SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

ON
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF LEADING ECOMMERCE SITES IN INDIA

SUBMITTED BYHARSHIT GOYAL

00714901714 (2014-17)
B.B.A.(GEN.),VTH SEM,1ST SHIFT
Submitted In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The
Award Of The Degree Of Bachelor Of Business Administration

Maharaja Surajmal Institute

C4, Janakpuri, New Delhi 110058
Affiliated To Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
Recognised by UGC u/s 2(f)

DECLARATION

I, Harshit Goyal , Roll Number -00714901714 ,Student Of

B.B.A.(Gen) , Vth Sem, 1st Shift , Batch Of 2014-2017, At
Maharaja Surajmal Institute,C4, Janakpuri, New Delhi
110058,Affiliated To Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha
University ,
Hereby Certify That The Report Titled Competitive
Analysis Of Leading E-Commerce Sites In India ,
Is My Original Work And Has Not Been Published Or
Submitted For Any Degree, Diploma Or Other Similar
Title Elsewhere.
This Has Been Undertaken In The Guidance Of Ms. Asha
Chaudhary (Faculty ,F.M., MSI) , For The Purpose Of
Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirement Of Award Of The
Degree.
This Report Has Been Primarily Derived From My
Experience Working As A Jr. General Manager , During
My Summer Internship, At Shopping Series , A Small ECommerce Undertaking ,

HARSHIT GOYAL
(00714901714)
1

ACKNOWLIDGEMENT

I Have Taken Efforts In This Project. However, It Would

Not Have Been Possible Without The Kind Support And
Help Of Many Individuals And Organization. I Would Like
To Extend My Sincere Thanks To All Of Them.
I Am Highly Indebted To everyone at shopping series For
Their Guidance And Constant Supervision As Well As For
Providing Necessary Information Regarding The Project
& Also For Their Support In Completing The Project.
I Would Like To Express My Gratitude Towards My guide
Ms. Asha chaudhary For her Kind Co-Operation And
Encouragement Which Help Me In Completion Of This
Project.
I Would Like To Express My Special Gratitude And
Thanks To Mr. Rohit , G.M. (shopping series) , For Giving
Me Such Attention And Time.
My Thanks And Appreciations Also Go To My Colleague
In Developing The Project And People Who Have
Willingly Helped Me Out With Their Abilities.

S. NO.

TOPIC

PAGE NO.

DECLARATION

II

ACKNOWLIDGEMENT

II

III

CERTIFICATE

III

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

LIMITATIONS

10

CHAPTER 2

11

PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION

15

10

CHAPTER 3

18

11

19

12

REVIEW OF LITRATURE AND CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORK
CHAPTER 4

13

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

28

15

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDATIONS

39&40

17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

44

27

PREFACE
B.B.A. is a stepping-stone to the management carrier and to develop good
manager it is necessary that the theoretical must be supplemented with exposure
to the real environment.

Theoretical knowledge just provides the base and its not sufficient to produce a
good manager thats why practical knowledge is needed. Therefore training is
an essential requirement for the student of B.B.A. This training project not only
helps the student to utilize his skills properly learn field realities but also
provides a chance to the organization to find out talent among the budding
managers in the very beginning.

In accordance with the requirement of BBA course i have summer training

project on the topic competitive analysis of leading e-commerce sites in
India. The main objective of the research project was to study the workings of
the e-commerce industry in India , to identify key payers , to compare those
from the point of view of a buyer as well as a seller.

CHAPTER 1
1

1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In The Following Sections , And Chapters, The E-Commerce
Industry In India Is Studied, Its Workings, Its Shortcomings , Etc.
2

Followed By A Comparative Analysis Of The Leading ECommerce Players In India Mainly Flipkart , Amazon , And Ebay
The Purpose And Objective Are Decided And Stated , Based On
Which , A Research Problem Is Formulated , The Research
Problem Had Clear And Definable Goals And Parameters Which
Helped In Determining Whether The Objectives Had Been
Achieved Or Not.
The Research Methodology , Design , And Sources Were
Collected In Accordance To The Requirement Set Up By The
Research Problem.
The Limitations Of The Report Have Been Identified And Taken
Into Account.
After Collection Of Necessary Data , It Is Edited , Tabulated ,
Processed And Interpreted Using Various Methods As Suitable ,
A Working Hypothesis Is Formulated To Be Tested Based On The
Initial Interpretation,
The Result Of The Test Either Credits Or Dis-Credits The
Hypothesis, Based On Which Either A Conclusion Is Drawn Or
More Testing Is Recommended.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

The Purpose Of Writing This Report Is To Utilise The Knowlidge
Gained Working With A Company That Sells Its Products Online
On Marketplaces Like Amazon, Flipkart ,Ebay
To Determine Which Factors Influence The Buyers And The
Sellers To Prefer A Platform Over Other , At The Same Time Help
Sellers As Well As Buyers To Choose The Best Platform,
Also Benifit The Platform By Suggesting Improvements .

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS TO STUDY THE WORKING OF ECOMMERCE IN INDIA

TO DO A COMPARITIVE ANALYSIS OF MAJOR PLAYERS IN
THE INDUSTRY IN INDIA
TO DETERMINE WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE BUYERS&
SELLERS TO CHOOSE A PLATFORM
RECOMMEND IMPROVEMENTS TO SUCH E-COMMERCE
PLATFORMS BASED ON THE FINDINGS.

1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM CAN BE
STATED AS FOLLOWS:1. FIND THE REVENUE MODEL, VALUE PROPOSITIONS,KEY
ACTIVITIES , CUSTOMER BASE OF E-COMMERCE
2. FIND THE SALES , REVENUE , PROFIT , MARKET SHARE ,
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK , ASSETS , LIABILITIES , PLANS,
IMAGE OF FLIPKART , AMAZON , AND EBAY
3. STUDY VARIOUS FACTORS LIKE PRICES , PROMOTION,
PRODUCTS , POLICIES OF THE 3 COMPANIES AND THE
BUYERS AND SELERS RESPONSE TO THEESE FACTORS
4. FIND THE POSITIVE AND NEGITIVE FACTORS ALONG WITH
THERE WEIGHTED VALUE

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6

It is the process used to collect information and data for the

purpose of making decisions. The methodology may include
publication research, interviews, surveys and other research
techniques, and could include both present and historical
information. The data collected to use the methodology may be
primary or secondary, qualitative or quantitative or both.
Research depends on the objectives of the study, whether we
are focusing more on quantitative variables due to greater
emphasis on measuring, clarifying, questioning or proving
hypotheses or theories. The most common way of explaining
research methodology is classifying them on the basis of the
data collected. In this report, both primary and secondary data
has been used and analyzed.

Primary Data
Primary data is the data collected by the researcher himself.
the data collected in raw form and then processed; such data is
unavailable beforehand and thus is brand new data. It is often
undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into
the issue by reviewing secondary research or by analyzing
previously collected primary data. Primary data collection is
very costly and time consuming

Secondary data
Secondary data is the data collected by someone else for a
different purpose to ours. It is quantitative in nature, it is
readily available but often irrelavent or obsolete .

The research methodology followed by

the researcher during the preparation
of the report was a collection of data
through Primary as well as Secondary
Sources.
7

1.6 RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design refers to the overall strategy that you
choose to integrate the different components of the study
in a coherent and logical way, thereby, ensuring you will
effectively address the research problem; it constitutes
the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and
analysis of data.
1. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH is research
conducted for a problem that has not been clearly
defined. It often occurs before we know enough to make
conceptual distinctions or to posit an explanatory
relationship. Exploratory research develops concepts
more clearly,established priorities,develops operational
definitions and improve the final research design.
Exploratory research helps determine the best research
design, data-collection method and selection of
subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with
extreme caution. Given its fundamental nature,
exploratory research often concludes that a perceived
problem does not actually exist.
2. DISCRIPTIVE RESEARCH As the name
implies, descriptive research methods are used when
the researcher wants to describe specific behavior as it
occurs in the environment. There are a variety of
descriptive research methods available, and once again,
the nature of the question that needs to be answered
drives which method is used. Traditionally, descriptive
research involves three main categories: observation,
case studies, and surveys. Let's take a closer look at
each of these individually.
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3. CAUSAL RESEARCH, also called explanatory

research. is the investigation of (research into) causeand-effect relationships. To determine causality, it is
important to observe variation in the variable assumed
to cause the change in the other variable(s), and then
measure the changes in the other variable(s). Other
confounding influences must be controlled for so they
don't distort the results, either by holding them
constant in the experimental creation of data, or by
using statistical methods. This type of research is very
complex and the researcher can never be completely
certain that there are no other factors influencing the
causal relationship, especially when dealing with
peoples attitudes and motivations. There are often
much deeper psychological considerations that even
the respondent may not be aware of.

In This Study all 3 Research Designs

Have Been Adopted

1.7 THE LIMITATIONS

Due to wide spread information and data the scope of
the project becomes very wide, thus beyond the
scope of this project.
The primary data used is of the period of the 8 weeks
of training.
Due to resource constraints not much primary data is
available .
Some of the secondary data is a little outdated.
The report only caters to marketplace E-Commerce
Extensive data is not available on most of the
companies as they are pvt ltd.

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CHAPTER 2

COMPANY PROFILE

11

INDUSTRY PROFILE
India had an internet user base of about 354 million as of
June 2015 and is expected to cross 500 million in 2016.
Despite being the second-largest userbase in world, only
behind China (650 million, 48% of population), the
penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets
like the United States (266 million, 84%), or France (54 M,
81%), but is growing at an unprecedented rate, adding
around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry
consensus is that growth is at an inflection point.
In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment
method, accumulating 75% of the e-retail activities.
Demand for international consumer products (including
long-tail items) is growing much faster than in-country
supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce
offerings.
In 2016, the largest e-commerce companies in India were
Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon India, and Ebay.

MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in
2009, it went up to $12.6 billion in 2013. In 2013, the eretail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 70% of
India's e-commerce market is travel related. According to
Google India, there were 35 million online shoppers in
India in 2014 Q1 and is expected to cross 100 million mark
by end of year 2016. CAGR vis--vis a global growth rate
of 810%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest
categories in terms of sales.
According to a study conducted by the Internet and Mobile
Association of India, the e-commerce sector is estimated
to reach Rs. 211,005 crore by December 2016. The study
also stated that online travel accounts for 61% of the ecommerce market.
12

By 2020, India is expected to generate $100 billion online

retail revenue out of which $35 billion will be through
fashion e-commerce. Online apparel sales are set to grow
four times in coming years.
India's retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011
and is expected to grow to $675 Bn by 2016 and $850
billion by 2020, estimated CAGR of 10%.. According to
Forrester, the e-commerce market in India is set to grow
the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR of over
57% between 201216.
As per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus Capital,
the Indian e-commerce market is estimated at Rs 28,500
Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year 2011. Online travel
constitutes a sizable portion (87%) of this market today.
Online travel market in India is expected to grow at a rate
of 22% over the next 4 years and reach Rs 54,800 crore
($12.2 billion) in size by 2015. Indian e-tailing industry is
estimated at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and
estimated to grow to Rs 53,000 crore ($11.8 billion) in
2015.
Overall e-commerce market is expected to reach Rs
1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the year 2015 with both
online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big
segment in e-commerce is mobile/DTH recharge with
nearly 1 million transactions daily by operator websites.

INFRASTRUCTURE
There are many hosting companies working in India but
most[citation needed] of them are not suitable for
eCommerce hosting purpose, because they are providing
much less secure and threat protected shared hosting.
eCommerce demand highly secure, stable and protected
hosting.[citation needed] Trends are changing with some
of eCommerce companies starting to offer SaaS for
hosting web stores with minimal one time costs.

13

There could be various methods of ecommerce marketing

such as blog, forums, search engines and some online
advertising sites like Google adwords and Adroll.
India has got its own version of Cyber Monday known as
Great Online Shopping Festival which started in December
2012, when Google India partnered with e-commerce
companies including Flipkart, HomeShop18, Snapdeal,
Indiatimes shopping and Makemytrip. "Cyber Monday" is a
term coined in the USA for the Monday coming after Black
Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Most
recent GOSF Great Online Shopping Festival was held
during Dec 10 to 12, 2014.
In early June 2013, Amazon.com launched their Amazon
India marketplace without any marketing campaigns. In
July 2014, Amazon had said it will invest $2 billion (Rs
12,000 crore) in India to expand business, after its largest
Indian rival Flipkart announced $1 billion in funding. In
June 2016, Amazon agreed to invest another $3 billion to
further pressure rivals Flipkart & Snapdeal Amazon has
also entered grocery segment with its Kirana now in
bangalore and is also planning to enter in various other
cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and faces stiff
competition with Indian startups.

14

COMPANY PROFILE
Shopping Series

Incepted in the year 2015 at Delhi, (India), Shopping

Series is a Sole Proprietorship Company and a wellrenowned trader and wholesaler of a comprehensive range of
electronic accessories like
Carrying Case
Screen Guard
Battery
Headset
Headphones
Speaker
Cables
Power Bank
Charger
Pen Drive
Memory Card
Bluetooth Headset
Car Charger
Cleaning Kit
Data Cable
Selfie Stick
Mobile Holders
LED Light
AUX Cable
Screen Magnifier
Vehicle Mounts

FACTSHEET
15

Basic Information
Nature of Business
Trader, Importer
Company CEO
Total Number of Employees
Year of Establishment
Ownership Type
Proprietorship (Individual)
Annual Turnover
1 Crore
Company USP
Competitive Advantage
Large Product Line

Wholesaler,
Vikrant Malik
Upto 10 People
2015
Sole
Rs. 50 Lakh Primary

Good
Financial Position & TQM
Packaging/Payment
and Shipment Details
Payment Mode

Cash
Credit

Card
DD
Cheque
Shipment Mode
aramax ,fedex

By bluedart,

Advantages
We are the leading organization in the industry to provide
our clients the best quality array of products.
Some of the major factors behind our success in this
domain are:
Robust Infrastructural base
Highly durable products
Ethical business polices
Adroit team of professionals
16

Prompt Delivery
Affordable price range
Customization facility
BRANDS WE DEAL IN
Sony
Sandisk, etc.

VENDOR BASE
they are backed with a huge and honourable vendor base
to comprehend the accurate demands and necessities of
our precious customers. Owing to the support of our wellrenowned vendors, they have been effectively providing
optimum quality range of products to the clients. Our
hardworking team of procuring agent has selected their
vendors after analyzing their manufacturing facility,
clients response, monetary condition, market reputation,
etc.

ONLINE PRESENCE
Shoppingseries is PRESENT ON ALL major e-commerce
platforms like
Amazon
Flipkart
Ebay
Snapdeal
Etc
Mstick is a personalised brand acquired by the company
about a year ago , since then it has focussed on private
labelling imports

AWARDS

17

It has received many awards for its exceptional sales

record over the past few years including :AMAZON - BEST SELLER IN ELECTRONICS
EBAY POWERSELLER
EBAY TOP RATED SELLER
FLIPKART PREMIUM SELLER

CHAPTER -3

LITRATURE REVIEW AND

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

18

Keyword search on E-Commerce adoption in India e-business

in India
E-Commerce and India and e-business and India in various
databases like EBSCO, ProQuest, and Emerald Management
Xtra found the following ten
E-Commerce/e-business research articles done in Indian
context
DEFINITIONS OF E-COMMERCE
Many of the implicit and explicit definitions of e-commerce rely on past
experiencerather than on possible futures. There are various ways to define ecommerce by different people, different books or different parties.
E-commerce is a general term for any type of business, or commercial
electronic transaction that involves the transfer of information across the
Internet. Or we can say that e-commerce is defined as the use of computers and
electronic networks to conduct business with other businesses or with customers
over the Internet or another electronic network. Since there are various
definitions of e-commerce, the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD, 2000) has summarized the descriptive definitions of
electronic commerce as stated below:Definition by U.S. Executive Office of the President
E-commerce is commercial interaction over the internet, which can lower costs
dramatically and facilitating new types of commercial transactions. As the
Internet empowers citizens and democratizes societies, it is also changing
classic economic paradigms. New models of commercial interaction are
developing as businesses and consumers participate in an electronic
marketplace and reap the resultant benefits. The Internet has the potential to
revolutionize commerce and other areas. The Internet will revolutionize retail
marketing. Commerce on the Internet could total tens of billions of dollars by
the turn of the century. (UNCTAD, 2000)
Definition by European Information Technology Observatory
Electronic commerce is the carrying out of business activities that lead to an
exchangeof value across telecommunication networks. (UNCTAD, 2000)
Definition by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)
E-commerce refers generally to all forms of transactions relating to commercial
activities, including both organizations and individuals that are based upon the
19

processing and transmission of digitized data, including text, sound, and visual
images.
(UNCTAD, 2000)
Definition by European Commission
Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically. It is based on the
electronic processing and transmission of data, including text, sound, and video
(UNCTAD, 2000).
It encompasses many diverse activities, including electronic trading of goods
and services, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfers,
electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions,
collaborative design and engineering, online sourcing, public procurement,
direct consumer marketing, and aftersales service (European Commission,
1998). It involves both products (consumer goods, specialized medical
equipment) and services (information services, financial and legal services);
traditional activities (healthcare, education) and new activities (virtual malls).
Definition by Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan
. . . electronic commerce, which has been limited to a number of specified
companies, is entering a new era where many unspecified persons, including
general consumers, are involved on the networks. In addition, its contents have
come to include not only simple transactions of data concerning placement of
orders or order acceptance but also to general commercial acts such as publicity,
advertisements, negotiations, contracts, and fund settlements. (UNCTAD,
2000)
Definition by Transatlantic Business Dialogue Electronic Commerce White
Paper
Electronic commerce, defined simply, is the commercial transaction of services
in an electronic format. (UNCTAD, 2000)

Evolution of Commerce
Commerce has evolved over the centuries. Prior to the 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
marketplace. In a marketplace, 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
20

forms of Commerce. Once the marketplace came into existence, a few pioneers
realised that
people would be ready to pay extra if they could deliver products at the
customers 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 Vendors was born.
When the Postal System came into being the sellers decided to cash in on the
new
opportunity and started using mailers giving description of their products. It led
to the concept of Mail Order Cataloguing. From here, the evolution of the
Tele shopping networks was thus inevitable 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, E-Commerce emerged as the boundary-less trade
medium in the era of globalization

Figure 1. Evolution of E-Commerce

Conceptual framework of E-commerce in India Today e-commerce is a

byword in Indian society and it has become an integral part of our daily life.
There are websites providing any number of goods and services. Then there are
those, which provide a specific product along with its allied services.
A. Multi Product E-Commerce
21

Some internet portals provide almost all categories of goods and services in a
single site; hence, they are targeting buyers of every possible product/service.
The most popular examples are www.flipkart.com, www.shopclues.com,
ebay.in,
www.snapdeals.com,
www.indiaplaza.com,
www.thebestofindia.com,www.homeshop18.com,
shopping.rediff.com,
shopping.indiatimes.com and so on. These Indian e-commerce portals provide
goods and services in a variety of categories like:

Apparel and Accessories for men and women

Health and beauty products
Books and magazines
Computers and peripherals
Vehicles
Collectibles
Software
Consumer electronics
Household appliances
Jewellery
Audio/Video entertainment goods
Gift articles
Real estate and services
Business opportunities
Employment
Travel tickets
Matrimony
Petsand more.

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B. Single Product E-Commerce Some Indian portals/websites deal in a

specialized field, for example
Automobiles:
Examples are: http://www.indiacar.com/ and http://www.automartindia.com/.
On these sites we can buy and sell four-wheelers and two-wheelers, new as well
as used Vehicles, online. Some of the services they provide are:
Car research and reviews
Online evaluation
Technical specifications
Vehicle Insurance
Vehicle Finance
Dealer Locator
Regional Transport Office regulations
Expert speak
Message boardand more.
23

Stocks and shares and e-commerce

In India today, we can even deal in stocks and shares through e-commerce.
Some of the sites are: http://www.equitymaster.com; http://www.5paisa.com.
Some of the services offered to registered members are:

Online buying/dealing of stocks and shares;

Market analysis and research
Company information
Comparison of companies
Research on Equity and Mutual Funds
Tracking Market Trends
Hotline for advice on Risk Management
24-Hour helpdesk.and more.

Employment and e-commerce:

Two major portals like www.monsterindia.com and www.naukri.com (meaning
job.com in Hindi) are instrumental in providing job seekers with suitable
employment at the click of a mouse. They have directories categorized under
the headings Employers and Job Seekers. The service for job seekers is free and
for Employers they charge a nominal fee. Jobs are available online in fields
ranging from secretarial to software development, and from real estate to
education. The opportunities offered are unlimited.

Presents
India:

Trends

of

E-Commerce

in

India is developing rapidly and if development is to be

measured, how can we ignore the role of ecommerce in it. The
internet user base in India might still be a mere 151 million
which is much less when compared to its penetration in the US
or UK but it's surely expanding at an alarming rate. At 151
24

million total Internet users, the Internet penetration in India

remains at 12.6% India now has the 3rd largest Internet
population with 151 million in the world after China at 568
million and USA at 254 million (in 2013). Considering the
annual rate of growth 41-43% India is expected to cross 375
million unique internet users by end of 2015.The number of
new entrants in this sphere is escalating daily and with growth
rate reaching its zenith; it can be presumed that in years to
come, customary retailers will feel the need to switch to online
business. Insights into increasing demand for broadband
services, rising standards of living, availability of wider product
ranges, reduced prices and busy lifestyles reveal this fact more
prominently thereby giving way to online deals on gift
vouchers. Going by the statistics, according to a study by the
Internet & Mobile Association of India and KPMG, Indian
ecommerce was projected to grow to $12.6 billion by the end of
this year. By 2020, it is expected to contribute around 4 per
cent to GDP. Currently, the Internet penetration in India stands
at 11 per cent of the population, a third of the world average.

Mode of payment:
Majority of the online shoppers use Debit cards/Internet
banking as their preferred mode of payment for shopping
online. Payment through credit cards, follow closely at second
position and Cash on Delivery on third position.

25

Figure 7: Mode of payment

(Source: digitalinsights.com)

CHAPTER 4
26

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

PRIMARY DATA
QUESTIONARE
Q1. STATE YOUR NAME , AGE & OCCUPATION

27

Q2. DO YOU BUY/SELL PRODUCTS ONLINE?

Q3. IF YES, THEN HOW OFTEN?

28

Q4. WHAT TYPE OF PRODUCTS DO YOU BUY/SELL ONLINE?

Q5. WHY DO YOU BUY/SELL ONLINE?

29

Q6. WHICH SITE DO YOU USE?

Q7. WHY?

30

Q8. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS WOULD YOU SAY MOTIVATE YOU THE
MOST

Q9. WHICH SITE ARE YOU MOST SATISFIED FROM?

MOST PEOPLE WERE SATISFIED WITH AMAZON OR FLIPKART

31

Q10. WHAT CHANGES WOULD YOU LIKE IN THE SYSTEM IF ANY?

Retail E-Commerce in India - a closer look

Retail category penetration has increased to 60% reach and has

grown to 47.9 million unique visitors a month. The growth has
come across all retail categories and most of them show
promising transactions and conversion rates along with growth
in visitors. The top retail sites in India have each seen a growth
of over 100% in the last 12 months.

32

(Source: digitalinsights.com)
Amazon is the most visited retail site with most of the
traffic split among Amazon.com and Junglee.com.
Flipkart leads the way among the online retailers in India
with 7.4 million unique visitors a month, growing at 431%
annually.
Snapdeal has been close second with 6.9 million uniques.
Jabong and Myntra have been competing closely in the
lifestyle category with over 5.3 million uniques each.
HomeShop18 has over 4 million uniques a month.

Figure 9: E-Commerce Revenue

33

E-commerce in India to explode in 2014, Indian e-shoppers will have a good

time getting great deals and services online. A recent pan-India report released
by Com Score Inc reveals that online shopping in India has touched a growth
rate of 18 per cent and is only likely to grow further. The report found that
nearly 60 per cent of citizens in India visited a retail site in November 2013,
with the number of online shoppers increasing by 18 per cent in the past year. Ecommerce can become an integral part of sales strategy while it is one of the
cheapest medium to reach out the new markets, if implemented successfully, it
offer a smart way of expansion & doing e-commerce attribute to the successful
implementation to carefully understanding the products & services, customers
and the business process, easy-to-use system to extend the business on the web.
A new report by the Boston Consulting Group says online retail in India could
be a $84-billion industry by 2016 more than 10 times its worth in 2010
and will account for 4.5 per cent of total retail. The e-commerce platforms
maximize its reach to the potential customers and provide them with a
convenient, satisfying & secure shopping experience.
3 Key Players

Top 3 E-Commerce companies in India

(Source: nextbigwhat.com)

FlipKart.com

Flipkart.com
is
an
e-commerce
website founded by Sachin Bansal
and Binny Bansal in 2007. Both are
from IIT Delhi Alumni and also
worked in Amazon.com.
Flipkart.com ranks #502 in world
according to Alexa traffic rankings. In
Google page it ranks #6. It forms
advertising revenue of $4.8 million. It
receives 2.2 million page views in a day
and generates $6,574 in advertising
revenue every day. Moreover it has
certain losses 0.60% in traffic ranking.
Loading time of an average page is 2.1
34

sec as it is much faster than 29% of sites

around the world. The mode of payments
include Credit card, Debit card, Net
banking, e-gift vouchers, cash on
delivery.

Ebay.in

eBay is an online shopping website a

consumer to consumer corporation
which
helps
the
people
and
businessman
to
buy
and
sell
products worldwide. It is operated
to almost 30 countries.
eBay ranks #544 among Alexa traffic
ranking. In Google it has pagerank #6.
The advertising revenue inculcated was
about $4.4 Million. Moreover it receives 2
million pageviews per day which
generates $6,066 in the advertisement
revenue. Recently it has shown 15.13%
growth in traffic rank. The pageloading
time is upto 2 sec which is likely faster
than 24% sites across the world.

Snapdeal.com

Snapdeal
deals
with
online
marketing of products including
Mobiles,
Electronics,
Fashion
accessories,
Apparel,
Footwear,
Kids, Home and Kitchen, Sports,
Books;
and
services
like
Restaurants, Spas & Entertainment.
It was launched by Kunal Bahl, a
Wharton graduate and Rohit Bansal,
alumnus of IIT Delhi, in February
2010.

35

It ranks #576 in the world as per Alexa

traffic ranking.It ranks # 5 in Google
PageRank. The advertising revenue is
about $4.2 million. It receives 1.9 million
page views in a day and generates
$5,729 in advertising revenue. It has
suffered loss of 4.16 % in traffic ranking.
The loading time of an average page is
1.6 sec which is faster than 46% of sites
across the world.

Barriers of E-Commerce in India:

Some of the infrastructural barriers responsible for slow growth
of ecommerce in India are as follows. Some of these even
present new business opportunities.
Lack of IT policies and effective cyber laws

36

Lack of trust among customers: You have to deliver the product, safe and
secure, in the hands of the right guy in right time frame. Regular post doesnt
offer an acceptable service level. Couriers have high charges and limited reach.
Initially, you might have to take insurance for high value shipped articles
increasing the cost.
Indian people (especially females) have tendency to bargain the products,
which is not feasible in Ecommerce.
Different local languages and cultural factors
Lack of awareness and understanding of the value of e-commerce
Continuous change in technologies, emerging new technologies
Not sure of product quality
Need to wait for delivery once product is ordered since widely spread regions
No significant discounts on the products to purchase
Shipping costs are high due to big geographical area
Security. Ensuring security of payments and privacy of online transactions is
key to the widespread acceptance and adoption of e-commerce.
Internet costs: To depend on speed, bandwidth of internet (Approximately
around 1.6 million households connected to the Internet)
Financial costs for storing information, continuous change of technologies,
processing orders
Taxations: Octroi, entry tax, VAT and lots of state specific forms which
accompany them. This can be confusing at times.

37

38

CONCLUSION
IT IS CONCLUDED THAT WE HAVE
UNDERSTOOD THE WORKING OF ECOMMERCE IN INDIA
AMAZON TURNS OUT TO BE THE
MOST FAVOURED ONLINE PLATFORM
OWING TO ITS CHEAP ,
COMPETETIVE PRICE , AGRESSIVE
SALES PROMOTION, EASY RETURN
POLICY
INDIAN ONLINE CONSUMERS PREFER
CHEAP , COMPETETIVE PRICE ,
AGRESSIVE SALES PROMOTION,
EASY RETURN POLICY
RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN
RECORDED

39

Recommendations
The most important factor that is necessary in growing e Commerce in India
Trust. If we look at the Indian context, I feel that there is a general lack of trust
between retailers and customers. Consumers dont trust the retailers because
they feel that they are either being over charged or that they wouldnt be able to
get appropriate level of customer service once the sale is complete. Retailers
dont trust the customers because they feel that the customers will take every
opportunity to misuse the return or exchange policies. It is my opinion that this
general lack of trust is the primary barrier that is impeding the growth of e
Commerce within India. Here are some of the practical techniques that online
retailers can employ to improve this level of trust and build an environment
where customers feel safe in clicking that Proceed to Checkout button.
1. Customer Reviews
Todays customers are putting less trust on website marketing messages and
becoming more influenced by recommendations from other people. Customers
trust for an online retailer will increase if the retailer offers an ability to let
customers share their positive as well as negative reviews about products or
vendors. The key is to not moderate the negative reviews because by allowing
customers to post negative reviews, it will actually enhance the credibility of the
retailer as well as other reviews. Obviously, any foul language needs to be
moderated but any genuine issues with the products or vendors must be posted
along with the positive reviews.
2. Clear shipping and delivery commitment
At the time of setting up products for sale, clear shipping and handling time
must be associated with the product. This information should be displayed
consistently on all product pages so that customers expectations around
shipping timeline can be clearly set.

40

3. Analytics & Personalization

Although personalized product recommendations and content do not directly
increase customers trust, they do demonstrate to the customer that the online
retailer is making a good effort in understanding the customers individual
needs and is acting upon them. This implicitly improves the comfort level that
the retailer is not just looking to sell products but is making an honest attempt in
building relationship with the customer.
4. Operational Reporting & Dashboards
Online retailers must invest in strong operational reports that provide alerts and
metrics on orders that have a risk of missing the service level that was promised
to the customers. If you have recently implemented an e Commerce platform,
chances are that at times orders will get stuck in various states. Therefore, it is
important to establish thresholds around how long should orders stay in various
states (such as Processing for Payment, Preparing for
Shipment etc.) and then build automated alerts when orders exceed these
thresholds.
5. Vendor Penalties
In the Indian context, majority of the e Commerce sites work in a drop-ship
model. This implies that the online retailer doesnt physically stock the goods,
and instead relies on external vendors to directly ship the merchandise to
customers home. In this case, it is extremely critical to set clear SLAs on how
long will it take the vendors to ship the orders. There should be financial
penalties built into the contracts if the vendors miss the service levels. Also,
there should be penalties if the vendors receive excessive negative reviews from
customers.
6. Price Match Guarantee
A Price Match Guarantee (PMG) is a store policy which entitles a customer to a
refund of the difference between the stores asking price and a competitors
price. It can not only help build trust with the customer, it can also help reduce
price competition across online retailers.
This may sound counter intuitive but it is one of the most discussed examples in
Game Theory and it has actually helped retailers in US to avoid direct price
wars. Take for example a firm like Circuit City that has a price match guarantee,
which looks good to a consumer. But that guarantee really allows Circuit City to
charge higher prices since competitors will be discouraged from setting a lower
price that Circuit City only will match when it must.
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7. Well trained call centre

I recently called Airtel customer service to add Blackberry service to my cell
phone. There was an issue with their automated messaging system that was
directing me to a wrong group within Airtel. After calling 9 times, I gave up
because every agent that I spoke to had the same scripted response that I should
call back again and press option 2. The point I am making is that although it is
important to train the call centre agents around specific customer service issues,
what is even more important is that the call centre agents be trained to have
good problem solving skills, and they should be empowered to own the problem
resolution from end to end.
8. Fraud Protection
Not only should an online retailer ensure that the appropriate security
certificates are setup to handle checkout related transactions, the sensitive
customer and payment information should be stored in an encrypted format. The
messaging on the site should clearly indicate that the checkout process is
completely secure. In addition, there are third party Fraud detection services
available that help flag potentially fraudulent transaction based upon credit card
usage velocity and other parameters. These services would not only help reduce
the credit card charge-backs for the retailers, but will also improve the sense of
security and trust with customers.
9. Proactive, timely communication
Are we there yet? If you have gone on a long drive with kids, chances are that
you have been asked this question. It is human nature to expect timely
communication, especially when they are waiting for something that they have
already paid for. The retailers should ensure that every single status update on
the order generates an alert for the customer. Also, if the order waits in a
specific state for a timeframe longer than what was promised to the customer, an
email should be automatically sent to the customers to make them aware of the
delay. If the delay is longer than a few days, customer should be contacted via
phone and asked for approval for the delay or given an option to cancel the
order.
10.Charge only after order shipment
Customers feel much more comfortable if they know that they will only get
charged once the order ships. Currently, a lot of retailers charge the customers
credit card immediately when customer places the order. However, they should
42

consider authorizing the amount at the time of order and only charge the card
once the order ships. This will also minimize any need to refund the amount
back to the customer in case the order needs to be cancelled for any reason.
11.Self Service Capabilities
The more online self service capabilities (e.g. order cancellation, modifications)
retailers can provide to the customers, it will not only help reduce the call centre
expense, but will also build more confidence with the customers. Customers
will feel more in control because they wouldnt have to spend 10 minutes with a
call centre agent to explain the issue instead, they can directly resolve the
issue online.
12.Real time inventory updates & safety stock
Retailers must invest in building automated capabilities that keep an up to date
record of how much inventory is available for all their products. Products must
immediately become unavailable for purchase from the site as soon as the
inventory reaches below the safety stock. Cancelling customer orders due to
lack of inventory is a situation that all retailers must avoid because this not only
frustrates the customers, it drops their confidence in the retailers ability to keep
their promise. E-Commerce will see a significant growth in India. However, the
chasm between the early adopters of e Commerce and the ones who are waiting
can only be crossed by building a strong level of trust with our customers and
winning them, one customer at a time.

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