ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE STRATEGIES IN BUILDING BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS

1. “ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE STRATEGIES
IN BUILDING BETTER RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS”
PROJECT REPORT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Award of the Degree of
B.Ed. COMMERCE
UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
Submitted by
AVYA ARAVINDAKSHAN

2. Design of the study

3. 1.1 INTRODUCTION
UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS E-COMMERCE
E-Commerce is the process of buying and selling of goods
and services by electronic means through mobile application and
internet. E-Commerce refers to both online retail as well as
electronic transactions. It has hugely increased in popularity over
the last decades and in ways it’s replacing traditional brick and
motor stores.
E-Commerce enables you to buy and sell products on global scale,
twenty-four hours a day without incurring the same overheads as
you would with running a brick and motor store. For the best
marketing mix and the best conversion rate, an E-Commerce
venture should also have physical presence this is better known as
click and motor store.
While most of the people think of E-Commerce as business to
consumer (B2C), there are many other types of E-Commerce. These
include online auction sites, internet banking, online ticketing and
reservations and business to business transactions; recently the
growth of E-Commerce has expanded sale using mobile devices
which is commonly known as M-Commerce and is simply a subset of
E-Commerce.

4. 1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
 To understand the meaning of E-Commerce and E-Commerce
strategy.
 History of E-Commerce in the world and Evolution of E-Commerce
in India.
 Awareness of privacy policy and security issue.
 Recent trends in E-Commerce
 To explore new challenges and opportunities in E-Commerce.
 To measure the customer perception and satisfaction regarding the
usage of E-Commerce.
1.3 RESEARCH METHADOLOGY
This project is based on the descriptive research design which is a
fact finding investigation. The sampling survey uses non-probability
methods and the sample size is limited to 25. The data needed for
the study is collected through primary and secondary sources.
1.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
The research gathers descriptive information through detailed
analysis of primary and secondary data. A questionnaire is also

5. prepared as a part of sample survey for data analysis and fact
finding purpose.
1.5 SOURCES OF DATA
 Primary data - The primary data required for the study will be
collected by conducting sample survey among 25 people for data
analysis and interpretation relating to customer perception and
satisfaction of adopting e-commerce.
 Secondary data – The secondary data will be collected from the
newspaper, journals, internet and e-library etc.
1.6 TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS
Sample survey method is adopted and non-probability sampling
techniques i.e. purposive and convenience sample method will be
conducted. The size of sample survey is limited to 25 people.

6. 1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
 Sample size used in the survey is limited; it cannot be taken as
final word for recommendations and suggestion for the subject.
 Ignorance of people to spent time for filling questionnaire.

7. Theory of the topic

8. E-COMMERCE STRATEGY
A strategy is a summary of how your store is planning to
achieve its goal and improve its position in the market. There
are different types of strategies depending on the goals. In
these cases, we will focus on how to reach more customers for
our E-Commerce business. For example make sure your online
store is accessible from every device (PC, laptops, phones etc.),
readable with clear design and information on it.
Our E-Commerce store needs to have a responsive web design
and a mobile friendly theme. Customers expect mobile friendly
websites. Business with a mobile friendly website will make
more sales over those which do not have one.
HISTORY OF E-COMERCE
History of e-commerce dates back to the invention of the very
old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers,
modems, and the internet. E-commerce became possible in
1991 when the internet was opened to commercial. Since that
date thousands of businesses have taken up residence at
websites.
At first, the term e-commerce meant the process of execution
of commercial transactions electronically with the help of the
leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI),
Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for
users to exchange business information and do electronic
transaction. The ability to use these technologies appeared in

9. the late 1970s and allowed business companies and
organizations to send commercial documentation
electronically.
Although the internet began to advance in popularity among
the general public in 1994, it took approximately four years to
develop the security protocol (for example HTTP) and DSL
which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the
internet. In 2000 a great number of business companies in
United States and Western Europe represented their services
in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word
e-commerce was changed. People began to define the term e-
commerce as the process of purchasing of available goods and
services over the internet using secure connections and
electronic payment services.
Although the dot-com collapses in 2000 led to unfortunate
results and many of e-commerce companies disappeared, the
“brick and mortar” retailors recognized the advantages of
electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to
their websites. By the end of 2001, the largest form of e-
commerce, Business to Business (B2B) model had around $700
billion in transactions.
Amazon.com, Inc. is one of the most famous e-commerce
companies and is located in Seattle, Washington (USA). It was
founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and was one of the first
American e-commerce companies to sell products over the
internet. After the dot.com collapse Amazon lost its position as
a successful business model, however in 2003 the company

10. made its first annual profit which was the first step to further
development
E-COMMERCE EVOLUTION IN INDIA
India first came into interaction with the online e-commerce
through the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism). The
government of India experimented this online strategy to make
it convenient for its public to book the train tickets. Hence the
government came forward with IRCTC Online Passenger
Reservation System which for the first time encountered the
online ticket booking from anywhere at any time.
After the unpredicted success of the IRCTC, the online ticket
booking system was followed by the airlines (like Air Deccan,
Indian Airlines, Spice jet etc.) Airline agency encouraged, web
booking to save the commission given to agents and thus in a
way made a major population of the country to try E-
Commerce for the first time. Today the booking system is not
just limited to the transportation rather hotel booking, bus
booking, etc. are being done using the websites like
Makemytrip and Yatra.
Today, the online shopping has become a trend in India and the
reason behind the adoption of the technique lies in the
attractive online websites, user friendly interface, bulky online
stores with new fashion, easy payment methods (i.e. secure
pay online through gateway like PayPal or Cash on Delivery), no

11. bound on quantity and quality, one can choose the items based
on size, color etc.
Despite being a developing country, India has shown a
commendable increase in the e-commerce industry in the last
couple of years, thereby hitting the market with a boom.
Though the Indian online market is far behind the U.S and the
U.K, it has been growing at a fast page.
Further the addition of discount coupons, offers, referral
systems, 30 days return guarantee, 1-7 days delivery time, etc.
to the online shopping and the E-market have added new
flavors to the industry. Social media has now become the hub
for the merchants which enable them to analyze the customer
choice based on their purchase activities. Social network like
LinkedIn, twitter, Google+, Facebook and others have become
a medium for easy login and purchase. Moreover the clients
can stay updated through the post published on this media.
Further the advertising and promotions on social sites has
increased the chances of success of generating transactions to
many folds.
The latest trend in e-commerce is to focus on mobile based
shopping. Snap deal getting half of its traffic from mobile from
5% around a year back and flip kart gets 40% traffic from
mobile up from 15%. As price of smart phone reduce, these
figures will only increase. For this reason, the larger e-
commerce firm has started focusing on mobile commerce. It is
speculated that the next wave of digital commerce consumer
will come through the mobile.

12. Data Analysis
&
Interpretation

13. Classification of respondents according to gender
Gender N0. Of Respondents Percentage
Male 10 40%
Female 15 60%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents 10 are male and 15 are female. From this it
is understood that females have started using internet compared
to the past years and their digital literacy is getting developed in
these days.
40%
60%
On the basis of gender
MALE
FEMALE

14. Classification of respondents on the basis of age
Range No. of Respondents Percentage
Below 25 11 44%
25-35 12 48%
35-50 1 4%
50 and above 1 4%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, the highest percentage of people using E-
commerce comes under the age group 25-35 i.e. 44% and the
lowest comes under 35-50 and 50 above i.e. 4%. From this it is
understood that young adult people are more frequent users.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
BELOW 25
25-35
35-50
50 AND ABOVE
PercentageOf Respondents
AgeOfRespondents
On the basis of age

15. Classification of respondents on the basis of education
Education No. Of Respondents Percentage
Primary & Secondary 0 0
university 12 48%
Professional Education 12 48%
Diploma 0 0
Others 1 4%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
The chart shows majority users of E-Commerce are having
university level and professional education qualification and least
respondents with primary and secondary and diploma level.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Primary &
Secondary
University Proffessional Diploma Others
Percentageofresopondents
EducationOf Respondents
On the basis of Education

16. Classification of respondents on the basis of occupation
Occupation No. of
Respondents
Percentage
Student 15 60%
Professional
Employee
6 24%
Self Employed 0 0
Home maker 2 8%
Other 2 8%
Total 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, majority is students of 60%
followed by professional employees of 24% and least percentage
of 8 comes under home maker and other occupation.
60%
24%
8%
8%
On the basis of Occupation
Student
professional employee
Self employed
home maker
other

17. Purpose of using E-Commerce
Purpose No. of
respondents
Percentage
For personal use 18 72%
For business
purpose
0 0
Both personal and
business
7 28%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 72% people uses e-commerce for
personal use, 28% people uses e-commerce for both personal
and business purposes.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Personal Use Business Purpose Personal &
Business
PercentageofRespondents
Purposes
Purpose of using E-Commerce

18. Various helps to the customers in the E-Business domain
Helps No. of
respondents
Percentage
Broadens
consumer
choice
15 60%
Encourage price
transparency
3 12%
Fastens business
process
7 28%
Do not know 0 0
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From this data it is understood that majority people of 60% consider
E-commerce broadens their consumer choice, 28% believe that it
fastens business process and at least people consider it encourages
price transparency
0
20
40
60
Broadens
Consumer
Choice
Encourage Price
Transparency
Fastens
Business
Process
Do Not Know
PercentageofRespondents
Various helpsto the customers
Various helps

19. Whether E-Commerce application has increased over
past years
Changes over the past
year
No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 22 88%
No 0 0
Maybe 3 12%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From this data it is understood that majority people of 88%
believe that changes have occurred in E-Commerce over the past
years and 12% people are not certainly aware of the development
and have chosen the option maybe.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Yes
No
Maybe
percentage of respondents
responseofpeople
Application has Increased Over The
Past Years

20. Advantages of E-Commerce over traditional commerce
methods
Range of agreeing No. of respondents Percentage
Strongly disagree 1 4%
Disagree 1 4%
Neutral 5 20%
Agree 10 40%
Strongly agree 8 32%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 40% people agree that e-commerce have
advantages over traditional commerce and 32% strongly agree
and rest 5% opt for neutrally and 4% of disagreement and
strongly disagreement.
4%4%
20%
40%
32%
Advantages over traditional commerce
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree

21. Prominent domains in which E-commerce is
used in India
Prominent Domains No of respondents percentage
Online retail store 17 68%
Banking 6 24%
Bill payment 0 0
Travel & tourism 0 0
Entertainment 2 8%
Others 0 0
Total 25 100
Interpretation
From this chart it is understood that majority people of 68%
use e-commerce for online retail store and then comes
banking purpose of 24% and least 8% goes for entertainment.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
percentage
Prominent domains chosen
Prominent domains

22. The challenges for implementing E-commerce in India
Challenges No. of respondents Percentage
Slow penetration of
internet
2 8%
Security concern 10 40%
Lack of trust 7 28%
Low consumer
awareness
5 20%
Other factors 1 4%
Total 25 100
Interpretation
From this chart it is understood that 40% people consider
major challenges for implementing E-Commerce in India is
due to security concern, 28% people considers it is due to lack
of trust, 20% people opt low consumer awareness, 8% goes
for slow penetration of internet and least have chosen other
factors.
8%
40%
28%
20%
4%
Challenges for implementing internet
Slow penetration of
internet
Security concern
Lack of trust
Low consumer awareness
Other factors

23. Trust towards online trade
Trust No. of respondents Percentage
Not at all 2 8%
I’m confident
enough
7 28%
I’m fully confident 2 8%
Kind of, but I keep
being careful
14 56%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From this data it is understood that majority people of 56%
are concerned of trustiness and keeps being careful, 28%
people are confident enough and 8% go for both not at all
trust and fully confident.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Not at all
I’m confident enough
I’m fully confident
Kind of, but I keep being careful
Percentage of respondents
Rangeoftrustiness
Trust towards online trade

24. Website offers to stimulate purchase on internet
Website offers No. of respondents Percentage
Variety of choices 3 12%
Cash back &
discount offers
2 8%
Time saving 5 20%
All of the above 15 60%
Others 0 0
Total 25 100
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 60% people agrees that website offers
like variety of choices, cash back and discount offers and time
savings all together stimulate purchase on internet, 12% opt
variety of choices , 20% for time saving and least people of 2%
thinks of cash back and discount offers.
0% 20% 40% 60%
Variety of choices
Cash back & discount offers
Time saving
All of the above
Others
Percentage of respondents
websiteoffers
Website Offers
Percentage

25. Important criterions considered while buying online
Criterions No. of respondents Percentage
Delivery 4 16%
Payment security 6 24%
Price 2 8%
Quality 8 32%
Choice 5 20%
Presentation 0 0
Re-contact with
seller
0 0
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 32% people considers quality as an
important criterion while buying online, 24% considers payment
security, 16% opt delivery option and rest 8% consider price.
16%
24%
8%
32%
20%
0
Criterionsfor buying online
Delivery
Payment security
Price
Quality
Choice
Presentation
Re-contact with seller

26. Way of accessing E-Commerce sites through different
devices
Access devices No. of respondents Percentage
Mobile phone 24 96%
PC 0 0
Laptop 1 4%
iPad 0 0
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From this data it is understood that majority respondents of
96% person uses mobile phones for accessing the e-commerce
sites, rest 4% people uses laptop.
0% 50% 100% 150%
Mobile phone
PC
Laptop
iPad
Percentage of respondents
Accessdeviceschosen
Different devices used for accessing e-
commerce sites

27. Place of accessing internet for E-Commerce purposes
Places of access No. of respondents Percentages
Home 24% 96%
Work 0 0
School 0 0
Shopping mall 1 4%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 96% people access internet for e-
commerce purpose from their home and remaining 4% choose
shopping malls for accessing internet and nobody uses internet
from school or from work place.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Home Work School Shopping mall
Percentageofrespondents
place of access
Places of accessing internet

28. Frequency of making online payment/purchase
Frequency of age No. of respondents Percentages
Once per week or
more
3 12%
2-3 times per month 5 20%
Once per week 4 16%
6 times per year 13 52%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From the data it is understood that most people are not
continuous users, 52% uses it 6 times per year, 20% people uses 2-
3 times per month, 16% people uses once per week and remaining
16% uses once per month.
0%
20%
40%
60%
Once per week or
more
2-3 times per
month
Once per week 6 times per year
percentageofrespondents
frequency of usage
Frequency of usage

29. Likeliness of recommending the usage of E-Commerce
Likeliness to
recommend
No. of respondents Percentage
1 0 0
2 1 4%
3 11 44%
4 9 36%
5 4 16%
Total 25 100%
Interpretation
From this data it is understood that 44% people likely to
recommend on scale of 3, 36% people recommend on scale of 4,
16% recommend on scale 5 and remaining 4% choose scale 1.
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
1 2 3 4 5
percentageofrespondents
likeliness to recomend
Likeliness of recomendingthe usage

30. Range of satisfaction while using E-Commerce
Satisfaction range No. of respondents Percentage
1 1 4%
2 2 8%
3 7 28%
4 10 40%
5 5 20%
Total 25 100
Interpretation
Out of 25 respondents, 40% people choose scale 4 of satisfaction,
28% chooses scale 3, 20% chooses scale 5 of high satisfaction and
8% for scale 2 and remaining opt scale 1 of very low satisfaction.
4%
8%
28%
40%
20%
Range of satisfaction
1
2
3
4
5

31. Findings,
Recommendations &
Conclusions

32. FINDINGS
 On the basis of gender female responses are more compared
to male, it is understood that female’s digital literacy have
been developed over the past years.
 Young adult people are major users of E-commerce.
 Majority of E-Commerce users have university level and
professional degree as their educational qualification.
 In this survey the majority respondents are of students and
professional employees only least people are home maker and
self-employed.
 Most of the people use e-commerce for personal purposes.
 In business domain the important help considered by the
respondent is broadening the consumer choice.
 88% people consider that e-commerce application have
increased over the past years.
 40% people agree that e-commerce have advantages over the
traditional commerce.
 Online retail store is chosen by 68% is considered as major
prominent domain in which e-commerce is used in India.
 Security concern is the major challenge for implementing e-
commerce in India.
 Majority people of 56% are concerned of trustiness and keep
being careful.

33.  60% people agrees that website offers like variety of choices,
cash back and discount offers and time savings all together
stimulate purchase on internet.
 Majority people consider quality as an important criterion
while buying online.
 96% person uses mobile phones for accessing the e-commerce
sites.
 Most of the people access internet for e-commerce purpose
from their home.
 Most people are not continuous users, 52% uses e-commerce
6 times per year.
 Likeliness of recommending the usage of e-commerce is on
average scale of 3.
 40% people have chosen satisfaction range for using e-
commerce as scale 4.

34. Recommendations
 Quality of goods and services is a concern. E-commerce firms
need to focus on this.
 Security is a promise, but not always delivered. Increased
investment in security will bring more customers to the
platform.
 Establishing trust and winning confidence isn’t easy. Brick
and mortar stores tend to be more trusted. It’s no surprise.
E-commerce firms will have to work hard to gain consumer
trust.
 Delivery times tend to be a problem. Too many cases of late
deliveries or damaged goods have made buyers suspicious.
Logistics must improve.
 Many sites lack detailed info mating about products and
price. Transparency on this front is critical.

35. Conclusion
In general, today’s businesses must always strive to create
the next best thing that consumers will want because
consumers continue to desire their products, services etc. to
continuously be better, faster, and cheaper. In this world of
new technology, businesses need to accommodate to the new
types of consumer needs and trends because it will prove to
be vital to their business’ success and survival. E-commerce
is continuously progressing and is becoming more and more
important to businesses as technology continues to advance
and is something that should be taken advantage of and
implemented.
From the inception of the Internet and e-commerce, the
possibilities have become endless for both businesses and
consumers. Creating more opportunities for profit
and advancements for businesses, and creating more
options for consumers. However, just like anything else, e-
commerce has its disadvantages including consumer
uncertainties, but nothing that cannot be resolved or avoided
by good decision-making and business practices.
There are several factors and variables that need to be
considered and decided upon when starting an e-commerce
business. Some of these include: types of e-commerce,
marketing strategies, and countless more. If the correct
methods and practices are followed, a business will prosper
in an e-commerce setting with much success and
profitability.

36. Bibliography

37.  E-commerce an introduction by Amir Manzoor and
published by Lambert Academic publications
(Google books)
 E-commerce book by Ritendra Goel (Google books)
 Shodhganga educational site

38. APPENDIX

39. QUESTIONNAIRE
Name:
Age:
 Below 25
 25-35
 35-50
 50 and above
Sex:
 Male
 Female
Education:
 Primary and Secondary Education
 University Education
 Professional Education
 Diploma
 Other
Occupation:
 Student
 Professional Employee
 Self-Employee
 Home maker
 Other

40. 1. For what purpose do you use E-Commerce?
 For Personal use
 For Business Purpose
 Both Personal & Business Purpose
2. According to you how is E-Commerce helpful to the
consumer in the E-Business domain?
 Broadens Consumer Choice
 Encourage Price Transparency
 Fastens Business Process
 Do not Know
3. Do you think that application of E-Commerce has
increased over the past years in India?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe
4. Do you agree that E-commerce as commercial means
has its advantages over traditional commerce
methods?
 Strongly Disagree
 Disagree
 Neutral
 Agree
 Strongly Agree

41. 5. Which is the most prominent domain in which
commerce is used in India?
 Online Retail Store
 Bill Payment
 Banking
 Entertainment
 Travel & Tourism
 Others
6. What are the challenges for the implementation of E-
Commerce in India?
 Slow penetration of internet
 Security Concern
 Lack of Trust
 Consumer Level of Awareness is Low
 Other Factors
7. Do you trust online trade?
 Not at all
 I’m fully confident
 I’m confident enough
 Kind of, but I keep being careful

42. 8. What could a website offer to stimulate you to
purchase on the internet rather than in traditional
shops?
 Variety Of Choices
 Cash Back & Discount Offers
 Time Saving
 Others
 All of the above
9. According to you what are the most important
criterion when you buy online?
 Delivery
 Payment Security
 Quality
 Price
 Presentation
 Choice
 Possibility to get back in touch with the seller
10. Where do you typically access internet for the
online trade/purchase/payment?
 Home
 Work
 School
 Shopping mall

43. 11. What devices are used frequently by you for online
purchase/payment?
 Mobile Phone
 PC
 Laptop
 iPad
12. Approximately how frequently do you make online
payment/purchase?
 Once per week or more
 2-3 times per month
 Once per month
 6 times per year
13. How likely are you to recommend using E-Commerce
to a friend, family member or a colleague?
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
14. Overall how satisfied are you with E-commerce?
 1
 2
 3
 4
 5

44. 15. According to you what are the advantages and
disadvantages of using online and traditional
commercial activity?
16. Can you make any suggestion to promote E-
commerce in India?