Consumer Level of Satisfaction towards Online Buying: A Case Study of Punjab

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1 Volume-03 Issue-11 November ISSN: (Online) [UGC Listed Journal] Consumer Level of Satisfaction towards Online Buying: A Case Study of Punjab *1 Kaur Impreet, 2 Saluja Rajni (Dr.) & 3 Dhami Jasdeep (Dr.) *1 Research Scholar, Department of Commerce & Management, Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh (India) 2 HOD & Associate Professor, Department of Commerce & Management, Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh (India) 3 Director & Professor, CT Institute of Management & IT, Jalandhar, Punjab (India) ARTICLE DETAILS Article History Published Online: 10 November 2018 Keywords Consumer satisfaction, online buying, behavior, perception, attitude, repurchase intention * Corresponding Author impreet78[at]gmail.com ABSTRACT Behaviour is the apparent, noticeable answer of a given situation with respect to a given target. Use of the Internet for retail shopping has extended enormously in recent ages and has a deep impact on the shopping process for many consumers. Online buying behaviour is a type of behaviour which is revealed by customers while surfing websites of an e-tailer to explore, choose and purchase goods and services, to satisfy their desires and wants. It s essentially a behaviour which is mirrored by the purchaser during the process of buying through the internet. Consumer satisfaction, being one of the most crucial part of behaviour, is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person. It can be defined as the extent to which consumer s perceptions of the online shopping experience confirm their expectations. Most consumers form expectations of the product details, vendor details, after sales service, quality of the product and payment procedures through website that they patronize before engaging in online shopping activities. These expectations influence their attitudes and intentions to shop at a certain Internet store, and consequently their decision-making processes and purchasing behaviour. If expectations are met, consumers achieve a high degree of satisfaction, which influences their online shopping attitudes, intentions, decisions, and purchasing activity positively. So, to study the consumer satisfaction is considered as very important element because the further business depends on this only. Therefore, for the present study, questions are designed, and information is collected based upon consumer experiences, who have already purchased products and services through online. The paper focuses on the level of consumer satisfaction towards online buying and to study whether Consumer satisfaction towards online shopping vary among various demographic factors taken in the study. 600 sample size is taken to carry out the research. Snowball sampling method is primarily used to collect the sample. Sample is collected from three major cites of Punjab i.e. Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar on the basis of highly density of population. The findings reveal that there is significant difference in various demographic factors and level of consumer satisfaction towards online 1. Introduction Shopping is a linchpin that binds us all. It is an experience that we all share and is a form of self -expression that defines our personality. Now-a-days, at global economic level, India is one country among the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) which is recognized as an economy with emerging markets. Meanwhile, with liberalization, the country has observed growth at a rate which is very notable. With variations in most of the sectors, capital markets, infrastructure, banking, insurance, etc. are the sectors where India has witnessed a high growth leap. With transformations in business sectors and the revolutionary changes in Information Technology sector, the choices of consumers regarding shopping situation and payment instruments have also widened. Buyers now have the alternate option of buying a product or availing a service from offline as well as from online shops. With the growing penetration of internet, these means of purchasing have become quite prevalent. Today, people have many choices with reference to buying locations, but the most recent one is purchase through internet i.e. online shopping mode. Currently, the Internet is being widely used for several purposes and has become part of day-to-day life. At its beginning, internet was used as a medium for communication only but with passage of time, it has become a source to learn, amuse and most recently a medium for the exchange of goods and services between buyer and seller. The internet now has resulted in a new means of exchange between buyer and sellers and has developed another alternative for the traditional marketplace. Shopping through the internet has brought a different dimension to commercial activities. As compared to brick and mortar shopping, consumers are preferring the internet as shopping medium because of features like ability to shop at any time from any corner of the world, searching information about merchandises, placing an enquiry / feedback or placing purchase orders online. Along with these characteristics, convenience and comparatively lower price are some more features resulting in acceptance of internet as a new shopping avenue. 1.1 Online Shopping Scenario In India In last few years, invention in telecommunication technologies has resulted in variations in many facets of our lives including the way we look for information, the way we book our travel plans and the way we purchase goods and services. Today, no doubt purchasing through brick and mortar retail stores is preferred, but along with-it, E-Commerce or 117 P a g e

2 electronic commerce is spreading its roots as another mode of shopping in India. The most commonly known form of E- Commerce or electronic commerce is online The roots of E-Commerce industry today are found around the world. As per the report published by Indian Brand Equity Foundation (2018), the Indian E-Commerce industry has been on an upward growth route and is expected to outdo the US to become the second largest E-Commerce market in the world by India s E-Commerce industry is likely to grow from US$ 38.5 billion as of 2017 to US$ 200 billion by India s internet economy is projected to double from US$125 billion as of April 2017 to US$ 250 billion by 2020, majorly backed by ecommerce. E-Commerce industry in India witnessed 21 private equity and venture capital deals worth US$ 2.1 billion in 2017 and six deals worth US$ 226 million in January-April E-Commerce start-ups in India received US$ 66 million of funding in January-March Online retail sales in India are expected to grow by 31 per cent to touch US$ billion in 2018, led by Flipkart, Amazon India and Paytm Mall. Online retail is expected to contribute 2.9 per cent of retail market in Considerable growth of the industry has been generated by increasing internet and smartphone penetration. Internet penetration in India grew from just 4 per cent in 2007 to per cent in 2017, registering a CAGR of 24 per cent between 2007 and The number of internet users in India is expected to increase from million as of December 2017 to 829 million by The above data signifies that online selling is growing its wings in the country at an astounding pace. The most prominent reasons driving the online purchase are discounts & offers offered by the webstores and option to make payment by cash-on-delivery mode. Besides these two reasons, one of the major reasons observed in metro cities, is their busy lifestyle. Also, the rising internet penetration and broadband availability, and increasing culture of Smart phones and tablets are motivating people to buy products online. Also, The Government of India's policies and regulatory frameworks such as 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in B2B E- Commerce and 100 per cent FDI under automatic route under the market place model of B2C E-Commerce are expected to further propel growth in the sectors. With reference to latest trends running in Indian online market, according to report produced by sokrati.com in June 2016, Indian men shop online three times more than Indian women. Among the payment modes offered the most preferred one is cash on delivery by Indian shoppers. Indian e-shoppers majorly purchase clothing and accessories. After this, it is mobile accessories. Many purchase orders are placed during business hours only. Awareness about it is found more in metros or tier-i cities as compared to tier-ii & III cities. 2. Review of Literature Sachin et al. (2018) attempted to analyse the impact of Face book on apparel buying behaviour in Jaipur city. For this purpose, primary data of 70 respondents of different age group have been collected and analysed. The paper revealed the fact that Facebook has considerable influence on online buying behaviour of apparels in Jaipur city and e-commerce site which has been mostly used by consumers for purchasing. Based on data analysis, the researcher found & concluded that apparel related buying decisions of people are affected by Facebook. Facebook is the popular site which is mostly visited by Jaipur people. People at least spend one hour in a day on Facebook. People mostly use this social site for entertainment and for being in touch with their friends and relatives. But when they spend time & visit face book they also attract towards promotional advertisements related with apparels. They think that face book advertisements are not completely fake. They are authentic. By using these sites, they also motivated towards online purchasing. Flipkart is the most popular site which they mostly use. They also believe on this fact that their knowledge gets updated by using face book instead of physically going in to the market. So, it can be concluded that overall face book has a positive impact on consumer apparel related buying behaviour in Jaipur. Marketers have good possibility to attract their customers by using face book. They can plan their promotional activities and promote their schemes and ideas in such a way so that a greater number of people can be influenced by those advertisements. Okon et al. (2016) examined the determinants of effective online advertisement and how they affect online shopping behaviour in Nigeria. A survey approach was adopted to purposively collect data from 200 consumers that must have at any time visited and shopped at any online shopping malls on the Internet. The survey questionnaire was used to collect primary data from respondents. The data collected was analysed based on simple percentages, frequencies, and cross tabulation. The study found that despite the numerous advantages of internet advertising and online sales over other forms of commerce, many Nigerians are yet to adopt this technology in their daily buying and selling activities. The study established that while internet advertising is desirable to most companies operating in the study area, lack of technical knowhow, low level of awareness and preference for traditional advert media are the major constraints to adopting e- commerce. Consumers, on the other hand, cite lack of internet access, irregular power supply, and cost of internet access as the limiting factors to adopting online Moreover, the study has established that income of the user, internet skills, cost of using the internet, content of the advert, location of advert, opinion of other users, and the quality of advertised products are significant factors that affect the effectiveness of online advertisement and therefore influences buyers decision. Goyal (2014) expressed that more and more people are going online. However, it is a common trend that consumers find out deals online but purchase offline. Reverse trend has also started wherein consumers get the feel and touch of the product in the stores but purchase online. 35 per cent of the respondents said that they research offline and make purchases online. On the other hand, 47 per cent of the respondents are doing the opposite thing. They research online but make purchases in the stores. This shows that consumers still use online sources to get information and compare the prices but feel comfortable purchasing the goods in the stores. He found that 53 per cent of respondents believe that online shopping can replace small mom-and-pop stores while 40 per cent believe that it can replace malls. Stores and 118 Page

3 malls spend huge amount on rent, maintenance of shops, décor, ambience, staff and other store expenses. Majority of these are not to be borne by online players. The study examined that the heavy discounts offered by e-tailers is giving tough competition to malls and brick and mortar stores. With increasing number of people making online purchases, retailers feel they might not be able to survive as they are not able to give the discounts e-tailers are offering. Sharma & Mehta (2014) explained that the Indian customers are also getting addicted to the online shopping and they do like various features of online shopping as by rest of the world. The ease and convenience provided by these stores for 24x7 has made very easy shopping for consumers worldwide. There is huge scope of web-stores in various areas and in almost all the segments. Young population (18-25 years) is the biggest attraction of this industry and they may contribute substantially to the growth of online shopping in India. Travel planning is one of the biggest services used by Indian online shoppers. But the statistics available has shown that Indian market is still not a fully developed market for e-tail stores. By improving the after sales services, providing more secured payment options, timely delivery of the goods with better packaging can further boost the demand of various products and services through web stores. Yoldas (2011)found factors that affect online purchasing behaviour of two consumer groups from two different countries, United Kingdom and Turkey. These include culture, social class, references group relation, family, salary level and salary independency, age, gender etc. and so they show different customer behaviour. These differences are seen more specific when it is considered between two different consumer groups from different countries. A questionnaire was designed online, since the research was an online consumer behaviour study, online data collection methods were preferred. The result of this study would contribute marketers who want to penetrate the market in Turkey and in United Kingdom who is already present in the market and wants to maintain the loyalty of their customers. The analysis of online shopping website quality as an important factor affecting shopping behaviour was beyond the scope of this study. Halimi et al. (2011) in an investigation evaluated the customer s attitude towards online shopping and the factors affecting it. The main objective of this study was to enhance the understanding about customers attitude towards online purchasing. Therefore, in this study, an online purchase attitude Model is presented and empirically tested among Singaporean students. The study intended to examine the impact of factors affecting consumer s attitude towards online purchasing among degree holders in Singapore. Based on the proposed model, the influence of consumer s perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, privacy concerns, security as well as product characteristics is assessed on customers attitudes toward online To do so, primary data has been collected by a questionnaire which was distributed face to face among a sample of 100 university students from Singapore and the secondary data was collected through online data base sources and from prior related academic studies. Correlation and multiple regression methods have been used to test the relationship between variables. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, security and customer s attitude towards online purchasing. Moreover, the relationship between customer s privacy concern and their attitude towards online purchasing is significant but negative. Finally, there is no significant relationship between product characteristics and customer s attitude towards online purchasing in Singapore. Doherty and Ellis-Chadwick (2010) mentioned that under growing pressure from consumers, retailers must allow their services to be accessed flexibly from a growing array of mobile devices, so that consumer can shop on the move. They also brought up the importance of integration of newer mobile technologies in future i.e. how mobile devices, such as 3G mobile phones or PDAs, and wireless networks will be integrated into the retailers existing internet infrastructures and online practices. 3. Research Methodology Objective of the study 1. To assess the satisfaction level of consumers towards online shopping Hypothesisof the study H0 1: Consumer satisfaction towards online shopping does not vary among various demographic factors. Research design The present study is Exploratory-cum-Descriptive in nature as it endeavours to assess the relationship between specific factors. Geographical area of study The study was limited to the state of Punjab. Three cities of Punjab i.e. Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar were taken as a part of sample. Data was collected with the help of structured questionnaire provided through google doc., Facebook and e- mails. The study included various categories of products and services which includes clothing, footwear, accessories, electronic goods (or white goods), mobiles, tickets (movie, hotels, flights), books, home furnishing available on various websites. Sample unit The study was carried out based on an adequate size of sampled customers and products &Services only in three major cities of Punjab i.e. Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar with highest density of population among the age group of 15 years to 55 years and above. The study is be limited to categories of products and services available online that includes clothing, footwear, accessories, electronic (white goods), mobiles, tickets (movies, hotels and flights), books and home furnishing. 119 Page

4 Sampling Technique The sampling method used for this study was Non- Probability Sampling. Snowball and Purposive sampling method were used to draw the sample from population. Sample size The researcher kept on rejecting the responses which were found to be incomplete and perceivable biased. Therefore, the researcher targeted 750 online buyers from 3 cities of Punjab i.e. Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar with 250 buyers from each district. It was done to get complete and perceivably unbiased responses and minimises the possibility of unreliability of results resultantly. So, out of the 750 respondents, 625 questionnaires were received at a response rate of 89 per cent. On further filtering, 600 responses are found to be filled. Sample Size determination This sample size can be justified by following two arguments. First, following formula can be used to determine sample size. N=(z) 2 p (1 p) / d 2 Where, n = Sample Size Z = Z value from the standard normal distribution for the confidence level desired by the researcher. (for a level of confidence of 95%, z = 1.96, for a level of confidence of 99%, z = 2.575) Forthis study, we assumed 95 percent confidence level. Then, from the standard distribution table, the Z value is p = estimated proportion of the population that presents the characteristic (when unknown we use p = 0.5). e = Tolerable error. (This can be decided by the researcher. For this study we assumed tolerable error Using above formula, whatever be the value of p, the sample size comes to be 385. This implies that the sample size of 600 was more than enough to estimate the population proportions with 95 percent confidence level and allowing tolerable limit of Second, as this research used multivariate techniques to test the proposed hypotheses, a sample size of 600 respondents was deemed to be most appropriate for this study that measured independent variables. Sources of data Both primary and secondary data were collected in this research Statistical tools employed The statistical tools that are used for the analysis of the primary data are T Test and ANOVA. 4. Data analysis and interpretation Impact of consumers demographics on satisfaction towards online shopping One-way ANOVA is applied to ascertain the impact of consumers age, annual income, education, occupation and frequency of shopping on satisfaction towards online Independent samples t-test is applied to ascertain the impact of consumers gender and marital status on satisfaction towards online The following null hypotheses were framed: H0 1: There is no significant impact of consumers (a) age (b) gender (c) marital status (d) monthly income (e) education (f) occupation (g) frequency of shopping on satisfaction towards online Table 1.1 shows the results of consumers demographics on satisfaction towards online Table 1.1 Impact of consumers demographics on satisfaction towards online shopping Demographics Classification N Mean SD t/f values 15 to 25 Years Age 25 to 35 Years F= to 45 Years to 55 Years and above Gender Male T=0.160 Female (p=0.873) Marital Status Married T=8.372 Single Professional Degree Education Post graduate F= Graduate Schooling Others Occupation Salaried F= Page

5 Annual Income Frequency of Shopping ** Significant at 1% level Professional Business Home Maker Others Below Rs.2,50, Rs. 2,50,000-5,00, Rs. 5,00,000-7,50, Above 7,50, Once in a week At least once in a month Once in 2-4 months Once in a year According to the need F= F=0.951 (p=0.434) Age The obtained 'F' value is and it is significant at 1% consumer s age towards satisfaction in online Further, the mean table 1.1 indicates that the consumers with age below 25 years have scored higher mean value of and the lowest mean was scored by the consumers with age years of age (41.29). This shows that the consumers with age below 25 years are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers with age above 55 years are having less satisfaction towards online Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(a) that there is no significant impact of consumer s age towards satisfaction in online shopping is rejected Gender The obtained 't' value is and it is not significant at 5% level. The value indicates that there is no significant impact of consumer s gender towards satisfaction in online Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(b) that there is no significant impact of Consumer s gender towards satisfaction in online shopping is accepted. Marital status The obtained 't' value is and it is significant at 1% consumer s marital status towards satisfaction in online Further, the mean table 1.1 indicates that the consumers living as single have scored higher mean value of than the consumers who were married (41.45). This shows that the consumers living as single are having more satisfaction towards online shopping as compared with consumers living as married Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(c) that there is no significant impact of consumer s marital status towards satisfaction in online shopping is rejected. Annual Income The obtained 'F' value is and it is significant at 1% consumer s annual income towards satisfaction in online Further, the mean table 1.1 indicates that the consumers earning annual income below Rs.2,50,000 have scored higher mean value of and the lowest mean was scored by the consumers earning annual income of more than Rs.7,50,000 (38.53). This shows that the consumers earning annual income of less than Rs.2,50,000 per annum are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers earning more than Rs.7,50,000 per annum are having less satisfaction towards online Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(d) that there is no significant impact of consumer s annual income towards satisfaction in online shopping is rejected. Education The obtained 'F' value is and it is significant at 1% consumer s education towards satisfaction in online Further, the mean table 1.1 indicates that the consumers possessing graduation have scored higher mean value of and the lowest mean was scored by the consumers with education of professional degree (38.53). This shows that the graduates are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers possessing professional degree are having less satisfaction towards online Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(e) that there is no significant impact of consumer s education towards satisfaction in online shopping is rejected. Occupation The obtained 'F' value is and it is significant at 1% consumer s occupation towards satisfaction in online Further, the mean table 1.1 indicates that the consumers running business have scored higher mean value of and the lowest mean was scored by the students (38.53). This shows that the consumers running business are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the students are having less satisfaction towards online 121 Page

6 Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(f) that there is no significant impact of consumer s occupation towards satisfaction in online shopping is rejected. Frequency of shopping The obtained 'F' value is and it is not significant at 5% level. The value indicates that there is no significant impact of consumer s frequency of shopping towards satisfaction in online Therefore, the formulated hypothesis H0 1(g) that there is no significant impact of consumer s frequency of shopping towards satisfaction in online shopping is accepted. 5. Findings of the Study The study reveals that: 1. Out of the total 600 respondents, consumers with age below 25 years are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers with age above 55 years are having less satisfaction towards online 2. There is no significant impact of consumer s gender towards satisfaction in online 3. Consumers living as single are having more satisfaction towards online shopping as compared with consumers living as married. 4. Consumers earning annual income of less than Rs.2,50,000 per annum are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers earning more than Rs.7,50,000 per annum are having less satisfaction towards online 5. Graduates are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the consumers possessing professional degree are having less satisfaction towards online 6. Consumers running business are having more satisfaction towards online shopping and the students are having less satisfaction towards online 7. There is no significant impact of consumer s frequency of shopping towards satisfaction in online 6. Conclusion In the past, consumers had enough time to visit shopping centres, searching for various products. Many consumers prefer bargaining and decide the purchases after physical examination of the commodities. The entire process can range from a few hours to weeks depending on the product, quantity, quality and source of purchase. Today, there is radical change in the entire scenario. Everything in today s world is Internet oriented like Electronic Data Interchange, , E-Business and E-Commerce. E-Commerce is exchange of information using networkbased technologies. In the present high cost situation, e- Commerce can be used as a competitive strategy. It successfully includes the entire online process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and services. Online shopping is a vast growing technology. If it is properly utilized with assured safety and security for the transactions, it will thrive into a highly competitive and dynamic environment. Population of Punjab is highly tech savvy and the city is dotted with the firms of many successful entrepreneurs. Punjab has many industries, estates, corporate hospitals and good number of engineering colleges. In future, online shopping is bound to grow in a big way, given the growing youth population. References 1. Chuleeporn, C., &Tzong-Ru, L. (2014). Shopping Preference: A Comparative Study of American and Taiwanese Perceptions. Journal of International Technology and Information Management, International Information Management Association, Inc ISSN: ,23(1). 2. Doherty, N. and Ellis Chadwick, F. (2010). Internet retailing: the past, the present and the future. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 38(11/12), pp Goyal (2014), A Survey on Consumer s Perception, Journal of Business & Management,2(11). 4. Halimi (2011), Online Purchasing Among Degree Holders in Singapore, International Conference on Economics, Business and Marketing Management, pp Okon, S. (2016), Determinants of online Advertising Effectiveness in Nigeria, Equatorial Journal of Marketing and Insurance Policy, Volume 1, (Issue 1) 6. Rao S., Narayana R., (September2015), Parameters Considered by Consumers Shopping and Issues at Adidas Online Store: A Case Study, MSRUAS Journal of Commerce and Management, Volume 2 (Issue 2). 7. Sharma, K. Sharma, R. (2014), Understanding Online Shopping Behaviour of Indian Shoppers, International Journal of Management & Business Studies, Volume 4,(Issue 3), ISSN : (Online) ISSN : (Print) 8. Yoldas, S. (2011), A research about buying behaviours of online customers. 9. Indian Brand Equity Foundation (2018), 122 Page