“DISSERTATION REPORT”

“A study on performance of select online shopping portals

in India”

“Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of Post Graduate Diploma in
Management” (PGDM)

Jagannath International Management School

Kalkaji, New Delhi

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Prof. (Dr.) S K BREJA G ROHIT

Roll No.-77

Batch 2017-19

1
 DECLARATION

This is to certify that the work that forms the basis of this project “Performance of
Select Online Shopping Portals in India” is an Original work carried out by me and has
not been submitted anywhere else for the award of this Dissertation Project.

G ROHIT

2
 CONTENTS

S.No. Description Page

No.
1 List of Tables 4

2 Acknowledgement 7

3 8
Executive Summary

4 Introduction to topic 9

5 Company Profile 18

6 Literature Review 29

7 Research Objective & Methodology 31

8 Findings and Analysis 36

9 Conclusion & Recommendations 57

Conclusion 58
Recommendations 59

10 Appendix 60

11 Bibliography 65

3
 List of Tables and Figures

1. List of Tables

S Table No. Topic Page

No. No.
1. Table 1 Mergers and Acquisitions 12

2. Table 2 Literature Review 29

3. Table 3 Comparative analysis of e- 37

commerce websites on the
basis of 4 P’s of marketing

4 Table 4 SWOT Analysis 39

5 Table 5 Main purpose for using the 40

internet.
6 Table 6 Last time purchased by the 41
customer.
7 Table 7 The websites already used 42
or visited.
8 Table 8 The favorite e-commerce 43
website.
9 Table 9 Items mostly purchased on 44
the internet.
10 Table 10 The clarity of information 45
provided by websites.

4
11 Table 11 Time saving factor for 46
online shopping.

12 Table 12 Convenience factor for 47

online shopping.

13 Table 13 Security factor for online 48

shopping.

14 Table 14 The attractive offers and 49

deals by online shopping
sites.

15 Table 15 The most effective delivery 50

time and mode of payment.

16 Table 16 The time spend on online 51

shopping per month.

17 Table 17 Average spending per 52

month.
18 Table 18 Favorite mode of payment. 53

19 Table 19 The best marketing 54

approach to advertise an
e-commerce website.

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 2. List of Figures
S No. Figure No. Topic Page no.

1. Figure 1 Main purpose for using the internet. 40

2. Figure 2 Last time purchased by the customer. 41

3. Figure 3 The websites already used or visited. 42

4. Figure 4 The favorite e-commerce website. 43

5. Figure 5 Items mostly purchased on the internet. 44

6. Figure 6 The clarity of information provided by websites. 45

7. Figure 7 Time saving factor for online shopping. 46

8. Figure 8 Convenience factor for online shopping. 47

9. Figure 9 Security factor for online shopping. 48

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10. Figure 10 The attractive offers and deals by online 49
shopping sites.

11. Figure 11 The most effective delivery time and mode of 50

payment.

12. Figure 12 The time spend on online shopping per month. 51

13 Figure 13 Average spending per month. 52

14 Figure 14 Favorite mode of payment. 53

15 Figure 15 The best marketing approach to advertise an e- 54

commerce website.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

E-shop is a web based or online application on the internet where customer can
explore the online shopping and services of the company. The first and foremost
preference of the e-marketing companies is to keep their customer always aware of
their products and its prices. E-marketing company targets the customers and keep in
touch with them by getting data from every customer from all its branches and
resources, it may be through phone, mails, website or field. This data or details of its
customers can be used in implementing the business policies like marketing, services;
customers help desk or improving sales.

This project is based upon the E-commerce portals wherein study about the
performance of select shopping portals in India is taken into consideration. Three
companies: Amazon, FlipKart and Snapdeal have been studied.

In this project report, the review of the satisfaction of online shoppers and the factors
impacting the behavior of customers while buying the products through online
shopping sites has been presented. The study is of exploratory nature and involves
descriptive research. Survey of customers in Delhi-NCR has been conducted through
structured questionnaire to know their opinion about the on-line shopping portals.

The survey has indicated that on-line shoppers are having good experience in on-line
shopping. Amazon has emerged as the most popular website among the customers.
Clothing is the favorite segment where the maximum purchases are done where the
proper information about the products are mentioned on the website; it is cost effective
and time saving as well.

8
INTRODUCTION

9
 INTRODUCTION

Online shopping (sometimes known as e-tail from "electronic retail" 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 are Alibaba, Amazon.com, and eBay.

India has an internet users base of about 475 million as of July 2018, about 40% of
the population. Despite being the second-largest user base in world, only behind
China (650 million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low
compared to markets like the United States (266 million, 84%), or France (54m, 81%),
but is growing at an unprecedented rate, adding around 6 million new entrants every
month. The industry consensus is that growth is at an inflection point.

In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75%
of the e-retail activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-
tail items) is growing much faster than in-country supply from authorized distributors
and e-commerce offerings.

In 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India

were Amazon, FlipKart, ShopClues, Paytm, Snapdeal and e-bay.

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6
billion in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 79% of
India's e-commerce market is travel related. According to Google India, there were 35
million online shoppers in India in 2014 Q1 and was expected to cross 100 million

10
mark by end of year 2016. CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics
and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of sales.

According to a study conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, the e-
commerce sector is estimated to reach Rs. 211,005 crores by December 2016. The
study also stated that online travel accounts for 61% of the e-commerce market.

According to Google India Research, by 2021 India is expected to generate $100

billion online retail revenue out of which $35 billion will be through fashion e-
commerce. Online apparel sales are set to grow four times in coming years.

India's retail market is estimated as per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus
Capital, the Indian e-commerce market is estimated at Rs 28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion)
for the year 2011. Online travel constitutes a sizable portion (87%) of this market
today. Online travel market in India had a growth rate of 22% over the next 4 years
and reach Rs 54,800 crore ($12.2 billion) in size by 2015. Indian e-tailing industry is
estimated at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and estimated to grow to Rs
53,000 crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015.

Overall e-commerce market had reached Rs 1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the
year 2015 with both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big
segment in e-commerce is mobile/DTH recharge with nearly 1 million transactions
daily by operator websites.

A new sector in e-commerce is online medicine, selling complementary and alternative

medicine or prescription medicine online. There are no dedicated online pharmacy
laws in India and it is permissible to sell prescription medicine online with a legitimate
license.

Online sales of luxury products like jewelry also increased over the years. Most of the
retail brands have also started entering into the market and they expect at least 20%
sales through online in next 2–3 years.

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Table-1: Mergers and Acquisitions

Date Merger/Acquisition Companies Involved Cost

May
Acquisition FlipKart acquires Myntra US$300 million
2014

April
Acquisition Snapdeal acquires FreeCharge US$400 million
2015

June
Acquisition Myntra acquires Jabong US$70 million
2016

July Axis
Acquisition US$60 million
2017 Bank acquires FreeCharge

April
Acquisition FlipKart acquires PhonePe Undisclosed
2016

May ₹120
Acquisition Infibeam buys Unicommerce
2018 crore (US$17 million)

May
Acquisition Walmart acquires FlipKart US$16 billion
2018

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Product selection

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.

Payment method

Online shoppers commonly use a 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:

Billing to mobile phones and landlines

Cash on delivery (C.O.D.)

Debit card

Credit card

Electronic money of various types

Gift cards

Postal money order

Net banking

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Product delivery

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

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

delivery is typically done by the public postal system or a retail courier such as FedEx,
UPS, DHL, or TNT.

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 a locator software and picks
up the delivered product at the selected location.

Market size

Online shoppers are expected to increase from 20 million in 2013 to 40 million in 2016,
as an additional 200 million Indians will access the Internet in the next three years,
with majority of them coming online through smartphones, indicates a new joint study
by Assocham and Grant Thornton.

According to the study, a significantly low (19 percent) but fast-growing Internet
population of 243 million in 2014 is an indicator of the sector's huge growth potential
in India. This underlines the potential of Internet use in India and as Internet
penetration increases, the potential of growth of the e-commerce industry will also
increase, it says.

It also predicts that the Indian e-commerce market is estimated to grow at a

compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63 percent to reach $8.5 billion (Rs.
54,304 crores approximately) in 2016 on the back of growth in the penetration levels
of mobile and Internet and increased consumer demand.

14
"The number of users making online transactions has also grown exponentially, and
it is expected to increase from 11 million in 2011 to 38 million in 2015. Government of
India's plan to rebuild and modernize the Indian postal infrastructure and plan to
implement Digital India will also boost the e-commerce sector," says the study.

India's current dynamics are similar to what existed in China then - growing broadband
penetration, acceptance of online marketplaces, and lack of physical retail
infrastructure in many places due to high realty costs, it adds.

The study, titled 'Law & Technology: Evolving challenges as a result of fraud in e-
commerce sector', says online travel dominates the Indian e-commerce market
although online travel contributes a smaller share to the global e-commerce market.

"Online travel accounts for nearly 71 percent of the e-commerce business in India.
This business has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32 percent
between 2009 and 2013. E-tailing, on the other hand, accounts for only 8.7 percent of
organized retail and a minuscule 0.3 percent of total retail sales," the study shows.

The study also showed that the percentage of working women in India grew 43 percent
year-on-year in 2013, which constitutes 10 percent of the active online users in India.
The women focused share of e-commerce market will increase from 26 percent in
2013 to 35 percent in 2016, it predicts.

Market players

Fashion & Lifestyle

Sunglassesindia.com,Brandsndeals.com,Majorbrands.inPantaloons,Shoppersstop.c
om,Inkfruit.com,UtsavSarees.com,Globus,Zovi.com,BagsKart.com,Fetise.com,Orosil
ber.com,Violetbag.com,Bags109.com,Myntra.com,Elitify.com

Custom designed T-shirt

mug, calendar.Myntra.com,Zoomin.com, Snapfish.in, Picsquare.com

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Footwear

Yebhi.com, Metro Shoes, Bata Shoes, BeStylish, Goodsneakerspace.com, Babies,

Kids.

Mother care

Hushbabies.com,Firstcry.com,BalGopal.com,Kidloo.com,Babyoye.com,MyBabyCart.
com,Hoopos.com, Wowkart.com,Babyproducts.co.in.

Gifts, cakes etc.

Infibeam.com,Fernsnpetals.com,IndianGiftsPortal.com,Talash.com,GlimGifts.com,Gi
ftsandlifestyle.com,
Arteecraftee.com,Onamgifts.com,fngstore.com,Ganeshchaturthigifts.com,Janmashta
migifts.com.

Books

FlipKart.com,Landmarkonthenet.com,A1books.co.in,Bookchums.com.

Chocolates, Sweets and bakery items

Mithaimate.com,Justrufs.com.

Artwork auction

Saffronart.com.

Movie ticket bookingBookmyshow.com

PVRCinemas.com.

Rent a movie

BigFlix.com, Seventymm.com.

Online travel ticketing and hotel booking

Irctc.co.in, Redbus.in,MakeMyTrip.com,Yatra.com,TripAdvisor.in,ClearTrip.com,

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Airlines portals

Goindigo.in, Indian Airlines,Jetlite.com,Flykingfisher.com, Goair.in, Spicejet.com, Jet

airways.

B2C (Multiple products)

Ebay.in, India Times, Rediff Shopping, Big

bazaar,Homeshop18.com,Shop.zapak.com,Shop.in.com,

Tradeus.in,Indiaplaza.in,Egully.com,20north.com,
Timtara.com,YepmeShopping.com,Bigadda.com.

Deal a day

Snapdeal.com,Dealsandyou.com,Mydala.com,Koovs.com,
Grabbon.com,BindaasBargain.com,Taggle.com,SoSasta.com,Dealivore.com,Grako.i
n,Dealsonline4u.comBagittoday.com,99labels.com,Fashionandyou.com,Timesdeal.c
om,Rediff-DealHoJaye,Dealface.com,DealYantra.com.

Electronics, Gadgets, Watches, Phones

Dell.co.in,Ezone,EDigiWorld,BitFang.com,Letsbuy.com,LootSpot.com,Next.co.in,Let
sBuyProducts.com,WatchKart.com,Gizmeup.com,Atrightprice.com,Bulbtiger.com,Th
eitdepot.com.

Jewelry

Caratlane.com,Suratdiamond.com,Ddamas.co.in,TrendySouk.com,Jewelfunk.com,J
pearls.com

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COMPANY PROFILE

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 COMPANY PROFILE

Top 3 players of the market are:

1. FlipKart

2.Amazon

3.Snapdeal

FlipKart

Flipkart is one of India’s leading e-commerce marketplaces. It was

founded in October 2007 and its headquarters are in Bengaluru. It was
founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. This online venture was
initially started as an online bookstore and as the popularity of the
company grew, it expanded and diversified its operations.

It started selling other items such as music, movies, and mobile phones.
As the revolution of e-commerce gained momentum in India, Flipkart
grew at an accelerated pace and added several new product lines in its
portfolio.

As of now, the company offers 80 million+ products spread across more

than 80 categories such as mobile phones & accessories, computers and
accessories, laptops, books and e-books, home appliances, electronic
goods, clothes and accessories, sports and fitness, baby care, games and
toys, jewelry, footwear, and the list goes on.

Flipkart has 100 million registered users and more than a million sellers
on its electronic commerce platform. To ensure prompt delivery to its

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customers, the company has invested in setting up warehouses in 21
states.

This online platform attracts ten million page hits every day and around
eight million shipments are processed every month. Flipkart has also
introduced its mobile application, which has become quite popular, with
50 million+ app users. Flipkart is a billion dollar company and its
valuation in 2016 was INR 15,129 crore (US$2.3 billion). It is also
fulfilling its social responsibility by providing huge scale employments
(employs more than 33,000 people).

Background History of Flipkart

Flipkart was originally started as an online book store in October 2007. To

start Flipkart, the founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal left their jobs
at Amazon and took a huge risk to start a venture of their own. When the
founders thought of starting Flipkart as a company the market at that
time was not so much vibrant and was not adapted to the e-Commerce
sector that much.

This means e-commerce in India was mostly non-existent at that time

and there was no certainty about its future. Still, the Bansals decided to
take this risk and now it has turned out to be a huge success.

One of the major problems that Flipkart tackled during its initial years
was online payments because at that time, people in India were averse to
make online payments to a virtual store, due to fear of frauds and loss of
money.

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To deal with this issue, Flipkart launched its ‘Cash on Delivery’ service,
which helped to build confidence among online buyers. It also made
significant efforts to improve the supply chain system, which helped the
company to ensure timely delivery to its customers.

Achievements of Flipkart

The company created a record by selling 1 lakh books in a single day in

2013. Flipkart crossed the 100 million mark in registered customers in
2016.

Flipkart achieved the Young Turk of the Year Award at CNBC TV 18’s
“India Business Leader Awards 2012”.

Funding

Flipkart has received funds worth more than $ 4.5 billion, with the biggest
funding in July 2014 worth $ 1 billion and in April 2017 worth $ 1.4
billion.

List of top investors in Flipkart includes Naspers, Steadview Capital, Tiger

Global Management, DST Global, Accel Partners, Dragoneer Investment
Group, Baillie Gifford, GIC, Greenoaks Capital, ICONIQ Capital, Microsoft,
Morgan Stanley, Qatar Investment Authority, and Sofina.

Acquisitions made by Flipkart

There is cut-throat competition in the e-commerce market and the

biggest Rival of Flipkart is Amazon. In the recent years, many mergers
and acquisitions have been witnessed in the e-commerce market and

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Flipkart has also made many acquisitions to expand its business and
boost its sales and earnings.

The major acquisitions made by Flipkart include Myntra, eBay India,

PhonePe, Jabong, Letsbuy(dot)com, WeRead, Mime360,
chakpak(dot)com, Appiterate, FX Mart, and ngpay. It has recently
acquired its former competitor Snapdeal. It has acquired Snapdeal at a
cost of $ 950 million.

Competition: The major competitor – Amazon

After acquiring Snapdeal the major competitive left against Flipkart is

Amazon India. Still, it is facing stiff competition from Amazon India
because Amazon has really captured a larger share of the market.

Amazon Company is betting big on India’s e-commerce revolution and

has recently captured an investment of $5 billion in Amazon India. The
company has already received funds of $2 billion and $3 billion more are
planned. Amazon India has been consistently expanding its customer
base, which has resulted in cut-throat competition for Flipkart.

About the Founders of Flipkart:

Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are the founders of Flipkart. Both of them
are IIT (Indian Institue of Technology, Delhi) graduates. Both of them are
from Chandigarh. Though they share the same last name, they are not
relatives.

First, Sachin Bansal joined Amazon(dot)com and worked as a software

engineer and later he got Binny Bansal to join it. But eventually, they

22
both quit Amazon and decided to start a venture of their own. Thet
decided to launch Flipkart.

Sachin Bansal is the Executive Chairman of Flipkart and Binny Bansal is at

the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Flipkart.

Forbes India Rich List 2015 named Binny Bansal along with Sachin
Bansal, the 86th richest person in India with a net worth of $1.3 billion.

Snapdeal

Snapdeal is one of India’s leading e-commerce companies with its headquarters

located in New Delhi. Snapdeal was launched in 2010, a time when the e-commerce
market in India was at a nascent stage. The company was co-founded by Kunal Bahl
and Rohit Bansal. Snapdeal currently offers more than 60 million products across
various categories such as mobiles & tablets, computers, office & gaming, electronics,
home & living, men’s and women’s fashion, sports, fitness & outdoors, daily needs,
motors & accessories, books, music, real estate, and financial services. The company
has more than 3 lakh sellers on its e-commerce platform that cater to millions of users.
Snapdeal has a wide logistics network and it delivers to more than 6000 cities and
towns in India.

History
Snapdeal launched operations on February 4, 2010. At that time, the core business
idea powering Snapdeal was the daily deals platform. It allowed users to get the best
deals every day, for example, discounts at restaurants, hotels movie theaters, etc.
Later, in December 2011, the company announced its plans that it would be
changing its business dynamics and transitioning to a full-fledged e-commerce
company. The move came as a surprise to investors, since the company had a 70
percent share in the daily deals business. Investors were skeptical, but Bahl was

23
able to convince the board members. The decision has turned out to be visionary, as
Snapdeal is currently a leading e-commerce marketplace in India.

Funding
Snapdeal is one of the most funded companies in India. Till date, it has received
total funding worth $1.78 billion. Snapdeal has received funding from individuals as
well as private equity investors and venture capitalists. Some of the top investors in
Snapdeal include SoftBank, BlackRock, Temasek, Foxconn, Alibaba, eBay Inc.,
Premji Invest, Intel Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Mr. Ratan Tata, Clouse SA,
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Cambrian
Ventures, Iron Pillar, and Myriad Group.

Acquisitions
Snapdeal has acquired several businesses over the years to boost its
competitiveness and service offerings. Some of the key acquisitions include
GoJavas, Targeting Mantra, Reduce Data, Fashiate, MartMobi Technologies,
RupeePower, Exclusively, Wishpicker, Doozton, and Shopo. Snapdeal has also
invested in various businesses such as Vulcan Express, FreeCharge, NuvoEx,
PepperTap, Bewakoof, and Zumbi.

Competition
Snapdeal competes with other leading e-commerce marketplaces in India such as
Flipkart and Amazon India. In 2017, Snapdeal was almost certain to be acquired by
rival Flipkart, but the deal was abandoned at the last moment. Co-founder Kunal
Bahl wanted Snapdeal to make a fresh start, which is why the acquisition deal was
called off. Snapdeal recently sold FreeCharge to Axis Bank at around Rs 385 crore,
which has allowed the company to begin a new journey.

About the Founders

Snapdeal was co-founded by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, who are school friends.
Kunal Bahl is currently the CEO of Snapdeal whereas Rohit Bansal is the COO.

24
Kunal Bahl has studied management at the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton
School and Kellogg School of Management. He had worked at Microsoft earlier.
Rohit Bansal is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology,
New Delhi.

AMAZON

Introduction

Amazon India launched its operations in June 2013. The company soon launched its
website Amazon.in which is offering customers a wide variety of choices in apparel,
groceries, household items, books, movies, television shows and almost everything
that a person requires. On the very first day of its operations, the company received
more than 10,000 orders. Amazon India is a subsidiary of US-based e-commerce
giant Amazon Inc. The parent company Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994.
The company wanted to explore other countries for sales increment and the growth
of the company. So it did not limit its operations to the United States, and soon
launched its operations in other countries. Amazon looked upon China as a lucrative
option because of its huge market, well-developed infrastructure, and internet
connectivity. Hence, earlier Amazon expanded its operations to China. However, it
did not prove to be that much fruitful that it expected because of the stiff competition
by local e-commerce companies such as Alibaba. So it further expanded its
operations and looked for some viable options. The Amazon analyzed India as a
country having great potentials and it was sure that India will turn out to be fruitful for
its growth. Hence, Amazon came to India and launched its operations here in 2013.
In a very short span of time, Amazon India has acquired an eminent position in the
Indian e-commerce space and has become a major shopping giant for millions of
customers. Amazon India is currently offering millions of products on its platform and
has millions of registered users. It has an endless list of products under broad

25
categories and sub-categories such as mobile phones, computers, men’s and
women’s fashion, books, sports & fitness, electrical & electronic items, movies,
music, cars, motorbike, baby products, toys, grocery items, and so on. Amazon India
did not limit its expansion and operations here, it has started operating a Global
store which allows the customers to buy directly from sellers in the United States.
Recently the company launched Amazon prime in India which provides various
services to its customers like streaming video, music, e-books etc. It currently
delivers to most of the serviceable PIN codes in India. It has connected millions of
sellers and buyers in a network, making the shopping a much easier task for people.
It caters to more than 20,000 Indian sellers and has 41 fulfillment centers across 13
states in India.

In India, the popular advertisement of Amazon claiming it to be “APNI DUKAAN” is

turning out to be successful in grabbing millions of customers. It has become a
reliable and convenient source of buying and selling for people.

Background History of Amazon

The parent company, Amazon was founded by an American technology
entrepreneur Jeff Bezos in 1994 in the United States. Thereafter, it started its
operations in various countries in the world such as China, India, Japan, France,
Singapore, Italy, Germany, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and
Australia. Amazon.in was launched in India in 2013. Amit Agarwal leads and handles
Amazon India; he is currently the Managing Director of the company, Amazon India.

Funding in Amazon India

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos started the company by making a total investment of $5
billion in Amazon India. It may take several more years to generate profits for
Amazon India, but the founder, Jeff Bezos is quite bullish on India. He is ready to
make more investments, as may be needed for the operations of Amazon India.

26
Acquisitions made by Amazon

The Parent company Amazon has acquired scores of companies across the globe,
but in India, it has adopted a different strategy for growth. In India, Amazon has
acquired a payments company named Emvantage Payments Pvt. Ltd. in 2016.
Emvantage is an Indian company that offered services similar to PayPal and has a
platform that enabled online merchants to accept credit and debit cards.
Recently, Amazon India has been planning and trying to acquire the BigBasket,
which is India’s biggest online food and grocery store, offering more than 18,000
products.

Competition from home-grown e-commerce companies

Amazon India has been facing cut-throat competition from various local e-commerce
companies such as Flipkart and Snapdeal. Still, the primary competition for the
Indian e-commerce market is currently between Amazon India and Flipkart only. The
Indian e-commerce market is expected to touch $50 billion in sales by 2020, so both
Amazon India and Flipkart Company profile are aggressively trying to grab a larger
market share.

About the Founder of Amazon (Jeff Bezos)

The parent company Amazon, Inc. was founded by Jeff Bezos on July 05, 1994. Jeff
Bezos is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon. He acquired his education (Bachelor of
Science degrees in electrical engineering and computer science) from Princetown
University. Prior to launching Amazon, he had worked at Wall Street, as a computer
science profession.

27
LITERATURE REVIEW

28
 LITERATURE REVIEW

For the purpose of the study, the literature review is as follows:

Table:2 -Table of literature Review

S.No. Author Title Opinion/Views Links

1. Abhijeet Online  Inseparable https://www.researchgate.net
Dey and shopping integral part
Deep Jyoti attitude of youth’s life.
Choudhary among the  Youth of age
youth: A 18 to 35 are
study by preferring e-
university shopping
students. over market
shopping.
 The study
highlighted
that there is
no significant
relationship of
online
shopping with
education
and website
usability.
2. Reid M Amazon.com: The efficient and https://www.academia.edu
Berryman A case study effectiveness of
analysis. Amazon is
significantly
depended upon-
 History
 Smooth
Business
Operations
 Financial
Stability
 Future
outlook and
vision.
3. Amit Consumer In the era of 21st https://www.researchgate.net/
Kumar behavior in century, as most of
Singh and online the people are busy,

29
 Malini shopping: A loaded with hectic
Sailo Study by schedule.
Aizawl. Online shopping
became the easiest
and most suitable
mode of shopping
and it has rapidly
changed the global
perspective.
4. Nikita A study on  E-Tailing is a https://www.academia.edu
Gupta customer new trend
satisfaction (transforming
towards change) of
FlipKart. shopping in
India that is
used to refer
to computer
based
shopping or
e-shopping.
 It is a
business
revolution as
a whole.
 E-shopping or
e-tailing is a
buzz word in
today’s era.
5. Sheeba Comparative  Overall Brand International Research Journal
Praveen, study of value of of Engineering Technology
Prof. Dr. FlipKart, FlipKart is (IRJET)
Devendra Snapdeal good but
Agarwal and Amazon: according to Published on 8th November
and India’s market 2015.
Sunaiya leading e- scenario it is
Faizyab business facing a
portal. tough
completion
from Amazon.

After the literature review, the objectives of the study have been designed and it also
helped me to come to the research conclusion and recommendations.

30
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

31
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

On the basis of Literature Review and the current status of the company’s
performance and activities, the problems, objectives and recommendations for the
study have been formulated. The purpose of study of distribution channel of ITC
products and develop the insight of the system.

AIM OF THE STUDY-

To understand the performance of select online shopping portals in India.and develop

insight into the functioning of the merchandising system.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES –

All companies are having their own planning and business strategies but the company
who is having the best, is the most successful company among its competitors. So the
company can get success against its competitors by applying best and effective
marketing strategies.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study is to understand the performance of shopping portals in India
with respect to the requirements and the preferences of the Indian customer.
OBJECTIVES

To identify the factors affecting the online shopping behavior.

To study the behavior of online shoppers.
To study the Satisfaction level of online shoppers.

Research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a particular
study. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis
of the data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with

32
economy in procedure. Research design is broadly classified into three types as

Exploratory Research Design

Descriptive Research Design

I have chosen the Exploratory research design.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN:

Exploratory research study is also termed as formative research studies. The main
purpose of such study is that of formulating a problem for more precise investigation
or of developing a working hypothesis from an operational point of view. The major
emphasis of such studies is of the developing of discovery of idea and insight.
In order to accomplish the objective of the study, it is essential to articulate the manner
in which it is to be conducted i.e. the research process is to be carried out in a certain
framework.

SAMPLE DESIGN

A Sample Design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It
refers to the technique to the procedure adopted in selecting items for the sampling
designs are as below:
In this research I used Simple random sampling design through questionnaire method
where I have taken random people for fill the questionnaire.
SAMPLE SIZE:
The substantial portions of the target customer that are sampled to achieve reliable
result are 100.
SAMPLE TECHNIQUE

Percentage analysis
Tabulation
Graphical
Average mean

33
.
COLLECTION OF DATA

DATA COLLECTION
The study was conducted by the means of personal interview with respondents
and the information given by them were directly recorded on questionnaire.

For the purpose of analyzing the data it is necessary to collect the vital
information. There are two types of data, this are-

Primary Data
Secondary data

COLLECTION TECHNIQUE:
Primary Data
Questionnaire method.
Secondary Data
Books
Journal
Website

Scale Used

1) For finding importance of factor affecting Online shopping.

5= Strongly Agree
4= Agree
3= Neither Agree nor Disagree
2= Disagree

34
1= Strongly Disagree

2)For Satisfaction

5=Extremely satisfied
4= Very satisfied
3= Moderately satisfied
2= Slightly satisfied
1= Not satisfied

In order to accomplish the objective of the study, it is essential to articulate the manner
in which it is to be conducted i.e. the research process is to be carried out in a certain
framework.

The research methodology which follows is the backbone of the study. This study is
of exploratory nature and aims to develop understanding of The performance of select
online shopping portals in India.

DATA SOURCE

 Primary Data : Through interview

 Secondary Data : Through Internet, Journals, Newspapers.
 Data Collection Procedure : Survey
 Research Instrument : Structured Questionnaire.
 Sample : Customers
 Sample Size : 100
 Sample Area : Work has been done in Delhi/NCR
 Sample Procedure : Random sampling

35
FINDINGS
AND
ANALYSIS

36
The comparative analysis of e commerce websites i.e. Amazon, FlipKart and
Snapdeal is done on the basis of 4 P’s i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion

Table 3: Comparative analysis of e-commerce websites on the basis of 4 P’s of

marketing.

37
 Amazon FlipKart Snapdeal
Product  Amazon  Electronics  Apparels
Website  Home  Personal
 Electronic Appliances Care
Devices  Clothing  Fashion
 Media Content  Accessories Accessories
 Amazon Prime etc.  Mobile
 Kindle Phones
 Amazon Pay  Home and
 Alexa Kitchen
Appliances
Price  Cost  Discounts Comparatively
Leadership  Comparatively High Prices
 Comparatively moderate
Low Price prices
 Premium  Special Deals
pricing on
certain products
Place Worldwide Presence Presence only in India Presence only in
India
Promotion  Traditional and  Word of mouth Traditional and
Modern publicity Modern
Promotional  Traditional and Promotional Tools
Tools (TV, Modern (TV, Newspapers,
Newspapers, Promotional Online
Online Tools (TV, advertisements)
advertisements) Newspapers,
Online
advertisements)

38
 The SWOT analysis of the companies are as follows:

SWOT ANALYSIS
COMPANY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

FLIPKART  India’s  Limited  Expansion of  Competition

largest e- distribution business.  Government
commerce channel.  Expanding Regulations
retailer.  Cost of their product
 Experienced acquisition. category.
founders.  Power in  Changing
 High brand hand of mentality of
recall. buyers. customers.
 Exclusive
and broad
range of
products.

AMAZON  Strong  Shrinking  Release its  Online

background margins. own brand security.
and deep  Tax and products.  Strategic
pockets. avoidance  Diversification. alliances.
 Customer issue.  Open more  Competition.
centric.  High debts. online stores
 Cost  Product in other
leadership. flops. countries.
 Efficient
delivery
network.
SNAPDEAL  Visionary  Services  More focus on  Can be
Leadership. not Tier 2 and 3 subjected to
 Constant available in cities. fraud.
innovation all cities.  Mobile  Threat of
and good  Cut-throat revolution. Walmart’s
branding. competition.  Hitting new entry in
 Vast figures every India.
network of year.
retailers
across
India.

Table 4: SWOT Analysis

39
 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF SURVEY

The findings and analysis of primary data are as follows:

1. What is your main purpose for using the internet?

Table 5: Main purpose for using the internet.

Shopping 69
Work 12
Education 8
Hobby 11

Figure 1: Main purpose for using the internet.

40
Interpretation- Out of 100 people taken into consideration 69 people access internet
for shopping purposes, 12 people use it for work purposes, 11 of them use it as a
hobby and the rest use it for education purpose.

2. When was the last time you purchased over the Internet?

Table 6: Last time purchased by the customer.

Last Week 20
Last 15 days 21
Last Month 51
Last Year 8

Figure 2: Last time purchased by the customer.

41
Interpretation- More than 50% of people have used internet one month ago for online
purchases, around 22% people have used it in the last 15 days, 20% people have
used it in the past week and the rest of them have used it in the last year.

3. Which of these websites have you already used or visited?

Table 7: The websites already used or visited.

Amazon 66
FlipKart 57
Snapdeal 24
ShopClues 12

Figure 3: The websites already used or visited.

42
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (68%) have last visited Amazon, around
58% of the respondents have visited FlipKart, 24% of the people have used Snapdeal
and the rest have used ShopClues.com.

4. What is your favorite e-commerce website?

Table 8: The favorite e-commerce website.

Amazon 55
FlipKart 28
Snapdeal 12
ShopClues 5

Figure 4: The favorite e-commerce website.

43
Interpretation- The most favorite e-commerce website is Amazon (55%), followed by
FlipKart (28%) and Snapdeal (12%). ShopClues.com is the least favorite website
having just 5% popularity.

5. Which all items have you purchased over the internet?

Table 9: Items mostly purchased on the internet.

Home Appliances 16
Electronics 27
Computer Hardware/Software 11
Clothing 46

Figure 5: Items mostly purchased on the internet.

44
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents preferred to purchase clothing (46%),
followed by electronics (29%), and home appliances (16%). Computer
Hardware/Software is the least purchased product with 11%.

6. The proper information about products and services are provided on

websites.

Table 10: The clarity of information provided by websites.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 3
2 (Disagree) 3
3 (Neutral) 9
4 (Agree) 64
5 (Strongly Agree) 20

Figure 6: The clarity of information provided by websites.

45
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (84%) believe that proper information about
products and services is provided on the website and rest of respondents (16%) do
not believe the same.

7. Online Shopping sites are very time saving.

Table 11: Time saving factor for online shopping.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 3
2 (Disagree) 4
3 (Neutral) 10
4 (Agree) 59
5 (Strongly Agree) 23

Figure 7: Time saving factor for online shopping.

46
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (92%) believe that online shopping is very
time saving.

8. Online shopping sites are very convenient.

Table 12: Convenience factor for online shopping.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 3
2 (Disagree) 6
3 (Neutral) 7
4 (Agree) 57
5 (Strongly Agree) 26

Figure 8: Convenience factor for online shopping.

47
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (90%) believe that online shopping sites
are very convenient.

9. Online shopping sites are very secured.

Table 13: Security factor for online shopping.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 5
2 (Disagree) 6
3 (Neutral) 12
4 (Agree) 53
5 (Strongly Agree) 23

Figure 9: Security factor for online shopping.

48
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (88%) believe that online shopping sites
are very secured.

10. Online Shopping sites have attractive offers (Deals, Discounts etc.)

Table 14: The attractive offers and deals by online shopping sites.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 3
2 (Disagree) 7
3 (Neutral) 10
4 (Agree) 49
5 (Strongly Agree) 30

Figure 10: The attractive offers and deals by online shopping sites.

49
Interpretation- Majority of the respondents (89%) believe that online shopping sites
provide attractive offers (Deals, Discounts etc.)

11. Online shopping sites have effective delivery time and mode of payment.

Table 15: The most effective delivery time and mode of payment.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 4
2 (Disagree) 4
3 (Neutral) 10
4 (Agree) 54
5 (Strongly Agree) 26

Figure 11: The most effective delivery time and mode of payment.

50
Interpretation- As per the opinion of 80% respondents, online shopping sites have
effective delivery time and mode of payment.

12. You being a customer have high satisfaction level for online shopping.

Table 16: The time spend on online shopping per month.

1 (Strongly Disagree) 3
2 (Disagree) 4
3 (Neutral) 12
4 (Agree) 51
5 (Strongly Agree) 29

Figure 12: The time spend on online shopping per month.

Interpretation- More than 80% of the respondents have very high level of customer
satisfaction.

51
 13. How much do you spend on online shopping per month (in Rs.)

Table 17: Average spending per month.

Less than 1000 8

1000-2500 25
2500-5000 57
5000 and above 10

Figure 13: Average spending per month.

Interpretation- Around 57% of the respondents spend Rs2500-5000 per month on

online shopping, 25% people spend Rs1000-2500 per month, 10% people spend Rs
5000 and above and the rest 8% spend less than Rs 1000 per month on online
shopping.

52
 14. Which mode of payment do you use?

Table 18: Favorite mode of payment.

Credit Cards 13
Debit Cards 33
Online Bank Transfers 15
Cash on Delivery 39

Figure 14: Favorite mode of payment.

Interpretation- Out of 100 respondents, 39% prefer Cash on Delivery, 33% prefer
Debit Cards, 15% prefer online bank transfers and the rest 13% prefer credit cards.

53
 15. What do you believe to be the best marketing approach to advertise an e-
commerce website?

Table 19: The best marketing approach to advertise an e-commerce website.

Billboards 13
Magazines 12
Newspapers 23
Search Engines 42
Others 10

Figure 15: The best marketing approach to advertise an e-commerce website.

Interpretation- 42% of the respondents believe that search engines are the best
marketing approach to advertise an e-commerce website, 23% respondents believe
that newspapers are the best marketing approach to advertise an e-commerce
website.13% respondents believe that billboards are the best marketing approach to
advertise an e-commerce website, rest of them respondents believe that magazines
and other sources are the best marketing approach to advertise an e-commerce
website.

54
 FINDINGS

After conducting the research, the findings are as follows:

 The major purpose of using internet is E shopping.

 Majorly the internet is used for e shopping for monthly basis
 Amazon is the most popular website.
 Closing is the most favorite product to buy online.
 Online shopping sites are very time saving, convenient, secured and gives
attractive offers to customers.
 Cash on delivery is very effective mode of payment.
 Search engine is most efficient method for advertisement.

55
 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

The limitations for the study are as follows:

People were not ready to fill the questionnaire

Many of the surveyed people did not reply all the questions.

The sample size was very small to come to the conclusion for the
population as a whole.

The is also a time limitation for the study i.e. three months.

Many of the people have poor computer literacy.

There is a delay in delivery.

There are cases of fake and false products being delivered.

Lack of significant discounts in online shops.

Lack of touch and feel of merchandise in online shopping.

56
 CONCLUSION
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

57
 CONCLUSION

• The most preferred product of online buying is Clothing and Computer

Hardware/Software and Home appliances are the least preferred choice of online
shoppers.

• Among the payment options, Payment on delivery through cash in the safest choice
of payment, while credit card is next preferred choice, online bank transfer is least
preference choice.

• Online shoppers seek for clear information about product and service, time saving,
convenience, security and delivery on time are all important factor for online shopping.

•Most of the consumers who have experienced online shopping are very satisfied.

58
 RECOMMENDATIONS

• Consumers should be educated on online shopping procedures with proper steps to

be following while online shopping.

• Transactions should be safe and proper security should be assured to the people
making online purchases.
• Government should play a pivotal role in encouraging online shopping

• E-marketers must give a thought to secure, time saving, information about product
and services factors when they design their online product strategy.

• The study highlights that convenience, accessibility, scope, attraction, reliability,

experience and clarity are the important factors considered by the online shopper.

• Usage of internet includes the consumer intention to secure for product related
information while experiencing the new technology.

• Banking should promote Debit card, Credit card facility in online shopping.

59
Annexure

60
 QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your main purpose for using the internet?

a) Shopping
b) Work
c) Education
d) Hobby

2. When was the last time you purchased over the Internet?
a) Last Week
b) Last 15 days
c) Last Month
d) Last Year

3. Which of these websites have you already used or visited?

a) Amazon
b) FlipKart
c) Snapdeal
d) ShopClues.com

4. What is your favorite e-commerce website?

a) Amazon
b) FlipKart
c) Snapdeal
d) ShopClues.com

5. Which all items have you purchased over the internet?

a) Home Appliances

61
 b) Electronics
c) Computer Hardware/Software
d) Clothing

6. The proper information about products and services are provided on websites.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

7. Online Shopping sites are very time saving.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

8. Online shopping sites are very convenient.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

9. Online shopping sites are very secured.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

62
 Disagree) Agree)

10. Online Shopping sites have attractive offers (Deals, Discounts etc.)

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

11. Online shopping sites have effective delivery time and mode of payment.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

12. You being a customers have high satisfaction level for online shopping.

1 (Strongly 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly

Disagree) Agree)

13. How much do you spend on online shopping per month (in Rs.)
a) Less than1000
b) 1000-2500
c) 2500-5000
d) 5000 and above

63
 e)

14. Which mode of payment do you use?

a) Credit Cards
b) Debit Cards
c) Online Bank Transfers
d) Cash on Delivery

15. What do you believe to be the best marketing approach to advertise an e-

commerce website?
a) Billboards
b) Magazines
c) Newspapers
d) Search Engines
e) Others

64
BIBLIOGRAPHY

65
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FlipKart last accessed on 29-03-2019

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon last accessed on 29-03-2019

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdeal last accessed on 29-03-2019

 https://en.wikipedia.org last accessed on 29-03-2019

 https://www.google.co.in last accessed on 29-03-2019

66
67