1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose of the Study

The immediate purpose of the research study is to determine how Indian consumers perceive e-tailing or electronic retailing and how this affects their intention of purchase within the Internet shopping environment. The primary research would help: 1) To understand the perceptions consumers have towards purchase of retail products through internet shopping; and 2) To determine the extent of adoption of the e-tailing The study would also help in understanding of consumer behavior towards retail products when they are in purchase situations in which they cannot physically evaluate.

1.2 Context of the Study

1.2.1 Indian Retail Market Webified

The Indian retail industry as the fifth largest in the world consists of unorganized and organized areas. The retail industry in India has grown rapidly in recent years and although the growth rates are forecast to decelerate, e-tailing will make it remain very strong. Comprising of a share of 6.48% of the overall e-Commerce market in India (Ecommerce India 2011 report, Research on India), e-tailing (e-retailing or electronic retailing or online retailing) was worth $ 590 million in 2011. Edelweiss Securities projected tremendous growth potential of e-tailing in the recent years as much as $ 12 billion by 2016. This growth of the Indian retail industry is contributed the new generation of consumers and the technical boom called the Internet. This growth is better seen in the last two years. The better picture is given by the following figure:

(Source: Edelweiss research)

Figure 1: Growth of Indian retail in the webosphere (E signifies projections)

The various types of products available through e-tailing have gone limitless with new ones added day-by-day. Some of the categories are listed below:

(Source: IAMAI; Netscribes Analysis; Times of India Online stores see growth from non-metros & villages, Apr 2011)

Figure 2: Product categories in e-tailing (illustrative only)

According to IMRB & IAMAI research report on Digital Commerce (2011) the component share of e-tailing is mostly ruled by computer & peripherals and cameras & mobiles with 36% and 25% of the total share.

(Source: IAMAI & IMRB international)

Table 1: Product share in e-tailing

Dataquest in collaboration with SapientNitro and JuxtConsult released a research report in 2011, wherein they revealed the top 20 e-tailers operating in India.

(Source: Dataquest)

Table 2: Top 20 e-tailers in India (not in the rank order)

1.2.2 Expanding Indian retail webosphere The e-commerce business has brought a revolution in the shopping model of India. Towards the end of 2009, there was an increase in online retail websites in the country both for single brand and multi brands. These sites sold retails at slashed prices targeted to the middle class household who generally are reluctant to buy expensive brands in stores. This rise was accounted for the changing face of industry and lifestyle transformation of Indians. For instance, the online apparel category continues to top the list of high performers in e-commerce, a study by Technopak Advisors, a consulting firm, reveals this segment will now grow almost ten-fold to nearly Rs 7,000 crores by 2015 pushed by Gen Z who already number 7.4 million. Gen Z interestingly known as the Net Generation has been held responsible for the increase in sales of products on the internet and making e-tailing a favorite spot for private equity investments. In the last two years, the Rs 650 crores garment e-retailing business alone on the internet has attracted investments worth $70 million i.e. 40 per cent of the total funding Indian e-retailers bagged during the period. In fact, the recent inflow of private equity investment firms into many start-ups is an indication that the e-tailing platform is reaching a tipping point fast. For instance investment giants like Tiger Capital, IndoUS Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Accel India have invested in the range of $5 million to $52 million in portals like Letsbuy, Flipkart, FashionAndYou, Yehbhi, and Snapdeal. Apart from selling apparel, these e-retailers offer everything from gadgets to diamonds and shoes to stationery. They are not leaving any stone unturned to woo their customers by keeping no restrictions on opening or closing hours. Thus, what started with designer clothes has quickly branched out to travel, restaurants, home decor and even kitchenware, indicating that there is plenty of room for all sorts of products and services to be sold this way.

1.3 Significance of the Study

The most important characteristic of the Indian consumer perception for products is that consumers want to feel the product before they buy it. Thus the most guiding features that influence a consumer perception towards buying retail products are: appearance, usefulness, and social acceptance and personality characteristics. Thus in such a market the online shopping of such products is acceptable or not is most important for a retailer to understand so that he can market its products easily to all market segments across all internet-able ages. In a market with such less internet penetration as 10.2% (as per Internet World Stats, Dec.31, 2011), the online shopping success mostly lies with the internet awareness of the masses. The availability of almost everything over the internet and the changing lifestyle of the 24x7 consumer is also a contributing factor in the success of an online shopping. The quality consciousness of the consumer also has grown over the decade so the product characteristics remain important for an Indian consumer before purchasing a product as the after sales service. The price of the product also plays an important part in the purchase of an product for a bargain conscious consumer. Thus these issues need to be addressed by an internet retailer to make it an outbound success.

1.4 Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of the study was based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) model or the behavioral intention model (Cuchinprakarn, S.; 2005). In this research the TRA was applied to test the online shopping intention based on the guiding consumer perceptions. According to the theory four constructs were proposed that influence the online shopping intention - trust, confidence, experience and social influence. Age, income and occupation are also operational in influencing the knowledge about e-tailing and thus the intention to shop online (Ahmed, Tarek Taha; 2011).

TRUST

INCOME

CONFIDENCE INTENTION TO EXPERIENCE SHOP ONLINE AGE

OCCUPATION SOCIAL INFLUENCE

Figure 3: Theoretical Framework

1.5 Factor Definitions

Trust: Perceived credibility and benevolence of the e-tailer. Confidence: State of being certain that the chosen course of action (making transactions) is the best. Experience: Knowledge of e-tailing through personal involvement or only an exposure. Social Influence: Influence by others affecting the decision making process of self.

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Parikh, Darshan (2006) found that the demographic indicators such as age, gender, income, and ethnicity are the accurate indicators of who shops online. He suggested that due to low penetration of the Internet in India, the internet shopping is in its nascent stage in India. He also studied the relationship between actual and intended online shopping experience and various demographic indicators.[1] Li, Na & Zhang, Ping (2002) found that personal characteristics,

vender/service/product characteristics, and website quality significantly affect online shopping attitudes, intention, and behavior. They implied that more appropriate consumer groups, improving product and/or service quality, and improving website quality positively influence consumer attitudes and behavior, potentially leading to increased frequency of initial purchase and repeat purchases on the part of consumers.[2] Delafrooz, Narges et. al. (2010) found through a survey that the most significant determinants of consumers attitudes towards online shopping are utilitarian orientation, convenience, price, and a wider selection of products.[3] Young Ha & Stoel, Leslie (2004) suggested how general innovativeness is related to Internet shopping based on Rogers' innovation decision process. Due to the newness of Internet shopping, consumers' general innovativeness may influence the adoption of Internet shopping among young consumers. The results show that general innovativeness is related to Internet usage for information search, but not to actual purchase.[4]

Noort, Guda Van et. al. (2007) examined the impact of shopping context on consumers risk perceptions and regulatory focus. They found that individuals perceive an online (vs. conventional) shopping environment as more risky and that an online shopping environment, by its risky nature, primes a prevention focus.[5] Samadi, Mansour & Yaghoob-Nejadi, Ali (2009) compared the perceived risk level between Internet and store shopping, and revisited the relationships among past positive experience, perceived risk level, and future purchase intention within the Internet shopping environment. They revealed that consumers perceived more purchasing risk from the Internet than from the store. A more positive online shopping experience led to consumers less perceived purchasing risk level in the Internet. And a higher perceived risk led to less future purchasing intention from the Internet.[6] Shergill, Gurvinder S & Chen, Zhaobin (2005) found that website design, website reliability/fulfillment, website customer service and website security/privacy are the four dominant factors which influence consumer perceptions of online purchasing. They categorized online buyers into four types; i.e., trial, occasional, frequent and regular online buyers, who perceived the four website factors differently.[7] Rishi, Bikram Jit (2008) found that the use of Internet is catching up and online shopping is considered as a relevant alternative channel for retailing in India, and it is now important part of the retail experience. He highlighted that convenience, accessibility, scope, attraction, reliability, experience and clarity are the important factors considered by the online shoppers. He also found that factors affecting the online shopping in India are similar to those of worldwide but some of them are specific as the

penetration of IT and its adoption in India have been slow such as scope and accessibility.[8] Seock, Yoo-Kyoung and Chen-Yu, Jessie H. (2006) through factor analysis identified five website evaluation criteria for internet shopping (i.e. product information, customer service, privacy/security, navigation, auditory experience/comparison

shopping). Based on shopping orientation factors, using cluster analysis they revealed three shopping orientation clusters (i.e. hesitant in-home shoppers, practical shoppers, involved shoppers). Their study showed that website evaluation criteria were signicantly different among consumers with different shopping orientations and between online information searchers and online purchasers.[9] San, Lim Ying; Jun, Wong Wan; Ling, Tan Nya and Hock, Ng Tuan (2010) examined the perspective of Generation Y and reported that reliability/prompt responses, ease of use and access are significantly correlated with perceived online shopping service quality.[10] Yang, Ming-Hsien; Chandlrees, Natalyn; Lin, Binshan and Chao, Hung-Yi (2009) investigated that trust is the key factor to success of e-commerce. They reported that consumers trust the e-commerce vendor on the basis of the privacy policies it follows and also the appropriate description of products it provides through the website.[11] Lee, Khai Sheang and Tan, Soo Jiuan (2003) reported that consumers perceived risk of products and services and the retail context utility are the important factors that affect the consumer choice of shopping on-line or in-store. They also added

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that consumers mostly shop for well known brand online and also prefer purchasing from reputable retailers.[12] Sun Lu (2009) found that although convenience being an advantage of online stores, consumer confidence in transactions, payment mechanisms and mode of receipt of commodities can play an important role in disrupting the overall trust and thus affect the online purchase process. He also found that two factors are operational in developing confidence, which he termed as pre-factors (brand, safety) and post factors (after sales service).[13]

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES 3.1 Purpose of the Study

The immediate purpose of the research study is to determine how Indian consumers perceive e-tailing or electronic retailing and how this affects their intention of purchase within the Internet shopping environment. The primary research would help: 1) To understand the perceptions consumers have towards purchase of retail products through internet shopping; and 2) To determine the extent of adoption of the e-tailing The study would also help in understanding of consumer behavior towards retail products when they are in purchase situations in which they cannot physically evaluate.

3.2 Research Design

The research design is that phase that deals with the procedures that are to be adopted for the research study. The procedures detail the kind of research that is to be carried out, the data collection techniques and the analytical procedures that are to be used to accomplish the research objectives. The study here required a descriptive research design; a descriptive research is conducted to study influences in a phenomenon after they have occurred or as they are occurring. Therefore descriptive research entails an objective and assumptions behind that objective. The descriptive research embodies all research activities conducted in the current time or the immediate past of the concerned phenomenon; internet shopping of apparels is the main concern here.

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The reason behind choosing the descriptive research design is as follows: 1. The study demands the description of characteristics of the e-tailing and consumers perceptions regarding the same. 2. The study also demands estimation of the proportion of the units of the population that exhibit the same attitude towards e-tailing & related aspects. 3. The study focuses on determination of the perceptions about purchase over internet influencing variables. 4. The study also focuses on determining the degree of association of the purchase related variables. 5. Finally, the study is directed to generate specific generalizations.

3.3 Research Objectives

Based on the theoretical framework and literature review following research objectives were framed for achieving our purpose of the study: (1) Establishing the relationship between perceptual dimensions and preference for etailing. (2) Establishing the relationship between demographic dimensions and preference for e-tailing.

3.4 Research Hypotheses

Based on the research objectives the following research hypotheses were formulated: (1) Hypothesis 1 (H1): Customers intention to shop online is positively influenced by perceptual factors, such as

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a. H1a: Perceived trust b. H1b: Perceived confidence c. H1c: Perceived experience d. H1d: Perceived social influence (2) Hypothesis 2 (H2): Customers intention to shop online is positively influenced by personal factors such as income & occupation. (3) Hypothesis 3 (H3): Customers age negatively influences the intention to shop online.

3.5 Participants
The participants or the sample for the study was determined keeping in mind the type of research design employed. As our study was a descriptive research the type of sampling employed here was non-probability sampling and more specifically convenience sampling. To calculate the sample size Cochrans formula (Bartlett, James E. et. al.; 2001) was used.

Where n0 = sample size. Z = standard normal variable. The value of Z from the table for a confidence level of 95% is 1.96. e = desired level of precision/error (assumed as 0.07) p = estimated population of an attribute that is present in the population; with the

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assumption of a large population and unknown variability in the proportion, we usually assume a value of 0.5 (maximum variability). q = 1 p. Thus, the value of n0 is found out to be,

Since we dont have a specific estimate of our population who are associated with internet shopping (infinite population) in Delhi/NCR so the above value of n0 is our sample size.

3.6 Data Acquisition

The data collected for a research study are categorized into primary and secondary data. Secondary data for the study was collected by referring the previous relevant research work of other authors in internet shopping and consumer attitudes and perceptions. The secondary data helped in developing an approach to the study, identifying relevant key variables and also formulate the research questions that were needed to be answered to suffice our objective of the study. Primary data would be collected by using the survey method of data collection, wherein a formal questionnaire comprising of questions with various scales were administered to the selected respondents through e-mails and personal surveys.

3.7 Instruments Used

As described above our research instrument was a formal questionnaire was set of questions with a prearranged order. The questions were formulated keeping in mind the

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type of respondents and the objective of the study. The format of the questionnaire was divided into 2 parts: 1. General information (consumer demographics) (Q1 to Q4). 2. Questions related to online shopping (Q5 to Q11). A Likert scale with five response categories ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree would be employed to obtain responses.

3.8 Data Analysis

Statistical analysis of the data was done through the use of relevant tests. Descriptive statistics & multiple regression was used for deriving the conclusions. Reliability test was be used for measuring the scale internal consistency. All statistical tests were run at 95% confidence level. For the purpose of data analysis following softwares would be used: 1. Microsoft Excel: for storing of data, facilitating import to other purpose. 2. SPSS: for quantitative analysis of data. A SPSS version 18 would be used for the purpose.

3.9 Limitations
The study was limited to Delhi/NCR and the respondents available over internet (Facebook and other social networks) were of prime concern. The study provides only generalizations. The biasness in responses cannot be ruled out.

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CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1 Review of Methodology

A calculated convenient sample was administered a questionnaire based on the questions regarding the perceptions of e-tailing and the response collected was analyzed through SPSS employing a pre-determined set of statistical tests. The analysis was done to determine how Indian consumers perceive e-tailing or electronic retailing and how this affects their intention of purchase within the Internet shopping environment.

4.2 Statistical Results

4.2.1 Reliability Analysis The reliability test of the scale used in the study showed a good internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.906, which is greater than the optimal acceptable limit of 0.7. So it was inferred that the scale correctly measures the purpose of the study.

Case Processing Summary N Cases Valid Excluded Total

a

% 177 0 177 100.0 0 100.0

a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure. Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha .906 N of Items 15

Table 3: Reliability test

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4.2.2 Respondent Profile Out of 196 questionnaires administered, 177 questionnaires were collected back (Response rate = 90.3%). The data collected showed that our respondents were dominated by males

comprising of 83.05% and rest being females

comprising of 16.95%.

Figure 4: Respondents Gender Profile

The most prominent age depicted by the sample was between 21 and 40 comprising of 88.7% and rest being below 20, 6.21% and above 40, 5.08%.

Figure 5: Respondents Age Profile

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As

per

the

data

collected the household income of most

respondents fall in the range of Rs. 4,00,001 to Rs. 10,00,000,

consisting of 50.85%.

Figure 6: Respondents Income Profile

As

per

the

data

collected the salaried (55.37%) consisted

most of the respondents followed by students (33.33%), business/selfemployed (7.91%) and unemployed/homemake rs (3.39%).

Figure 7: Respondents Occupation Profile

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4.2.3 Cross tabulations Cross tabulations was used to determine the gender differences with respect to etailing. Firstly, gender was cross tabulated with average usage of internet, which depicted that males are more net-savvy than females comprising of 83% of the sample.

Gender ? * What is your average usage of internet per week? Crosstabulation Count What is your average usage of internet per week? Less than an hour Gender ? Male Female Total 7 2 9 1 hour to 10 hours 36 6 42 10 hours to 20 hours 41 14 55 More than 20 hours 63 8 71 Total 147 30 177

Table 4: CrossTab of gender*average internet usage

Figure 8: Bar chart gender*average internet usage

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Secondly, gender was cross tabulated with internet shopping websites visiting frequency which showed that males are more aggressive in visiting these sites comprising of 83% of the total sample.
Gender ? * How frequently do you visit internet shopping websites? Crosstabulation Count How frequently do you visit internet shopping websites? 1-3 times / Everyday Gender ? Male Female Total 21 2 23 1-3 times / week 56 0 56 month 36 8 44 1-3 times / year 30 20 50 Never 4 0 4 Total 147 30 177

Table 5: CrossTab of gender*e-shop visit

Figure 9: Bar chart gender*e-shop visit

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Thirdly, gender was cross tabulated with the frequency of search for products over the internet. It was found that males dominated in the extent of searching for online products.
Gender ? * Over the past 1 year how much have you searched about products over the internet? Crosstabulation Count Over the past 1 year how much have you searched about products over the internet? More than 10 Never Gender ? Male Female Total 14 0 14 1 5 times 35 24 59 6 10 times 40 0 40 times 58 6 64 Total 147 30 177

Table 6: CrossTab gender*product search over internet

Figure 10: Bar chart gender*product search over internet

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Finally gender was cross tabulated with the frequency of purchase over internet, which depicted that males are more interested in making online purchases.
Gender ? * Over the past 1 year how much product purchase have you made over the internet? Crosstabulation Count Over the past 1 year how much product purchase have you made over the internet? More than 10 Never Gender ? Male Female Total 30 8 38 1 5 times 45 22 67 6 10 times 34 0 34 times 38 0 38 Total 147 30 177

Table 7: CrossTab gender*product purchase over internet

Figure 11: Bar chart gender*product purchase over internet

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The cross tabulation between the search for products and the purchase of products over the internet showed that a majority of sample depicted that there is a proportional relationship between the search for and the purchase of products over the internet.
Over the past 1 year how much have you searched about products over the internet? * Over the past 1 year how much product purchase have you made over the internet? Crosstabulation Count Over the past 1 year how much product purchase have you made over the internet? 1 5 times 0 33 22 12 67 6 10 times 0 4 18 12 34 More than 10 times 0 2 0 36 38

Never Over the past 1 year how much have you searched about products over the internet? Never 1 5 times 6 10 times More than 10 times Total 14 20 0 4 38

Total 14 59 40 64 177

Table 8: CrossTab search*purchase

Figure 12: Bar chart search*purchase

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4.2.4 Multiple Regression Analysis Multiple regression was used to determine the influence of the 4 identified perceptual factors (independent variables) on the intention to shop online (dependent variable). 4.2.4a Intention to shop regressed with perceived trust
Model Summary Model R R 1 .397
a b

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .123 Std. Error of the Estimate .832 R Square Change .157 F Change 4.511 df1 7 df2 169 Sig. F Change .000

Square .157

a. Predictors: (Constant), I often come across of ads of internet stores, Internet stores price products reasonably, Internet stores provide personalized products, Internet stores truly understand latest trends, Internet stores provide timely delivery of orders, Internet stores provide good value & service, Internet stores sell known brands b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 9: Regression model of perceived trust

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 21.881 117.113 138.994 Df 7 169 176
b

Mean Square 3.126 .693

F 4.511

Sig. .000
a

a. Predictors: (Constant), I often come across of ads of internet stores, Internet stores price products reasonably, Internet stores provide personalized products, Internet stores truly understand latest trends, Internet stores provide timely delivery of orders, Internet stores provide good value & service, Internet stores sell known brands b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 10: ANOVA table of perceived trust model The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.00) is lower than the significance level of 0.05, so it was inferred that the null hypothesis is rejected and the

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alternate hypothesis (H1a) is accepted. Thus there is positive influence of perceived trust on the customer intention to shop online. 4.2.4b Intention to shop regressed with perceived confidence

Model Summary Model R R 1 .295

a

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .065 Std. Error of the Estimate .858 R Square Change .087 F Change 4.047 df1 4 df2 170 Sig. F Change .004

Square .087

a. Predictors: (Constant), Transactions made over internet stores are secure, I am comfortable with shopping over internet, Internet stores have good reputation, Internet shopping is hassle-free b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 11: Regression model of perceived confidence

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 11.906 125.043 136.949 df 4 170 174
b

Mean Square 2.976 .736

F 4.047

Sig. .004
a

a. Predictors: (Constant), Transactions made over internet stores are secure, I am comfortable with shopping over internet, Internet stores have good reputation, Internet shopping is hassle-free b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 12: ANOVA table of perceived confidence model

The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.004) is less than the significance level of 0.05, so it was inferred that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis (H1b) is accepted. Thus there is a positive influence of perceived confidence on the customer intention to shop online.

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4.2.4c Intention to shop regressed with perceived experience

Model Summary Model R R 1 .452

a

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .191 Std. Error of the Estimate .799 R Square Change .205 F Change 14.829 df1 3 df2 173 Sig. F Change .000

Square .205

a. Predictors: (Constant), Internet stores elevate the traditional shopping experience, Internet stores provide replacement options, Internet shopping is value for money b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 13: Regression model of perceived experience

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 28.431 110.563 138.994 df

Mean Square 3 173 176 9.477 .639

F 14.829

Sig. .000
a

a. Predictors: (Constant), Internet stores elevate the traditional shopping experience, Internet stores provide replacement options, Internet shopping is value for money b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 14: ANOVA table of perceived experience model

The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.00) is less than the significance level of 0.05, so it was inferred that the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis (H1c) is accepted. Thus there is positive influence of perceived experience on the intention to shop online.

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4.2.4d Intention to shop regressed with perceived social influence

Model Summary Model R R 1 .120

a

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .009 Std. Error of the Estimate .885 R Square Change .014 F Change 2.538 df1 1 df2 175 Sig. F Change .113

Square .014

a. Predictors: (Constant), I will rely on review/advice before shopping over internet b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 15: Regression model of perceived social influence

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 1.987 137.007 138.994 df

Mean Square 1 175 176 1.987 .783

F 2.538

Sig. .113
a

a. Predictors: (Constant), I will rely on review/advice before shopping over internet b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 16: ANOVA table of perceived social influence model

The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.113) is more than the significance level of 0.05, so it was inferred that the null hypothesis is accepted and the alternate hypothesis (H1d) was rejected. Thus there is a negative influence of social factor on the intention to shop online.

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4.2.4e Intention to shop regressed with personal factors

Model Summary Model R R 1 .291

a

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .074 Std. Error of the Estimate .855 R Square Change .085 F Change 8.064 df1 2 df2 174 Sig. F Change .000

Square .085

a. Predictors: (Constant), Occupation ?, Annual Household Income ? b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 17: Regression model of personal factors

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total Sum of Squares 11.790 127.204 138.994 df

Mean Square 2 174 176 5.895 .731

F 8.064

Sig. .000
a

a. Predictors: (Constant), Occupation ?, Annual Household Income ? b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 18: ANOVA table of personal factors model

The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.00) is less than the significance level of 0.05, so the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis (H2) is accepted. Thus there is positive influence of personal factors (occupation & income) on the intention to shop online.

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4.2.4f Intention to shop regressed with age

Model Summary Model R R 1 .152

a

Change Statistics Adjusted R Square .018 Std. Error of the Estimate .881 R Square Change .023 F Change 4.141 df1 1 df2 175 Sig. F Change .043

Square .023

a. Predictors: (Constant), Age ? b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future?

Table 19: Regression model of age

ANOVA Model 1 Regression Residual Total a. Predictors: (Constant), Age ? b. Dependent Variable: Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future? Sum of Squares 3.213 135.782 138.994 df 1 175 176
b

Mean Square 3.213 .776

F 4.141

Sig. .043
a

Table 20: ANOVA table of age model

The regression analysis showed that the computed p-value (0.043) is less than the significance level of 0.05, so the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternate hypothesis (H3) is accepted. Thus there is negative influence of customers age on their intention to shop online.

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4.2.5 Do internet stores need to have actual physical stores? The responses collected showed that people find internet stores more appealing if it has an actual physical store. About 73.45% of the total respondents agree to this notion.

Figure 13: Appeal of online stores more with actual physical stores

4.3 Summary of Findings

Findings suggest that: Males are more involved in product search and purchase over the internet. Perceived trust, perceived confidence and perceived experience has positive influence on online shopping intention; whereas perceived social influence has a negative influence.

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Personal factors (income & occupation) positively affect the intention to shop online while customers age negatively affects the intention. There is proportional relationship between the search and purchase of products over the internet. The more the extent of search the more is the extent of purchase. Similarly the more hours a person uses the internet the more is the probability of visiting internet shopping websites. Despite the rise of electronic retail people still think that physical retailing is more appealing than online retailing.

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 5.1 Discussions

5.1.1 Relationship between perceptual dimensions and preference for e-tailing Based on the statistical results, it was seen that: According to the findings, intention to shop online is positively affected by the perceived trust bestowed by the customer on the e-retailer. This means that customers are involved in online retailing when they are aware of the brand of the retailer and the products it is selling. Also a positive trust factor is deciphered as good value and service. (refer tables 9 & 10, Pg. 24) Similarly the intention to shop online is positively affected by the perceived confidence held by the customers. So it can be reported that customers are more comfortable if they are aware of the fact that their transactions are secure and they can share their private information fearlessly, and thus reduces the risk of the transaction. (refer tables 11 & 12, Pg. 25) The perceived experience also has a positive influence over the intention to shop online; so it can be reported that customers would go for shopping online if the traditional shopping experience is enhanced or elevated by providing an innovative or more creative atmosphere online through better design and functionalities. (refer tables 13 & 14, Pg. 26) The perceived social influence however had a negative influence over the intention to shop online; as a positive word of mouth/review can persuade a customer to shop, so does a negative word of mouth/review could send a

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repelling message thereby making the online shopping activity unattractive. (refer tables 15 & 16, Pg. 27)

5.1.2 Relationship between personal dimensions and preference for e-tailing Based on the statistical results, it can be seen that: Income and occupation have a positive influence over the intention to shop online. This can be due to the fact that higher disposable income makes customers better risk takers and adopters of new technology. Thus higher income means more attraction to go for shopping online. Similarly, occupation makes people more aware of trends and thus affects the urge for trial and thus the intention to shop online. (refer tables 17 & 18, Pg. 28) Customers age had a negative influence on the shopping intention and it can be reported that with increasing age there is a fall in the intention to shop online. This can be due to difference in thought process and societal influence. (refer tables 19 & 20, Pg. 29)

5.1.3 Physical retailing versus e-tailing Even though e-retailers are making their display of products more prominent day by day by exposing the customers with advertisements, still there is a notion that traditional physical retailing is more appealing than online retailing. (refer figure 13, Pg. 30)

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73% of the respondents agree to this notion. This can be due to the fact that physical retailing provides the instance to personal touch and feel the good, thereby providing a chance of negotiation and reducing the risk involved.

5.2 Recommendations
Following recommendations can be exercised to increase the customer adoption of etailing: Issue What to Do? Better Innovative website interaction with design interface customers. How to Do? Innovative graphic user interface design or a three dimensional interface simulating the actual product. Outcome This will enhance the feel of the product within the internet environment leading to enhanced trust and confidence in purchase. This would keep the customer remain engaged without elevating the anxiety level to the maximum, leading to enhanced trust and confidence. Empathetic customers and enhanced loyalty.

Waiting period Personalized anxiety / interactive response Replacement scale queries

Scale that depicts the processing timeline and status of customers query/issue.

Customer One-to-one involvement, customer service feedback and retention

Providing personal customer service operator to every customer for handling queries and also taking feedback during the pre-delivery and postdelivery period.

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5.3 Limitations
The study was limited to Delhi/NCR and the respondents available over internet (Facebook and other social networks) were of prime concern. The study provides only generalizations. The biasness in responses cannot be ruled out. Also the numbers of females were less as per the recorded data so the generalization that males are dominating in e-tailing activities cannot be taken as the hard truth.

5.4 Implications
The research study can have several implications. It can be utililized in devising new methods to communicate the customer the usefulness of e-tailing and also create new dimensions to involve all ages of population into the online retailing activity so as to gain access to deeper parts of the society and generate higher revenues. Although transactions have been made secure through verifications & certifications, customer is still having a risk perception in their mind that makes him confused with his decision to adopt e-tailing or not. So initiatives can be taken to create interactive effects that would diminish the levels of risk in the minds of the customer and make them more open to eretailing.

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REFERENCES
1) Parikh, Darshan (2006) Profiling internet shoppers: a study of expected adoption of online shopping in India, IIMB Management Review. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 17th October 2011 (http://web.ebscohost.com)] 2) Li, Na & Zhang, Ping (2002) Consumer online shopping attitudes & behavior: an assessment of research, Eighth Americas Conference on Information Systems. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 17th October 2011

(http://web.ebscohost.com)] 3) Delafrooz, Narges; Paim, Laily and Khatibi, Ali (2010) Students online shopping behavior an empirical study, Journal of American Science. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 17th October 2011(http://web.ebscohost.com)] 4) Young Ha & Stoel, Leslie (2004) "Internet apparel shopping behaviors: the influence of general innovativeness", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 32(8), 377 385. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 17th October 2011(http://web.ebscohost.com)] 5) Noort, Guda Van; Kerkhop, Peter and Fennis, Bob (2007) Online versus Conventional Shopping: Consumers Risk Perception and Regulatory Focus, Cyberpschyology & Behaviour. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 18th October 2011(http://web.ebscohost.com)] 6) Samadi, Mansour & Yaghoob-Nejadi, Ali (2009) A Survey of the Effect of Consumers Perceived Risk on Purchase Intention in E-Shopping, Business Intelligence Journal. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 18th October 2011(http://web.ebscohost.com)]

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7) Shergill, Gurvinder S and Chen, Zhaobin (2005) Web-based Shopping: Consumers Attitudes towards Online Shopping in New Zealand, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 18th October 2011(http://web.ebscohost.com)] 8) Rishi, Bikram Jit (2008) An empirical study of online shopping behavior: A factor analysis approach, Journal of Marketing & Communication. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 19th October 2011 (http://web.ebscohost.com)] 9) Seock, Yoo-Kyoung and Chen-Yu, Jessie H. (2006) Website evaluation criteria among US college student consumers with different shopping orientations and Internet channel usage, International Journal of Consumer Studies. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 19th October 2011 (http://web.ebscohost.com)] 10) San, Lim Ying; Jun, Wong Wan; Ling, Tan Nya and Hock, Ng Tuan (2010) Customers Perceive Online Shopping Service Quality: The Perspective of Generation Y, European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 25, 83-91. [Retrieved from http://www.eurojournals.com/ejefas_25_08.pdf on 3rd December 2011] 11) Yang, Ming-Hsien; Chandlrees, Natalyn; Lin, Binshan and Chao, Hung-Yi (2009) The effect of perceived ethical performance of shopping websites on consumer trust. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 50(1), 15-24. [Retrieved from http://iacis.org/jcis/articles/Yang_etal_2009_50_1.pdf on 4th December 2011] 12) Lee, Khai Sheang and Tan, Soo Jiuan (2003) E-retailing versus physical retailing - A theoretical model and empirical test of consumer choice. Journal of Business Research, 56, 877-885. [Retrieved from http://210.212.115.113:81/Kapil%Garg/

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E-tailing%20Groups%20with%20papers/GP-2/E-retailing%20versus%20physical %20retailing.pdf on 7th December 2011] 13) Sun Lu (2009) On consumer confidence in the online store. International Symposium on Web Information Systems and Applications (WISA09). (pp. 419423). Academy Publisher. [Retrieved from http://academypublisher.com/proc/wisa09/ papers/wisa09p419.pdf] 14) Cuchinprakarn, Supanat (2005) Application of the theory of reasoned action to online-shopping. [Retrieved from www.bu.ac.th/knowledgecenter/epaper/jan_june 2005/supanat.pdf] 15) Ahmed, Tarek Taha (2011) An empirical-based model for examing e-purchasing intention in electronic commerce at developing countries. International Journal of Academic Research, 3(3), 683-688. [Retrieved from http://www.ijar.lit.az/pdf/11/ 2011(11-102).pdf] 16) Bartlett, James E.; Kotrlik, Joe W. and Higgins, Chadwick C. (2001) Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size in survey research. Information Technology, Learning & Performance Journal, 19(1), 43-50. [Retrieved from http://www.osra.org/itlpj/bartlettkotrlikhiggins.pdf] 17) IAMAI & IMRB International (2011, March). Digital Commerce. [Retrieved from http://www.ccavenue.com/downloads/ecomm21_47.pdf] 18) Edelweiss Securities Limited (2011, December). India Internet Weaving web of wealth. [Retrieved from EBSCOhost research database on 16th January 2012(http://web.ebscohost.com)]

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19) Research on India (2011, November). Ecommerce market India (Part I). [Retrieved from researchonindia.com on 18th January 2012] 20) www.dqindia.com 21) www.internetworlstats.com/asia.htm 22) www.technopak.com 23) economictimes.indiatimes.com

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APPENDIX
Questionnaire
We are conducting a survey about internet shopping and would like to know your views and opinions. Would you mind spending a few minutes helping us by completing this questionnaire? All responses will be kept confidential. Q1. Are you...? Male ..................................... Female .................................. Q2. How old are you? Below 20 .............................. 21 - 40 .................................. Above 40 .............................. Q4. What is your occupation? Salaried.................................... Business / Self-employed ........ Student .................................... Unemployed ............................ Q6. How frequently do you visit internet shopping websites? Everyday ................................... 2 3 times / week ..................... Once a week .............................. 2 3 times / month ...................

Q3. What is your annual household income? Less than 4, 00,000 ................. 4, 00,001 10, 00,000............. More than 10, 00,001 .............. Q5. What is your average usage of internet per week? Less than an hour ..................... 1 hour to upto 10 hours............ 10 hours to upto 20 hours ........ More than 20 hours ..................

Q7. Over the past 1 year how much Q8. Over the past 1 year how much have you searched about products product purchase have you made over the internet? over the internet? Never ....................................... Never ....................................... 1 5 times ............................... 1 5 times ............................... 6 10 times ............................. 6 10 times ............................. More than 10 times.................. More than 10 times.................. Q9. Please tick () mark the option that best describes how you feel regarding the following statements. Internet stores have good reputation Internet stores provide good value & service Internet stores sell known brands Internet stores price products reasonably I am comfortable with shopping over internet Internet shopping is hassle-free

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Agree

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Transactions made over internet stores are secure Internet stores provide personalized products Internet stores provide timely delivery of orders Internet stores truly understand latest trends Internet stores provide replacement options Internet shopping is value for money Internet stores elevate the traditional shopping experience I often come across of ads of internet stores I will rely on review/advice before shopping over internet Q10. Do you think internet stores with actual physical stores are more appealing? Yes ..................................... No ....................................... Q11. Do you intend to purchase from internet stores in future? Most Likely ........................ Likely ................................. Neutral................................ Unlikely.............................. Least Likely .......................

Thank you for your participation! ABS.