E commerce soa university e-commerce e-commerce
EMERGING DIMENSIONS OF E-COMMERCE: A CASE STUDY ON THE
STUDENTS OF UTKAL UNIVERSITY
Ranjeeta Nayak1
ABSTRACT: Success of a business depends not only upon the quality of goods and services
it offers but the frequency with which it reaches its customers and the distance it covers.
Meeting the customer’s needs frequently as well as efficiently with the quality products has
now become difficult through the traditional means of sale. E-commerce in this direction has
emerged as a new and efficient technique. E-marketers have proved themselves as efficient in
providing quality products as well as satisfactory customer services. Door-to-door sale has
become more famous today than the traditional market sale. E-marketers have become more
beneficial than retailers and wholesalers by gaining customers faith. This paper highlights
the evolution of e-commerce along with its distinct categories. It also draws a conclusion
regarding the popularity of e-commerce by analysing the responses of post graduate students
of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar through a sample study. It also focuses on the major
challenges faced by e-business and suggests some measures to eliminate those problems.
INTRODUCTION
Emerging dimensions of business in the competitive business era demand changes in the
approaches of business management including financial management, internal management,
selling as well as marketing. E-commerce is one of the approaches of selling and marketing
products. There is no single definition of E- Commerce, it means only commercial activity
which is performed or linked to or supported by electronic communication. Growing
popularity of e-commerce with a huge positive response from customers demands more and
more focus towards building a holistic approach of doing online business.
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
E-commerce now plays a vital role not only in sustainability of business but also in
systematic business progress. So, it is very important to know the popularity of e- commerce
in the competitive business scenario. This paper tries to give an insight regarding popularity
of e-commerce through a sample study of students of Utkal University. It also makes an
attempt to analyse the major challenges faced by e-business in the modern business era and
suggests some measures for solving those problems.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To find out the popularity of e-commerce among the students of Utkal University.
To analyse major problems faced by e-business in the era of globalisation.
1 Research Scholar (UGC NET),PG department of commerce, Utkal University, Vani Vihar,
Bhubaneswar, 8895171032, [email protected]
1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from
the students of Utkal University on sample study basis (50 students) through questionnaire.
Secondary data has been collected from various journals, articles, books and websites.
Various diagrams have been used for analytical study.
E-COMMERCE: Commerce has evolved over the centuries. Prior to evolution of money
it was the simple “barter process” where things could be exchanged, say milk for grains. The
evolution of money brought with it, the concept of a “market place.” In a market place,
commerce is function of 4 Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotions. All these four
components play a vital role in a transaction to take place. Different combinations of 4Ps
determine different forms of commerce. Once the market place came into existence, a few
pioneers realised that people would be ready to pay extra if they could deliver products at the
customer’s doorstep. A slight modification on Price and Place led to the convenience of
getting products at their homes. This concept delighted the customers and thus, the concept of
street vendor was born.
When the postal system came into being the seller decided to cash in on the new opportunity
and started using mailer giving description of their products. It led to the concept of “Mail
Order Cataloguing”. From here the evolution of the “Tele Shopping” network took place with
the development of media vehicles. The latest generation of commerce is one that can be
done over the internet. Internet provides a virtual platform where sellers and buyers can come
in contact for sale and purchase of goods and services. They can be thousands of miles apart,
may belong to different parts of the world, might speak different languages, “Ecommerce”
emerged as the boundary less trade medium in the era of globalization
DISTINCT CATEGORIES OF E COMMERCE:
E-commerce, which primarily refers to buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products
or services over internet, is classified into B2B (Business to Business),
B2C(Business to Consumer) and C2C (Consumer to Consumer) and C2B (Consumer to
Business). Four distinct categories of electronic commerce can be identified as follows:
• Business-to-business (B2B):
B2B transactions are largely between industrial manufacturers, partners, and retailers or
between companies. Business-to-Business refers to the full spectrum of e-commerce that can
occur between two organizations. Among other activities, B2B ecommerce includes
purchasing and procurement, supplier management, inventory management, channel
2
management, sales activities, payment management, and service and support. The foreign
branded companies are eager to take full advantage of the growing Indian market and are
trying to create market for their products. Some of the key B2B exchanges in India are
tradeindia.com,
TeaAuction.com,
matexnet.com,
Alibaba.com,
MetalJunction.com,
Chemdex
AuctionIndia.com,
Indiamart.com,
(www.chemdex.com),
Fastparts
(www.fastparts.com), and FreeMarkets (www.freemarkets.com)etc.
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C):
B2C transactions take place directly between business establishments and consumers.
Although business-to-business transactions play an important part in e-commerce market, a
share of e-commerce revenues in developing countries like India is generated from business
to consumer transactions. Business-to-Consumer e-commerce refers to exchanges between
businesses and consumers, e.g., Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and Schwab.com. Similar
transactions that occur in business-to business e-commerce also take place in the business-toconsumer context. However, all customer-facing, or “front office” activities are typically
tracked. These include sales activities, consumer search, frequently asked questions and
service and support. Railway and Airlines have played a vital role in e-commerce transactions
in India. Travel portals are exploding in India. Recently, Make My Trip.com has shown Rs
1000 crores of turnover. Travel alone constituted 50% of Rs 4800 crore online market in
2007-08. In India, online services like ticketing, banking, tax payment, bill payment, hotel
room booking, entertainment, online games, matrimonial sites, job sites, etc. are showing
signs of development in business-to-customer transactions. Online valentine gifts and Diwali
gifts are also becoming popular along with the birthday cakes.
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C):
C2C sites don't form a very high portion of web-based commerce. Most visible examples are
the auction sites. Basically, if someone has something to sell, then he gets it listed at an
auction sites and others can bid for it. Consumer-to-Consumer exchanges involve transactions
between and among consumers. These exchanges may or may not include third-party
involvement. Other activities include: classified ads (e.g.,www.numberoneclassifieds.com),
games
(www.heat.net),
jobs
(www.monster.com),
Web-based
communication
(www.icq.com), and personal services (e.g.,Yahoo! Personals, webpersonals.com).
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B):
Consumers can band together to form and present themselves as a buyer group to businesses
in a consumer-to-business relationship.
3
To find out the popularity of e-commerce, one study was conducted among the students of
Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar. So of the important analysis of the study can be
given as followsQ. How do students use internet?
6.00%
8.00%
20.00%
66.00%
PC
Total
Male
2
2
LAPTOP
female
2
2
Male
3
3
female
7
7
Q. On which website do they usually shop?
SMART PHOPE
OTHER MEANS
Male
12
12
Male
3
3
Female
21
21
female
----------
50
Q. On an average how often
Students buy online?
Period
Once
Once
Once in
Once total
in
in a
quarterly in a
every
month
year
two
weeks
No. Of
students
4
3
39
6
2
50
4.00%
12.00%
28.00%
56.00%
Q. According to them what are
Q. Are they satisfied with the products
the most important criteria when they buy online?
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
delivered?
YES
NO
0
5
20 40
60 80
Q. Do they study online?
Q. Which type of books do they study?
Chart Title
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
N
IE
C
S
CE
CE
ER
M
M
O
C
TS
AR
TYPE OF BOOKSNOVELSELF HELP BOOK
Which type of products do they buy?
Q. Do they follow job portals?
60%
50%
40%
M
AL
E
BO
O
EL
KS
EC
TR
O
N
IC
S
AP
PA
RE
LS
CO
SM
ET
IC
S
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
MALE
FEMALE
MALE
FEMALE
30%
20%
10%
0%
YES
Q. Which job portals do they follow?
6
NO
Q.
Chart Title
11.43%
17.14%
42.86%
Nauki.com
Monster.com
Times.com
Shine.com
28.57%
RESEARCH FINDINGS:
Smart phone is the best way to use internet. So 66% of students do internet through
smart phone. 20%, 8%, 6% of students use laptop, PC, other device respectively to do
internet.
Almost all the students do online shopping.
On an average it is found that maximum numbers of students do online shopping once
in a month.
58% of students buy from flipkart site as this site provides satisfied goods and
services to customers. 28% of students prefer snapdeal.com as its shipping charge is
nil i.e. free delivery. Limited number of products are not available in the above two
sites. So 4% of pupils choose Amazon.com. Students also order from Homeshop18
for bulk purchase i.e. basically home appliances.
At the time of online purchase first priority is given to quality and second to price and
then payment, choice, delivery, presentation, possibility to get back in touch with
seller respectively.
There are certain draw backs for which students shift from traditional buying to e
buying (e commerce).In traditional buying customers have to travel a long distance to
buy one product. Sometimes they may not get the exact product of their choice and
the price under this system is quite high.
But in e commerce pupil get the product of their choice. Sitting in one room, just on a
click product is delivered to its destination.
Students prefer COD method of payment than other methods. As they don’t have
credit cards.
80% of students are satisfied with the product delivered.
7
Students use e library for study. Basically science students use it more as their books
cost more i.e., in thousands.75% of commerce and 30% of arts students do study
online.
Normally students order their regular course books ( 60%). 20% students are crazy for
novels. Rest of the students study other books.
Out of four mentioned items, boys are interested in books i.e. 56% and electronic
appliances i.e. 75%. 25% of male do shop apparels. Boys don’t prefer cosmetics.
Whereas the usage percentage of cosmetics item from online is 33% in case of girls.
They are more concerned about their beauty. Girls order less electronic items than
boys.
Students are concerned about their future career. So they visit some job portals like
Naukri.com, Monster.com, Times.com, Shine.com etc. The most popular site is
Naukri.com.
Through personal interview it is found that students are not satisfied with the
prevailing internet connection in the campus. There is no constant signal; it becomes
ups and down. The campus should have wi-fi facility so that they may not face
problem at the time of carrying out online transaction.
The students who have come from remote areas have rare idea about e commerce. So
they aren’t able to avail the benefits of it.
CHALLENGES OF E-COMMERCE
Pushy Sales: When customers look for something for online shopping, they
eventually gets frustrated with tons of popup and banner ads screaming at them, this
can be one reason for which customers switch over to other sites.
Personalization: Personalization can be the single most important challenge when it
comes to e-Commerce. The retail store owners remember customers, their preferences
and have that personal touch which is difficult to replace in case of online sale.
No-Service Sales: E-Commerce web-stores might be attractive, but what if the
customers get lost in the sites without having any idea about what to search and where
to go? This is common challenge that many e-Commerce websites are having.
Choice of good e-Commerce solution: E-Commerce website can be built from
scratch, or it can be built in Drupal using Ubercart or e-Commerce tailored CMS
solutions like Magento e-Commerce site development. Hosted service can be used
like Shopify. Since there are several options, selecting appropriate one is a challenge.
8
International Orders: It is found that 40% of the e-Commerce shopping portals turn
down international orders as most of them doesn’t have the logistics, and other
systems to fulfil the order and this is a major challenge facing the global e-Commerce.
Duties and tariffs are other problem as customers tend to reject purchase due to such
high cost.
Shipping Challenges: Issues related to lack of supply chain integration, high delivery
charges for products, delay in delivery and lack of proper courier services in some
areas also make customers frustrated.
Product Return, Refund etc.: Products which are not satisfactory for the customers
tend to get replaced or returned. This is another major issue which leads into overall
loss in revenue, loss of shipment costs and more than all loss of reputation.
Currency
Challenges:
Different
countries
have
different
import
export
specifications. This hinders smoothness in e-Commerce shopping and product
delivery. Issues related to credit card limits and currency exchange rates. Certain
countries also restrict payment gateways causing problem.
International Taxation: We are living in a global village and web has truly made our
business boundaries seamless, global and boundary-less. But the world still lives in
physical boundaries and this is not going to change anytime soon. Every country
(even states inside them) has different taxation norms, which creates a huge challenge.
Customer Service: E-Marketers focus on the website performance ignoring customer
relationship and personal assistance.
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF E-BUSINESS
Personalization: Personalization, while a challenge, if addressed well can be a huge
differentiator in how the customer experience is shaped in the online purchase. EMarketers can utilize intelligent tools like web analytics, study customer behaviour
online, reward and reach out to customers. The more personalization they can out
into their web-stores, more the customers will love them.
Segmentation: Customer segmentation is important. All customers should not be
treated in the same way. It is good to divide customers based on first-time users, high
valued active users and inactive customers, based on which marketers can provide
offers and promotion campaigns.
9
Make Your Site Navigable: Customers sometimes tend to get lost in the e-commerce
sites. They can provide proper navigation in their sites to make things easier for their
customers. They should try to make their e-Commerce sites properly structured.
Choosing e-Commerce solution: It is better to do some research based on specific
needs. They should read the feature lists, try demos, and get reviews from who know
better about this. It is always better to choose something that has large community as
it will offer help, tutorials, sample codes, third party plug-ins, themes, and security
auditing, which will help e-marketers in enhancing the productivity for their eCommerce web-stores.
Delivered Duties Paid: E-Marketers pay duties and taxes for what they sell. It is
better to sell products internationally on an all-inclusive price basis and hassle free
services though all international courier facilities.
Shipping: It is better to deliver in bulk in one go to a single hub and distribute based
on domestic shipping charges. This is called regionalization.
Product Return and Refund: E-marketers should make it sure that all product
descriptions are up-to-date and relevant. Also they should ensure that the products
they deliver are procured from certified vendors.
Multiple Payment Options: E-marketers should be open for all payment gateways,
should start entertaining e-Wallets, prepaid cards etc. which will offer better cash flow
and relieve customers from credit card problems.
Focus on Customer Service: Online users want fast response to their query. So emarketers should start interacting with them through 24X7 emails, calls, and chat
assistance. They should make their customers interact with them through all possible
means like social media marketing etc. They must keep reminding the customers
about deals and promotions that they are offering and try to know what they think
about them.
CONCLUSION
The effects of e commerce are already appearing in all areas of business, from
customer service to new product design. It facilities new type of information based
business processes for reaching and interacting with customers like online advertising
and marketing, online order taking and home delivery of products. It faces many
challenges which are inevitable in doing business but some steps may be taken to
make online business more effective.
REFERENCES
10
1. Kaur, Ramneet (2012) “E-Commerce in India”, Asian journal of research in business
economics and management, vol. 2, issue 6
2. Ernest A. Capozzoli, Thomas K. Pritchett (2013) “E Commerce: A Conceptual
framework”, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, vol.7, issue 9
3. D.K Ganeswar (2013) “E-Commerce or Internet Marketing: A Business
Review from Indian Context” International Journal of u- and e- Service,
Science and Technology Vol.6, issue.6 , pp.187-194
4. Awais Muhammad, Samin Tanzila (2012) “Advanced SWOT Analysis of ECommerce”, International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 9, Issue 2
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
www.business.com
www.forrester.com
www.iamai.in
www.assocham.org
www.e-commerceguide.com
ANNEXTURE-1
QUESTIONNAIRE
11
ON
EMERGING DIMENSION OF E COMMERCE AMONG THE STUDENTS
OF PG DEPARTMENT OF UTKAL UNIVERSITY
1. Do you trust online trade?
Not at all
; Kind of
; I keep being careful
; I’m fully confident
2. How do you use internet?
PC
; Mac
; Laptop
; Smartphone
; Other
3. Have you ever made any purchase online?
Yes
; No
4. What could a website offer to stimulate you to purchase on internet rather than in a
traditional shop?
Ans:
5. On an average how often do you buy online?
Once in every three weeks
Once a month
Once in quarterly
Once in a year
6. On which website do you shop?
Ebay
; Amazon
;
Flipkart
; Snapdeal
; Homeshop 18
; Other
7. According to you what are the most important criteria when you buy in traditional
shops ?
Sales man advice ; Price ; Quality
; Payment facility
8. According to you what are the most important criteria when you buy on line?
Delivery
; Payment security
; Possibility to get back in touch to reseller
Price
; Quality
; Choice ; Presentation
{Please rank your answer}
9. How far are you willing to travel for a traditional shop?
Less than 10 miles
From 10-20 miles
From 20-30 miles
More than 30 miles
10. Draw backs of traditional trade :
11. What type of product do you usually buy online?
Ans:
12. Why do not you buy that product in retail market?
Ans:
13. Are you satisfied with the product delivered? Yes
14. If yes then up to what extent?
Fully satisfied
Average
Just ok
15. Are you satisfied with packaging? Yes
; No
16. Do you study online? Yes
; No
12
; No
17. Which type of book do you study?
Regular course book
; Novel
; Comic
; Self help book
;
Mythological book
18. Why do not you go for purchasing it from market?
Ans:
19. Is internet connection convenient in the campus? Yes
; No
20. Up to what extent are you satisfied with that connection?
Fully
; Average
21. How do you make payment?
Credit card
; Debit card
; Cash on delivery
22. Do you access job portals? Yes
; No
23. What job portals do you use?
Naukri.com
; Monster.com
; Times.com
; Shine.com
24. Any suggestion would you like to give regarding improvement of E COMMERCE,
please suggest :
NAME :
GENDER:
HOSTELITE/ LOCALITE:
ADDRESS:
Email ID:
13
STUDENTS OF UTKAL UNIVERSITY
Ranjeeta Nayak1
ABSTRACT: Success of a business depends not only upon the quality of goods and services
it offers but the frequency with which it reaches its customers and the distance it covers.
Meeting the customer’s needs frequently as well as efficiently with the quality products has
now become difficult through the traditional means of sale. E-commerce in this direction has
emerged as a new and efficient technique. E-marketers have proved themselves as efficient in
providing quality products as well as satisfactory customer services. Door-to-door sale has
become more famous today than the traditional market sale. E-marketers have become more
beneficial than retailers and wholesalers by gaining customers faith. This paper highlights
the evolution of e-commerce along with its distinct categories. It also draws a conclusion
regarding the popularity of e-commerce by analysing the responses of post graduate students
of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar through a sample study. It also focuses on the major
challenges faced by e-business and suggests some measures to eliminate those problems.
INTRODUCTION
Emerging dimensions of business in the competitive business era demand changes in the
approaches of business management including financial management, internal management,
selling as well as marketing. E-commerce is one of the approaches of selling and marketing
products. There is no single definition of E- Commerce, it means only commercial activity
which is performed or linked to or supported by electronic communication. Growing
popularity of e-commerce with a huge positive response from customers demands more and
more focus towards building a holistic approach of doing online business.
IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
E-commerce now plays a vital role not only in sustainability of business but also in
systematic business progress. So, it is very important to know the popularity of e- commerce
in the competitive business scenario. This paper tries to give an insight regarding popularity
of e-commerce through a sample study of students of Utkal University. It also makes an
attempt to analyse the major challenges faced by e-business in the modern business era and
suggests some measures for solving those problems.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To find out the popularity of e-commerce among the students of Utkal University.
To analyse major problems faced by e-business in the era of globalisation.
1 Research Scholar (UGC NET),PG department of commerce, Utkal University, Vani Vihar,
Bhubaneswar, 8895171032, [email protected]
1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from
the students of Utkal University on sample study basis (50 students) through questionnaire.
Secondary data has been collected from various journals, articles, books and websites.
Various diagrams have been used for analytical study.
E-COMMERCE: Commerce has evolved over the centuries. Prior to evolution of money
it was the simple “barter process” where things could be exchanged, say milk for grains. The
evolution of money brought with it, the concept of a “market place.” In a market place,
commerce is function of 4 Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotions. All these four
components play a vital role in a transaction to take place. Different combinations of 4Ps
determine different forms of commerce. Once the market place came into existence, a few
pioneers realised that people would be ready to pay extra if they could deliver products at the
customer’s doorstep. A slight modification on Price and Place led to the convenience of
getting products at their homes. This concept delighted the customers and thus, the concept of
street vendor was born.
When the postal system came into being the seller decided to cash in on the new opportunity
and started using mailer giving description of their products. It led to the concept of “Mail
Order Cataloguing”. From here the evolution of the “Tele Shopping” network took place with
the development of media vehicles. The latest generation of commerce is one that can be
done over the internet. Internet provides a virtual platform where sellers and buyers can come
in contact for sale and purchase of goods and services. They can be thousands of miles apart,
may belong to different parts of the world, might speak different languages, “Ecommerce”
emerged as the boundary less trade medium in the era of globalization
DISTINCT CATEGORIES OF E COMMERCE:
E-commerce, which primarily refers to buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products
or services over internet, is classified into B2B (Business to Business),
B2C(Business to Consumer) and C2C (Consumer to Consumer) and C2B (Consumer to
Business). Four distinct categories of electronic commerce can be identified as follows:
• Business-to-business (B2B):
B2B transactions are largely between industrial manufacturers, partners, and retailers or
between companies. Business-to-Business refers to the full spectrum of e-commerce that can
occur between two organizations. Among other activities, B2B ecommerce includes
purchasing and procurement, supplier management, inventory management, channel
2
management, sales activities, payment management, and service and support. The foreign
branded companies are eager to take full advantage of the growing Indian market and are
trying to create market for their products. Some of the key B2B exchanges in India are
tradeindia.com,
TeaAuction.com,
matexnet.com,
Alibaba.com,
MetalJunction.com,
Chemdex
AuctionIndia.com,
Indiamart.com,
(www.chemdex.com),
Fastparts
(www.fastparts.com), and FreeMarkets (www.freemarkets.com)etc.
• Business-to-Consumer (B2C):
B2C transactions take place directly between business establishments and consumers.
Although business-to-business transactions play an important part in e-commerce market, a
share of e-commerce revenues in developing countries like India is generated from business
to consumer transactions. Business-to-Consumer e-commerce refers to exchanges between
businesses and consumers, e.g., Amazon.com, Yahoo.com and Schwab.com. Similar
transactions that occur in business-to business e-commerce also take place in the business-toconsumer context. However, all customer-facing, or “front office” activities are typically
tracked. These include sales activities, consumer search, frequently asked questions and
service and support. Railway and Airlines have played a vital role in e-commerce transactions
in India. Travel portals are exploding in India. Recently, Make My Trip.com has shown Rs
1000 crores of turnover. Travel alone constituted 50% of Rs 4800 crore online market in
2007-08. In India, online services like ticketing, banking, tax payment, bill payment, hotel
room booking, entertainment, online games, matrimonial sites, job sites, etc. are showing
signs of development in business-to-customer transactions. Online valentine gifts and Diwali
gifts are also becoming popular along with the birthday cakes.
• Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C):
C2C sites don't form a very high portion of web-based commerce. Most visible examples are
the auction sites. Basically, if someone has something to sell, then he gets it listed at an
auction sites and others can bid for it. Consumer-to-Consumer exchanges involve transactions
between and among consumers. These exchanges may or may not include third-party
involvement. Other activities include: classified ads (e.g.,www.numberoneclassifieds.com),
games
(www.heat.net),
jobs
(www.monster.com),
Web-based
communication
(www.icq.com), and personal services (e.g.,Yahoo! Personals, webpersonals.com).
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B):
Consumers can band together to form and present themselves as a buyer group to businesses
in a consumer-to-business relationship.
3
To find out the popularity of e-commerce, one study was conducted among the students of
Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar. So of the important analysis of the study can be
given as followsQ. How do students use internet?
6.00%
8.00%
20.00%
66.00%
PC
Total
Male
2
2
LAPTOP
female
2
2
Male
3
3
female
7
7
Q. On which website do they usually shop?
SMART PHOPE
OTHER MEANS
Male
12
12
Male
3
3
Female
21
21
female
----------
50
Q. On an average how often
Students buy online?
Period
Once
Once
Once in
Once total
in
in a
quarterly in a
every
month
year
two
weeks
No. Of
students
4
3
39
6
2
50
4.00%
12.00%
28.00%
56.00%
Q. According to them what are
Q. Are they satisfied with the products
the most important criteria when they buy online?
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
delivered?
YES
NO
0
5
20 40
60 80
Q. Do they study online?
Q. Which type of books do they study?
Chart Title
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
N
IE
C
S
CE
CE
ER
M
M
O
C
TS
AR
TYPE OF BOOKSNOVELSELF HELP BOOK
Which type of products do they buy?
Q. Do they follow job portals?
60%
50%
40%
M
AL
E
BO
O
EL
KS
EC
TR
O
N
IC
S
AP
PA
RE
LS
CO
SM
ET
IC
S
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
MALE
FEMALE
MALE
FEMALE
30%
20%
10%
0%
YES
Q. Which job portals do they follow?
6
NO
Q.
Chart Title
11.43%
17.14%
42.86%
Nauki.com
Monster.com
Times.com
Shine.com
28.57%
RESEARCH FINDINGS:
Smart phone is the best way to use internet. So 66% of students do internet through
smart phone. 20%, 8%, 6% of students use laptop, PC, other device respectively to do
internet.
Almost all the students do online shopping.
On an average it is found that maximum numbers of students do online shopping once
in a month.
58% of students buy from flipkart site as this site provides satisfied goods and
services to customers. 28% of students prefer snapdeal.com as its shipping charge is
nil i.e. free delivery. Limited number of products are not available in the above two
sites. So 4% of pupils choose Amazon.com. Students also order from Homeshop18
for bulk purchase i.e. basically home appliances.
At the time of online purchase first priority is given to quality and second to price and
then payment, choice, delivery, presentation, possibility to get back in touch with
seller respectively.
There are certain draw backs for which students shift from traditional buying to e
buying (e commerce).In traditional buying customers have to travel a long distance to
buy one product. Sometimes they may not get the exact product of their choice and
the price under this system is quite high.
But in e commerce pupil get the product of their choice. Sitting in one room, just on a
click product is delivered to its destination.
Students prefer COD method of payment than other methods. As they don’t have
credit cards.
80% of students are satisfied with the product delivered.
7
Students use e library for study. Basically science students use it more as their books
cost more i.e., in thousands.75% of commerce and 30% of arts students do study
online.
Normally students order their regular course books ( 60%). 20% students are crazy for
novels. Rest of the students study other books.
Out of four mentioned items, boys are interested in books i.e. 56% and electronic
appliances i.e. 75%. 25% of male do shop apparels. Boys don’t prefer cosmetics.
Whereas the usage percentage of cosmetics item from online is 33% in case of girls.
They are more concerned about their beauty. Girls order less electronic items than
boys.
Students are concerned about their future career. So they visit some job portals like
Naukri.com, Monster.com, Times.com, Shine.com etc. The most popular site is
Naukri.com.
Through personal interview it is found that students are not satisfied with the
prevailing internet connection in the campus. There is no constant signal; it becomes
ups and down. The campus should have wi-fi facility so that they may not face
problem at the time of carrying out online transaction.
The students who have come from remote areas have rare idea about e commerce. So
they aren’t able to avail the benefits of it.
CHALLENGES OF E-COMMERCE
Pushy Sales: When customers look for something for online shopping, they
eventually gets frustrated with tons of popup and banner ads screaming at them, this
can be one reason for which customers switch over to other sites.
Personalization: Personalization can be the single most important challenge when it
comes to e-Commerce. The retail store owners remember customers, their preferences
and have that personal touch which is difficult to replace in case of online sale.
No-Service Sales: E-Commerce web-stores might be attractive, but what if the
customers get lost in the sites without having any idea about what to search and where
to go? This is common challenge that many e-Commerce websites are having.
Choice of good e-Commerce solution: E-Commerce website can be built from
scratch, or it can be built in Drupal using Ubercart or e-Commerce tailored CMS
solutions like Magento e-Commerce site development. Hosted service can be used
like Shopify. Since there are several options, selecting appropriate one is a challenge.
8
International Orders: It is found that 40% of the e-Commerce shopping portals turn
down international orders as most of them doesn’t have the logistics, and other
systems to fulfil the order and this is a major challenge facing the global e-Commerce.
Duties and tariffs are other problem as customers tend to reject purchase due to such
high cost.
Shipping Challenges: Issues related to lack of supply chain integration, high delivery
charges for products, delay in delivery and lack of proper courier services in some
areas also make customers frustrated.
Product Return, Refund etc.: Products which are not satisfactory for the customers
tend to get replaced or returned. This is another major issue which leads into overall
loss in revenue, loss of shipment costs and more than all loss of reputation.
Currency
Challenges:
Different
countries
have
different
import
export
specifications. This hinders smoothness in e-Commerce shopping and product
delivery. Issues related to credit card limits and currency exchange rates. Certain
countries also restrict payment gateways causing problem.
International Taxation: We are living in a global village and web has truly made our
business boundaries seamless, global and boundary-less. But the world still lives in
physical boundaries and this is not going to change anytime soon. Every country
(even states inside them) has different taxation norms, which creates a huge challenge.
Customer Service: E-Marketers focus on the website performance ignoring customer
relationship and personal assistance.
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF E-BUSINESS
Personalization: Personalization, while a challenge, if addressed well can be a huge
differentiator in how the customer experience is shaped in the online purchase. EMarketers can utilize intelligent tools like web analytics, study customer behaviour
online, reward and reach out to customers. The more personalization they can out
into their web-stores, more the customers will love them.
Segmentation: Customer segmentation is important. All customers should not be
treated in the same way. It is good to divide customers based on first-time users, high
valued active users and inactive customers, based on which marketers can provide
offers and promotion campaigns.
9
Make Your Site Navigable: Customers sometimes tend to get lost in the e-commerce
sites. They can provide proper navigation in their sites to make things easier for their
customers. They should try to make their e-Commerce sites properly structured.
Choosing e-Commerce solution: It is better to do some research based on specific
needs. They should read the feature lists, try demos, and get reviews from who know
better about this. It is always better to choose something that has large community as
it will offer help, tutorials, sample codes, third party plug-ins, themes, and security
auditing, which will help e-marketers in enhancing the productivity for their eCommerce web-stores.
Delivered Duties Paid: E-Marketers pay duties and taxes for what they sell. It is
better to sell products internationally on an all-inclusive price basis and hassle free
services though all international courier facilities.
Shipping: It is better to deliver in bulk in one go to a single hub and distribute based
on domestic shipping charges. This is called regionalization.
Product Return and Refund: E-marketers should make it sure that all product
descriptions are up-to-date and relevant. Also they should ensure that the products
they deliver are procured from certified vendors.
Multiple Payment Options: E-marketers should be open for all payment gateways,
should start entertaining e-Wallets, prepaid cards etc. which will offer better cash flow
and relieve customers from credit card problems.
Focus on Customer Service: Online users want fast response to their query. So emarketers should start interacting with them through 24X7 emails, calls, and chat
assistance. They should make their customers interact with them through all possible
means like social media marketing etc. They must keep reminding the customers
about deals and promotions that they are offering and try to know what they think
about them.
CONCLUSION
The effects of e commerce are already appearing in all areas of business, from
customer service to new product design. It facilities new type of information based
business processes for reaching and interacting with customers like online advertising
and marketing, online order taking and home delivery of products. It faces many
challenges which are inevitable in doing business but some steps may be taken to
make online business more effective.
REFERENCES
10
1. Kaur, Ramneet (2012) “E-Commerce in India”, Asian journal of research in business
economics and management, vol. 2, issue 6
2. Ernest A. Capozzoli, Thomas K. Pritchett (2013) “E Commerce: A Conceptual
framework”, Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, vol.7, issue 9
3. D.K Ganeswar (2013) “E-Commerce or Internet Marketing: A Business
Review from Indian Context” International Journal of u- and e- Service,
Science and Technology Vol.6, issue.6 , pp.187-194
4. Awais Muhammad, Samin Tanzila (2012) “Advanced SWOT Analysis of ECommerce”, International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 9, Issue 2
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
www.business.com
www.forrester.com
www.iamai.in
www.assocham.org
www.e-commerceguide.com
ANNEXTURE-1
QUESTIONNAIRE
11
ON
EMERGING DIMENSION OF E COMMERCE AMONG THE STUDENTS
OF PG DEPARTMENT OF UTKAL UNIVERSITY
1. Do you trust online trade?
Not at all
; Kind of
; I keep being careful
; I’m fully confident
2. How do you use internet?
PC
; Mac
; Laptop
; Smartphone
; Other
3. Have you ever made any purchase online?
Yes
; No
4. What could a website offer to stimulate you to purchase on internet rather than in a
traditional shop?
Ans:
5. On an average how often do you buy online?
Once in every three weeks
Once a month
Once in quarterly
Once in a year
6. On which website do you shop?
Ebay
; Amazon
;
Flipkart
; Snapdeal
; Homeshop 18
; Other
7. According to you what are the most important criteria when you buy in traditional
shops ?
Sales man advice ; Price ; Quality
; Payment facility
8. According to you what are the most important criteria when you buy on line?
Delivery
; Payment security
; Possibility to get back in touch to reseller
Price
; Quality
; Choice ; Presentation
{Please rank your answer}
9. How far are you willing to travel for a traditional shop?
Less than 10 miles
From 10-20 miles
From 20-30 miles
More than 30 miles
10. Draw backs of traditional trade :
11. What type of product do you usually buy online?
Ans:
12. Why do not you buy that product in retail market?
Ans:
13. Are you satisfied with the product delivered? Yes
14. If yes then up to what extent?
Fully satisfied
Average
Just ok
15. Are you satisfied with packaging? Yes
; No
16. Do you study online? Yes
; No
12
; No
17. Which type of book do you study?
Regular course book
; Novel
; Comic
; Self help book
;
Mythological book
18. Why do not you go for purchasing it from market?
Ans:
19. Is internet connection convenient in the campus? Yes
; No
20. Up to what extent are you satisfied with that connection?
Fully
; Average
21. How do you make payment?
Credit card
; Debit card
; Cash on delivery
22. Do you access job portals? Yes
; No
23. What job portals do you use?
Naukri.com
; Monster.com
; Times.com
; Shine.com
24. Any suggestion would you like to give regarding improvement of E COMMERCE,
please suggest :
NAME :
GENDER:
HOSTELITE/ LOCALITE:
ADDRESS:
Email ID:
13