Focussed Group Discussion

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Understanding the change in consumer behaviour due to
shift from offline to online shopping boosted by the impact of Covid19 for apparels in
order to make recommendations for retail (brick and motor) shops to continue their
business.
For the Focussed Group Discussion we collected insights from 6 members. We

considered members from different backgrounds, age, gender and experience, to get
a broad insights of consumer behaviour. The group included 3 male and 3 females,
Batch mates, Junior Batchmate, Working Professional and an individual who is
currently doing his graduation.
FOCUSSED GROUP DISCUSSION
ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR
1. Do you prefer online shopping more than offline? If yes, why so? Does
your decision of doing online shopping depend on the specific product
you are buying?
Parameters considered while shopping online or offline

 Depends on what type of product an individual is purchasing. If he/she
needs to try or test the product offline shopping is preferred otherwise
online shopping is considered
 Offline shopping is considered to ensure the quality, fitting and exact
colour. If the product is not available offline then only online mode is
preferred.
 Pre-covid most of the shopping was done only, but during and post
covid the shopping is done mainly in the online mode. Online mode
also has more varieties and easy return policy. Only the apparel
shopping is done online, electronics products are purchased in offline
mode.
 Online mode is preferred because of the better deals offered and also
offline mode is given preference when the luxury of the shopping is
provided
 Online mode is preferred because of the convenience, less time, lower
prices and the due to the aspect of digital marketing which helps to
remind an individual about the purchase of his/her desired products.
2. For online shopping, do you think if you are given a discount on some
items you can compromise on other aspects like delivery time, return
policy etc.?
Even if a discount is provided on the products, the members denied to

compromise on the compromise of the return policy as sometimes the
products can be defective. If huge discount is given the delivery time can be
slightly compromised depending on the urgency of the requirement of the
product. Also the increase in the delivery time would be considered only for
cash on delivery payment option not for the prepaid payments.
Apparel Shopping Behaviour
3. Are you aware of the Augmented Reality (Lenskart) feature introduced

by brands? How useful you think it can be for apparel or you still prefer
touch n feel before buying?
We took the example of how lenskart is using augmented reality to improve

the overall experience of their customers. The Members had a mixed opinion,
some of the members preferred the trying and buying (augmented reality)
because of the parameters of convenience and variety. Other set of members
gave more importance to the quality and real view experience while
purchasing the product
4. How has your apparel shopping pattern changed in past two years due
to COVID (frequency, medium of shopping)? If you have shifted more
towards online apparel shopping, what is the prime reason – COVID or
better deals?
Online shopping was considered even before covid19 pandemic but for all the
members the frequency of shopping online is increased during and after the
covid19 pandemic. The online mode also provides better deals. Offline
shopping is particular preferred if an individual wants to purchase particular
clothes like traditional wear where the size, quality, delivery time is crucial.
The transitions mainly of the youth towards online purchase is on the rise as
the benefits provided are much better compared to the offline medium.
5. Do you check whether return feature is available for apparels that you
buy online?
According to all the members, Return feature is one of the most important
feature of purchasing online. Return feature provides an assurity that if there
is problem or defect in the colour, quality, size and usage the product, it can
be returned and a new product can be provided without any problem. Online
shopping has a crucial advantage of easy returns as compared to the offline
purchase.
6. What is the main reason of apparel return in your case? Is it because of

quality, or mismatch or issue in size and fitting?
The issues mentioned for the return of apparels by the participants in Focus group
discussion are:
 Difference in size of apparels where different size leads to misfitting of
dresses
 Quality issues as sometimes quality shown on the website is far better than
the ones that are delivered to the customers.
 Product mismatch occurred when the delivered product is different from what
is mentioned on the website
 Colour difference between the displayed and the delivered apparels
 Delivered product is old sometimes as in when the price tag or brand tag are
missing
7. Are you comfortable to drop the product that you want to return to a
designated place instead of pickup if you are offered some coupons, extra
deals?
Pickup from home or at a designated location for return of products depends on:
 Convenience of delivery as in if time for travelling is available with the
customer or not.
 Location of pickup is near then coupons can be used and order can be picked
up from the designated place else if the place is far then delivery person
needs to come and pick up from the home location.
 What coupon and how much deals in offered and what is the value of money
so that calculation can be done whether they can cover the cost of travelling
to the designated location.
 Type of product as it is heavy or light, breakable or not so that convenience of
delivering can be checked.
 Frequency of shopping as if shopping is done frequently then pickup seems
convenient no matter how much coupons are offered.
8. Do features like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) or offers/discounts on certain
modes of payment or cash back on payment gateways influence your decision
of purchasing online/offline?
Majorly for the participants discounts doesn’t affect the choice of offline or online
shopping as discounts offered online are mainly on left over products and end of
season sale products which are not good in quality or desired sizes are not available.
So, the choice of offline or online shopping majorly depends on the products.
But if the discounts are offered on branded products in online mode which are not
offered offline then they prefer online mode as the brand ensures credibility of the
products.
 Customer Perception
9. Does buying an item from a branded e commerce store effects your

perception of the apparel then buying the same product from a not so famous
firm?
Yes, the perception of the product is affected when bought from a branded e
commerce store as branded e commerce websites sell quality products, ensure easy
return policy and provide additional service to its customers like notify when
available, discounts etc. all of these increases the trust of the customers in those
products and which is necessary to maintain the brand equity of that e commerce
website.
But, the brand of apparel is more important than brand of e commerce while making
any purchases if other features like return policy is similar and discount is feasible on
either platform. This is because the branded products available on any website or
not so famous firm ensures quality of the product as it depends on the brand it is
holding.
10. How often do you check reviews and ratings of the apparels before
buying? Is it different from your electronics buying behaviour?
Majorly participants check ratings for both apparels and electronics while shopping
online. But there is constraint of credibility of reviews in case of apparels as the
reviews or photos mentioned by the customers are as per their preference or body
shapes and sizes so it becomes very subjective.
Whereas, in case of electronics the reviews are more objective as in if a review says
a phone has low battery backup and it only works for 3 hours without charging which
clearly indicates the battery backup is not good.
11. Is apparel shopping more of an experience to you? Will you be comfortable

to go back to offline shopping after COVID is over? What extra safety
measures you expect from the brick-and-mortar stores now?
Majorly for all the participants they prefer to have a mix of both for apparel shopping.
As online shopping provides convenience, variety, trial and easy return features due
to which they prefer it. But, also in order to gain experience of shopping where they
can try out the clothes and choose something then and there if it doesn’t suits them
they prefer offline shopping as well.
Hence, if convenience is considered and they have less time or unfeasible to go to
offline stores they prefer online shopping.
But if they are out travelling and wants to enjoy the shopping experience, they prefer
offline.

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Focussed Group Discussion

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PROBLEM STATEMENT: Understanding the change in consumer behaviour due to

For the Focussed Group Discussion we collected insights from 6 members. We

FOCUSSED GROUP DISCUSSION

ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR

Parameters considered while shopping online or offline

Even if a discount is provided on the products, the members denied to

Apparel Shopping Behaviour

3. Are you aware of the Augmented Reality (Lenskart) feature introduced

We took the example of how lenskart is using augmented reality to improve

6. What is the main reason of apparel return in your case? Is it because of

9. Does buying an item from a branded e commerce store effects your

11. Is apparel shopping more of an experience to you? Will you be comfortable

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