STUDY OF ONLINE SHOPPING BUSINESS SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AMAZON

CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE SHOPPING

The Internet, as a mean for both firms and individuals to conduct

business, is nowadays one of the most widely used non-store formats. With
popular trends and demands the concept of the Internet as the way forward
to increase profit margins, companies new and old are creating websites here
and there. The significance for retailers to having a web site is that a web
site is informational and transactional in nature, as the web site can be used
for advertising and direct marketing; sales; customer support and public
relations. It has been more than a decade same business-to-consumer E-
commerce first evolved. Scholars and practitioners of electronic commerce
constantly strive to gain an improved insight into consumer behavior in
cyberspace. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and
services, and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many company s
have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs,
thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay
ahead in highly competitive markets.

Companies also use the Internet to convey, communicate and disseminate

information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to conduct satisfaction
surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the
product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale
service facilities they will receive if they purchase the product from a
particular store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online
business. A brand is the idea or image of a specific product or service that
consumers connect with, by identifying the name, logo, slogan, or design of the
company who owns the idea or image. Branding is when that idea or image is
marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more people, and identified with

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a certain service or product when there are many other companies offering the
same service or product.

Advertising professionals work on branding not only to build brand

recognition, but also to build good reputations and a set of standards to which
the company should strive to maintain or surpass. Branding is an important
part of Internet commerce , as branding allows companies to build their
reputations as well as expand beyond the original product and service , and add
to the revenue generated by from another's by means of a distinctive symbol
burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in
business, marketing and advertising.
Customer perception is a marketing concept that encompasses a
customer's impression, awareness and/or consciousness about a company or its
offerings. Customer perception is typically affected by advertising, reviews,
public relations, social media, personal experiences and other channels.
Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the
processes they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services,
experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have
on the consumer and society. It blends elements from psychology, sociology,
social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the decision-
making processes of buyers, both individually and in groups. It studies
characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral
variables in an attempt to understand people's wants.
It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as
family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. Customer behavior
study is based on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the three
distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Research has shown that consumer
behavior is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. Relationship
marketing is an influential asset for customer behavior analysis as it has a keen
interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-
affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is

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also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management,

personalization, customization and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be
categorized into social choice and welfare functions. The ultimate goal of most
businesses is to increase sales and income. Ideally, you want to attract new
customers to your products and encourage repeat purchases. _ Brand awareness
refers to how aware customers and potential customers are of your business and its
products .

Brand Awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential

customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed
usually as a percentage of target market, brand awareness is the primary goal of
advertising in- the early months or years of a product's introduction. Brand
awareness is the extent to which the consumer associates the brand with the
product he desires to buy. It is the brand recall and the brand recognition of the
company to the consumers. Brand recall is the ability of the consumer to
recollect the brand with reference to the product whereas brand recognition is the
potential of the consumer to retrieve the past knowledge of the brand when
enquired about the brand or shown an image of the brand logo.

Brand awareness is an essential part of brand development which helps the

brand to stand out from the others in this monopolistically competitive market.
Digital marketing involves the promotion of products and services using digital
distribution channels that reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal, and cost
effective manner. At a high level, digital channels can have many categories, such
as the internet, mobile, digital outdoors, and any form of interactive digital media.
Each category has multiple digital tools/ sub-channels that can support digital
marketing. These include:

Internet usage in yearly basis

At about 150 million Internet users, India now has 3rd largest Internet
population in the world after China (at 575m) and the US (at 275m). At 150
million total Internet users, the Internet penetration in India remains at 12 per cent
vs. 43 per cent in China and 80 per cent in the US. However, the low penetration
means that India presents unmatchable growth opportunity for the Internet sector
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in coming years. In our view, India will likely see golden period of the Internet
sector between 2013 to 2018 with incredible growth opportunity and secular
growth adoption for E Commerce, Internet advertising, social media, search, online
content, and services relating to E-Commerce and Internet advertising. Here is the
India Internet outlook for 2013, the first year for this golden period

INTERNET USERS TABLE OF INDIA USA CHINA

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• Internet penetration will reach 15%. Expect India to add 30 million new Internet
users in 2013 and total Internet population to touch 180mm. This implies a 20%
growth in the Internet population.
• Time spend online will rise and directionally become comparable to US and
China. As per research estimate, an Internet user in India on average is spending
13 hour per week and this number will likely reach 16 hours per week. The
incremental time spend online will largely be spent on social media, photo/video
sharing, E-Commerce, and utilities /banking/bill payments.
• Mobile Internet users to touch 100M. India has nearly 950 million mobile
subscribers and close to 50 million or fewer than 6 per cent of these mobile
subscribers access Internet via mobile handsets. And estimate that in 2013 the
mobile Internet penetration will go up from close to 6 per cent to 10 per cent
and India could double Its mobile Internet population in 2013 at 100 million
estimated mobile Internet users by end of 2013.
• Internet usage will likely grow faster for female and from home. So far India

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Internet usage is heavily screwed towards male gender and from work and
educational establishments. In 2013, Internet usage will grow much faster for
female and from home access. This acceleration will likely happen due to overall
Internet adoption moving to masses.
• E-Commerce will likely touch $900M in 2013. As per the estimates, in 2012
India E Commerce reached $550 million in gross revenue and we expect E-
Commerce to touch $900 million in gross revenue by end of 2013.
• Majority of E-Commerce growth will come from emerging cities. While, top 8
cities in India may remain at 45 per cent to (, 5 per cent of total E-Commerce
for various E Commerce companies, we believe that higher growth delta for E-
Commerce in 2013 will come from emerging cities. We define emerging cities
as the cities other than Top-40 cities in India e.g. Bhatinda in Punjab or Kota in
Rajasthan.
• Internet advertising will be the fastest growing sub-sector of the India Internet.
As per the estimates, India Internet advertising generated $300 million in
revenue in 2012 and can double in 2013 to reach $600 million. Also believe
that lots of Internet advertising growth will come due to the rise in social media,
mobile Internet, and non search and content driven online ad formats such as
lead generation, affiliate marketing, and email marketing etc.

• Funding environment for the Internet start-ups to remain challenging in 2013.

Funding environment for the Internet start-ups to remain challenging in 2013 in
India. In last 17 years, India has created less than $5 billion in Internet market
capitalization vs. $600 billion by US Internet sector and $250 billion by
Chinese Internet sector. Lot many Internet companies have to become a lot
bigger for the funding environment to ease off.
• E-Commerce will likely see emergence of disruptive business models and
consolidation. E-Commerce companies that are focusing on fundamental issues
will likely disrupt the E- Commerce industry in 2013. On one hand, the
fundamental issues are the issues that matter for improving customer
experiences and the state of the ecosystem, on other hand focusing on

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fundamentals of business vs. throwing money at the problem will become

absolutely imperative. Majority of the in vendor led E-Commerce business
models will likely either merge with each other or take a niche vertical position.
• Start-up culture and ecosystem to become more widespread. In our view, the
start-up culture and start up ecosystem are becoming more widespread. The
seed and angel rounds are no longer limited to Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore
and emergence of start up is no longer limited to IITs or big cities. While,
India has long way to go vs. having a true Silicon Valley start-up culture,
ecosystem and support system, India is headed in that direction. Founding a
start-up immediately after graduation or leaving a rewarding corporate job to join
a start-up, or find or become an angel investor is no longer uncommon . While,
the 2013 Internet funding environment will likely be challenging, the overall
Internet start-up ecosystem will become stronger and more ubiquitous.

INTRODUCTION TO ONLINE SHOPPING

Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy -
goods, services etc. from a seller interactively in real-time without an
intermediary service over the internet. Online shopping is the process of buying
goods and services from merchants who sell on the Internet. Since the emergence
of the World Wide Web, merchants have sought to sell their products to people
who surf the Internet. Shoppers can visit web stores from the comfort of their
homes and shop as they sit in front of the computer. Consumers buy a variety
of items from online stores. In fact, people can purchase just about anything
from companies that provide their products online. Books, clothing, household
appliances, toys, hardware, software, and health insurance are just some of the
hundreds of products consumers can buy from an online store

Many people choose to conduct shopping online because of the

convenience. For example, when a person shops at a brick-and-mortar store,
he has to drive to the store, find a parking place, and walk throughout the store
until she locates the products she needs. After finding the items she wants to

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purchase, she may often need to stand in long lines at the cash register.
Despite the convenience of online shopping, not everyone chooses to purchase
items and services online. Some people like the id ea of physically going to a
store and experiencing the shopping process. They like to touch the
merchandise, try on clothing, and be around other people. Online shopping doesn't
permit shoppers to touch products or have any social interaction. It also
doesn't allow them to take the merchandise home the same day they buy it.
Online shopping allows browsing through endless possibilities, and
even offers merchandise that's unavailable in stores. If someone is searching
for a niche product that may not be distributed locally, they are sure to find what
they're looking for on the internet. What's even more useful is the ability to
compare items, similar or not, online. He can search through multiple stores at
the same time, comparing material quality, sizes and pricing simultaneously.
Shopping via the internet eliminates the need to sift through a store's
products with potential buys like pants, shirts, belts and shoes all slung over
one arm. Online shopping also eliminates the catchy, yet irritating music, as
well as the hundreds, if not thousands, of other like-minded individuals who
seem to have decided to shop on the same day. Online shopping transactions
occur instantly-saving the time to get your other errands done! Additionally,
unlike a store, online shopping has friendly customer service representatives
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week}< to assist you with locating, purchasing
and shipping your merchandise .

Introduction to Amazon Company

_ Things are easier said than done! To realize our dreams and that also in
such a grand manner is really a tough task. The founders of Amazon have
probably conquered their dreams with the amazing success of Amazon.
Amazon is something which has really opened up the Indiana-commerce
market and that also in a big way.

Amazon was co-founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in Oct 2007.

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Both are graduates from HT-Delhi and have prior work experience in
Amazon.com They both were solid coder sand wanted to open a portal that
compared different e-commerce websites, but there were hardly any such sites in
India and the y decided to give birth to their own e-commerce venture- .
Amazon. Com Thus was born at in Oct 2007 with an initial investment of 4 lack
(co-founders savings).It was never going to be easy since India has had bad past
experiences with e-commerce trading. It was not an easy segment to break into,
people were very particular in paying money for something which they had
not seen and received.
The trust was missing in the Indian customers. So what Amazon had to
do was to instill trust and faith in their customers. And they did exactly the same,
will discuss more on how they did so later in the post. Fl began with selling
books, since books are easy to procure, target market which reads books is in
abundance, books provide more margin, are easy to pack and deliver, do not get
damaged in transit and most importantly books are not very expensive, so the
amount of money a customer has to spend to try out one's service for one time is
very minimal. Amazon sold only books for the first two years.
Amazon started with the consignment model (procurement based on demand)
I.e. they had ties with 2 distributors in Bangalore, whenever a customer
ordered a book, they used to personally procure the book from the dealer, pack
the book in their office and then courier the same. In the initial months the
founder's personal cell numbers used to be the customer support numbers. So,
in the start they tried their best to provide good service, focus on the website -
easy to browse and order and hassle free, and strove hard to resolve any
customer issues. Since there were not any established players in the market,
this allowed them a lot of space to grow, and they did in fact grew very
rapidly. Amazon had a revenue of 4 crore in FY 2008 - 2009, 20 crore in FY
2009 - 2010, 75 crore in FY 2010 - 2011, and the revenue for FY 2011 - 2012
which ends on 31 Mar 2012 is expected to be 500 crore. This 1s indeed a
massive growth. The company targets revenues of 5000crore by 2015.

AMAZON REVENUE
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Amazon Revenue
6000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

----------------------
4000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3000- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2000

Year

The company started from 2 employees and now has around 4500
employees. Amazon started with consignment model as discussed above, since
most of the customer issues like delivery delays etc. result from procurement model,
the company started opening its own warehouses as it started getting more
investments . The company opened its first warehouse in Bangalore and later on
opened warehouses in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Today the company works
with more than 500 suppliers. As on date more than 80% orders of Amazon are
handled via warehouses which help in quick and efficient service. A humble
beginning from books, Amazon now has a gamut of products ranging from: Cell
phones, laptops, computers, cameras, games, music, audio players, TV's,
healthcare products, washing machines etc. etc.

Still, Amazon derives around 50% of its revenue from selling books online.
Amazon is the Indian market leader in selling books both offline and online, it
enjoys an online share of around 80%. The electronic items have a large number of
players like Naaptol, Letsbuy, India plaza, Trades, Infibeam, Yebhi etc. The
electronic market share is distributed among them in different unknown
proportions. India has around

13.5 crore internet users today where as the number of homes with Cable and
Satellite (C&S) television is 10.5 crore. The expected internet users will reach a
figure of 30 crore by 2014 and C&S homes are expected to be 14 crore by 2014.
Thus India has a tremendous internet growth and with the customers getting
accustomed to e commerce, the future of e-commerce sector is definitely rosy.
An approximated 25 lack people have transacted online this year, the number is

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all set to increase with time. Also to mention most of the Amazon customers use
internet from PC's/Laptops to order goods. The use of mobile internet is very less
at the moment, but with the advent of smart phones the use of mobile internet for
e-commerce transactions will soar with time. India has 8crore mobile net users at
the moment; the number is expected to swell to 22.5 crore by 2014.

AMAZON SERVICES

Funding: Initially funded by the Bansals themselves with 4 Lakes(INR ).

Amazon has since then raised two rounds of funding from venture capital funds
Accel India (in 2009) and Tiger Global Management (up to the tune of US$10
million) (in2010). Private equity firms Carlyle and General Atlantic are in talks to
jointly invest about$ ISO million to $200 million m Amazon, according to sources.
Acquisitions: 2010: WEREAD, a social book discovery tool. The stated goal was
to give Flik a social recommendation platform for buyers to make informed
decisions based on recommendations from people within their social network

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To find the factors that leads a website user to return to or recommend

the website Amazon.com

2. To discover the key factors that influence online buying behavior of
Consumers in India
3. To identify y who are the online shoppers in terms of demography
4. To understand the customer awareness on Amazon.com
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To determine the factors responsible for customer satisfaction

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

Scope of study is a general outline of what the stud y (e.g. class or seminar)
will cover. "Scope" defines the parameters of this can be an object, or a theory
process, activity, describing either future, current or past knowledge or
statements of descriptive activity, experience etc. The topic chosen for this
particular study is to analyze the customer perception towards online shopping on
Amazon.com. The sample size chosen was according to the convenience and
the objectives of the study. To know about various aspects of Amazon in market,
the improvements needed in case of features and process, and the effect of
factors on the buying behavior of online customers. The geographical area that
this study covers is Bangalore (India)

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The present study is descriptive and analytical in nature. The study attempt
to examine the level of awareness and usage of Online products and services
among the members Amazon. It identifies the benefits derived by the members
and their level of satisfaction towards the online services.

DATA SOURCE
The study makes use of primary and secondary data. The primary data were
collected from members of. Amazon of three wards in Hassan Branch by using
interview schedule. The secondary data relating to_ Amazon were obtained from
the publications of journals, news papers and websites.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Survey research using a well-structured interview schedule for selected
members of Amazon of Hassan, was adopted in this study.

PERIOD OF STUDY
The research is conducted for a period of 21 days from third week of February 2019

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
A well structured interview schedule was prepared with the objective of

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collecting information from members on the awareness and usage of the

online products and services, benefits derived by the members and their level
of satisfaction on the online services.
THE POPULATION
The population of the study is 20 Amazon stores in India.

LIMITATIONS
No research is complete without admitting the limitations that was faced while
conducting a study which will contribute to present learning. This study too
like the others have certain constrains which has been discussed below.
The study was restricted to Bangalore city only the study is mainly concentrated on
Amazon.com. The ample of the size will be limited to time and resources
---The information will be collected valid until there is no any technical change or
any innovation
The result is assuming that respondents have given accurate information

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CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF
LITERATURE

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The important studies related to online shopping are several researchers

have carried out studies in their effort to examine consumers' online buying
behavior. For example, Bellman et al (1999) investigated various predictors for
whether an individual will purchase online. These authors concluded that
demographic variables, such as income, education and age, have a modest
impact on the decision of whether to buy online, whereas the most important
determinant of online shopping was previous behavior, such as earlier online
purchases. This is consistent with Forrester Research which proved that
demographic factors do not have such a high influence e on technology as the
consumers' attitudes do (Modal, 2000).
Stein field and Whitten (1999) suggested that the combination of the
Internet, plus physical presence, provides more opportunities to capture business
than the online-only presence, because they can provide better pre-purchase and
post-sales services to lower consumer transaction cost and build trust in online
stores. However, it is worth mentioning that beliefs and attitudes that are found in
the stage prior to the adoption of e-commerce are different to those in the -
post-adoption stage (Gefenetal, 2003; Venkatesh and Brown, 2001; Yu et al,
2005).

Concerning the factors that influence or hinder online shopping , Ernst and
Young (2000) reported that Internet users purchased online because of good
product selection, competitive prices, and ease of use, but were concerned
about shipping costs, lack of opportunity to prior examining the products, as
well as, the confidentiality of credit card and personal information. Know and
Lee (2003) explored consumers ' concerns about payment security and its
relationship to online shopping attitude and actual purchases. They observed a
negative relationship between attitude towards online shopping and concerns
about online payment security. Consumers with a positive attitude seem to be
less concerned about payment security. Similarly, popular literature cited ease
of shopping comparison, low prices, timely delivery, convenience, time
saving, low shipping costs, improved customer service, tax exempt status and
speedy e-mail response , as key reasons for the increase in online shopping

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(Lorek, 2003; Magee, 2003; Maloy, 2003; Retail Merchandiser, 2003).

HOT BARGAINS: TIPS TO FIGURE OUT TRAPS FROM THE REAL
VALUE DEALS SUSHMITA CHOUDHURY AGARWAL, ET Bureau Apr
22, 2013 (The
Economic Times)
Bargain, hot deal, steals... every day consumers are bombarded with
hundreds of seemingly promising offers. However, not every value buy saves
money; some can be costly mistakes. Here's how to figure out the trap from the
real deal. It's a great way to save on interest, particularly if you aren't keen on
paying the high rate for revolving credit with your existing card. However, be
warned that such a teaser deal is typically temporary. If you don't pay the
outstanding amount within the offer period, you will be penalized with a higher
interest rate, possibly more than the one on your old credit card. Straight cash
discount instead of value-added promotion
The trouble with most value-added offers is that they come with
caveats. It could be for a limited period, or you may land discount
vouchers/coupons that don't appeal to you. What's not to like about saving hard
cash? The only drawback is that you are unlikely to find such bargains at
shopping malls. Hit standalone, smaller shops instead. A gadget bought at a
discount of 80% on a little-known website. It really should not come as a
surprise that you are being ripped off. Online shopping promises discounts,
but if just one player offers rebates far more than its competitors, it should be a
red flag. For instance, the MRP on the HP Pavilion G6-2232TX laptop is
nearly Rs 41,000, while Amazon is offering it at Rs 38,342 and Laptop wale at
Rs 38,100. So how can an unknown player offer it at just Rs 8,200? Other
warning signs are an absence of credible contact information for the company.
If the website is legitimate e, chances are you are being peddled a
counterfeit item. Registering on private sale websites To begin with,
registration is free, so even if you never get lucky, all you are wasting his time.
The likes of Jetsetter.com and Sniqueaway.com hold short-term flash sales on
unsold inventory at luxury hotels and cruises, where you could land discounts
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of 40-70%. Buying gold because the jeweler insists it's a good investment
given the high making charges and issues with determining purity, make sure
that you buy jeweler solely for the love of blind. If investment is the agenda,
you would be better off buying gold bars/coins or gold funds. The jeweler who
promises you the moon will be quick to list out caveats while buying it back.

Renting a car at the airport at a 10% discount It may be the handiest option for
travelers, but the airport is also the most expensive place to rent a car, especially at
foreign destinations. Typically, you will shell out 12-15% more than the rental
charges at any off-site location, including at or near your hotel. Try to wrangle
a complimentary airport pick-up service from the hotel you've booked and then
check with the concierge for rental rates, or book a car online. Accessories,
perfumes and cosmetics from duty-free shops
These items, including designer watches and sunglasses, can be had much
cheaper online. For instance, perfumes costing $53-55 (around Rs 3,000) at duty-
free shops can be bought for around $50 (Rs 2,750) on Amazon.com,
including shipping charges. Often, mall/high street sales too offer a better deal.
However, duty- free shopping continues to be attractive when it comes to
alcohol and cigarettes.

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CHAPTER 3 THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK

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AMAZON: A PROFILE
Amazon is an Indian e-commerce company headquartered in Bangalore,
Karnataka. It was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007. In its
initial years, Amazon focused on online sales of books, but it later expanded to
electronic goods and a variety of other products Amazon offers multiple payment
methods like credit card, debit card, net banking, e-gift voucher and Cash on
Delivery. Amazon went live in 2007 with the objective of making books easily
available to anyone who had internet access.
They're present across venous categories including movies, music, games,
mobiles, cameras, computers, healthcare and personal products, home appliances
and electronics and still counting! With over 11.5 million book titles, 11
different categories, more than 2 million registered users and sale of 30000 items
a day, they're one of the leading e-commerce players in the country. Their success
is largely due to their obsession with providing customers a memorable online
shopping experience. Be it Cash on Delivery, a 30-day replacement policy, EMI
options, free shipping - and of course the great prices that they offer. Then there's
dedicated Amazon delivery team that works round the clock to personally make
sure packages reach on time. For now they're present in 27 lucky cities, but don't
worry, plans are underway to spread to many others.
HISTORY OF AMAZON:

-
Amazon was founded in October 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny
Bansa l, who were both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
and formerly worked for Amazon. The company initially focused on online
book sales with
Country-wide shipping. Following its launch Amazon slowly grew in
prominence; by 2008, it was receiving 100 orders per day. In 2010, Amazon
acquired the Bangalore based social book discovery service. In late 2011, ,
Amazon made several acquisitions relating to digital distribution, including
Mime360.com and the digital content library of Bollywood portal Chakpak. In
February 2012, the company unveiled its DRM-free online music store Flyte.

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However, the service was unsuccessful due to competition from free

streaming sites, and shut down in June 2013. In May 2012, Amazon acquired
Lets buy, an online electronics retailer. In May 2014, Amazon acquired Myntra,
an online fashion retailer, for 20 billion (US$280 million). Myntra continues to
operate alongside Amazon as a standalone subsidiary; the site focuses on an
upscale, "fashion conscious" market, while Amazon itself focuses on the mainstream
market and major international brands. In February 2014, Amazon partnered with
Motorola Mobility to be the exclusive Indian retailer of its Moto G smart phone.
Motorola also partnered with Amazon on the Moto E- a phone targeted
primarily towards emerging markets such as India. High demand for the
phone caused the Amazon website to crash following its midnight launch on
14 May.

Amazon subsequently held exclusive Indian launches for other smart

phones, including the Xiaomi Mi3 in July 2014 (whose initial release of 10,000
devices sold out in around 5 seconds), the Redmi 1S and Redmi Note in late-2014
(which saw similarly accelerated sellouts), and Micromax's Yu Yunique 2 in
2017. On 6 October 2014, in honour of the company's anniversary and the Diwali
season, Fl" oca eld a major sale across the service that it promoted as "Big Billion
Day". The event generated a surge of traffic, selling US$100 million worth of
goods in 10 hours. The event received criticism via social media over technical
issues the site experienced during the event, as well as stock shortages.

AMAZON OLD LOGO

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In March 2015, Amazon blocked access to its website on mobile devices,

and began requiring that users download the site's mobile app instead. The
following month, Myntra went further and discontinued its website on all
platforms, in favor of operating exclusively through its app. The "app-only"
model, however, proved to be unsuccessful for Myntra (reducing sales by 10%),
and its main website was reinstated in February 2016. The experiment with
Myntra led to suggestions that Amazon itself would perform a similar move, but
this did not occur. In November 201.5, Amazon. Launched a new mobile website
branded as 'J liQkary: Lite", which provides an experience inspired by Amazon
app that runs within smart phone web browsers.

In April 2015, Amazon acquired Appiterate, a Delhi-based mobile

Marketing automation firm. Amazon stated that it would use its technology
to enhance its mobile ser vi ce s. In October 2015, Amazon reprised its Big
Billion Day event, except as a multi-day event that would be exclusive to
the Amazon pp.

Amazon also stated that it had bolstered its supply chain and introduced
more fulfillment centers in order to meet customer demand. Amazon achieved
a gross merchandise volume of US$300 million during the event, with the
largest volumes coming from fashion sales, and the largest value coming from
mobiles. In December 2015, Amazon purchased a min0rity stake in the
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digit::il mapping provider Many india. The company stated that it would
license its data to help improve delivery logistics.

In 2016, _Amazon acquired the online fashion retailer Jabong.com

from Rocket Internet for US$70 million, as well as the UPI mobile payments
startup PhonePe. In Jai1mry 2017, Amazon made a US$2 million investment in
tiny step. A parenting information startup. In April 2017, eBay anno unced that
it would sell it s Indian subsidiary- Bay .in to Amazon and make a US$500
million cash investment in the company. EBay promoted that the pminership
would eventually allow Amazon to access eBay's network of international
vendors, and vice versa, but the se plans never actually came to fruition. In July
2017, Amazon made an offer to acquire its main domestic t'..Ompetitor,
Snupdeal, for around US$?00-800 million. lt was rejected by the company,
which was seeking at least US$1 billion. Amazon held a 51% share of all
Indian sm:J.rtphone shipment s in 2017, overtaking Amazon India
( 33%).Amazon old J .3 million phortes in 20 hours on 21 September alone for it ;
Big Billion Days promotion, doubling foe number sold on the fast day of the
even t in 2016 (v.'here it sole a total of 2.5 million phones iu five day ).

BUSINESS STRUCTURE

In a report dated 25 November 201 4, a leading media cutlet reported

that e!"e operating through a complex business structure wl-1ich
included nine

Some registered in Singapore and some in India. In 2012, Amazon co-

founders sold WS Retail to a consortium of investors led by Rajeev Kuchhal

ACQUISITION BY WALMART
On 4 May 2018, it was reported that the US retail chain Wal-Mart had won a
bidding war with Amazon to acquire a majority stake in for US$15
billion. On 9
May 2018, Wal-Mart officially announced its intent to acquire a 77%
controlling

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stake in Amazon for US$16 billion, subject to regulatory approval. Following the
proposed purchase, Amazon co- founder Sachin Bansal left the company,
while the remaining management now reports to Marc Lore, CEO of Wal-
Mart e Commerce US. Wal-Mart president Doug McMillan cited the
"attractiveness" of the market, explaining that their purchase "is an
opportunity to partner with the company that is leading transformation of
ecommerce in the market".
Indian traders protested against the deal, considering the deal a threat to
domestic business. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on 11 May 2018, Wal-Mart stated that a condition of the deal
prescribed the possibility that Amazon's current minority shareholders "may
require Amazon to affect an initial public offering following the fourth
anniversary of closing of the Transactions at a valuation no less than that paid by
Wal-Mart".
Following the announcement of Wal-Mart’s deal, eBay announced that
it would sell its stake in Amazon back to the company for approximately US$1.1
billion, and re-launch its own Indian operations. The company stated that "there
is huge growth potential for e- commerce in India and significant oppo1i unit y
for multiple players to succeed in India's diverse, domestic market. Softbank
Group also sold its entire 20% stake to Wal-Mart, without disclosing terms of the
sale.
The acquisition was completed on 18 August 2018. Wal-Mart also provided
US$2 billion in equity funding to the company.
On 13 N o v e m b e r 2018,_ Amazon CEO Benny Bansal resigned,
after facing an allegation of "serious personal misconduct". Wal-Mart stated
that "while the investigation did not find evidence to corroborate the
complainant's assertions against Benny, it did reveal other lapses in judgment,
particularly a lack of transparency, related to how Benny responded to the
situation

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Sachin Bansal was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year 2012- 2013 from The
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Economic Times, a leading Indian economic daily newspaper. In September

2015 , they were seized by the regulatory agency. Delhi High Court observed
violation of foreign investment regulations by E- Commerce firms including
Amazon January 2016, a public interest litigation came up for hearing which
alleges Amazon of contravention of foreign investment norms. The court
asked the Reserve Bank of India to provide the latest circular on foreign
investment policy.
In January 2016, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP) clarified that it does not recognize the marketplace model of online
retail. In February 2016, Health Minister, J P Nadda, informed that the
Maharashtra FDA had taken action against Amazon, among others, for selling
drugs without valid license

AMAZON TODAY
Today, as per Alexa traffic rankings, Amazon is amongst the top 20 Indian Web
sites and has been credited with being India's largest online bookseller with
over 11 million titles on offer. The store started with selling books and in 2010
branched out to selling CDs, DVDs, mobile phones and accessories, cameras,
computers, computer accessories and peripherals, and in 2011, pens &
stationery, other electronic items such as home appliances , kitchen appliances,
personal care gadgets, health care products etc. Further in 2012, Amazon added
A.C, air coolers, school supplies, office supplies, art supplies & life style
products to its product portfolio. As of today, The Company started from 2
employees and now employs more than 4500 people.
Amazon.com started off from selling books in 2007, based in
Bangalore, and entered then consumer electronics category with the launch of
mobile phones, in September 2010. Since then it kept on adding more new
products categories including books, mobiles, computers, cameras, home &
electronic gadgets& appliances, In addition to these very Recently, Amazon.com
has also widened its foray by entering into the emerging digital content market
with the recent launch of Flyte, the digital music store & is still continuing to

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enlarge its product portfolio. It is now one of the leading e-commerce players in
India, currently ranks at the top 20websites in India,
_ spread in 37 cities, with 11.5 million plus book titles, 14 different categories, 3
million plus registered users and sale of 30000 items a day.

It provides online-shoppers a memorable online -shopping experience because of

its innovative services like: •Cash on Delivery, •30-day replacement policy, •Easy
Monthly Installment options (EMI), •Free shipping •Discounted prices &
deals Amazon started with consignment model as discussed above, since
most of the customer issues like delivery delays etc. result from procurement
model, the company started opening its own warehouses as it started getting
more investments. The company opened its first warehouse in Bangalore and
later on opened warehouses in Delhi, Kolkatta and Mumbai. Today the company
works with more than 500 suppliers. As on date more than 80% orders of
Amazon are handled via warehouses which help in quick and efficient service. A
humble beginning from books, Amazon now has a gamut of products ranging
from: Cell phones, laptops, computers, cameras, games, music, audio players,
TV's, healthcare products, washing machines
etc. etc. Still Amazon derives around 50% of its revenue from selling books
online.

Amazon is the Indian market leader in selling books both offline and online, it
enjoys
an online share of around 80%.
The electronic items have a large number of players like Naaptol, Letsbuy,
Indiaplaza, Tradus, Infibeam, Yebhi etc. The electronic market share is
distributed among them in different unknown proportions. India has around 13.5
crore internet users today where as the number of homes with Cable and
Satellite (C&S) television is 10.5 crore. The expected internet users will reach a
figure of 30 crore by 2014 and C&S homes are expected to be 14 crore by 2014.
Thus India has a tremendous internet growth and with the customers getting
accustomed to e-commerce, the future of e-commerce sector is definitely rosy.
An approximated 25lac people have transacted online this year, the number is

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all set to increase with time Private equity firms Carlyle and General Atlantic are
in talks to jointly invest about $150 million to
$200 million in Amazon, according to sources.

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CHAPTER4 FINDINGS,
SUGGESTIONS AND
CONCLUSION

FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS

Research reveals that most of the users of Amazon are females in

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comparison to males i.e. about, 2D of females are interested in shopping

through Amazon. Table no k4 from the study it is evident that, 2D of the
respondents is interested in shopping through Amazon. Table nok4 It is found
that 3D of people bought cloths item rather than other products from Amazon.
Table 14 from the study it is found that 3D of the respondents have Purchased
more than times from Amazon. Table 124lt explains that about kkD of the
respondents are dissatisfied with the facilities of Amazon

Table 134 From the study it is also found that majority of the respondents i.e.
kkD like to buy through Amazon rather than others website. Table lk4 From
the study it is known that about kkD of the respondents are agreeing that they
have worst experience while purchasing through Amazon. Tablel ) 4$ cording to
data analyzed kkD of the people prefer Amazon for shopping cloths rather than
other items . Table 1+460 & he study explains that about 3D of respondents like
Amazon, because of timely service. While sat respondents has some other reasons
to like Amazon. table 1,4 It is also pointed out from the study that )2D of the
respondents prefer to go outside for shopping rather than online shopping
because of personal pertinences and self feeling of shopping. Table 1@4

SUGGESTIONS

Study suggests the following: would be better if Amazon will improve the quality
of other items so as to increase costumer.
► If Amazon would provide different designs and variety of products they can gain
More no of costumers and can easily satisfy them.
► Should add some more design it will be better for the company.

► $cording to respondents if company improve the promotion activities in order to get

More consumers like through pamphlets news specially to rural area because now
a day’s companies are targeting them more.
► Company should look towards its quality product as it is more imprint to attract
Customers.
► should add some offers with the products in every quarter so as to gain more and
More no. of costumers

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CONCLUSION

Study conclude that majority of the customer prefer shopping through other
shopping websites rather than Amazon because of lack in product variety of
quality which makes the customers more comfortable with other shopping
websites rather than Amazon. Consider the fact that there are many of middle
class less educated people in India Amazon although has many of impact on
middle class people but it should think about less educated people as now only
educated peoples are using the Amazon. Amazon should increase the variety of
products and they should go with qualitative products so as to satisfy the people
who are willing to purchase through Amazon Lpespite of this Amazon is
providing less cost products which helps to serve middle as well as other relevant
people of the society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES
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www.wikipedia.com

Www. Amazon.com/about us/

www.scibd.com

QUESTIONERS:
1. Age
a. 15-20
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a. < 25
b. 25- 35
c, >3 5

2. Gender
a. Male
b. Fem ale

3. Have you ever done online shopping?

a. Yes
b. No

4. How often do you shop online?

a. Once in month
b. . Once in two month
c. v'Iore frequently
d. More often

5. Which online site will you prefer?

a. Amazon
b. Snapdeal
c. Paytm
c. Others

6. How do you make payments when shopping online?

a. Debit card
c. Cash on delivery
b. Credit card
d. Third party (Paytm wallet, Paypal etc)

7. Which online service is more satisfied in terms of products ,

customer
· care and delivery services
a. Flipkart
b. Amazon
c. Other

8. How do you choose online shopping site

a. Referred by friends
b. Advertisements

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C. Online reviews
9. Have your encountered any problems with online shopping site? If by
which one yes

a. Flipkart
b. Amazon
c. Others
10. In terms of pricing, with which online shopping site you are satisfied

a. Flipkart b. Amazon c. Snapdeal d. Yupme

11. Which online shopping site will you suggest to your family and
friends?
a. Flipkart b. Snapdea c.Amazond. d,yupme

12. On which occasions do you make purchase?

a. Festival b. To gift
b. c. Snapdeal d. Wedding

13. Does promotional activities impact your purchasing decision?

a. Strongly agree b. Agree
b. Neither Agree nor Disagree d. Disagree

14. How confident are you that your personal information is kept confidential
When buying products online?

a. Extremely confident b. Quite confident c. Moderately confident

b. d. Slightly confident c. Not at all confident

15. What kind of problem did you faced while doing online shopping?
a. Delay in delivery b. Cheap quality of a product
b. . Product damaged. Non delivery

16.Customer assistance after purchase from Flipkart and Amazon are good
a. Strongly agree
b. b. Agree
c. . Neither Agree nor Disagreed. Disagree
d. Strongly Disagrees

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