A STUDY ON ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR FOR APPAREL IN TRICHY DISTRICT

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1 A STUDY ON ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR FOR APPAREL IN TRICHY DISTRICT NAGAMANIKANDAN. P 1 MAHALAXMI. K R 2 1&2 Department of Management Studies, Anna University- Bit Campus ABSTRACT This study explores the relationship between a consumers buying behavior for apparel products in Trichy city. In order to do so questionnaires were distributed to respondents who presently living in Trichy city and are regular buyer of apparel products. The total sample size consists of 150 respondents. Data were collected by author himself, convenience sampling method was used for data collection, after assembled data it is analyzed in SPSS Descriptive statistics was used to analysis the demographics and Chi-square test were used to analyzed there search objective. Keywords: Apparel management, online shopping, buying behavior and customer perception Introduction The two most commonly cited reasons for shopping online have been price and convenience. The ability to shop online without leaving the home and to have the products and/or services delivered to the door is of great interest to many shoppers. The number of Internet users who are shopping online goods and services is increasingly. In develop an in-depth understanding of consumers attitudes toward Internet and their intentions to shop online. According to Davis (1993) consumers attitudes regarding Internet shopping are depending on the direct effects of relevant online shopping features. Online shopping features can be classified into consumer s perceptions of functional and utilitarian dimensions such as ease of use and usefulness, or into their perceptions of emotional and hedonic dimensions like enjoyment (Benedict et al., 2004). Also exogenous factors like consumer traits, situational factors, product characteristics, previous online shopping experiences and trust in online shopping are considered that moderate the relationships between the core constructs of the framework (Monsuwe et al., 2004). Literature Review The rapid expansion of the Internet since the 1990s has dramatically changed the way British Consumers shop (Hengst, 2001). The monetary value for Internet-related shopping will continue to grow (eweek, 2005). In the business-to-business sector (Forrester Research, 2000), Internet technology facilitates numerous changes in corporate infrastructure in information exchange, procurement, and the distribution process. While the business sector accounts for most of the value of Internet-related business (Monsuwe, et al., 2004), rapid growth in the retail sector is pushing retailers to tap into the virtual business environment. Meanwhile, with assistance from the latest development in retail marketing communication (Omar, 2005) and information technology (Monsuwe et al., 2004) online retailers are rushing to establish positions in newly identified niches in an attempt to gain competitive advantages. One distinctive advantage for online retailers is the ability to reach a large number of consumers scattered around various geographic locations, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, in a short period of time (Strauss and Frost, 1999). As Schlosser et al., (1999) observed, adding Internet advertising to the promotional mix has become a common strategy used by marketers and fashion retailers ( Monsuwe et al., 2004) icmrrjournal@gmail.com

2 Consumer Buying Behavior Consumer buying behavior is the study of individuals and the procedures they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs that these processes have on the consumer and society. Consumer behavior is gradually a part of strategic planning for the upcoming investment and growth of any industry. Retail industry or specifically to say apparel industry is no exception, Consumers can either be subjective or objective, testing the persuasion of brand names. Retail stores not only selling the products but also play an important role in convincing the decisions of customers. The whole platform or graphical appeal of the retail outlet can determine sales, or the service of the sales person or the clerks. Research objectives To achieve the goal of the study, the following research questionnaire addressed as primary research objectives: 1. To study about the buying behavior of the customers in online shopping. 2. To analyze the customer preference regarding the parameters online purchasing. 3. To analyze the frequency of purchasing apparel through online. 4. To analyze problems faced by the customers through online shopping. Research Design In case of research design we used exploratory as well as descriptive research design for this study. Sampling Technique The convenience sampling method was applied in this case study. Source of the sample is Limited to Trichy city. Keeping in mind the objectives of the study, a structured questionnaire was prepared for the purpose of collecting the primary Data. A part from variables like Gender, Age and overall customer behavior were collected and percentage method used for this study. Sample Size The present study was conducted in a Trichy city. In case of sample size we take 150 consumers (Respondents). Analysis 1. Chi square analysis a. H0: There is no significant difference between Gender and purchase apparel in online H1: There is a significant difference between Gender and purchase apparel in online Gender * Purchase apparel Online Cross tabulation Count Purchase apparel Online Yes No Total Gender Male Female Total icmrrjournal@gmail.com

3 Chi-Square Tests Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2- sided) Pearson Chi-Square a Continuity Correction b Likelihood Ratio Fisher's Exact Test Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 150 a. 1 cell (25.0%) has expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is b. Computed only for a 2x2 table Calculated value = Table value = Calculated value < Table value H0 Accepted INTERCONTINENTAL JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH REVIEW b. H0: There is no significant difference between gender and monthly expenditure H1: There is a significant difference between gender and monthly expenditure Gender * Monthly expenditure Cross tabulation Monthly expenditure 0 to 500INR 500 TO 1000INR 1001 T0 1500INR Total Gender Male Female Total Exact Sig. (1- sided) Chi-Square Tests Pearson Chi-Square a Likelihood Ratio Linear-by-Linear Association N of Valid Cases 150 Value df Asymptotic Significance (2-sided) a. 1 cell (16.7%) has expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is Calculated value = Table value = 5.991; Calculated value > Table value; H1 Accepted icmrrjournal@gmail.com

4 2. Correlation analysis a. H0: There is no association between Gender and Preference online purchasing H1: There is an association between Gender and Preference online purchasing Correlations pref14 Gender pref14 Pearson Correlation ** Sig. (2-tailed).000 N Gender Pearson Correlation.329 ** 1 Sig. (2-tailed).000 N **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Positive correlation, H1 Accepted 3. ANOVA: a. H0- There is no statistical difference between the means of occupation of the respondent and frequency of using online purchasing of apparel. H1- There is a statistical difference between the means of occupation of respondent and frequency of using online purchasing of apparel. Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups Within Groups Total Table value is and the calculated value is Thus the calculated value is greater than the table value. Therefore H0 is rejected. Thus there is a statistical difference between the means of occupation of the respondent and frequency of using online purchasing of apparel. Limitation of the study The result of the study is specific to the sample selected and dimensions used. Hence, they may not be generalized for overall population. Conclusion Based on finding it is concluded that online shopping is getting popular in the younger generation. It is mainly preferred by employed and students to buying online can be of great benefit to the consumer in terms of convenience and time saving. Females and males had positive attitude towards online purchases. The main barrier in the process of online shopping is the safety issue and low level of trust on online stores therefore; sellers have to make proper way of strategies to increase the consumer s level of trust on them where the results of this research are limited to just apparel products. In spite of its limitations, this study provides an expletory attempt to examine the influence 87 icmrrjournal@gmail.com

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