RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SKILL ENHANCEMENT COURSE (SEC)

ONLINE BUYING BEHAVIOUR AND DIGITAL MARKETING : INTERPRETING INTERSECTION

Research Project

Submitted to: Mr. Ajay Sharma

Presented by:

Name: Rasseerat Kohli

Roll no: 458
Course: B.A. (Hons.) Economics (II)

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
HANSRAJ COLLEGE
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI- 110007
 DECLARATION

I, hereby, declare that the Research Paper titled “Weighing E-marketing against Online Consumer
Behaviour” is my own, independent and unplagiarised work. It has been submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Bachelors in Economics at Hansraj College, University of Delhi. I, further,
declare that contents of this Paper have been scrutinised from various sources that have been explicitly
mentioned as References.
Additionally, it is confirmed that the Research Paper has not been submitted for Publication elsewhere and
that, mentioned data is backed with due research and author’s views.

Author’s name: RASSEERAT KOHLI

Designation: STUDENT

Institute name: HANSRAJ COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI

Contact number: +91 7000875056

Email id: rasseeratkohli@gmail.com

Date: 28th October’18

Signature:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this opening opportunity to express sincere gratitude to my teacher and
mentor, Mr. Ajay Sharma, Faculty Member, Hansraj College; for his constant guidance and
supervision in undertaking the Research Paper. His measured remarks, significant suggestions
and scope add-ons have proved inherently valuable in obtaining the desired conclusion.

It gives me immense pleasure in extending this token of gratitude to the target respondents to
whom the survey was administered. Their outright precision has been substantial in generating
relevant findings; thereby upholding the sincerity of purpose.

Simultaneously, I am grateful to my classmates and college peer-group for participating actively

in discussions to streamline a better framework for the Paper.

I, duly acknowledge the College Librarian for his keen involvement; my parents for their
constructive instruction and siblings, for their unmatched patience. The secondary sources used
in achieving the purpose of the Paper qualify for forthright gratitude, too.

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 ABSTRACT

The present study has been built on the premise that digital marketing strategies are a function of
online consumer behaviour. With the advent of global-interconnectedness and technology
penetration among masses, it is significant to analyse the behaviour of the most-important
individual unit in micro-economics, the consumer, who directly impacts macro-economic
decisions such as GDP growth. Reflected in the hybridisation of online businesses in the e-
commerce industry, the price-war and diverse consumer products across this domain necessitate a
comprehensive study of consumer decision-making variables.
The thrust of this study is in evaluating digital marketing strategies that metamorphose online
consumers into online customers, thereby validating online buying behaviour of customers.
Starting off as primary research, set in the area of North Campus (viz, North Delhi); the objectives
of this study include an examination of consumer behaviour, then condensing into a relationship-
assessment of various decision-making variables for customers. Rounding off the study through
secondary research, crucial digital marketing tools have been identified to accord credibility to
important consumer-behaviour aspects. The study follows a qualitative-cum-quantitative method
of research.
This research paper concludes that customer-traffic for a certain e-retailer website is inclusive of
specific digital marketing techniques aimed at a consumer; which thereby determines a customer’s
decision and satisfaction. Similarities between previous research conducted on the similar topic
have been formulated as Discussions in this study.
Fundamental suggestions for policy-makers qualify as recommendations at the end of this study,
complemented by the scope in further related research.

Keywords: Online Consumer Behaviour, Digital Marketing, customer satisfaction, e-retail

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 LIST OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2

ABSTRACT 3

LIST OF FIGURES 4

1. Introduction 6

2. Review of Literature 11
2.1 Research Gaps
2.2 Research Objectives

3. Research Methodology 13
3.1 Data Sources
3.2 Data Analysis

4. Results 17
4.1 Objective 1
4.2 Objective 2
4.3 Objective 3

5. Discussion 34
5.1 Relationship between Income Group and Frequency of Online Shopping
5.2 Relationship between Age Group and Frequency of Online Shopping
5.3 Relationship between Brand Loyalty and Customer Retention
5.4 Relationship between Product-related-information and Customer Decision

6. Conclusion 36
6.1 Findings
6.2 Limitations of Study
6.3 Suggestions for Policy Makers
6.4 Future Research

REFERENCES 40

APPENDIX 41

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Graphical Representation of Gender across Sample Size

Figure 4.2 Age-wise split across Employment Categories
Figure 4.3 Gender-wise split across Income Groups
Figure 4.4 Frequency of Online Shopping across Age-groups
Figure 4.5 Preferred product/service across age-groups
Figure 4.6.1 Views on convenience of Online Shopping
Figure 4.6.2 Views on money-value of Online Shopping
Figure 4.6.3 Views on time-value of Online Shopping
Figure 4.7.1 Views of User-Friendliness of an e-retailer website
Figure 4.7.2 Views on Security and Privacy of an e-retailer website
Figure 4.8.1 Ratings for Brand-Loyalty by Online Conumers
Figure 4.8.2 Ratings for Discount and offers by Online Consumers
Figure 4.8.3 Ratings for Customer Feedback by Online Consumers
Figure 4.9 Respondents’ average online shopping experiences
Figure 4.10 Hindrances in the Online Purchasing Procedure
Figure 4.11 Sources to get information about online products
Figure 4.12 Most-valued product related information
Figure 4.13 Customer-attitude towards online unavailability of a product
Figure 4.14 Most Influential Digital Marketing Technique for Consumers

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1. Introduction

1.1. WH-Questions on Online Shopping (viz., E-Commerce)

WHAT

In the simplest of terms, online shopping qualifies as a form of E-Commerce, where consumers (a
group entirely different from that of the customers in their relationship with goods and services
wrt functionality) are open to buying products (again, different from commodity in its buying
application) online, over the Internet, via a web browser. Entailing a variety of products, e-retailers
subject consumers to decision-making on the basis of several factors; the study of which forms an
objective of this study.

WHY

Now regarded as the most revolutionary development of the 21st century, e-commerce is the future
of retail in India. Inter-industry and intra-industry diversification has led consumers to experience
trade with a click; for reasons of convenience, price-competitiveness, discounted selling,
customized customer (the distinction between ‘consumer’ and ‘customer’ steps in here) feedback
and refund mechanism. Online stores empower consumers to “search” for a specific feature, brand
or product, coupled with detailed product-specific information.

HOW

The success rate of online shopping is embedded in the fact that an average urban Indian spends 2
hours/day on the Internet, consuming other customer’s content more than advertising content. This
sets a direct relationship between the consumer demand for authentic visual content and flourishing
online business in India. Transaction on e-commerce platforms is met through various options such
as Credit Card, Debit Card, Cash on Delivery and other third-party payment options such as PayPal.

WHEN

The Asia-Pacific region is the largest consumer of e-commerce in the world, led by China, followed
by India. 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. India currently
boasts of an Internet user-base of 475 million, skewed to metropolitan, urban and sub-urban areas,
in the decreasing order.

WHO

The crucial questions around the right target audience and market sizing still determine the success
rate for an online retail brand. This is where Digital Marketing steps in; which is described as
marketing products and services using digital technologies and methods of marketing such as
Influencer Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Direct E-Mail Marketing, among the lot. A
survey by American Express and Nielsen revealed that 98% of Indians use the Internet for online
shopping, as compared to their 96% social-media counterpart group. Likewise, their average
monthly expenditure accounts for Rs 9,400, skewed towards the metros at Rs 10,900/month. This
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reveals a greater insight. With changing trends and perceptions towards online shopping, people
across gender-groups, age-groups and other demographic-groups are becoming brand-conscious;
reflecting a massive scope for digital expansion. This expansion derives significance in evolving
consumer-sensitive marketing strategies to build business models, capable of online-monopoly.
Amazon is the most relevant example. In doing so, brands need to focus on certain key
determinants of consumer behavior that result in impulsive buying, a form of involuntary consumer
behavior. An attempt to extrapolate the gap between e-marketing and e-consumer behavior is the
main purpose of this study.

1.2. Different types of Online Shopping Experiences

Namely, there are four ways in which a company’s presence can be registered-

1.2.1. Strictly online presence:

The major factor influencing the online presence of a company is rooted in avoiding the cost of a
brick-and-mortar store, thereby eliminating long-run variable costs. Additionally, inventories are
regulated according to an online demand-supply algorithm, keeping discounts and giveaways
handy. This is self-explanatory for the omni-seller Amazon.

1.2.2. Brick and mortar combination:

Such a mechanism gives customers a dual shopping experience, characteristic of both, physical
and virtual shopping platforms. Aiding a positive trade-off, this structure of company presence
accords the best loyalty due to reasons such as variety indulgence and authentication by the
consumer. Low variable costs and cutting down on commuting costs triggers shopping online;
whereas product-satisfaction forms a greater part of physical buying. The multi-brand retail and
electronics industry define the same.

1.2.3. User to User:

Providing options of online renting and C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) transaction, auction sites
such as Ebay and Ubid leverage the greater aspect of consumer experience by conducting
business among similar-product-searchers; hence dictating demand and supply on the consumer
side.

1.2.4. Supplementary websites:

Acting as the middle-ground between B2C (Business-to-Consumer) and C2C (Consumer-to-
Consumer) business platforms, websites such as Groupon and Voucherbox aid both, sellers and
buyers; by providing a cheaper advertising space to the former and a variety of vouchers and
coupons to the latter.

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1.3. Five categories of Online Consumers

1.3.1. Experience-seeker
Developing the experience of shopping for a brand-loyal customer is crucial for companies that
focus on long-run profits since the revenue variable is subject to manifold increase once an
experience-seeking customer identifies with a brand. Credit-points that accord loyal customers a
premium membership and loyalty-rewards result in the growth of permanent customers, with
85% of them qualifying as experience-seekers.

1.3.2. Buy-now customer

Aiming towards efficiency of online purchase with regard to time-constraint, such a customer
places value in companies that generate a hassle-free transaction, at times, doing away with
customer feedback and guest-acknowledgement. This category of customers is characteristic of
its need, purchase-customization and payment mechanism for its investment of time and effort.

1.3.3. Early-adopter:
Weighing exclusivity in a dominant spot on a scale from 1-5, such customers invest greatly in
products that are brand new and characteristic of current market trend. Consumerism is mainly
targeted towards them through email marketing. The average product-selection for this category
attributes to luxurious products, electronics and heavy-duty apparel. Proper assessment of the
target market hence becomes crucial to address the needs of this section of customers.

1.3.4. Educated-guesser
What forms the different stages of the process of purchase for an educated-guesser is pre-and-
post-purchase research, comparison and information evaluation. Such customers keep features of
a product or service in the loop than their relative prices; hence providing the leverage to online
sellers to inflate purchases as a function of added customer reviews and data backing. Time-
constraint is not characteristic of such a group who weighs inter-brand return highly on unique
product proposition.

1.3.5. Bargain Hunter

The statement that purchase is a function of price best applies to this set of customers who settles
for a better relative price than absolute price. Exclusivity of a product or service is dismissed on
the basis of budget-sensitive attribute of such customers. Hence, offer-price commands greatest
loyalty; as a result of which sales are higher during discount and festive seasons.

1.4 What is Digital Marketing

The advent of Digital Marketing is critical for new-generation online businesses that aspire to carve
an online interactive platform with customers in order to disseminate relevant forces of information
about their objectives, expansion, goals and business-alliances. Stimulated via Digital
Technologies which promote greater permeability within the consumer-fabric due to increased use
of smartphones, tablets, computers and other such devices; Digital Marketing tends to create virtual
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 interactions across Digital Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other e-
retail websites. In order to map the utility of digital marketing, it is important to validate the short-
run and long-run goals of an organisational set-up, which strategizes to create a new customer
space (Blue Ocean Strategy), while playing on existing customer profiles with the aid of Digital
Technology and Digital Data.
The relevance of Digital Marketing in this study lies in the premise that online buying behaviour
of customers has a deep-rooted relationship with client relationship management by focusing on
internet-marketing (digital marketing) schemes and channels that help metamorphose consumers
into customers (Ref: Introduction 1.1).
Various developments like Data Science and Artificial Intelligence have moulded the scope of
Digital Marketing to predict heavy business statistics like revenue-pattern and profit-models,
thereby defining an entire subset of Business Modelling within an e-marketing framework.

1.5 Pressing need for Digital Marketing

Combining the elements of determining a target audience for the success of small and large businesses,
Digital Marketing comes in handy because it is more cost-effective than Traditional Marketing. This is
reflected in the fact that business owners place a great deal of trust in Digital Marketing Channels since the
Cost-per-Lead (CPL) return is better when promotions are catered to online, at a lower budget allocation. On
top of that, Conversion Optimisation is one of the most crucial reasons for the shift of business-owners
online since the incoming consumer-traffic is converted into potential customers only with the aid of
promotional strategies floated online. Examples include Display-Target Marketing, subscription-based
digital marketing, e-mail marketing and other customer-reward programmes, streamed on the basis of
customer behaviour and profile. Digital Marketing has been instrumental in determining corporate-
competition across the globe since it has incorporated within its bandwidth, even small corporations, which
were earlier devoid of online space and hence followed a restricted marketing regime. Search Engine
Optimisation is perceived as the harbinger of potential customers via paid promotions, thereby generating
significant revenue streams for online businesses. With a higher expected annual revenue rate, the Internet
provides a level playing field to small and medium enterprises in this competitive arena to undertake
expansion not just locally, but globally, too; thus, ensuring better workforce involvement and routing out
unemployment. Delivering customer satisfaction through personalised offers and customer-retention e-mail
marketing, it thus becomes important to analyse the impact of consumer behaviour on Digital Marketing
Channels and Schemes. Rapid mobile and smartphone penetration in the customer industry has encourage
digital marketeers to undertake customer-retention through digital marketing. Gone are the days when
mobile phones and tablets were considered as replacements for laptops and computers. Today, the frequency
of mobile-usage determines the purchasing decisions of a consumer. Digital Marketing is of prime
importance in building brand-loyalty across consumers since an expected form of content offered by a
specific e-retailer is crucial in customer-retention, increasing annual growth rates, exponentially. Digital
Marketing is all about a space that has been arranged and engaged to deliver the most prized customer
experience by way of purchase-interactions and business-communication.
Digital Marketing commands a better rate of trust among customers due to its worthy presence on social
media handles that represent customer reviews and testimonials on a trusted domain. This is where another
imperative determinant in the world of Digital Marketing comes into play- Customer Feedback. The main
aim of Digital Marketing is to patronise customers by providing them the best online interaction, turning
their invested time into economical time and making transactions look effortless.
In a nutshell, Digital Marketing is about ensuing the survival of a business set-up in online waters- by
delivering their content to targeted customers to ensure targeted results.
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 1.6 Current Trends in the Indian E-commerce industry

With an unprecedented growth of the E-commerce industry, India is expected to become the fastest growing
market in the Asia-Pacific region with a contribution rate of 1.61% of the annual GDP in 2018. It is worthy
to note that 60% of the transactions are routed during the Business hours (9-5) of the day and that, Cash-on-
Delivery (COD) is still the most-preferred mode of payment by customers.
Concerning the statistics around the present study, it must be noted that Delhi-NCR accounts for 1/3rd of the
online purchases made across India. The average order value attributes to Rs. 1544 for Urban areas (Tier-1
cities) and Rs. 1157 for Semi-Urban areas (Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities). In a pan-India study conducted by
onlinesales.ai, it was projected that online shoppers prefer making transactions via large screens (computers,
laptops), as compared to its small counterparts (smartphones, tablets) in the ratio of 2:1.
The highest average order value days are Tuesdays and Fridays; with 60% of online purchases accruing from
Clothing, Mobile Accessories and Consumer Durables like books, furniture and plasticware.

The topic chosen for the present study is of utmost relevance and importance considering the changing
domain of the E-commerce industry, with regard to digital trends that will transform online businesses in
2018. Technologies such as blockchain, autonomous vehicles, augmented and virtual reality and other
digitally-stimulated products and algorithms; it is quintessential to regard Digital Marketing as ensuring
better chance for horizontal businesses to flourish in a domain dominated by hybrid business models.

Thus, in order to develop permanent and long-run buyer-seller relationships, it is justified to ascertain
consumer decision making variables on online shopping websites in order to give effect to revolutionary
digital marketing strategies that uphold customer retention and growth as its basic principle. Since brands
look for a better ROI, marketing strategies that drive sales manifold would be the need of the hour for
marketeers. With the growing advent of digitalisation, along with a government digital-policy framework,
cashless economies would be the blue-print for future transactions; thereby making it very important for
digital marketing agents to study, observe and analyse the behavioural constraints and attitudes of current
consumers; in an attempt to capture them as fixed customers.

Knowing what a consumer wants is of prime necessity to an online business in order to focus various
business variables such as budget-allocation, cost-benefit analysis, revenue streams, opportunities across the
competitive landscape, threats to specialised products and investment into a profit-generating equation. With
the dynamic online vertical of competition and business-rivalry, Digital Marketing ensures that a business
gains momentum, flourishes and sustains itself not just against the current economic backdrop but in the
long-run, too. With a diverse host of options available to trigger digital marketing, it only makes more sense
to map the targeted customer’s attitudinal base to ensure the best of results.

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2. Review of Literature

Bhatt A. (2014) in his report entitled “Consumer Attitude towards Online Shopping in selected
regions of Gujarat” objectifies that the penetration of Internet has led youngsters to heavily engage
in online shopping; whereas, the e-commerce industry would sustain itself only when each segment
of the age-group becomes accustomed to online shopping. As examined by him, online payment
modes are a direct function of the income-group of customers. A significant finding in his Research
establishes that occupation of an online consumer does not determine the product purchased.
According to his conclusions, e-retail websites need to identify the most important factor that
hinders online buying of products. As a suggestion, his note to policy-makers is to allot
independence to private organisations to carry-out well-developed researches, some, even going
beyond questions pivoted on privacy concerns.

Delafrooz N. (2009) in his Research Publication examines student attitudes towards online
shopping, constituting one portion of the Millennial Age Group; significantly incorporating the
utilitarian (need-based) and hedonic (habit-induced) shopping orientations. His study concludes
that online retailers need to provide a competitive price for products in order to encourage them to
make a purchase-decision. Presenting a counter argument, he firmly quotes that this would lead to
a price-war, expected to increase even further with the availability of intelligent search engines and
comparing shopping agents that enable online consumers to easily compare product offerings from
various online retailers. Thus, in order to avoid intense price competition, online retailers need to
find other ways to differentiate themselves. Therefore, online retailers need to ensure that the online
shopping process through their websites is made as easy, simple and convenient for consumers.

Khatibi A. (2011) in his Research Paper entitled “Understanding consumer’s internet purchase
intention” outlined the key online shopping intention and events that pioneered the building of an
integrated research framework to understand how consumers form their attitude and make purchase
intentions toward online shopping. In summary, the findings verified the need to gauge intention
for online purchase. It also revealed that those with positive attitude towards online shopping
possess a high level of online purchase intention. In addition, the result showed that only self-
efficacy, trust and security in perceived behavioural control construct were positively associated
with the intention to purchase online. Therefore, e-marketers must concurrently execute/implement
strategies to maintain their appeal to younger consumers and it must extend sensitive orientations
on ways of boosting online sales. Finally, it is important to note that the age group and level of
income factors were found to be significant, whether directly or indirectly related with the intention
to purchase online. This is consistent with the findings of Singh P. (2014), who propagates that
online businesses succeed as a function of their branding techniques, popularity (brand loyalty)
and unique digital marketing strategies.

Kanchan U. (2015) defines a similar conclusion to the aforementioned, citing that online retailers
must focus on building trustworthy relationships with their customers for dual-party satisfaction,
viz, greater profits and customer satisfaction, respectively.

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2.1 Research Gaps

On assessing previously written Research Papers, the following observations qualify as research gaps
to be undertaken as objectives in the current study:

(1) Primary research was not conducted around intersecting variables between online
consumer behaviour and digital marketing; i.e., a direct relationship could not be established
between one-on-one factor-basis from both sets.

(2) Digital Marketing was not espoused against the backdrop of hybridisation of online businesses.

(3) Almost all previously published Research papers did not recommend suitable digital
marketing tools to harness relevant consumer behaviour.
(4) Secondary sources of information were hardly brought into use while studying this topic.

2.1 Research Objectives

In the purview of aforementioned research gaps, the current study aims to develop a research
methodology that overcomes them, capitalising on the following research objectives:

1. Objective 1
To examine consumer attitudes around the online retail industry.

2. Objective 2
To develop relationships/correlation between more than one consumer behavioural aspect,
i.e., to identify patterns in consumer behaviour.

3. Objective 3
To operationalize relevant marketing strategies and tools in areas of important consumer
decisions, as listed under:
(1) Digital Marketing strategies to drive (increase sales for) the most frequently purchased
product or service availed
(2) Digital Marketing strategies to incorporate the less-active age-groups within the
shopping bandwidth
(3) Deriving time-saving Digital Marketing tools
(4) Extrapolating convenience-building Digital Marketing tools
(5) Developing Digital Marketing tools to patronise customer feedback
(6) Digital Marketing tools that enhance the interface of an e-retailer website
(7) Digital Marketing tools that improve the speed of online-purchasing process
(8) Digital Marketing tools to float discounts and other customer loyalty rewards

Additionally, this study also supplements the existing research done (both, national and
international) on the impact of digital marketing on consumer behaviour.
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3. Research Methodology

The purpose of this study is based on the premise that the rate of e-commerce success is a
function of consumer psychology and buying behavior around online shopping; which helps in
the development of relevant digital marketing tools. As a means to decipher most imperative
consumer decision variables on the Internet, first-hand information from immediate consumers
was crucial and critical; following which, primary data has been collected using an interview
schedule, that was circulated via a google-form and was personally addressed to respondents,
telephonically.
In order to develop a sound research base and testify the underlined objectives through current
market trends in India, secondary data has been sourced from online journals, millennial business
newsletters- Business Insider, The Economic Times; marketing periodicals, published articles. In
doing so, all information sought online has been referenced with due regard. It is worth noting
that in order to derive a relationship between consumer behavior and online marketing, various
case studies based on market-research have been dealt with and conclusions have been cited to
arrive at case-specific details.

3.1 Data Sources

i. Sample Size
A sample size of 125 has been chosen with an aim to foster narrow but deep-inquisitive
coverage, eliminating the limitation of erratic generalization based on a wide sample size. Data
analysis ascertains equal weights to each data-inquiry, differing only in resulting conclusions
from each question asked.

ii. Research Instruments

Quantitative research has been developed around primary research, for the purpose of which, an
interview schedule, characteristic of structured questions, both, open-ended and closed have
been incorporated as research instruments. Similarly, for qualitative research, unstructured
interviews have been derived from open-ended questions of its quantitative research counterpart.
In addition to this, secondary research material has also been treated as a research tool.

iii. Attitudinal Scale

To assert differences in individual consumer behavior and subsequent attitude(s), an ordinal
measurement scale called the Likert Scale has been used to reflect positive, neutral and negative
preferences and decision-making variables for consumers. Questions that have been represented
through this scale measure the intensity of respondents’ attitude towards specific aspects.

iv. Sampling Method

In order to possess comprehensive knowledge of the sample and process conclusions
accordingly, the convenience sampling technique has been used to accord visible characteristics
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of consumers from Delhi’s North Campus Area (viz., Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, Shakti Nagar,
Roop Nagar and GTB Nagar). The sample has been chosen from the mentioned area due to the
following reasons:

1. Millennial Shoppers (those belonging to the age group 18-35) dominate the chosen
geographical area, thus representing an area of opportunity for online business. This fact has been
supported by 74 female and 50 male respondents surveyed in the course of formulating this
study.

2. The area is representative of college-students, working adults and business-households, whose

Internet usage capitalizes on purchasing products via digital media, reviewing online products
and services, associating with brands and retailers, validating customer-loyalty programs and
researching about a need-product/service by keeping up with the latest trends.

3. A blue-print of average individual and household needs of the chosen population-demographic

is characteristic of casual wear apparel, home-utilities, discounted event-tickets, latest gizmos
and daily-use accessories. This is attributed to peer-influence amongst college-goers and young
professionals, exclusivity of options for business-households and lucky deals for working adults.

Hence, the aforementioned reasons justify the development of this study around the North
Campus Area, subject to classification based on gender, age and income-group to ascertain
specific online buying behavior.

3.2 Data Analysis

In order to determine objective-specific analysis, the population is restricted to users and non-users of
products purchased through online shopping. The study is limited to the geographical area of North
Campus (viz, North Delhi). Samples from the population have been selected using the convenience
sampling method, capitalising on the availability and willingness of respondents.

The information obtained in the form of responses was first quantified with the use of Microsoft Excel,
followed by processing through Pivot Tables. Finally, to accord graphical representation, the tabulation
was converted into suitable diagrams, viz, pie-diagram (pie-chart) and column diagram. Results from the
administered questionnaire have been presented using percentages of the sample size, thus reflecting
comparison-based conclusions.

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.

3.2.1 Objective 1
In order to ascertain consumer behaviour on online shopping platforms, the following questions
qualified as primary data in the administered interview schedule:
1) What is your Gender?
2) What is your Age-group?
3) Which income-category do you fall under?
4) What is your employment group?
5) How frequently do you buy products/services online?
6) What type of product/service do you most frequently buy online?
7) Please indicate your degree of agreement with the following statements:
 Online Shopping is Convenient. Why/why not?
 Online Shopping is Time-saving. Why/why not?
 Online Shopping is Economical. Why/why not?
8) How important are the following characteristics of an online retailer website for you?
 User-friendliness. Why/why not?
 Security of payment(s) and privacy of information. Why/why not?
9) How important are the following characteristics for your online purchasing process?
 Brand Loyalty
 Customer Feedback
 Discount(s) and offers

It must be noted that this study makes use of both, open-ended as well as closed questions in order to
arrive at suitable qualitative (relationship building) and quantitative conclusions.
In analysing Objective 1, secondary information was not used.
The obtained data was then entered into Microsoft Excel, converted to Pivot Tables and represented
graphically for better understanding and interpretation.

3.2.2 Objective 2
To process relationship-establishment across various aspects of consumer behaviour, data for this
objective was extracted primarily through the administered questionnaire. Following questions
were the key determinants:
10) How would you classify your average online shopping experiences? Why?
11) Which factor has been a major hindrance in your online purchasing process? Why?
12) Where do you choose to get the most information from, about an online product/service?
Is there a reason behind your specific choice?
13) Which product-related information do you value the most? Why?
14) How would your purchasing decision vary if an e-commerce site/platform is out of a
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 product? Is there a reason behind that specific behaviour?
15) Which Digital Marketing technique, according to you, influences your buying decisions
the most? Why?

In order to process the aforementioned information, characteristic of multiple options, Pivot Tables
proved instrumental in determining concrete results. As a result, relationships among certain consumer
behaviour variables could be determined easily. It should be noted here, again, that no reference to
secondary information was made while extracting results for Objective 2.

3.2.3 Objective 3
In order to operationalise relevant digital marketing strategies for most important consumer behaviour and
decision-making variables, secondary information was resorted to. Findings have been attributed from the
below mentioned published articles on websites, online journals and allied-business magazines:
 The Importance of Customer Surveys: National Business Research Institute
 Trends that will re-shape Indian e-commerce in 2018: ETRetail.com
 Articles from the Business-World Magazine, the Business Insider, e-commerce insider

In addition to this, several other articles and published sources have been referred to provide conclusions for
the proposed Objective.

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4. Results
OBJECTIVE 4.1
4.1 Quantification of Sample Size based on Gender

Gender Count of Respondents

Female 74
Male 50
Other 1
Grand Total 125

Table 4.1 Gender split of the sample size

(Source: Interview Schedule)
The above table represents gender bifurcation of the sample size; which is comprised of 74 female
respondents, 50 male respondents and 1 respondent belonging to gender category ‘other’;
attributing to 59.2%, 40% and 0.8% of the sample size in question.

Gender Split of Sample Size

100 74
50
50
1
0
Female Male Other

Figure 4.1 Graphical Representation of Gender-bifurcation

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Figure 4.1 is a graphical representation of the gender-group, displaying the

figures enumerated in Table 4.1.

4.2 Income Distribution of Sample Size

4.2.1 Age-group specific employment category
Figure 4.2.1 graphically displays the employment-category split across
age-groups that the sample size comprises. It can be seen that:

1. The age-group 15-20 is dominated by students, who have no

independent income means. This represents a fairly dependent sample,
attributing to 93.6% of the age-group in question.

2. On the other hand, 25% of the age group 20-30 is full-time

employed, with employed-students forming 17.8%, thus characterising
the Millennial Age Group in terms of demand for online shopping.

Page | 17
 3. A negligible chunk (0.8%) of the chosen sample is self-employed,
thereby subjecting results to accurate responses by the ‘customers’ and
not ‘consumers’ on the Internet, indulging in online shopping.

100
89
90 Full-time employed
80
Self-employed
70
60
Studying with employment
50
40 Studying with no
employment
30
Studying with part-time
20 16 employment

10 7 5 Unemployed
1 2 3 1 1
0
15-20 years 20-30 years 40-50 years

Figure 4.2.1 Employment split across age-groups

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.2.2 Income-category across gender-split

70

58
60

50

40 36
Female
30
Male
20 Other

10 7
4 4 3 4 3 4
1 1
0
< Rs. 1 Lakh > Rs. 10 Lakh Non-income Rs 5 Lakh - Rs. Rs. 1 Lakh - Rs.
group (no 10 Lakh 5 Lakh
employment)

Figure 4.2.2 Gender-wise split across income categories

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Here, Figure 4.2.2 broadly ascertains that female composition is highest (46.4%) in the non-income group and lowest
(0.8%) in the income group > Rs. 10 Lakh/annum. Whereas, male composition is relatively lower (28.8%) in the non-
income group and equal (3.2%) between income groups < Rs. 1 Lakh/annum and Rs. 5 Lakh- Rs. 10 Lakh/annum.

Page | 18
 4.3 Relationship between Income Group and Frequency of Online Shopping

50 45
45
40 Extremely Often (WEEKLY)
35
29
30 Moderately Often
25 (QUARTERLY)
20 NEVER
15
98
10
5 2 1 11 1 3 1 2 3 3 3 34 3 Not at all often (ONCE IN A
1 1 1 YEAR)
0
Slightly Often (BI-ANNUALLY)

Very Often (MONTHLY)

Figure 4.3 Frequency of Online Shopping across Income Groups

(Source: Interview Schedule)

On analysing the data on the frequency of online shopping, we establish a pattern of high frequency
concentration in the Non-Income Group, with 36% of the sample size buying Very Often, even
monthly; and 23.2% of the sample size buying Moderately Often, almost quarterly. A contrasting
realisation, however, is the fact that only a select few (8%) among the commanding income-group shop
Quarterly, online. This presents a very important fact about the relationship between the income group
and frequency of online shopping, i.e., buying online is a function of age-group more than the income
group. This study does not generalise this analysis but keeps it central in the observations and
recommendations that follow.

4.4 Relationship between Age Group and Frequency of Online Shopping

It is evident from Figure 4.4 that online shopping platforms are frequented the most by people in the age
group 15-20 years, with the monthly traction rate being 35.2% in the chosen sample of 125 people. At the
same time, monthly purchase rates across the age-group 20-30 accounts for 39.2% of that age-group
category; reflecting that the Millennial Age-Group (18-35) is more inclined towards the likes of online
shopping, thus justifying the selection of the chosen sample for this study. On the flip side, 50% of the
people in the 40-50 age-group opt for online purchase, presenting a skewed age-frequency ratio. Thus, it is
safe to conclude that there exists an inverse relationship between age-group and the frequency of online
shopping; thereby driving attention to one of the major objectives of this study, i.e., recommending age-
oriented digital marketing strategies for online businesses to keep up with their customer traffic and
expectation(s).
Page | 19
 50
44
45 Extremely Often (WEEKLY)
40
Moderately Often
35
(QUARTERLY)
30 28
NEVER
25
20 Not at all often (ONCE IN A
YEAR)
15
10 10 11 Slightly Often (BI-ANNUALLY)
10
6 6
4 3 Very Often (MONTHLY)
5
1 1 1
0
15-20 years 20-30 years 40-50 years

Figure 4.4 Frequency of Online Shopping across Age Groups

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.5 Most-frequently bought product/service across age-groups

25 23
20
20

15
10
10 7 8 7 76
4 5 4
5
11 121 2 2 1 2 2 3 31 2
0
15-20 years 20-30 years 40-50 years
Home Tools and Products
Hotel/ Travel Booking
Apparel and Footwear
Books
Consumer Electronics
Gift Items
Groceries
Jewellery
Personal Care Accessories and Products
Tickets (Events, Movies, Sports etc.)

Figure 4.5 Preferred product/service across age-groups

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Page | 20
Having established an inverse relationship between the age-group and frequency of online shopping, the
analysis in Figure 4.5 presents us with another similar set of data. Here, we see that the age-group 15-20
patronises Tickets (Events, Movies, Sports, etc.), Apparel and Footwear, Hotel/Travel Booking and
Consumer Electronics in the descending order of most-frequently purchased product/service. This reveals a
great deal of information about the nature of products bought by this segment of our sample: the kind of
goods bought are neither necessary nor luxury goods, but durable goods with competitive prices and diverse
range of alternatives, online. On the other hand, the other extreme age-group, i.e., 40-50 chooses to settle for
Consumer Electronics, likely because of cheap deals and striking discounts. The second constituent of the
Millennial Age-Group, 20-30 years, capitalises on Apparel and Footwear, closely followed by Books. The
demand pattern here qualifies as a routine-and-recurring demand for durable products.

4.6 Degree of Agreement with certain variables to measure Customer’s

Attitude

4.6.1 Online Shopping is convenient

Variable = Convenience

Figure 4.5.1, with the help of a pie-chart, illustrates that 58.4% of the sample size interviewed agrees with
the statement that Online Shopping is Convenient; 20% strongly agrees with the same; 17.6% has a neutral
attitude towards the factor of convenience; whereas 4% completely disagrees with the statement-in-question
that Online Shopping is convenient.

Views on the convenience of Online Shopping

2

40 Agree
Disagree
60
Neutral
Strongly agree
Strongly Disagree

18
5

Figure 4.6.1 Views on convenience of Online Shopping

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Page | 21
 4.6.2 Online Shopping is economical
Variable = Value for Money

We see in Figure 4.6.2 that 48% of the respondents interviewed agree to the statement that Online Shopping
is convenient, whereas 4% of the sample size dismisses the money-value of Online Shopping. Interestingly,
40% neither agree nor disagree with the characteristic of value for money while purchasing online. Yet
another segment (8%) strongly agrees that Online Shopping is economical.

Views on the money-value of Online Shopping

2

40 Agree
Disagree
60
Neutral
Strongly agree
Strongly Disagree

18
5

Figure 4.6.2 Views on the money-value of Online Shopping

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.6.3 Online Shopping is time-saving

Variable = Value for Time

The pie-chart in Figure 4.6.3 reflects that 48% of the sample size agrees that Online Shopping credits time,
whereas 4% of the respondents interviewed completely dismiss the time-value of Online Shopping. The fact,
worth noting, is that a significantly large proportion (32%) of the sample strongly agrees with the fact that
Online Shopping gives one a time-bonus, thereby cutting related variable costs such as travel cost and the
opportunity cost of shopping online. Therefore, we safely establish a positive pattern of convenience and
time-saving across respondents from the aforementioned analysis.

Page | 22
 Views on the time-value of Online Shopping
2

40 Agree
Disagree
60
Neutral
Strongly agree
Strongly Disagree

18
5

Figure 4.6.3 Views on the time-saving-value of Online Shopping

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.7 Degree of Importance of certain characteristics of an e-retailer website

for Consumers

4.7.1 Variable = User Friendliness

Views on User-friendliness of an e-retailer

website

43
Important
Not Very Important
Very Important

77 Not at all Important

Figure 4.7.1 Views on user-friendliness of an e-retailer website

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Page | 23
Figure 4.7.1 represents that 61.6% of respondents hold the characteristic of ‘user friendliness’ of an e-
commerce website, very dear while choosing to shop from a certain platform. A further enquiry (open-
ended) reflected the fact that the following factors of user-friendliness inflate customer satisfaction:
1. Easy access
2. Interactive elements
3. Entertainment factor(s)
4. Website design

Out of the chosen sample, 34.4% customers feel that the interface of an e-retailer website is important,
whereas 4% respondents do not identify with user-friendliness as a motivating characteristic for online
shopping.

4.7.2 Variable = Security (of payment) and Privacy (of information)

Views on Security and Privacy of an e-retailer

website
22

1
3 Important
Not at all Important
Not Very Important
Very Important

99

Figure 4.7.2 Views on security and privacy of an e-retailer website

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Defining security of an e-retailer website as a function of its payment bracket (payment methods) and
privacy as a function of information-confidentiality; this study identifies with security and privacy as sister-
characteristics, imperative in determining customer-traffic for a particular e-retailer website. According to
Figure 4.7.2, 79.2% of the respondents think that security and privacy concerns of a website are very
important to ensure customer retention. This almost gives us an 80-20 proportion of the sample size, with the
first half patronising security of payment and information-privacy; while the other half is split across 17.6%
of respondents who, also, deem security and privacy important constituents of consumer-retention by online
businesses. This segment also comprises respondents (3.2%) who are inf=different towards this aspect of an
e-retailer website.

Page | 24
 4.8 Rating key determinants of Online Purchasing Process

4.8.1 Variable = Brand Loyalty

Ratings for Brand-Loyalty among customers

35

95
38
1
2
3
4
5

99
76

Figure 4.8.1 Ratings for Brand-Loyalty by online customers

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Qualifying as one of the most-competitive determinants in the online-retail industry, Brand Loyalty is the
greatest constituent of gross profit for famous brands, online. The analysis, based on the administered
questionnaire, for the purpose of this study, is similar to the proposed theory. Respondents were asked to rate
Brand Loyalty in ascending order of favourability, with 1 being the least-favoured and 5 being the most-
favoured response. Figure 4.8.1 represents that 28% of the chosen sample does not identify with brand-
loyalty, whereas 76% of respondents look for the credibility of a brand when shopping online. A major
proportion of the sample is neutral about weighing brand-loyalty as a determinant to inflate their personal
demand to purchase online.

4.8.2 Variable = Discount and Offers

Regarded as an important determinant of online consumer demand, e-retailers consider discount on products
and services, along with customer-loyalty rewards as a profiteering technique, due to increase in volume of
customer traffic on their website(s). Our analysis of Figure 4.8.2 tells us that 72% of the respondents look for
lucrative offers and customer-discounts while shopping online; whereas the percentage of those indifferent
towards such giveaways is 36%. It is safe to conclude that percentages along the higher values (3,4,5) on the
chosen Likert Scale to measure attitudes, are more; thus, reflecting a positive correlation between discounts
and online consumer demand for products and services. Being an open-ended question, on further inquiry, it
was found that the following kinds of offers more commonly appeal to customers shopping online:
1. Early Payment Discount
2. Seasonal Discount
3. Price-break discounts
4. Customer Loyalty Reward(s)

Page | 25
 Ratings for Discount and Offers among customers
29

46
115
1
2
3
4
78 5

96

Figure 4.8.2 Ratings for Discount and Offers by online customers

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.8.3 Variable = Customer Feedback

Ratings for Customer Feedback among customers

27

48
110
1
2
3
4
5
87

92

Figure 4.8.3 Ratings for Customer-Feedback by online customers

(Source: Interview Schedule)

Customer-feedback and Reviews serve as an important premise to patronise customers online, hence
generating long-lasting customer loyalty for an e-retailer website. While interviewing respondents for the
purpose of this study, it was established that placing value in customers (in the form of Customer Feedback)
is positive for customers who are regular online-shoppers, and even more reflective for occasional-shoppers.
Figure 4.8.3 presents that 67.3% of respondents are driven by e-retailer website that ask for customer-
feedback, as opposed to the 29.4% of respondents, who have an indifferent attitude towards customer
reviews. A significant proportion (70.6%) of the sample regards feedback highly.
Page | 26
 OBJECTIVE 2
4.9 Average Online Shopping Experiences

Average Online Shopping Experiences of

customers
3 1

Indifferent
40
Negative
Positive
Revolutionary
77
Satisfactory

Figure 4.9 Respondents’ Average Online Shopping Experiences

(Source: Interview Schedule)

In order to reflect upon an average online-shopping experience among the chosen sample, an attempt to
generate qualitative answers of respondents was made and a pie-chart (Figure 4.9) quantifies the responses.
Analysis shows that for 61.6% of the sample size, their respective online-shopping experiences were
satisfactory; for 32% of them, in fact, experiences were positive. For a negligible count (0.8%) of the sample
size, the shopping experience was negative, hence holding back further traction. Interestingly, though, the
shopping experiences have been on an upward-positive side for customers (32% + 61.6% + 3.2% = 96.8%).
Indifference of attitude accounts for only 2.4% of the sample size interviewed.

4.10 Determining hindrance(s) in the Online Shopping Process

In order to encompass the broader objective of identifying gaps in previous researches conducted about this
topic and establishing strategical-relationship for digital marketeers to retrieve consumer-volume on e-retail
websites, it is critical to evaluate certain drawbacks that consumers identify with, while shopping online. In
doing so, the 125 respondents were presented with three hindrances, namely-
1. Shipping cost(s)
2. Inability to test a product
3. Slow shopping process, which incorporates customer sign-in, payment, check-out and product delivery

Figure 4.10 quantifies the sample size as follows:

1. 48.8% of respondents consider the inability to test a product as the major hindrance (and drawback) in the
entire process (and concept) of shopping online; thereby limiting certain product options from their demand-
set, which require pre-testing (eg: Consumer Electronics).

Page | 27
2. For 32% of respondents interviewed, the slow shopping process was a major concern. They cited reasons
such as a non-interactive interface of the e-retailer website, non-credible payment options (raising payment
security issues) and a slogged check-out scheme to validate their option.

3. A relatively smaller proportion (19.2%) of the sample size quotes shipping-costs as a demotivating factor
in the process of online shipping. The views ranged from respondents wanting a free-delivery to opting for
distance-induced shipping costs.

Hindrances in the Online Shopping Process

24

Inability to test product

61 Paying for shipping
Slow shopping process

40

Figure 4.10 Hindrances(s) in the Online Shopping Process

(Source: Interview Schedule)

4.11 Sources to get information about online products and services

Sources to get information about online products

11 Checking other brands and
19
alternate products

Discounts and Sales

Event-triggered interest in a
23 product

Instinctive buying

62
10 Product-specific internet
research

Figure 4.11 Sources to get information about online products

Page | 28
 (Source: Interview Schedule)

Online shopping greatly depends on recommendation by peer-group, necessity to purchase and situational-
demand. In order to analyse sources that provide information/knowledge about certain products and services
to give effect to online purchase, five such options were presented before the respondents:
1. Checking out other brands and alternate products
2. Discounts and Sales (offer-sale(s) on products- seasonal)
3. Event-triggered interest in a product
4. Instinctive buying (takes place without specific intent)
5. Product-specific internet research (on known search engines)

Responses obtained from respondents have been represented through a pie-chart in Figure 4.11, which
analyses the following:

1. For 49.6% (almost 50%) of the sample size, accidental and(or) intent-based encounters with discount
and other customer giveaways provide information about a specific product.
2. Next in line is Instinctive buying, which triggers 19% of the sample to search for need-based
products and services. Instinctive buying is a function of boredom, luxury and habit.
3. 16% of the sample size prefers researching about a specific product/service online before make an
online transaction.
4. 9% of the chosen sample depends on information routed by other similar and(or) different brands of
the product/service wanted by the respondent; hence giving credit to alternate brands for product-
specific information, often regarded as competitive information.
5. Interestingly, only 8% of the chosen sample is motivated by event-triggered interest in an online
product/service. An example includes triggered-demand for bridal wear, because of an upcoming
wedding or demand for sunglasses because of holiday-planning.

4.12 Most-valued product related information

Most-valued product-related information

14
20

Discount

11 Function
Look (size, colour, shape))
Price
42
13 Procedure to purchase
Warranty

25

Page | 29
 Figure 4.12 Most-valued product related information
(Source: Interview Schedule)

Objectifying the need to identify the most crucial product-related information for customers, online
businesses can make successes by manifold times as customer satisfaction is of prime importance. An
attempt to gauge similar information was undertaken through this study, reflecting the following analysis
through Figure 4.12:
1. 34% of the respondents identify with the purchase-procedure as an important aspect of product-
related information.
2. For 20% of respondents, price is a decision-making factor to effect online purchase.
3. Product-allied discounts and giveaways qualify as important information for 16% of the respondents
interviewed.
4. Product warranty, insurance and security-related information is critical in determining its utility for
12% of the respondents.
5. The most characteristic feature of a product- its look is patronised by only 11% of respondents,
reflecting that online customers place value in a product’s innate properties, too. The ‘look’ of a
product encompasses its shape, size, colour and other tangible properties.
6. Another striking feature of consumer-durable items, viz, the function of a product/service, establishes
importance only for 9% of the respondents covered.

4.13 Consumer-attitude towards online unavailability of a product

(Hypothetical Question)

Views on online-unavailability of a product

16 12

Buy something else

21
Hit the e-retailer's local store

Visit competitor's site

Would wait for the product-

in-question

76

Figure 4.13 Views on online-unavailability of a product

(Source: Interview Schedule)

In an attempt to analyse the utility, value and importance of online shopping for a customer, the following
hypothetical question was addressed to a sample of 125 respondents, with four sets of options:

Page | 30
Question: What if an e-commerce site/platform is out of a product?

Options: 1. Would wait till the product is back in stock on the same e-retailer’s platform.
2. Would go to a competitor brand’s site to effect purchase.
3. Would visit the e-retailer’s local store due to brand-loyalty reasons.
4. Would purchase some other product on the same e-retailer’s platform.

An underlying assumption while analysing the data for this hypothetical question from Figure 4.13 is made,
which states that, the e-retailer site in question has a host of products, not limited to just one product-type. As
we see the results, the following is established:
1. 61% of the respondents would visit the e-retail platform of a competitor brand to look for similar
products. We thereby conclude that these customers consider the product-demand as an urgent-
demand.
2. Brand-loyalty is of importance to 17% of the respondents who would visit the e-retailer’s local store
to purchase the product-in-question.
3. 13% of the respondents interviewed chose to wait till the product is back in stock online on the same
e-retailers platform.
4. 10% of the respondents would take to purchasing a different product on the same e-retailer’s platform,
thus reflecting instinctive buying as a major characteristic of their buying behaviour.

4.14 Most-influential Digital Marketing Technique for Online Consumers

Views on most-influential Digital Marketing

Technique

Display Re-targeting
37
42 Advertising

E-mail Marketing by e-
retailer

Organic Marketing using

subscribed product-
information

46

Figure 4.14 Views on most-influential Digital Marketing Technique

(Source: Interview Schedule)

To accord a relationship between online consumer behaviour and digital marketing techniques; and as a final
Page | 31
question in the administered questionnaire to respondents, views of consumers on what influences them the
most are crucial and critical. A set of three digital marketing techniques were presented as options, namely-
1. Display Re-targeting Advertising, which involves spamming an online consumer’s internet platforms
with repeated ads.
2. E-mail Marketing by the e-retailer, which is a method to flood a consumer’s email inbox with relevant
subscribed text and product-related information.
3. Organic Marketing, which refers to providing product-related information to consumers via social
media sites and search engines, than participating in artificial consumer-luring techniques.

On analysing the data in Figure 4.14, we come to see that 37% of respondents prefer E-mail marketing since
it qualifies as a customised way to orient information to customers. Followed closely by 34% respondents who
are subject to influence by Display Re-targeting marketing techniques, this study also established that
consumers are well aware about distinctions across different digital marketing techniques. 29% of respondents
adhere to the organic advertising gimmick followed generally by big and renowned brands such as Amazon.

OBJECTIVE 3

After scrutinising all relevant secondary sources of information, following analysis has been made
on relevant digital marketing strategies for important consumer decision-making variables:

1. Live Chat bots and virtual assistants like Siri, Google Voice, Alexa and Echo are fine examples
of what 2018 will offer. It will likely help businesses handle real-time customer queries, offer
product recommendations and of course to offer light-hearted humour along the way. This is
what would drive demand for the most-frequently purchased products.

2. Today, consumers expect solutions that cater to their unique interests and requirements. To
understand what customers require, businesses rely on predictive data technology which will
likely be the norm in 2018. This is what would bring in less-active age-groups within the ambit
of online shopping.

3. We live in a mobile-first culture where video is the fastest growing ad format. Experts believe
video will be the next big thing for ecommerce in the coming year as consumers find video
content relatable, engaging and relevant. Statistics show that video marketing can boost click-
through rates by 200-300% and increase purchase intent by 97%. This would comprise of time-
saving digital marketing techniques.

4. Cloud computing will offer access to data storage, processing, and analytics on a more
scalable, flexible, cost-effective, and even secure basis. Since convenience is defined as relaxed
and easy shopping, digital marketing tools such as video-blogs and testimonials would be used.

5. Voice of the Customer (VoC) tools are becoming a priority among online companies, mainly
because these types of tools have become a critical element in customer experience
initiatives. Complementing this further, E-mail marketing is viewed as a topmost customer-
feedback-generation tool, relaying precise but customised information.
Page | 32
6. Google Alerts, Sales Navigator and algorithmic customer-credit points would ascertain
discounts and offers to the target market against the backdrop of stiff business competition.

Page | 33
 5. Discussion
5.1 Relationship between Income Group and Frequency of Online Shopping

Based on the analysis of the administered questionnaire, a seemingly negative correlation is established
between the income-group of consumers and their frequency of online shopping. As inquired, the reason for
the same condenses down to be the high-demand concentration among the Millennial Age-Group (18-35),
which is comprised of students and professionals with part-time employment. Therefore, this study places
value in the pre-determined objective to derive digital marketing techniques to influence youth-demand and
ensure greater consumer-traffic, hence generating a profiteering model for online businesses. The following
reasons can be attributed to this identified relationship:
1. Youngsters are motivated by latest trends across social media and peer-group.
2. Exclusivity of brands, diverse options and cheap deals attract younger age-groups.
3. Tech-based environments stimulate demand for online shopping.
4. Relatively older age-groups are less accustomed to experimentation online, thus averting the risk of
online shopping.

5.2 Relationship between Age Group and Frequency of Online Shopping

Placing great deal of importance in emerging and changing trends, the new-generation of online consumers
capitalises on a host of options to shop from. A direct relationship is witnessed in app-based online selling
and the daily hours spent by a person in the age-group 15-25 on smartphone. Hence, we derive another
positive correlation between age-group and the frequency of online shopping, making this younger age-
group the most elusive and valuable customers in Tech. According to the Research Paper by N. Dela (2009),
hedonic shopping orientations attribute to the student category, thereby defining experiential shopping on the
basis of fun, interactive elements and habit-searches online; reflecting positive buying behaviour with
respect to online diversity of products and services.

5.3 Relationship between Brand-Loyalty and Customer Retention

Portending a significant result in the fact that a majority of respondents choose to purchase some other
product from the same e-retailer’s website (when a specific product is out of stock) or wait until the product
is back into the supply chain; we must draw attention towards going brand-loyalty as an imperative
customer-retention technique. Involvement has been used to examine the relationship between a consumer
and a product category (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). Involvement has also been explained as a motivational
variable which reflects “the extent of personal relevance of the decision to the individual in terms of basic
goals, values, and self-concept” (Ranaweera, McDougall and Bansal, 2005). All in all, involvement, which is
an individual difference variable, can be defined as the person’s interest in an object. This object could be
the product they are willing to purchase or the decision-making process itself (Mittal, 1989). Thereby, the
online businesses need to capture their Unique Selling Propositions (USP) and sell them to the customer,
first, later the product!

5.4 Relationship between product-related information and Customer Decision

While extrapolating the results around which product-related information is most critical for a consumer, we
found that majority of respondents interviewed identified with discounts and offers as one relative factor,
followed by tangible product properties and warranty-guidelines, next. Surprisingly, price did not command
Page | 34
customer decision due to a skewed income-dependability structure in India. Respondents generally relied on
the websites and platforms of competitive brands to secure information about a specific product. Therefore,
it must be noted that search engine optimisation needs to serve as an important characteristic to draw
customer-traffic, hence affecting customer-decision to purchase. Prior consumer research has often used
basic demographics or product-related characteristics that vary across individuals, such as product
involvement, to profile consumers (Chowdhury, Ratneshwar and Mohanty, 2009). However, decision-
making style in terms of maximization tendency has been neglected. Maximization tendency is a personality
trait which has a direct impact on the decision-making process and can explain diversities in consumer
behaviour.
Although individuals’ decision style orientation differs, the context of decision making also affects the level
of their maximization. “No one maximizes in all domains” (Schwartz et al., 2002). Consumers might
perform a cost-benefit analysis to select a simplifying or maximizing decision strategy based on the context
of decision problem (Wright, 1975). For example, in the case of purchasing a financial product an individual
will probably maximize more in comparison to the choice of a book. It can be concluded that despite being a
personality trait, decision-making style is not a context-independent variable. In fact, it is related to the
product type.
Hence, it becomes imperative that e-retail websites provide proper information about products to their
consumers since this one proposition results in following conclusions:
1. Inability to test a product before buying hinders online purchase of products.
2. Discounts and offers make a product more lucrative in comparison to its sole price, thereby
capitalising on maximising customer-traffic on e-retail websites.
3. Digital Marketing tools that provide product-video and testimonials hence become a favourite choice
to explore among potential buyers of an online product.

Page | 35
6. Conclusion
6.1 Findings
6.1.1 Objective 1
After analysing the primary data gathered using the interview schedule, we can safely conclude
that the buying behaviour of consumers:

1. is not directly linked to their Income-group. Particularly, with respect to India, where younger
age-groups are monetarily dependent on older age-group’s purchasing power, income is just a
random variable with no direct repercussion on consumer’s buying decision. Hence, purchasing
power does not limit consumer decision-making.

2. is positively skewed towards Consumer Durables such as Event Tickets, Apparel and
Footwear, Consumer Electronics and other day-care Accessories. These products neither
belong to the category of luxury goods nor to that of perishable goods. Since the demand for
groceries is limited to a select few of the chosen sample, we understand that online shopping,
generally, does not trigger around products with a short life-span (viz, perishable goods).

3. is frequent amongst the Millennial Age Group (18-35 years), which is characteristic of diverse-
demand generation; as a result of its dynamic co-existence in society. Since certain decision-
making variables revolve around instinctive buying and peer-influence, this age-group is
segmented as the vulnerable age-group, with respect to habit-determination.

4. regards certain characteristics of online shopping, such as, convenience, value for time and
value for money. This is reflected in the conclusion that, as opposed to physical shopping,
online shopping is more relaxed, efficient and easy. At the same time, providing great deals on
prices and allied-discounts, online platforms tend to patronise customers around its economical
characteristic. Cutting down on opportunity and travel costs, online shopping qualifies as time-
saving as e-retailer websites can be accessed even during zero-hours of the day.

5. revolves around the fact that online shopping is not just buying products/services, it is an
interactive medium to harness positive shopping experiences. Adding to this, on being asked
as to how many respondents told their acquaintances about revolutionary/satisfactory/positive
shopping experiences, almost all agreed to do so.

6. is determined greatly by the interactive elements, design, reputation and user-friendliness of

the e-retailer website. Similarly, factors like brand-loyalty and secure payment methods were
regarded important by more than 50% of the sample studied.

7. gives credit to a speedy purchase process, complemented by customer feedback and customer-
loyalty rewards. Shared customer experience in the form of case-studies, testimonials and
reviews encourage decision-making for a lot of consumers, thereby helping online businesses
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 to flourish by profiteering.

6.1.2 Objective 2

In establishing relationships between related consumer behaviour variables, following has been
concluded:

1. Consumers’ Average Online Shopping Experiences are a positive function of customer-loyalty,

brand-loyalty and shared customer experience.

2. Latest product information that incorporates product-price, warranty-statements, discount-

guidelines and tangible properties command a higher transaction rate.

3. Consumers’ use of social media is explicitly related to their preference of a platform to search
for specific products. We conclude this on the basis of a significantly large response structure
that which establishes that more than half of the respondents interviewed, depend on product-
specific research on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. This helps us conclude
another insight which states that social media and search engine optimisation have a long-
lasting impact on consumer-memory; thereby expanding their decision-making.

4. An interesting conclusion that follows is that customer-loyalty programmes and brand-loyalty

are the same sides of two different coins (one, on the supply side, i.e., the seller and one on the
demand side, i.e., the buyer). This is reflected in the fact that the response-rate is equally split
across customers who would wait till the product is back in stock on the same e-retailers
website and customers who would purchase some other product on the same e-retailers
platform.

5. Another important conclusion that stems from less-and-technologically restricted information

about an online product that hinders the customer’s purchasing process. According to more
than half of the sample size in question, the inability to test a product online restricts consumer
satisfaction, sometimes limiting their online buying-decisions, too.

6. A positive and direct relationship has been established between the age-group of consumers
and their frequency of online shopping.

7. The positive correlation between the income-group and frequency of online shopping by
consumers has been dismissed on the grounds of erratic income-structure in India. All the more,
frequency of online shopping displays hedonic orientation, i.e., habit-based demand, instead of
need-stimulated demand.

8. Positive relationship has also been established between customised consumer information (via
E-mail marketing) and customer-retention as a significant proportion of respondents feel that
customer-oriented information drives customer attention, positively influences their buying-
decision and hence increases customer-satisfaction.

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 6.1.3 Objective 3
After scrutinising all relevant secondary sources of information, it has been established that
customer-traffic is highly dependant on digital marketing techniques; which in turn depend on the
goals of a firm. Hence it is concluded that customer-targeting firms would always choose to
maximise customer satisfaction as it drives their sales and profits. In an attempt to do so, online
retailers need to assess challenges faced by consumers with regard to digital channels, consumer-
to-consumer interaction on brand related digital platforms and consumer behaviour on social media
domains since customer decision process is nothing but an application of the pre-determined
psychology of the consumer. It also becomes necessary to relay the target-market with the need,
aim and scope of expansion; since it guarantees explicit brand-loyalty.

6.2 Limitations of Study

The following are the limitations of this study:
 As the resulting sample is not a probability one, the findings cannot be generalised to
the total sampling population since the most-accessible individuals selected from one
location might have unique characteristics and hence might not truly represent other
variables of consumer behaviour.

 The main limitation of this study lies in the Likert Scale of measuring consumer attitude.
It is difficult to draw any conclusion about the overall attitude of a respondent with the
aid of closed questions. Since following an open-ended question scheme was not viable
within the framework of this study, the procedure proposed is not the best but has been
adopted for a number of reasons.

 This study attributes to a small sample size; hence might present skewed
generalisations.

 Certain open-ended questions remained unattempt by some respondents, which is why a full-view
of qualitative data could not be given effect.

6.3 Suggestions for Policymakers

In a domain where governmental policies have a direct bearing on private businesses, the following
suggestions are integral to ensure the holistic utility of the e-commerce industry in India:

1. Rural-urban gap should be minimised in terms of accessibility to the Internet. Considering an

economically weak rural sector in India, internet services should be provided free of cost to people
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 under the BPL and at subsidised rates to people just above the BPL. The fact that unawareness of
knowledge regarding modern platforms hinders demand in less-developed areas, is important to at
least kick-start Internet searches; which would transform into customer-demand in the long-run.

In addition to this, employment must be strengthened across rural India, to aid economically weaker
sections get a taste of price-competitiveness.

2. Vocational courses on Digital Marketing should be encouraged among youth that identifies with
temporary-unemployment and (or) disguised unemployment, so that both, the customer (person who
gets trained) and the digital marketeer (again, the same person) recognise their independent strengths
as individual units of the e-commerce industry in India.

3. In order to make payments over e-retail websites, secure, the banking sector needs to be pumped with
timely guidelines and regulations to keep digital transactions under check.

4. Owing to great concerns around privacy of information and data-leakage, the IT-sector needs to be
encouraged to undertake the issue of cyber-security, more seriously.

5. In fact, private business organisations and government agencies working in the same vertical must
make consumers aware of security concerns and revolutionary decisions in the e-commerce industry
to boost consumer decision-making to buy products online.

6.4 Future Research

1. This research must be conducted from a seller point-of-view and comparative studies
comprising real statistics by online business enterprises must be incorporated, besides real-time
consumer case-studies.

2. The scope for future research also hinges upon the aforementioned suggestions for policy-
makers, and subsequent researches on similar lines must be undertaken to strengthen the listed
recommendations.

3. Most importantly, industry-specific research should be conducted to present a macro-level

view of the chosen topic.

4. Additionally, the scope for future research lies after the suggestions have been taken into
consideration and implemented.

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 REFERENCES

Delafrooz, Narges, et al. "Factors affecting students attitude toward online shopping." African Journal of Business
Management 3.5 (2009): 200-209.

Delafrooz, Narges, Laily Hj Paim, and Ali Khatibi. "Developing an instrument for measurement of attitude toward online
shopping." European Journal of Social Sciences 7.3 (2009): 166-177.

Insider, Business. "Business Insider." Steve Kovach (2013).

Chellamma, A. V., V. Sornaganesh, and M. KrishnaVeni. "A Study on Awareness and Attitude of Consumers in Buying
Goods through Online." (2018).

Manjunath, Matam, et al. "Consumer Behaviour towards Electricity–a field study." Energy Procedia 54 (2014): 541-
548.

De Mooij, Marieke. "The future is predictable for international marketers: Converging incomes lead to diverging
consumer behaviour." International Marketing Review 17.2 (2000): 103-113.

Secondary Information is retrieved from:

https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/re-tales/trends-that-will-reshape-indian-e-commerce-in-2018/2767

https://www.nbrii.com/customer-survey-white-papers/the-importance-of-customer-surveys/

https://scholar.google.co.in/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=e+commerce+trends&btnG=

http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/5-Trends-that-will-Propel-Indian-e-commerce-in-2018-/26-12-2017-135667/

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 APPENDIX
Appendix 1: Interview Schedule used to Record responses for Objectives 1 and 2

Online Consumer Behaviour and Digital Marketing: Interpreting Intersection

Name
Gender: Male/Female/Other

Age
Employment Category _________
Income (per annum)

Q1) How frequently do you buy products/services online?

Q2) What type of product/service do you purchase online?

______________________________________________________________________________

Q3) Please indicate your degree of agreement with the following statements:
Online Shopping is convenient
Online Shopping is Time-saving

Online Shopping is Money-saving ________________________________________________

Q4) How important are the following characteristics of an e-retailer website for you:

1. User-friendliness __________________________________________________________
2. Security of payments and privacy of Information_________________________________

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 Q5) How important are the following characteristics for your online purchasing process

Brand Loyalty
Customer Feedback

Discounts and Offers___________________________________________________________

Q6) How would you classify your average online shopping experiences? Why?

Q7) Which factor has been a major hindrance in your online purchasing process? Why?

Q8) Where do you choose to get the most information about an online product from? Why?

Q9) Which product related information do you value the most? Why?

Q10) How would your purchasing decision vary if an e-commerce site is out of a specific
product/service?
______________________________________________________________________________

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