customer satisfaction in online shopping among youth of shimla city vishal sharma (2527

Customer satisfaction in Online Shopping among youth of Shimla city

HP University Business School, Shimla

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ONLINE

SHOPPING AMONG YOUTH OF SHIMLA CITY

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

VISHAL SHARMA (2527)

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

at

HP UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL

HIMACHAL PRADESH UNIVERSITY

SHIMLA (HP)

JUNE 2014


DECLARATION

I, Vishal Sharma, hereby declare that the research project titled “Customer

satisfaction in online shopping among youth of Shimla city” submitted for the

award of MBA degree, is my original work and the project has not formed the

basis for the award of any degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar

titles. Any literature, data or works done by others and cited within this dissertation

has been given due acknowledgement and listed in the reference section.

Place: Shimla Vishal Sharma

Date: 30th

June 2014 Roll No. 2527


CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “Customer Satisfaction in Online

Shopping Among Youth of Shimla city” is the bonafide work undertaken by

Vishal Sharma, a student of MBA (Marketing & HR), at Himachal Pradesh

University Business School, Shimla, during the year 2014, under my guidance in

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Masters in

Business Administration and that the project has not formed the basis for the award

previously of any degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar

title.

Dr. Shyam Lal Kaushal

Professor (Human Resource)


Place: Shimla

Date: 3rd

July 2014


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study endeavors to understand the customer satisfaction in online shopping among Youth of

Shimla city, while investigating the major reasons & factors which influence a customer’s

decision for purchasing online and the level of satisfaction achieved by him/her by making

online purchases.

Jarvenpaa and Todd (1996-97) propounded certain factors which were found to influences the

customer’s online purchase decision. These factors were chosen as the basis of framework of this

study to explain customer satisfaction in buying products online. The existing literature was

reviewed to discover reasons that would influence a customer’s behaviour positively or

negatively towards shopping online.

A Survey was conducted in various suburbs of Shimla city (Himachal Pradesh) by distributing

questionnaires to gather data for this research. Online questionnaires were also used.

MS Excel 2007 software package was used to store collected data, analyze it graphically and to

test the research hypothesis.

From the findings, it was discovered that the respondents used internet to purchase products

online owing to factors like Quality of products, Speed of delivery, Low prices, difference

between expected & real products, repurchases option, after sales services, customer care

services, easy online payments, returning/replacing, special discounts/offers, recommending

others to buy online and variety of choice available

Furthermore, the result of hypotheses established that the youth of Shimla city were overall

satisfied with their online shopping experience.

Finally, the study remained successful presenting positive results with respect to the satisfaction

level of Shimla youngsters towards online shopping.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Through this section, I would like to thank all those who have helped in any way, odd or even, in

making this project successful.

I express my wholehearted gratitude to the Himachal Pradesh University Business School,

Shimla, for giving me this precious opportunity of undertaking a research project during my

final year of MBA in Marketing and HR.

I extend a very special thanks to Prof. Shyam Lal Kaushal, my project guide, for helping me

choose this topic, providing timely guidance, valuable support and encouragement at each &

every step throughout the compilation of this project.

I am highly thankful to my respected Maa-Papa and other family members for their support in

odd hours of compilation.

Last, but not the least; a very special thanks to Almighty, for remaining my guiding light

throughout the work and helping me complete this endeavor successfully.

VISHAL SHARMA


Contents DECLARATION............................................................................................................................2

CERTIFICATE ..............................................................................................................................3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................5

1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................8

1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................... 9

1.2 ONLINE SHOPPING .................................................................................................... 10

1.3 ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING .................................................................. 14

1.4 DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING............................................................ 15

1.5 IMPACT OF REVIEWS ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ......................................... 16

1.6 ONLINE SHOPPING PORTALS IN INDIA ................................................................ 16

1.7 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ..................................................................................... 19

1.8 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ........................................... 20

1.8.1 Quality..................................................................................................................... 20

1.8.2 Delivery time .......................................................................................................... 20

1.8.3 Low price ................................................................................................................ 20

1.8.4 Choice availability .................................................................................................. 20

1.8.5 After-sales service ................................................................................................... 21

1.8.6 Discounts/offers ...................................................................................................... 21

1.8.7 Payment options ...................................................................................................... 21

1.8.8 Expectation fulfillment ........................................................................................... 21

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................................22

2.1 ONLINE SHOPPING .................................................................................................... 23


2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ONLINE SHOPPING . 25

3. RESEARCH DESIGN .........................................................................................................28

3.1 NEED OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 29

3.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 29

3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 29

3.3.1 SOURCES OF DATA ............................................................................................ 30


3.3.2 SAMPLES............................................................................................................... 30

3.4 INSTRUMENTS USED ................................................................................................ 30

4. DATA ANALYSIS ...............................................................................................................31

4.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE YOUTH ........................................................... 32

4.2 ONLINE PRESENCE .................................................................................................... 33

4.3 BUYING BEHAVIOUR ................................................................................................ 34


4.4.1 The quality of products purchased online is highly satisfactory............................. 39

4.4.2 The speed of Delivery of products is fast ............................................................... 40

4.4.3 The products available online are priced low in comparison to traditional market 41

4.4.4 The difference between your expectations and real products would influence your

satisfaction level.................................................................................................................... 42

4.4.5 You will never repurchase from the same company if there is a great difference

between expected and the real product ................................................................................. 43

4.4.6 The after sales services offered by the company are highly satisfactory ................ 44

4.4.7 The customer care services offered are highly satisfactory .................................... 45

4.4.8 The process of making online payments is fast & easy .......................................... 46

4.4.9 There is no difficulty in returning/replacing the product bought online ................. 47

4.4.10 Online shopping, at times, provides eligibility to exciting discounts/offers........... 48

4.4.11 You will recommend & motivate your other friends to purchase online ............... 49

4.4.12 A variety of choice helps choosing the best in class from amongst various brands 50

4.4.13 You are overall satisfied with your experience of shopping online ........................ 51

4.5 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS ........................................................................................ 52

5. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................55

5.1 FINDINGS ..................................................................................................................... 56

5.2 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 58

REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................59

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................62

ANNEXURE ................................................................................................................................64

QUESTIONNAIRE......................................................................................................................65


CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW

1.2 ONLINE SHOPPING

1.2.1 HISTORY

1.2.2 E-COMMERCE STATASTICS

1.2.3 CUSTOMERS

1.2.4 LOGISTICS

1.2.5 PAYMENTS

1.2.6 PRODUCT DELIVERY

1.2.7 SHOPPING CART SYSTEM

1.3 ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

1.3.1 CONVENIENCE

1.3.2 EASE OF EXCHANGE

1.3.3 INFORMATION AND REVIEWS

1.3.4 PRICE AND SELECTION

1.4 DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

1.4.1 FRAUD AND SECURITY CONCERNS

1.4.2 LACK OF FULL COST DISCLOSURE

1.4.3 PRICE

1.4.4 PRODUCT SUITABILITY

1.5 IMPACT OF REVIEWS ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR

1.6 ONLINE SHOPPING PORTALS IN INDIA

1.7 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

1.8 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION


CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW

The main object of every organization is to maximize its profit. To achieve this object the

organization should increase its sales by getting more customer and the only way to get more

customer is that the organization should provide expected satisfaction to the customers.

Here the word customer satisfaction means “the utility which customer expect from the product”

and when a customer get expected utilities it is called as customer satisfaction.

Internet has transcended us from the traditional shopping era into a new and more efficient era of

online shopping. Globally, customers are gaining tremendous benefits from purchasing goods

and services from cyberspace. The internet permits the 24X7 and 365 days availability of goods

with little or no extra cost.

Surplus seeking consumers and retailers are always searching for markets that are more

economically efficient hence, online purchasing. Although there are abundant research works

undertaken relating to factors that influence customer satisfaction and purchase intention in the

context of online shopping (e-commerce), factors that are found to influence the level of

customer satisfaction actually vary from time-to-time & location-to-location.

In this research project, the findings of the questionnaire-based survey conducted in various

suburbs of Shimla city are analyzed with the purpose of drawing out conclusions as to what all

factors affect the level of customer satisfaction in online shopping among the youth of Shimla

city.

Shimla, popularly known as the Queen of Hills, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. One of

the most acclaimed hill station of the country, as per Census 2011, population of 1, 71,817

resides in Shimla city. With approximately 45% people between 18-30 age group, the

preferences of youth are required to be kept in mind.


1.2 ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping or e-shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to

directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. Alternative

names are: e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online

storefront and virtual store. Mobile commerce (or m-commerce) describes purchasing from an

online retailer's mobile optimized online site or app.

An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-

mortar retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online

shopping. In the case where a business buys from another business, the process is called

business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. The largest of these online retailing corporations in

India are Flipkart.com, Amazon.com, Snapdeal.com, eBay.com, Shopclues.com, Myntra.com,

Homeshop18.com, Naaptol.com, Jabong.com etc.

Retail success is no longer all about physical stores. This is evident because of the increase in

retailers now offering online store interfaces for consumers. With the growth of online shopping,

comes a wealth of new market footprint coverage opportunities for stores that can appropriately

cater to offshore market demands and service requirements.

1.2.1 History

English entrepreneur Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in

1979. His system connected a modified domestic TV to a real-time

transaction processing computer via a domestic telephone line. He

believed that videotex, the modified domestic TV technology with a

simple menu-driven human–computer interface, was a new,

universally applicable, participative communication medium — the first since the invention of

the telephone.' This enabled 'closed' corporate information systems to be opened to 'outside'

correspondents not just for transaction processing but also for e-messaging and information

retrieval and dissemination, later known as e-business.


During the 1980s he designed, manufactured, sold, installed, maintained and supported many

online shopping systems, using videotex technology.

The first World Wide Web server and browser, created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990, opened for

commercial use in 1991. Thereafter, subsequent technological innovations emerged in 1994:

online banking, the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut, Netscape's SSL v2 encryption

standard for secure data transfer, and Intershop's first online shopping system. Immediately

after, Amazon.com launched its online shopping site in 1995 and eBay was also introduced in

1995.

Following the great success of Amazon in international market, a team of two Indian

entrepreneurs launched a similar portal Flipkart.com (5th

September 2007) which is today the

pioneer of Indian online shopping industry.

1.2.2 E-Commerce statistics

Statistics show that in 2012, Asia-Pacific increased their international sales over 30% giving

them over $433 billion in revenue. That is a $69 billion difference between the U.S. revenue of

$364.66 billion. It is estimated that Asia-Pacific will increase by another 30% in the year 2013

putting them ahead by more than one-third of all global ecommerce sales.

1.2.3 Customers

Online customers must have access to the Internet and a valid method of payment in order to

complete a transaction. Generally, higher levels of education and personal income correspond to

more favorable perceptions of shopping online. Increased exposure to technology also increases

the probability of developing favorable attitudes towards new shopping channels.

In a December 2011 study, Equation Research surveyed 1,500 online shoppers and found that

87% of tablet owners made online transactions with their tablet devices during the early

Christmas shopping season.


1.2.4 Logistics

Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by

searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine.

Once a particular product has been found on the website of the seller, most online retailers

use shopping cart software to allow the consumer to accumulate multiple items and to adjust

quantities, like filling a physical shopping cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout"

process follows (continuing the physical-store analogy) in which payment and delivery

information is collected, if necessary. Some stores allow consumers to sign up for a permanent

online account so that some or all of this information only needs to be entered once. The

consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the transaction is complete.

Less sophisticated stores may rely on consumers to phone or e-mail their orders (although full

credit card numbers, expiry date, and Card Security Code or bank account and routing number

should not be accepted by e-mail, for reasons of security).

1.2.5 Payments

Online shoppers commonly use a debit card, credit card or a PayPal account in order to make

payments. However, some systems enable users to create accounts and pay by alternative means,

such as:

Cash on delivery (C.O.D)

Cheque/ Check

Debit card

Credit card

Direct debit in some countries

Electronic money of various types

Gift cards

The financial part of a transaction may be processed in real time (e.g. letting the consumer know

their credit card was declined before they log off), or may be done later as part of the fulfillment

process.


1.2.6 Product delivery

Once a payment has been accepted, the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways:

Downloading/Digital distribution: The method often used for digital media products such

as software, music, movies, or images.

Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who

then ships the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer's physical location to

save time, money, and space.

In-store pick-up: The customer selects a local store using locator software and picks up

the delivered product at the selected location. This is the method often used in the bricks

and clicks business model.

Printing out, provision of a code for, or e-mailing of such items as admission

tickets and scrip (e.g., gift certificates and coupons). The tickets, codes, or coupons may

be redeemed at the appropriate physical or online premises and their content reviewed to

verify their eligibility (e.g., assurances that the right of admission or use is redeemed at

the correct time and place, for the correct dollar amount, and for the correct number of

uses).

Shipping: The product is shipped to a customer-designated address.

1.2.7 Shopping cart systems

Simple systems allow the off-line administration of products and categories. The shop is

then generated as HTML files and graphics that can be uploaded to a webspace. The

systems do not use an online database.

A high-end solution can be bought or rented as a stand-alone program or as an addition to

an enterprise resource planning program. It is usually installed on the company's

webserver and may integrate into the existing supply chain so that ordering, payment,

delivery, accounting and warehousing can be automated to a large extent.

Other solutions allow the user to register and create an online shop on a portal that hosts

multiple shops simultaneously from one back office.

Commercial systems can also be tailored so the shop does not have to be created from

scratch.


1.3 ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

1.3.1 Convenience

Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers have Internet access

both at work and at home.

1.3.2 Ease of exchange

In the event of a problem with the item (e.g., the product was not what the consumer ordered, the

product was not satisfactory), consumers are concerned with the ease of returning an item in

exchange for either the correct product or a refund. Consumers may need to contact the retailer,

visit the post office and pay return shipping, and then wait for a replacement or refund.

1.3.3 Information and reviews

Online stores must describe products for sale with text, photos, and multimedia files, whereas in

a physical retail store, the actual product and the manufacturer's packaging will be available for

direct inspection (which might involve a test drive, fitting, or other experimentation).

Some stores even allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are also

dedicated review sites that host user reviews for different products. Reviews and even some

blogs give customers the option of shopping for cheaper purchases from all over the world

without having to depend on local retailers.

1.3.4 Price and selection

One advantage of shopping online is being able to quickly seek out deals for items or services

provided by many different vendors (though some local search engines do exist to help

consumers locate products for sale in nearby stores). Search engines, online price comparison

services and discovery shopping engines can be used to look up sellers of a particular product or

service.

Shipping costs (if applicable) reduce the price advantage of online merchandise, though

depending on the jurisdiction, a lack of sales tax may compensate for this.


1.4 DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING

1.4.1 Fraud and security concerns

Given the lack of ability to inspect merchandise before purchase, consumers are at higher risk of

fraud than face-to-face transactions. Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases using stolen credit

cards or fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. However, merchants face less risk from

physical theft by using a warehouse instead of a retail storefront.

1.4.2 Lack of full cost disclosure

The lack of full cost disclosure may also be problematic. While it may be easy to compare the

base price of an item online, it may not be easy to see the total cost up front. Additional fees such

as shipping are often not be visible until the final step in the checkout process. The problem is

especially evident with cross-border purchases, where the cost indicated at the final checkout

screen may not include additional fees that must be paid upon delivery such

as duties and brokerage.

1.4.3 Privacy

Privacy of personal information is a significant issue for some consumers. Many consumers wish

to avoid spam and telemarketing which could result from supplying contact information to an

online merchant. In response, many merchants promise to not use consumer information for

these purposes.

1.4.4 Product suitability

Some non-digital products have been more successful than others for online stores. Products less

suitable for e-commerce include products that have a low value-to-weight ratio, products that

have a smell, taste, or touch component, products that need trial fittings—most notably

clothing—and products where colour integrity appears important. Nonetheless, some web sites

have had success delivering groceries and clothing sold through the internet is big business in the

India.


1.5 IMPACT OF REVIEWS ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

One of the great benefits of online shopping is the ability to read product reviews, written either

by experts or fellow online shoppers.

The Nielsen Company conducted a survey in March 2010 and polled more than 27,000 Internet

users in 55 markets from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, and South

America to look at questions such as "How do consumers shop online?", "What do they intend to

buy?", "How do they use various online shopping web pages?", and the impact of social

media and other factors that come into play when consumers are trying to decide how to spend

their money on which product or service. According to the research, reviews on electronics

(57%) such as DVD players, cellphones, or PlayStations, and so on, reviews on cars (45%), and

reviews on software (37%) play an important role in influencing consumers who tend to make

purchases online. Furthermore, 40% of online shoppers indicate that they would not even buy

electronics without consulting online reviews first.

In addition to online reviews, peer recommendations on online shopping pages or social media

websites play a key role for online shoppers when they are researching future purchases.

90% of

all purchases made are influenced by social media. Each day, over two million buyers are

shopping online for jewelry.

1.6 ONLINE SHOPPING PORTALS IN INDIA

With the advent of e-commerce technology in India, Online shopping has become a most-liked

trend. People have been enjoying the convenience of having their order shipped right to their

doorstep. But people often get confused in selection of reliable sites as there are a plethora of

sites, and everyone claims to be reliable. But in actual only few are up to the mark. Thus, on the

basis of customer review, top 11 online shopping sites in India are:

1.6.1 Flipkart

Flipkart.com is the market leader in Online shopping in our country. Here you can buy almost

everything ranging from books, bags, toys, baby care, belts, watches, television, cell phones to


refrigerators, hard drives, motorcycles, air conditioners, and a lot of various items. Here you can

get easy discounts, coupons and many other deals which will keep you buying from Flipkart.

1.6.2 Ebay

The world leader in online shopping store has stamped its mark in India also. EBay is a shopping

store in which a wide variety of goods, services and products are bought and sold. EBay sells

fresh new products along with used products. It sometimes holds up auction for some products

also. EBay and Flipkart are on a neck to neck competition for becoming the best online shopping

site in India.

1.6.3 Snapdeal

Snapdeal is one of India’s largest e-commerce website with respect to the number of transactions

in a single day. Products such as watches, hard drives, laptops, and computers can be bought at a

very cheap price. It provides some heavy discounts on its items. Operating in only a few cities

but the transaction rate is very high. It ranks amongst the top players in best online shopping sites

in India.

1.6.4 Shopclues

Shopclues is an amazing online shopping store to buy products. Shopclues, famous for its Jaw

Dropping Deals, provides commodities at an extremely cheap price. It offers wide variety of

goods such as cameras, cosmetics, pendrives etc.

1.6.5 Myntra

Recently taken over by Flipkart, Myntra aims at redefining the fashion mantra of Indians. It

offers fashion products such as T-shirts, jeans, watches, shoes, belts and other accessories.

1.6.6 Naaptol

Naaptol.com allows its customers to avail various options for a particular product. This website

is amongst the most popular online shopping sites in India. The name itself means comparison

before buying any product. The details of the products are displayed to the customer, leaving

behind no confusion in the minds of its customer.


1.6.7 Homeshop18

This website contains a range of kitchen appliances, household products, laptops, shoes, gifts etc.

Homeshop18. Owned by Network18, a television and a media marketing company, Homeshop18

is the first company to launch its 24 x 7 open Home shopping TV channel. This website has been

awarded the “Best Shopping Site” by PC World Magazine in 2008. Because of its advertisement,

the popularity has been rising to new peaks. It is also becoming one of the strongest contenders

for best online shopping sites in India.

1.6.8 Jabong

This site is gaining popularity day by day because of its efficient work process and availability of

number of branches in most parts of the country. Soon it will be in race amongst the present best

online shopping sites in India.

1.6.9 Tradus

Tradus is a Europe-based online shopping store which provides variety of online products and

commodities. Shipping is done for free but only to a few parts of the country. Discounted prices

of products are available in this website.

1.6.10 Yebhi

Yebhi is also referred as the “Online Apparel Store of India”. This website provides a wide

collection of apparels, bags, jewelry. Yebhi is the undisputed king of Online Apparel in India.

Lucrative prices along with discounts makes the customers buy in this shopping store.

1.6.11 Buytheprice

Shop Online – Buy Mobile Phones, Laptops, Digital Cameras, MP3 Players, TVs and Hard

Disks + Free Shipping. An interesting feature about this website is that the prices of the products

go on decreasing if more and more people buy them. The price of the book goes down from 400

to 300 if instead of a single person, 10 people buy it. The customers can take profitable

advantage of this option.



Customer satisfaction is a term frequently used in marketing. It is a measure of how products

and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction

is defined as "the number of customers, or percentage of total customers, whose reported

experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds

specified satisfaction goals.”

Customer is the King

According to Business Dictionary, it is defined as “the degree of satisfaction provided by

the goods or services of a company as measured by the number of repeat customers.”

Customer satisfaction is the outcome felt by buyers who have expectation. Customers are

satisfied when their expectation are met and delighted when their expectations are exceeded.

Satisfied customers remain loyal longer, buy more, and are less sensitive and talk favorable

about the company. From this it is clear that the satisfied customer will be less sensitive towards

the fluctuating price and offensive marketing typically cost more than defensive marketing,

because it requires much effort and cost to induce satisfied customers to switch away from their

current suppliers.

We should also consider the fact that "the cost of attracting a new customer may be five times the

cost of keeping the current customer happy." Therefore the companies are intending in

developing stronger bones and loyalty with their customers.

It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is often part of a Balanced

Scorecard Method of strategy design. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete

for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a

key element of business strategy.

Therefore, it is essential for businesses to effectively manage customer satisfaction. To be able

do this, firms need reliable and representative measures of satisfaction.


1.8 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Various factors affect the customer satisfaction levels in online shopping. Mentioned below are

some factors based on the Customer satisfaction model propounded by Jarvenpaa and Todd

(1996).

1.8.1 Quality

The quality of products plays a very important role in the level of satisfaction active by him/her

by usage of that product. If the quality of product is satisfactory, the buyer will definitely

recommend the product to others and at the same time prefer purchasing the same product to

satisfy his/her needs next time.

1.8.2 Delivery time

The time taken by the seller of product to deliver the product to the final customer is called the

delivery time for that product. The delivery time taken by the vendor decides the level of

satisfaction the customer will attain buying the product. Quick action approach is expected as a

part of increasing sales in online selling nowadays. Lesser is the delivery time, more is the level

of satisfaction achieved by the customer.

1.8.3 Low price

Price is another important factor of the strategy of marketing of a product. Price is defined as the

cost born by the customer in acquiring the product. The price of the product keeps on increasing

at every step as it passes on from the production unit to the factory warehouse to distributor to

wholesaler and finally to the retailer. Whereas in case of online shopping, the cost is low because

the product is sent directly from the manufacturer to customer.

1.8.4 Choice availability

There is a wide range of products available for shopping online as there is no need of stocking

and as soon as the order is received, it can be directly sent from the manufacturer to the

customer. Hence, the customer gets a wide range of choice to buy from the virtual products

available online.


1.8.5 After-sales service

After-sales services are highly important to retain the customer for life long association. The

better the after sales services & customer care, better is the customer satisfaction.

1.8.6 Discounts/offers

Shopping online also provides eligibility to various discounts and offers on other purchases from

the same web portal. Buying a single product offers discount on the purchase of additional

related or diverse products. Come coupon codes can be used on next purchase to avail the

discount. Offers like free shipping & free product are also given to lure the customers. Such

offers are not available if the product is bought at a retail outlet.

1.8.7 Payment options

Availability of various payment options like Cash on Delivery provides an opportunity to buy the

product even if you don’t have cash right now as the payment is to be made once the product is

received. Some vendors also provide an opportunity to test and try the product and then make the

payment only when the customer is fully satisfied with the quality.

1.8.8 Expectation fulfillment

Before buying a product, the customer has some expectations which he wants the product to

fulfill. It is only if the product fulfills the expectations that it is able to satisfy the customers.

Customer is considered to be the king. Whatever he asks for; needs to be fulfilled. That’s how

customer satisfaction achieved.


CHAPTER-2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 ONLINE SHOPPING


2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN

ONLINE SHOPPING


CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 ONLINE SHOPPING

R. L. Kenney (1999) states Online Shopping is the conduct of business via internet which relates

to activities of information searching, information sharing, purchasing or exchanging products

and services; also maintaining customer relationship without face to face meeting unlike

transaction done in traditional way. Often online shopping is wrongfully perceived as a way of

doing business between web retailers and web end customers but rather e-commerce

encompasses an entire range on conducting online business whether it’s the interaction between

business to business, business to customer, and business to government.

According to UCLA Center for Communication Policy (2001), online shopping has become

the third most popular Internet activity, immediately following e-mail using/instant messaging

and web browsing. It is even more popular than seeking out entertainment information and news,

two commonly thought of activities when considering what Internet users do when online. Of

Internet users, 48.9 percent made online purchases in 2001, with three-quarters of purchasers

indicating that they make 1-10 purchases per year.

Liang and Lai (2000) state that online shopping possesses five steps similar to those associated

with traditional shopping behavior. In the typical online shopping process, when potential

consumers recognize a need for some merchandise or service, they go to the Internet and search

for need-related information. However, rather than searching actively, at times potential

consumers are attracted by information about products or services associated with the felt need.

They then evaluate alternatives and choose the one that best fits their criteria for meeting the felt

need. Finally, a transaction is conducted and post-sales services provided. Online shopping

attitude refers to consumer's psychological state in terms of making purchases on the Internet.

According to Kotler & Keller (2009), a buyer goes through five stages while making a decision

to purchase. These stages are best explainable when a buyer goes for buying costly items, such as

a house, a car, diamond jewelry etc. However, in day- to- day purchase, consumers may not go

through all these stages, since some commodes do not need information, and based on buyer’s

previous experience they will visit a store for the purchase. These stages are (Figure 1): “problem


recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and purchase

behaviour”.


Tse and Wilton, (1988) & Oliver (1999) define Customer satisfaction is defined as an

"Evaluation of the perceived discrepancy between prior expectations and the actual performance

of the product".

Hennig-Thurau and Klee (1997) states Satisfaction of customers with products and services of

a company are considered as most important factor leading toward competitiveness and success.

Customer satisfaction is actually how customer evaluates the ongoing performance.

According to Kim, Park and Jeong (2004) customer satisfaction is customer’s reaction to the

state of satisfaction, and customer’s judgment of satisfaction level. Customer satisfaction is very

important in today’s business world as according to Deng et al., (2009) the ability of a service

provider to create high degree of satisfaction is crucial for product differentiation and developing

strong relationship with customers.

Eshghi, Haughton and Topi (2007) state that previous researchers have found that satisfaction

of the customers can help the brands to build long and profitable relationships with their

customers. Though it is costly to generate satisfied and loyal customers but that would prove

profitable in a long run for a firm. Therefore a firm should concentrate on the improvement of

service quality and charge appropriate fair price in order to satisfy their customers who would

ultimately help the firm to retain its customers.

Customer’s involvement is also important as when buyer consider the product important and

invests time to seek information then it ultimately enhances the satisfaction level (Russell-

Bennett, McColl-Kennedy and Coote, 2007). This satisfaction may influence the concerned

company by repurchase, purchase of more products, positive word of mouth and willingness of

customer to pay more for the particular brand. Any business is likely to lose market share,

customers and investors if it fails to satisfy customers as effectively and efficiently as its

competitors is doing (Anderson, Fornell, and Mazvancheryl, 2004).


2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN ONLINE

SHOPPING

There have been intensive studies of online shopping attitudes and behavior in recent years. Most

of them have attempted to identify factors influencing or contributing to online shopping

attitudes and behavior. The researchers seem to take different perspectives and focus on different

factors in different ways.

L. C. Schaupp and F. Bélanger (2005) state that it is imperative to be able to measure customer

satisfaction in the context of e-commerce since this will define the success of the vendors. The

literature suggests each research is different mainly by the antecedent factors of customer

satisfaction since the researchers chose the variables and factors best suit for each circumstance

in their perception; thus, the results are varied by time and location.

Jarvenpaa and Todd (1996-97) propounded that the purchase perceptions or factors influencing

online consumer’s purchase decision were grouped into three clusters including:

1) Product understanding (Product Perception): Price, Product Quality, and Product variety

2) Shopping Experience: Attributes of time, Convenience, and Product availability, Effort,

Lifestyle Compatibility and Playfulness or enjoyment of shopping process.

3) Customer service: Vendor responsiveness, Assurance and Reliability.

Youngsters with experience were more likely to be influenced by Product perception and the

Shopping experience more than Customer service and Consumer risk.

This result is consistent with Jarvenpaa & Todd (1996-97) referring that the sellers should

focus on product perception and shopping convenience when building the website. Out of other

factors, product perception is considered as the most important among students with higher

computer skill levels since they are greatly influenced by price and quality of products.

Christian & France (2005) proves that customers satisfied the most were privacy (Technology

factor), Merchandising (Product factor), and convenience (Shopping factor); also followed by

trust, delivery, usability, product customization, product quality and security. Surprisingly,


security was chosen as the last choice comparing to others. This was assumed that security is

perceived as a standard attribute in any websites so other attributes take priority once customers

have to choose the site to shop from.

Case, Burns, and Dick (2001) suggest that internet knowledge, income, and education level are

especially powerful predictors of Internet purchases among university students according to an

online survey of 425 U.S. undergraduate and MBA students. Ho and Wu (1999) discover that

there are positive relationships between online shopping behavior and five categories of factors,

which include e-store, logistical support, product characteristics, websites, technological

characteristics, information characteristics and homepage presentation.

David J. Reibstein (2002) has studied about factors attracting customers to the site and factors

being able to retain customers by mainly considering the role of price. Interestingly, e-shopping

site using low prices or price promotions to attract customers do mostly tend to draw price-

sensitive customers who are well known as having low loyalty. Factors’ motivating the

youngsters to shop the commodity product in the cyber-shop examined includes fashion

statement, demographic, price, choice & reviews by other friends.

On the other hand, convenience factor is consistent with the research of Eyong and Sean (2002),

“Designing Effective cyber store user interface”. The factors significant in this study are

1) Convenient and dependable shopping - Convenience, Guaranteed delivery, Secure transaction

mechanism.

2) Retailer Reliability – Dependable product, Competitive price, Store Policy.

3) Additional Information availability – Information of the online store, Production, Promotion,

Other customers’ testimonials, frequently asked questions (FAQs) section.

4) Tangibility and variety of merchandise – Proper size of picture of merchandise, a good quality

picture of merchandise, what’s new section, Broad product variety.

The online retailers do need to clearly state about the guarantee of on-time delivery and risk-free,

hassle-free return in their websites. Also, following what they promise to the customers will


notably increase the satisfaction. A clear explanation of specific policies will satisfy customer

better and trust the site.

Panakul (2001) and Chulathummakul et al. (2000) found that Product quality is counted as

the first priority in stimulating online purchase in Indians, Product Perception which comprises

of Variety and Price.

After a thorough review of literature available on the factors affecting the level of customer

satisfaction in online shopping, it was found that with respect to the field of study to be

considered here, the work will mainly be based on the study of S. L. Jarvenpaa and P. A.

Todd, “Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on the World Wide Web,” International

Journal of Electronic Commerce, pp. 59-88, (1996).

In order to particularly discover the influence of each antecedent factor, the research model is

designed to study the influence of each attribute separately.


CHAPTER-3

RESEARCH DESIGN

3.1 NEED FOR THE STUDY

3.2 NEED FOR THE STUDY

3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.3.1 SOURCES OF DATA

2.3.1.1 PRIMARY SOURCE

2.3.1.2 SECONDARY SOURCES

3.3.2 SAMPLES

3.4 INSTRUMENTS USED


CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH DESIGN

3.1 NEED OF THE STUDY

Online shopping has become a unique and easy to use way of buying all types of products online

at just one click. Internet banking, debit cards & cash on delivery have made buying online a

great experience.

In a hill station like Shimla, though there is an eminent presence of multi-brand retail outlets of

world –renowned brands, but still, variety & choice of products in different genres remains

missing. Today’s youth is quiet fashion conscious and wishing to experiment with all types of

available choices of brands. The unavailability of choice diverts his/her attention to online

shopping where wide range of choice is available at different prices.

The need for this study hence arose to determine the approximate level of satisfaction attained by

the youth of Shimla city in their online shopping activity.

3.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The present research work is designed to achieve the following specific objectives:-

To study the level of customer satisfaction in online shopping among the youth of Shimla

city.

To study the impact of online presence & buying behaviour of Shimla youth on level of

customer satisfaction.

To find out which e-commerce portal has highest customer base among youth of Shimla

city.

3.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The present study has been carried out to study the level of customer satisfaction in online

shopping among the youth of Shimla city.


3.3.1 SOURCES OF DATA

The study is based on both primary and secondary sources.

3.3.1.1 Primary source

The primary study was conducted in various suburbs of Shimla, capital city of Himachal

Pradesh. The sample of 100 youth has been randomly selected from localities in places like

Kasumpti, Pathaghati, New Shimla, Chotta Shimla, Sanjauli, Summerhill, Himland, Totu, Lower

Bazaar, Lakkar Bazaar, & Chaura Maidan. In order to obtain the required information, a well

designed questionnaire was administered to potential respondents through Offline & Online

media. The questionnaire covered different aspects of youth categorized in four genres namely

demographic information, online presence, buying behaviour & customer satisfaction. The

information thus collected was analyzed with the help of proficient statistical tools and

techniques.

3.3.1.2 Secondary source

The secondary data was collected after a thorough study of different research papers that have

been published on the similar topics. Various Research & educational websites, National and

International Surveys that have been conducted earlier were also used to frame the questionnaire.

3.3.2 SAMPLES

Sampling Technique

Random sampling technique has been used.

Sampling Area

Sampling area is Shimla city.

Sampling Unit

Sampling units are localities in places like Kasumpti, Pathaghati, New Shimla, Chotta

Shimla, Sanjauli, Summerhill, Himland, Totu, Lower Bazaar, Lakkar Bazaar, & Chaura Maidan.

Sample Size

A sample of 100 youth has been taken for the purpose of study.

3.4 INSTRUMENTS USED

The instruments used for calculations are MS Excel 2007 etc.


CHAPTER-4

DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE YOUTH

4.2 ONLINE PURCHASE

4.3 BUYING BEHAVIOUR



CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS

4.1 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE YOUTH

In order to collect the information to analyze the level of customer satisfaction in online

shopping among youth of Shimla, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The

demographical characteristics of respondents were collected keeping in view the six variables

such as gender, age, education level, current occupation, income per year and background. The

sample units were selected on the basis of convenience and judgment sampling methods.

Table-1 makes it clear that the respondents were 65% males and 35% females in the age group of

Under 18 (3%), 18-24 (78%), 25-30 (17%) and Above 30 (2%). The majority of respondents

were students (62%) with highest qualification as graduates (55%) and from urban background

(65.4%).

Table-1 Demographic profile of the sample (N=100)

ITEMS PARTICULARS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

GENDER Male 65 65

Female 35 35

AGE

Under 18 3 3

18-24 78 78

25-30 17 17

Above 30 2 2

HIGHEST FORMAL

EDUCATION

8th Grade or Less 0 0

Higher Secondary 0 0

Senior Secondary 4 4

Graduation 55 55

Post Graduation 40 40

Doctorate (Ph. D) 1 1

CURRENT

OCCUPATION

Student 62 62

Public Sector 7 7

Self-employed 3 3

Professional 24 24

Retired 0 0

Housewife 2 2

Others 2 2

TOTAL INCOME

PER YEAR

Less than Rs. 50,000 47 47

Rs. 50,000-Rs. 2,00,000 18 18

Rs. 2,00,000-Rs. 4,00,000 20 20

Rs. 4,00,000-Rs. 10,00,000 10 10

Greater than Rs. 10,00,000 5 5

BACKGROUND Rural 32 32

Urban 68 68


4.2 ONLINE PRESENCE

4.2.1 Table-2 Online Presence

1. Do you have easy access to Internet?

Yes 95

No 5

2. Which device do you use for accessing Internet?

Laptop 49

PC 6

Cyber Café 0

Simple Cellphone 6

Smart Phone 39

3. How much time do you spend on internet every day?

Less than 1 hour 14

1-2 hours 24

2-4 hours 39

5-8 hours 12

More than 8 hours 11

4. What is your main objective behind internet usage?

Social Networking 32

Accessing E-mail 8

Education/Research 26

Surfing 18

Online Shopping 6

Work/Business 10

5. What Mode of Payment do you use for making Online Payments?

Debit Cards 56

Credit Cards 14

Internet Banking 23

Paypal 7

Table-2 above shows the online presence of the respondents wherein 95% respondents stated

that they have very easy access to internet. A maximum of 49% respondents stated that they

accessed internet through their Laptop followed by 39% who used smartphones to access

internet. A highest number of respondents (39%) used internet daily for 2-4 hours. The main

objective of internet usage was found to be Social networking with 32% respondents choosing

the same followed by Online shopping (26%) & education/Research (18%). Debit cards were

selected as the most preferred mode of online payment with 56% responses.


4.3 BUYING BEHAVIOUR

The buying behaviour of the customers was studied through a specialized section in the

questionnaire based on six questions. Each question mentioned below depicts the behaviour of a

customer while buying a product online.

4.3.1 Are you aware of the Concept of Online Shopping? (N=100)

YES 97 NO 3

Figure 1 Awareness regarding Online Shopping

The Figure 1 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100 respondents, 97% were

aware of the concept of online shopping. This simply explains the level of awareness regarding

Online shopping among the youth of Shimla city. The youth is very much aware of the concept

and hence goes for online shopping owing to a number of inherent advantages.

97%

3%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Yes No


4.3.2 How often do you shop online? (N=100)

Twice a Week 2

Once a Week 9

Fortnightly 4

Monthly 39

Bi-Monthly 11

Once in Six Months 35

The Figure 2 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100, highest number of

respondents (39%) purchased online at least once in a month. This high frequency level of online

purchases makes it clear that the youth of Shimla city are very much interested in online

purchasing and hence undertake online shopping at least once a month. The availability of vast

choice and convenience make online shopping a preferred trend amongst youth.

2 9

4

35

11

39

Frequency of Online shopping

Twice a week

Once a week

Fortnightly

Monthly

Bi-monthly

Once in six months

Figure 2 Frequency of Online Shopping


4.3.3 Why you prefer Online Shopping over Retail Shopping? (N=100)

Convenient 21 Consumer reviews 8

Low Price 21 Guarantee/Warrantee 0

Time Saving 22 After sales services 1

Wide range of choice 27

Figure 3 Preferences for Online Shopping

The Figure 3 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100; there is a neck to neck

rating for the factors which motivate the buyers to purchase online. 27% respondents said they

prefer online shopping because of the wide range of choice available. Whereas, 22% said online

shopping is time saving followed by a rating 21% each for convenience & low price. The

fashion-freak youth prefers to choose from a wide range of choice available which is missing in

normal retail outlets. Hence, they prefer online shopping over traditional shopping. Online

shopping is time saving, convenient & available at low price. Hence, online shopping is

preferred by youth over traditional shopping.

Preference for Online Shopping

Convenient

Low Price

Time Saving

Wide range of choice

Consumer reviews

Guarantee/warrantee

After sales services


4.3.4 Which web portal do you prefer for Online Shopping? (N=100)

FlipKart.com 39

Ebay.in 7

Amazon.in 8

Snapdeal.com 16

Shopclues.com 0

Myntra.com 20

HomeShop18.com 4

Naaptol.com 0

Jabong.com 6

Tradus.in 0

Figure 4 Most Preferred Online Shopping Portal

The Figure 4 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100; maximum number of

youngsters (39%) prefers Flipkart.com to fulfill their online shopping needs followed by

Myntra.com (20%) which plays the role of market challenger. With the recent acquisition of

Myntra.com by Flipkart.com, as per this survey, the total market share of Flipkart become 59%

which makes it the undisputed market leader of Online Shopping market.

Thus, the survey helps determine that Flipkart.com is the most preferred Online Shopping

Portal among the youth of Shimla city.

39

7 8

16

0

20

4

0

6

0

Most preferred Online Shopping Portal

Flipkart

E-Bay

Amazon

Snapdeal

Shopclues

Myntra

Homeshop18

Naaptol

Jabong

Tradus


4.3.5 What sort of products do you prefer buying online? (N=100)

Figure 5 Products bought Online

The Figure 5 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100; maximum number of

youngsters (50%) prefers to buy Clothing/Footwear online followed by Electronic gadgets (28%)

& books (12%). The fashion statement of Shimla youth is hence based on the online purchasing

of clothing/footwear as wide variety of branded products is available at comparable prices.

12

50

28

2 1 2 1 0 4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Products bought online

Books 12

Clothing/Footwear 50

Electronic Gadgets 28

Household Items 2

Cosmetics 1

Sports/Fitness 2

Toys 1

Furniture 0

Others 4



The entire research study was undertaken with the aim of determining the level of customer

satisfaction based certain factors that affect the customer satisfaction in online shopping gathered

by detailed literature review. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions based on a study model

propounded by Jarvenpaa and Todd (1996-97).

Likert scale was used to make the analysis more effective & authentic.

The detailed analysis of the responses received for each question asked is presented and analyzed

below.

4.4.1 The quality of products purchased online is highly satisfactory

Response Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Frequency 16 55 25 2 2

Figure 6 Responses for Quality of Products

INFERENCE: The Figure 6 above clearly depicts that from amongst a sample of 100;

maximum number of respondents (55%) Agree with the fact that they are highly satisfied with

the Quality of products that they buy Online.

16

55

25

2 2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree


4.4.2 The speed of Delivery of products is fast


12 59 24 4 1

Figure 7 Responses on Delivery Speed

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 7 states that with respect to the speed of

delivery of the products, 59% respondents Agree to the fact that the Speed of delivery of the

products is fast. 24% respondents are neutral to the speed of delivery of products purchased

online whereas, 12% Strongly Agree to the fact that speed of delivery is fast.

12

59

24

4 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70



4.4.3 The products available online are priced low in comparison to traditional

market


16 55 25 2 2

Figure 8 Responses for Low Price of Online products

INFERENCE: The inference drawn herein from Figure 9 states that taking into consideration

the cost of products purchased online, the cost is much lower as compared to the traditional

market. 55% respondents Agree to the fact that the cost of products purchased online is lesser

than those purchased from retail outlet. 28% respondents are neutral to the cost of products

purchased online, whereas, 15% Strongly Agree to the fact that cost of products purchased online

in low.

28

55

15

2 0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



4.4.4 The difference between your expectations and real products would influence

your satisfaction level


20 51 29 0 0

Figure 9 Responses for difference between your expectations and real products

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 9 states that studying the impact the difference

between expectations and real product will have on customer satisfaction, 51% respondents

Agree to the fact that their level of satisfaction towards online shopping would be negatively

affected if there is a difference between their expectations and the actual real product received by

them. 29% respondents are neutral to the difference between their expectations and the actual

product received by them whereas, 20% Strongly Agree to the fact that there would be

dissatisfaction if there is difference between expectations and real products.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

20

51

29

0 0


4.4.5 You will never repurchase from the same company if there is a great

difference between expected and the real product


35 42 17 4 2

Figure 10 Responses for denial to repurchase if difference between expected and the real product

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 10 states that studying the fact that the

customer would not repurchase from a company if there is a difference between expectations and

real product, 42% respondents Agree to the fact that they will not repurchase from the company

if there is a difference between expected and real product received. 42% Strongly Agree to the

fact that they would not purchase from the company in case the company delivers a product

different from expected one whereas 17% respondents are neutral to repurchase in case of

difference between their expectations and the actual product received by them.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45


35

42

17

4 2


4.4.6 The after sales services offered by the company are highly satisfactory


7 33 50 8 2

Figure 11 Responses for after sales services

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 11 states that studying the fact that the after

sales services offered by the companies are highly satisfactory. 50% respondents were Neutral to

the after sales services meaning that they were neither very much satisfied not dissatisfied with

the after sales services offered and hence after sales services do not affect the level of customer

satisfaction in online shopping. 33% respondents Agree to the fact that after sales services

offered by companies are really very satisfactory whereas 8% Disagree with the satisfaction level

of after sales services.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50


7

33

50

8

2


4.4.7 The customer care services offered are highly satisfactory


10 47 34 6 3

Figure 12 Responses to Satisfaction towards Customer Care service

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 12 states that studying the fact that the

customer care services offered by the companies are highly satisfactory. 47% respondents Agree

to the statement that the customer care services offered are highly satisfactory. 34% respondents

were neutral to the customer care services offered by online selling companies whereas 10%

Strongly Agree to the fact that the customer care services offered are highly satisfactory.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree

10

47

34

6 3


4.4.8 The process of making online payments is fast & easy


41 46 10 3 0

Figure 13 Responses on making online payment

INFERENCE: The inference drawn from Figure 13 states that the process of making online

payment is fast & easy. 46% respondents Agree to the statement that the process of making

online payment is fast & easy. 41% respondents Strongly Agree with the fact that the process of

making online payments is fast & easy. 10% respondents were neutral to the process of making

online payments.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%


41 46 10 3

0


4.4.9 There is no difficulty in returning/replacing the product bought online


7 38 33 17 5

Figure 14 Responses on returning/replacing the product bought online

INFERENCE: Figure 14 infers to the fact that there is no difficulty in returning/replacing of the

products bought online. 38% respondents Agree to the statement that there is absolutely no

difficulty in returning/replacing the products bought online. There returning policy and ease of

replacement is quiet high. 33% respondents are Neutral towards the returning/replacement of

products bought online whereas, ironically 17% Disagree with the statement meaning that there

is difficulty in returning/replacing the products bought online.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40


38


4.4.10 Online shopping, at times, provides eligibility to exciting discounts/offers


25 65 8 2 0

Figure 15 Responses to Online Discounts/offers

INFERENCE: Figure 15 infers to the fact that online shopping also provides eligibility to online

discounts/offers. 65% respondents Agree to the statement that online shopping also provides

eligibility to various other relating discounts/offers. 25% respondents Strongly Agree with the

same fact of online discounts/offers whereas, 8% respondents are Neutral towards the eligibility

for online discounts/offers.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


25

65

8 2 0


4.4.11 You will recommend & motivate your other friends to purchase online


21 57 17 4 1

Figure 6 Responses on recommendation to other friends for purchasing online

INFERENCE: Figure 16 infers to the fact that the respondent would recommend his other

friends to purchase online. 65% respondents Agree to the fact that they would recommend the

online purchase to their friends. Word of mouth communication is the best way a product can be

promoted. One satisfied customer promotes the product to 10 other people in his peer group.

21% respondents Strongly Agree with the same fact of recommending online purchase to his/her

friends whereas, 17% respondents are Neutral towards recommending online shopping to their

friends.

21

57

17

4 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



4.4.12 A variety of choice helps choosing the best in class from amongst various

brands


33 58 8 1 0

Figure 17 Responses on availability of choice from amongst various brands

INFERENCE: Figure 17 infers to the fact that the respondent has a wide variety of choice

available to choose the best in class from amongst various brands available online. 58%

respondents Agree to the fact that they have a choice of choosing the best from a variety of

brands. 33% respondents Strongly Agree with the same fact of availability of choice amongst

various brands to choose the best in class whereas, 8% were Neutral towards the availability of

choice from amongst various brands.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


33

58

8

1 0


4.4.13 You are overall satisfied with your experience of shopping online


22 57 18 2 1

Figure 18 Responses on Overall Customer Satisfaction

INFERENCE: Figure 18 infers to the fact that the respondents are overall satisfied with their

online shopping experience.

57% respondents expressed agreement with the statement that they were overall satisfied with

their online shopping experience. 22% respondents expressed strong agreement with the

statement that they were overall satisfied with their online shopping experience. Summing up the

responses, 79% respondents expressed overall satisfaction towards their online shopping

experience. 18% expressed neutral behaviour and only 3% expressed dissatisfaction.

22

57

18 2

1

Overall Customer Satisfaction

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree


4.5 TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS

Usually, in quantitative study tests of significance are used to decide whether certain inferences

can be drawn regarding any differences or relationships between variables. To do these

significant tests MS Excel 2007 software has been used. The significance (or p-value), which is

the probability of the null hypothesis (H0), being accepted. Hence the level of probability of 5%

or less is commonly taken as an appropriate level for most general research including this study.

As a result, H0 is accepted if the significance level is greater than 0.05 (p > 0.05)

H0 is rejected if the significance level is less than 0.05 (p < 0.05)

Thus, combining all the customer satisfaction factors under one head, the hypothesis of this study

is: H1: The youth of Shimla city are overall satisfied with their experience of Online Shopping

Null Hypothesis (H0): The youth of Shimla city are not highly satisfied with their experience of

Online Shopping

Alternate Hypothesis (HA): The youth of Shimla city are highly satisfied with their experience

of Online Shopping

Where the term “overall” includes following variables under study: Quality of products, Speed of

delivery, Low prices, difference between expected & real products, repurchases option, after

sales services, customer care services, easy online payments, retuning/replacing, special

discounts/offers, recommending others to buy online, variety of choice available and overall

satisfaction.

The MS Excel 2007 outputs for normal curve and one sample test for hypothesis-1 are shown in

the Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. As Likert scale was used in the main research question of

this study where 1 = strongly Agree, 2 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Disagree, and 5 = Strongly

Disagree as 3 (neutral) is the middle point of this scale. So, 3 has been chosen as test value for

this one sample t-test.


Table 1- One Sample Statistics Variable N Mean St. Deviation St. Error Mean

Quality of products 100 2.19 0.80019 0.080019

Speed of delivery 100 2.23 0.75015 0.075015

Low prices 100 1.91 0.71202 0.071202

Difference between expected & real 100 2.09 0.69769 0.069769

Repurchases option 100 1.96 0.93117 0.093117

After sales services 100 2.65 0.80873 0.80873

Customer care services 100 2.45 0.86894 0.086894

Easy online payments 100 1.75 0.75712 0.075712

Retuning/replacing 100 2.75 0.98857 0.098857

Special discounts/offers 100 1.87 0.63014 0.063014

Recommending others to buy online 100 2.07 0.79462 0.079462

Variety of choice available 100 1.77 0.63333 0.063333

Overall satisfaction 100 2.03 0.75819 0.075819

Table 2- One Sample Test

Factor t df Signifiance

(2-tailed)

Mean

Difference

95% Confidence

Difference Interval

Lower Upper

Quality of products 10.1226 99 0.000 0.81 1.38 3

Speed of delivery 10.26461 99 0.000 0.77 1.46 3

Low prices 15.30856 99 0.000 1.09 0.82 3

Difference b/w expected & real 13.04304 99 0.000 0.91 1.18 3

Repurchases option 11.16874 99 0.000 1.04 0.92 3

After sales services 0.432777 99 0.6662 0.35 2.3 3

Customer care services 6.329551 99 0.000 0.55 1.9 3

Easy online payments 16.50993 99 0.000 1.25 0.5 3

Retuning/replacing 2.528905 99 0.1392 0.25 2.5 3

Special discounts/offers 17.93252 99 0.000 1.13 0.74 3

Recommending online buying 11.70371 99 0.000 0.93 1.14 3

Variety of choice available 19.42115 99 0.000 1.23 0.54 3

Overall satisfaction 12.79363 99 0.000 0.97 1.06 3


From Table 2, it has been seen that the significant value of all variable is less than 0.05 except

the variables After sales service & Returning/replacing whose values (0.6667) & (0.1392) are

greater than 0.005. Since, the hypothesis (H1) was developed based on these variables where the

significant value of 11 variables out of 13 (Quality of products, Speed of delivery, Low prices,

difference between expected & real products, repurchases option, after sales services, customer

care services, easy online payments, retuning/replacing, special discounts/offers, recommending

others to buy online, variety of choice available and overall satisfaction) are less than 0.05; as a

result null hypothesis (H0) is rejected and alternative hypothesis (HA) is accepted. So for

hypothesis H1, it can be said that the youth of Shimla city are highly satisfied with their

experience of Online Shopping.


CHAPTER-5

CONCLUSION

1.1 FINDINGS

1.2 CONCLUSION


CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSION

5.1 FINDINGS As the research concluded, a number of findings were obtained. Undertaking the study on a

random sample of 100 youth from Shimla city helped us reach some findings which clearly tell

us about the demographic interest, online presence, buying behaviour & most importantly the

level of customer satisfaction achieved by youngsters in online buying.

65% males responded to the questionnaire in comparison to 35% females showing the

participation of males in demographically much more active as compared to females.

Maximum number of respondents (78%) were from the age group 18 to 24 expressing their

immediate interest in responding to a questionnaire about online shopping, their inherent

interest.

Maximum number of respondents (55%) were found to be graduates followed by post

graduates (40%) inferring that educated youth was much keen & interested in online

shopping.

Maximum respondents were found to be the residents of urban area (68%).

It was found that maximum number of respondents (95%) had easy access to internet mainly

through laptops (49%) or smartphones (39%) which makes internet accessing anybody’s

cup of tea.

Most of them (39%) used Internet for 2 to 4 hours daily mainly with the purpose of social

networking (32%) or education/research work (26%). Debit card was selected to be the

most preferred mode (56%) of online payment.

Majority of participants (97%) agreed that they were aware of the concept of online shopping

and undertook online shopping at least once a month (39%).

Online shopping is preferred over tradition shopping owing to major factors like wide range

of choice (27%), time saving (22%), convenience (21%) & low price (21%).

Flipkart.com was found to be the most preferred online shopping portal (39%) followed by

Myntra.com (20%).

Majority online purchases were made in the genres of clothing/footwear (50%), electronic

gadgets (28%) & books (12%).


Majority of respondents were found to be highly satisfied (71%) with the quality of

products bought online.

Maximum respondents (71%) were found to be satisfied with speed of delivery of products

purchased online.

Majority of respondents (83%) agreed to the fact that the products purchased online have

comparatively low prices as compared to traditional market.

Majority of respondents (71%) were of the idea that a difference between expected &

actual product would negatively affect their level of satisfaction.

Owing to the difference in expected and real product, maximum number of respondents

(77%) agreed that they would never repurchase any product from the same portal.

Majority of respondents (50%) were found to be neutral towards the after sales services.

Majority of respondents (57%) were found to be satisfied with the customer care services.

Maximum numbers of respondents (87%) were of the idea that making online payment is

quiet fast & easy.

Majority of respondents (45%) agreed that they had no difficulty in returning/replacing the

products.

Largest chunk or respondents (90%) agreed with the fact that online shopping also provided

eligibility to special discounts/offers.

Majority of respondents (78%) stated that they would recommend online shopping to their

friends too.

Largest chunk of respondents (91%) agreed with the fact that online shopping provided a

variety of choice to choose the best in the class from amongst various brands.

The final and the most important finding of the study was that a majority of respondents

(79%) were found to be overall completely satisfied with online shopping experience.


5.2 CONCLUSION

The endeavor of this study was to determine the level of customer satisfaction in online shopping

among the youth of Shimla city. Various factors, based on previous researches, were taken into

consideration and each one was analyzed with respect to the data collected from a random

sample of 100 respondents.

Not only the level of customer satisfaction, but also information like demographic framework,

online presence & buying behaviour of the customers was analyzed.

More number of males were found to be active in responding to the questionnaire in comparison

to females. The age group of 18 to 24 years responded to the questionnaire providing maximum

responses. Maximum respondents were found to be students who had graduation as their highest

formal educational level.

While responding to questions regarding online presence, 95% respondents agreed that they had

easy access to internet which they mainly accessed using a Laptop or a smartphone for 4-6 hours

daily mainly for social networking or online shopping only. They also preferred debit card as the

mode of making online payments.

Responding to questions regarding their buying behaviour, they agreed that they were aware of

the concept of online shopping and spent approx. Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 monthly on making

online purchases. Clothing/footwear, electronic gadgets & books were found to be most bought

products & Flipkart.com was found to be the market leader followed by Myntra.com in online

shopping arena.

It was concluded that a 79% people were satisfied with product quality, cost, after sales

services, customer care & variety of products offered by the online shopping (e-commerce)

portals.


REFERENCES


REFERENCES

[1] Rashed Al Karim (2013), “Customer Satisfaction in Online Shopping: a study into the

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[2] Abu Bashar & Mohammad Wasiq (2013), “E-satisfaction and E-loyalty of Consumers

Shopping Online”, Global Sci-Tech, 5 (1) January-March 2013; pp. 6-19

[3] Taweerat Jiradilok, Settapong Malisuwan, Navneet Madan, and Jesada Sivaraks

(2014), “The Impact of Customer Satisfaction on Online Purchasing: A Case Study Analysis in

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[4] R. L. Keeney (1999), “The value of Internet commerce to the customer,” Management

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[5] D. J. Reibstein (2002), “What attracts customers to online stores, and what keeps them

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[6] E. Turban and D. King (2003), Introduction to e-commerce: Prentice Hall, 2003.

[7] L. C. Schaupp and F. Bélanger (2005), “A conjoint analysis of online consumer

satisfaction,” Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 6, pp. 95-111, 2005

[8] T. Dillon and H. Reif (2004), “Factors Influencing Consumers’ Factors Influencing

Consumers E-Commerce Commodity Purchases,” Information Technology, Learning and

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[9] V. McKinney and K. Yoon (2002), “Mariam Zahedi, the Measurement of Web-Customer

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[10] S. L. Jarvenpaa and P. A. Todd (1996), “Consumer reactions to electronic shopping on

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[11] R. E. Goldsmith, E. Bridges, and J. Freiden (2001), “Characterizing online buyers: who

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[12] A. Vellido, P. J. Lisboa, and K. Meehan (2000), “Quantitative characterization and

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[13] S. J. Arnold, J. Handelman, and D. J. Tigert (1996), “Organizational legitimacy and

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pp. 878-894, 2007

[15] Jayawardhena, C., Wright, L.T. & Dennis, C. (2007), “Consumers online intentions,

orientations and segmentation”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 35

(6), pp 515-526, 2007


BIBLIOGRAPHY


BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS:

Kotler, P. & Keller, L. K., “Marketing Management” 13th Ed., New Jersey: Pearson Education

Ltd.

Woodruff, Robert, “Know your Customer: New approaches to understanding customer values

& satisfaction”, John Wiley & Sons (1996)

Deshpande, Sameer & Lee, Nancy R., “Social Marketing in India” Atlantic Publishers

Hill, Nigel & Alexander, Jim, “The Handbook of Customer satisfaction & loyalty

measurement”, Gower Publishing Ltd. (2006)

Kothari C.R., “Research Methodology”, New Age International Publishers, New Delhi (2011)

WEBLINKS:

www.businessdictionary.com/definition/customer-satisfaction.html

www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol11-issue6/B01161320.pdf

www.cisjournal.org/journalofcomputing/archive/vol5no1/vol5no1_9.pdf

www.academia.edu/2968801/Online_Shopping_and_Consumer_Behaviour_E-

satisfaction_and_E-loyalty_of_Consumers_Shopping_Online

www.joebm.com/papers/89-A00007.pdf

www.business.uconn.edu/users/sulin/pom-ba.pdf

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050910004229

www.aiars.org/ijmp/journals/.../PA_IJMP_20130127.pdf

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/customer-satisfaction.html

http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol11-issue6/B01161320.pdf

http://www.cisjournal.org/journalofcomputing/archive/vol5no1/vol5no1_9.pdf

http://www.academia.edu/2968801/Online_Shopping_and_Consumer_Behaviour_E-satisfaction_and_E-loyalty_of_Consumers_Shopping_Online

http://www.academia.edu/2968801/Online_Shopping_and_Consumer_Behaviour_E-satisfaction_and_E-loyalty_of_Consumers_Shopping_Online

http://www.joebm.com/papers/89-A00007.pdf

http://www.business.uconn.edu/users/sulin/pom-ba.pdf

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050910004229

http://www.aiars.org/ijmp/journals/.../PA_IJMP_20130127.pdf


ANNEXURE


QUESTIONNAIRE Customer Satisfaction in Online Shopping among

Youth of Shimla City

Please spare some time from your busy schedule to fill up this questionnaire. The information gathered will be used as data for the Research Project. Tick (√) only one option whichever is applicable/most suitable.

Name: _____________________________________________ A. DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION 1. What is your Gender? Male ( ) Female ( ) 2. What is your age? Under 18 ( ) 18-24 ( ) 25-30 ( ) 31-40 ( ) Above 40 ( ) 3. What is your highest level of formal education? 8th Grade or Less ( ) Higher Secondary ( ) Senior Secondary ( ) Graduation ( ) Post Graduation ( ) M. Phil ( ) Doctorate (Ph. D) ( )

4. What is your current occupation?

Student ( ) Public Sector ( ) Self-employed ( ) Professional ( ) Retired ( ) Housewife ( ) Others ( )


5. What is your approx. total income per year?

Less than Rs. 50,000 ( ) Rs. 50,000 – Rs. 2,00,000 ( ) Rs. 2,00,000 – Rs. 4,00,000 ( ) Rs. 4,00,000 – Rs. 10,00,000 ( ) Greater than Rs. 10,00,000 ( ) 6. You belong to which background? Rural ( ) Urban ( )

B. ONLINE PRESENCE 1. Do you have easy access to Internet? Yes ( ) No ( ) 2. Which device do you use for accessing Internet? Laptop ( ) PC ( ) Cyber Café ( ) Simple Mobile ( ) Smart Phone ( ) 3. How much time do you spend on internet every day? Less than 1 hour ( ) 1-2 hours ( ) 2-4 hours ( ) 5-8 hours ( ) More than 8 hours ( ) 4. What is your main objective behind internet usage? Social Networking ( ) Accessing E-mail ( ) Education/Research ( ) Surfing ( ) Online Shopping ( ) Work/Business ( )


5. What Mode of Payment do you use for making Online Payments? Debit Cards ( ) Credit Cards ( ) Internet Banking ( ) Paypal ( )

C. BUYING BEHAVIOUR 1. Are you aware of the Concept of Online Shopping? Yes ( ) No ( ) 2. How often do you Shop online? Twice a Week ( ) Once a Week ( ) Fortnightly ( ) Monthly ( ) Bi-Monthly ( ) Once in Six Months ( ) 3. Why you prefer Online Shopping over Retail Shopping? Convenient ( ) Low Price ( ) Time Saving ( ) Wide range of choice ( ) Consumer reviews ( ) Guarantee/Warrantee ( ) After sales services ( ) 4. Which web portal do you prefer for Online Shopping? FlipKart.com ( ) Ebay.in ( ) Amazon.in ( ) Snapdeal.com ( ) Shopclues.com ( ) Myntra.com ( ) HomeShop18.com ( ) Naaptol.com ( )


Jabong.com ( ) Tradus.in ( ) 5. What sort of products do you prefer buying online? Books ( ) Clothing/Footwear ( ) Electronic Gadgets ( ) Household Items ( ) Cosmetics ( ) Sports & Fitness Equipments ( ) Toys ( ) Furniture ( ) Others (Please Specify) ( ) 6. How much approx. amount do you spend on a single Online Purchase? Less than Rs. 200 ( ) Rs. 201 – Rs. 500 ( ) Rs. 501 – Rs. 1,000 ( ) Rs. 1,001 – Rs. 2,000 ( ) Rs. 2,001 – Rs. 5,000 ( ) More than Rs. 5,000 ( ) D. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 1. The quality of products purchased Online is highly satisfactory Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( )

2. The speed of Delivery of products is fast Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( )


3. The products available online are priced low in comparison to traditional market

Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 4. The difference between your expectations and real products would

influence your satisfaction level Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 5. You will never repurchase from the same company if there is a great

difference between expected and the real product Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 6. The after sales services offered by the company are highly satisfactory Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( )

7. The customer care services offered are highly satisfactory Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( )


8. The process of making online payment is quiet fast & easy Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 9. There is no difficulty in returning/replacing a product in case of

dissatisfaction Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 10. Buying some products also gives eligibility for exciting discounts/offers Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 11. You will recommend & motivate your other friends to purchase online Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 12. A variety of choice available helps choosing the best in class from

amongst various brands Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( )


13. You are overall satisfied with your experience of shopping online Strongly Agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neutral ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly Disagree ( ) 14. Any other factor, as per your knowledge, which affects the customer

satisfaction in Online Shopping, Please Mention Below

Thanks for sparing your precious time. Have a nice day.

customer satisfaction in online shopping among youth of shimla city vishal sharma (2527

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