally these clusters can be
heterogeneous.
Attitudes
Per Attitudes has a significant influence on an individual’s behavior. Attitudes are formed on the
basis of learning, knowledge, information, education, upbringing, thinking, lifestyle, experience,
predisposition, belief, faith, outlook, communication, observation, etc. It can be0 good or bad,
positive or negative, broad or narrow, friendly or unfriendly. The attitudes may be consistent, may
change with several external factors like time or environment, may be influenced or even can
influence another attitude.
Values
Values are widely held beliefs that affirm what is desirable. These values directly affect an
individual’s behaviour either0positively or negatively.
14
Beliefs
Beliefs play a vital role for0consumers as it plays either a positive or0a negative role towards an
object. Consumers will have certain feelings towards brands and these can be based on certain
beliefs.
Behaviours
Consumer buying behavior is the summation of attitude, preferences, intentions, and decision
during the buying process of a product or service. There is a standard behavioral model to explain
the step involved in purchasing. The steps are as follows – o Problem recognition: The customer
realises the unfulfilled needs or wants
o Information search: The next step is to find relevant information that can help the
customer solve the problem.
o Evaluation: As soon the information is gathered, the customer 0evaluates it against
needs and wants, preferences and financial resources available.
o Purchase: After the evaluation, the consumer will make a purchasing decision. The
decision will be highly based upon the price or availability.
o Post purchase evaluation: The consumer will now take a stand whether the purchase
has actually satisfied their needs.
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Chapter 4 Research Methodology
Research Design
The design of the study is descriptive in nature and involved conducting a survey which was designed
by taking certain elements from the theoretical framework and was administered through the means
of a questionnaire, starting out with dividing them into two distinct categories based on the purchase
medium, the next part asked them to address the rate a few factors at the time of purchase
consideration and rate a few factors after the purchases.
Once the data had been collected, quantitative techniques including sample means, skewness, and
probability was used to determine trends in the collected data, to draw inferences about usage and
experience.
Sampling Frame
The selected sampling frame consisted of working professionals in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, working
in the service sector, and having at least a graduate degree.
Sampling technique-
A combination of multi stage sampling which was a mixture of quota and convenience sampling was
used. For the purposes of quota some pre requisites such as age group, income and gender were
used and geographic pre requisites such as location of residence were used.
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Sample Size-
The sample size that was taken was of around 250 respondents, which was had to be refined to filter
out deviant responses and incomplete surveys, and the final sample came down to 138.
Data Collection Procedure
The researchers used judgmental sampling to select their sample based on high involvement users
of smartphones. Users were selected who have access to and have been exposed to both offline
and online mediums of purchase of smartphones.
Survey was designed as an online questionnaire and was distributed among working professionals,
upper middles class families and millennial students in multiple who were deemed appropriate for
the analysis.
Problem Recognition
Customer needs and wants were equated to product features that individuals considered as factors
of purchase before the purchase of a smartphone and the channel selection process
Factors of purchase of a smartphone were segregated into the following traits based on the users
need recognition.
• Social Media & Communication
• Games
17
• Entertainment & Internet
• Apps & Connectivity
Information search
The respondents were asked to define what channel of information they were exposed to before
the purchase of their current smartphone device and what mediums of information they are
currently or usually exposed to before the purchase of a smartphone.
Respondents were also asked to define if they complete a purchase through offline mediums would
they collect information prior t their purchase through online sources.
Evaluation
Respondents evaluation of their prior purchase and the information collected by them were
collected through product features and factors considered by the respondents before a purchase
decision is made. The factors provided for the respondents to choose from are given below.
• Innovation
• Style/Design
• Camera and Features
• Price
• Brand reputation
Purchase
Respondents were asked what medium they are inclined to purchase from, to what degree they
shop online and at what frequency.
18
Post Purchase evaluation
Based on their previous responses respondent were asked to record their post purchase evaluations
of their selected mediums of purchase a Likert Scale from 1 being low to 5 being high on the
following factors of evaluations.
• Value for money
• Features
• Product Life
• Variety
• Offers and Discounts
• Ability to compare
• Overall Satisfaction
Chapter 5 - Data Analysis
(Zhao, 2016)
Observational assessment of promotional material that is prevalent on both offline and offline
channels led us to determine four main propositions that manufacturers use as differentiators to
entice potential customers, these four main propositions were as follows-
● Social Media & Communication -
- WhatsApp
- Messaging
- Email
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- Phone
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Twitter
● Gaming-
- Candy Crush Saga
- Farm Heroes
- PUBg
- Asphalt
● Entertainment & Internet-
- YouTube
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Hulu
- Spotify
● Apps and Connectivity-
- WPS
- MS Office
- Cam Scanner
- Skype
20
The following clusters were selected on the basis of a previous study (Zhao, 2016), with around
300 clusters that were available, the following encompassed the propositions that were selected
most adequately. Cluster analysis helps to identify natural clusters in a population by maximizing
the similarities within clusters and maximizing the difference between clusters. Therefore, the
following using a combination of above defined propositions.
● Heavyweight communication (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Apps and
Connectivity)
● Surfers & Streamers (Primary uses: Gaming, Entertainment & Internet, Apps and
Connectivity)
● Socialites (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Entertainment & Internet, Apps
and Connectivity)
● Gamers (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Gaming)
Data was filtered and segregated to different worksheets for analysis of individual clusters. Sorting
the data as per offline purchase users and online purchase users, revealed the total number of
respondents as per purchase medium that fall into the clusters.
Responses in factors of purchase of a Smartphone were then analysed by checking probability of
each factor of purchase separately for both offline and online purchase in every individual cluster.
The factors a purchase for a Smartphone that the respondents could choose from were.
● Innovation
● Style/ Design
21
● Camera/ Features
● Price
● Brand Reputation
Chapter 6 – Findings
Demographic
● Heavyweight communication (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Apps and
Connectivity)
- 66.67% Males, 33.33% Females
- 37.88% Tier 1 Residents, 48.48% Tier 2 Residents, 13.64% Tier 3 Residents -
62.12% of population below 35 years of age.
- Income groups (Below 15k - 22.73%, 15-30k – 24.24%, 30-40k – 13.64%, 40-70k -
16.67%, 70-90k – 22.73%)
● Surfers & Streamers (Primary uses: Gaming, Entertainment & Internet, Apps and
Connectivity)
- Income groups (Below 15k – 45.45%, 15-30k – 27.27%, 30-40k – 9.09%, 40-70k -
13.64%, 70-90k – 4.55%)
22
● Socialites (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Entertainment & Internet, Apps
and Connectivity)
12.50%, 70-90k – 20.83%)
● Gamers (Primary uses: Social Media & Communication, Gaming)
18.52%, 70-90k – 3.70%)
Heavyweight communication (39 Online Purchasers, 27 Offline Purchasers)
• "Heavyweight Comm." users exhibiting need for Innovation from their devices as a factor of
purchase are found to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
23
• "Heavyweight Comm." users exhibiting need for Style/Design from their devices as a factor of
• "Heavyweight Comm." users exhibiting need for Camera/Features from their devices as a
factor of purchase, are found to purchase their smartphones from online and offline purchase
mediums.
• "Heavyweight Comm." users exhibiting need for Price from their devices as a factor of
• "Heavyweight Comm." users exhibiting need of Brand Reputation from their devices as a
factor of purchase, are found to purchase their smartphones from online and offline purchase
mediums.
Considering the frequency of users in online purchases it is evident that among Heavy
communication, users are more inclined to buy their smartphones form online purchase medium.
It is also observed for factors such as Cameras/Features, customers do not distinguish between
purchase mediums as much as others factors of purchase.
Surfers & Streamers (11 Online Purchasers, 11 Offline Purchasers)
• "Surfers & Streamers" users exhibiting need for Innovation from their devices as a factor of
• "Surfers & Streamers" users exhibiting need for Style/Design from their devices as a factor of
purchase are found to purchase their smartphones from offline purchase mediums.
• "Surfers & Streamers" users exhibiting need for Camera/Features from their devices as a factor
of purchase are found to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
24
• "Surfers & Streamers" users exhibiting need for Price from their devices as a factor of purchase
are found to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
• "Surfers & Streamers" users exhibiting need of Brand Reputation from their devices as a factor
of purchase are found to purchase their smartphones from offline purchase mediums.
Considering the frequency of users in both online and offline purchases it is evident that among
Surfers & Streamers users are likely to buy from either offline or online mediums depending on
which factor of purchase the individual prioritises more.
Socialites (28 Online Purchasers, 20 Offline Purchasers)
• "Socialites" users exhibiting need for Innovation from their devices as a factor of purchase are
found to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
• "Socialites" users exhibiting need for Style/Design from their devices as a factor of purchase
• "Socialites" users exhibiting need for Camera/Features from their devices as a factor of
purchase, are found to purchase their smartphones from online and offline purchase mediums.
• "Socialites" users exhibiting need for Price from their devices as a factor of purchase are found
to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
• "Socialites" users exhibiting need of Brand Reputation from their devices as a factor of
Considering the frequency of users in both online and offline purchases it is evident that among
Socialites users are more inclined to buy their smartphones form online purchase medium.
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Socialites also exhibit that Camera/Features as factors of purchase are un distinguishable as per
medium of purchase.
Gamers (15 Online Purchasers, 12 Offline Purchasers)
• "Gamers" users exhibiting need for Innovation from their devices as a factor of purchase are
found to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
• "Gamers" users exhibiting need for Style/Design from their devices as a factor of purchase, are
found to purchase their smartphones from online and offline purchase mediums.
• "Gamers" users exhibiting need for Camera/Features from their devices as a factor of purchase
• "Gamers" users exhibiting need for Price from their devices as a factor of purchase are found
to purchase their smartphones from online purchase mediums.
• "Gamers" users exhibiting need of Brand Reputation from their devices as a factor of purchase
Considering the frequency of users in online purchases it is evident that among Gamers users are
more inclined to buy their smartphones form online purchase medium. Gamers also exhibit that
Style/Design as factors of purchase are un-distinguishable as per medium of purchase.
The satisfaction of our users and their medium of purchase were analysed on the basis of the
average score they assigned to the following trait and to what degree the users have negatively or
positively rated the following factors through the Skewness presented by the data. The traits used
for the analysis of purchase medium are given below
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● Value for Money
● Features
● Product Life
● Variety
● Offers and Discounts
● Ability to Compare
Heavyweight users
Online
Value for money
This data indicates that the consumers who prefer to purchase smartphones online have given on
an average rating of 3.49 and the data is negatively skewed which indicates that majority of the
users have given rating above the average rating of 3.49.
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Features
This data indicates that the consumers who prefer to purchase smartphones online have given, on
an average, rating of 3.64 and the data is negatively skewed which indicates that majority of the
Product Life
Variety
users have given rating above the average rating of 3.41
Offers and Discounts
Ability to compare
28
Offline
Value for money
This data indicates that the consumers who prefer to purchase smartphones offline have given, on
Features
Product Life
an average, rating of 3.33 and the data is positively skewed which indicates that majority of the
Variety
29
Ability to compare
Surfers & Streamers
Online
Value for money
30
Features
Product Life
Variety
Ability to compare
31
Offline
Value for money
Features
Product Life
Variety
32
Ability to compare
Socialites
Online
Value for money
33
Features
Product Life
Variety
users have given rating above the average rating of 3.39
34
Ability to compare
Offline
Value for money
Features
35
Product Life
Variety
Ability to compare
36
Gamers
Online
Value for money
Features
Product Life
Variety
37
Ability to compare
Offline
Value for money
Features
38
Product Life
Variety
Ability to compare
39
Chapter 7 Conclusion
Through analysing the data, following conclusions can be drawn-
Heavyweight users prefer online channels, and as far as their post purchase evaluations are
concerned most of the data is negatively skewed which implies a high overall satisfaction.
Surfers and Streamers prefer are indecisive in terms of selecting purchase channels, and as far as
their post purchase evaluations are concerned most of the data is negatively skewed which
implies a high overall satisfaction.
Socialites prefer online channels, and as far as their post purchase evaluations are concerned most
of the data is negatively skewed which implies a high overall satisfaction.
Gamers prefer online channels, and as far as their post purchase evaluations are concerned most
of the data is negatively skewed which implies a high overall satisfaction.
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Chapter 8 – Suggestions & Limitations
 Unanimously people across all clusters have rated features highly, which implies
overall high satisfaction, for manufacturers this shows a very limited scope for
improvement, cut-throat competition, and hence companies shouldn’t try to
differentiate themselves on the basis of features and rather focus on other
attributes where there is scope for improvement, and considerably less
competition.
 Heavyweight users who purchase smartphones online have given low ratings to
the product life of their devices, stating the obvious, manufacturers need to focus
on the durability and shelf life of the product.
 Heavyweight users who purchase smartphones offline have given low ratings to
product life, offers and discounts and variety, manufacturers here should look to
shift to online channels as it removes middlemen hence allowing greater discounts
and variety as well since you don’t have to worry about retailers in proximity
overlapping.
 Surfers and Streamers who purchase smartphones online have given low ratings to
the product life and ability to compare, hence signifying a required improvement
in the user interfaces of online channels.
 Surfers and Streamers who purchase smartphones offline have given low ratings to
the product life and ability to compare.
 Socialites who purchase smartphones online have given low ratings to offers and
discounts, users expect more sales promotions such as free accessories and more
monetary value for their purchases.
 Socialites who purchase smartphones offline have given low ratings to product
life and ability to compare, hence they should increase the amount of options
available within the same price bracket.
 Gamers who purchase smartphones online have given low ratings to variety, hence
they should offer more options across brands and Original Equipment
Manufacturers.
 Gamers who purchase smartphones offline have given low ratings to product life,
hence better build quality and after sales services should be emphasized upon.
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Limitations
 There are some extraneous variables whose affect have not been accounted
for.
 Only 25% women have filled the survey which represents significant
amount of underrepresentation of the women and the inference drawn from the data
may pertain to the male consumers.
Bibliography
Banerjee, M. (2019). Development of Omni India: Retail Landscape, Drivers and Exploring Omni
Channel Retailing.
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Annexures Mandatory Annexures
Research Instrument
Age___________
Gender__________
Income Group
Less than 15k 15k-30k 30k-40k 40k and above Student Housewife
Education
Graduate Post Graduate !2thPass/Diploma 10thpass or below Other
Occupation
Employed Self –Employed Student Other
Where do you reside?
43
Tier I Tier II Tier III
Do you own a smartphone?
Yes No
From where did you buy it?
Offline Online
Where did you find the information about the smartphone?
Internet TV Newspaper/Magazine Word of mouth Radio Outdoor Advertising

Hands on trial
What do you consider when you buy a smartphone?
Innovation Style/Design Camera and Features Price Company reputation
What are the primary uses for your smartphone? (can choose multiple)
Social Media & Communication Games Entertainment & Internet Information
Do you shop online?
Yes/No
How often do you use internet for shopping?
Very often Often Sometimes Rarely Never
From where did you buy your current smartphone?
Online website Local Dealer
44
If online, rate the following values on a scale of 1 to 5(1 being the least and 5 being the best)
1 2 3 4 5
Value for money _ _ _ _ _
Features _ _ _ _ _
Longevity _ _ _ _ _
Variety _ _ _ _ _
Offers and Discounts _ _ _ _ _
Ability to compare _ _ _ _ _
Overall Satisfaction _ _ _ _ _
If offline, rate the following values on a scale of 1 to 5(1 being the least and 5 being the best)
1 2 3 4 5
Value for money _ _ _ _ _
Features _ _ _ _ _
Longevity _ _ _ _ _
Variety _ _ _ _ _
Offers and Discounts _ _ _ _ _
Ability to compare _ _ _ _ _
Overall Satisfaction _ _ _ _ _
What is your preferred medium for buying smartphone?
Online Offline
Based on your experience, how would you rate your satisfaction with the purchase from the store you
have bought? (On a scale of 1 to 5)
45
If offline, do you check the information on the internet prior to buying a smartphone? Yes /No
Plagiarism check report
46

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Analysis of purchase patterns of consumers with

respect to online vs. offline channels in the

Anish Koul, Arnab Bose, Veyom Bhargava

Sub: Introduction to Specialized Research and Analytics

Master of Business Administration

Academic Year 2018-19

Chapter 2 Objectives & Scope of the Research 06

Chapter 3 Literature Review 07

Chapter 4 Research Methodology 16

Chapter 5 Data Analysis 19

Chapter 8 Suggestions & Limitations 41

Annexures (All mandatory) 43

• Research Instrument – Questionnaire & Discussion Guide

and what experience they choose to purchase it through.

to adopt a particular consumer experience between online or offline mediums of purchase.

features and the functionalities of the devices within their inventory.

ratio on their devices.

device that fuelled the growth of businesses, trade and education.

their choices upon.

Chapter 2 Objectives & Scope of the Research

 To understand the effects of smartphone attributes on the channel selection in

buying process while purchasing smartphones.

 The scope of the research covers marketplace decisions of consumers pertaining to

education and is defining interaction with the world.

store and vice versa.

large inventory and can reach to anyone around the globe.

on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Satisfaction of Smartphone

characteristics, with product‐channel interactions and consumer‐channel interactions being

particularly important. Describes the importance of product-channel and consumer channel

rather than single-channel behavior, which highlights a negative outcome of multichannel

their respectively desired smartphones.

in an Omnichannel environment include personal innovativeness, effort expectancy and

performance expectancy, in the mentioned order. It helps us to understand how experimental

channel selection and final purchase pattern.

Theoretical Framework Adapted from HBC Model

basis of learning, knowledge, information, education, upbringing, thinking, lifestyle, experience,

influence another attitude.

individual’s behaviour either0positively or negatively.

customer solve the problem.

o Evaluation: As soon the information is gathered, the customer 0evaluates it against

needs and wants, preferences and financial resources available.

decision will be highly based upon the price or availability.

has actually satisfied their needs.

consideration and rate a few factors after the purchases.

in the service sector, and having at least a graduate degree.

Data Collection Procedure

and online mediums of purchase of smartphones.

• Social Media & Communication

• Apps & Connectivity

currently or usually exposed to before the purchase of a smartphone.

they collect information prior t their purchase through online sources.

• Camera and Features

shop online and at what frequency.

following factors of evaluations.

• Value for money

• Offers and Discounts

Chapter 5 - Data Analysis

entice potential customers, these four main propositions were as follows-

● Social Media & Communication -

- Candy Crush Saga

● Entertainment & Internet-

● Apps and Connectivity-

following using a combination of above defined propositions.