Importance of Online Shopping in Business Competition

Since the evaluation of mankind it has been observed that human are tends to Looking for more Comfort and Convenient way of living, and constant developing the more new and Different way to enhance this with his knowledge and curious to find the new ways to satisfy their basic needs i.e. food, clothes and shelter, online shopping was invented keeping this thing in mind as it helps to reduce the human efforts and creates new opportunity for the customer to reach the different options and as well as for the marketer/Seller to reach the new market and increase the product selves, Online shopping was invented and pioneer by Michael Aldrich in the UK. In 1989 e-commerce establishes to target a consumer market and retailers like Amazon and eBay started up. Hollensen(2004) declares the internet has developed into the new distribution channel.Online shopping has replaced the traditional process of consumers buying goods from a retailer or mall that they physically go into (Akary,2005).After amazon.com launched it is online shopping web and eBay is also launched in 1995. Alibaba and Taobao site’s launched in 2003. Online shopping can be observed advantages and disadvantages, on one side seen as a profitable and second side seen as risks connected. Bellenger(1980) point out price-sensitive shoppers view low prices as a very big incentive. Internet is a new and challenging way of shopping; it is noticed by many consumers as being risky. Cash on delivery and Products available on EMIs creates a new wide ways for the different types of customer and ease the purchasing capability of potential customer.

Thesis: The aim of this essay is to present companies must offer online shopping to remain competitive.

Customer’s buying behavior may not be influenced and controlled by the brand and firm when they make a buying decision that might concern the interactions with a search engine, recommendations, online reviews, and other information. With the quickly separate of the digital devices environment, people are more likely to use their mobile phones, computers, tablets, and other digital devices to gather information (Monsuwe, 2004). Online shopping environment, interactive decision may influence aid customer decision making. Each customer is becoming more interactive, and though online reviews customers can influence other potential buyers' behaviours. Risk and trust would also are two important factors affecting peoples' behaviour in digital environments. The customer considers switching between e-channels, because they are mainly influenced by the comparison with offline shopping, involving growth of security, financial and performance-risks In other words, and a customer shopping online that they may receive more risk than people shopping in stores (Park, 2019).

There are some factors may influence people to do the buying decision, firstly, people cannot examine whether the product satisfies their needs and wants before they receive it.

The customer may concern at after-sale services in the case of wrong product delivered or product may not work properly, based on those factors customer perceives risk may as a significant reason influence the online purchasing behaviour, Need, Price and Service (Hansen & Jensen, 2019). If a product can be able to satisfy all these three basic requirements of a customer then the sales can be increased automatically.

The mode of payment played a major role to enhance the credibility of online shopping, cash on delivery and credit card payment are the key factors, which makes it popular among youth and other people as well. Easy EMIs and Other Cash Benefits are more likely to Draw the Attention of customer, there are Different types of fringe benefits are also available. 

Delivery of a product to the customer doorstep is the key factor of the popularity of online shopping as it gives a customer to enjoy the hassle-free service without taking care or worrying about the environmental factor of outside. Online shopping made easier a customer to access the wide range of products from across the globe for both customer and as well for seller, Now a customer can easily see the wide range of products and different prices and a seller can also reach to a wide range of customer market through online shopping which is not possible in the physical world. This is the most impotent factor of online shopping as now a customer can see the images and offering also price and other factors such as like reviews of products from other customers so that the feedback of the product can influence the buying decision of a customer.             

Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers in Western countries have Internet access both at work and at home. Other establishments such as Internet cafes, community centers, and schools provide internet access as well. In contrast, visiting a conventional retail store requires travel or commuting and costs such as gas, parking, or bus tickets, and must usually take place during business hours. Delivery was always a problem which affected the convenience of online shopping (Chen, 2009). However to overcome this many retailers including online retailers in Taiwan brought in a store pick up service.

Currently, online sites are providing the 30 days product replacement for the customer to increase the trust level and in case of any manufacturing defect of the product.

Using the online shopping sites consumers are at higher risk of fraud than face-to-face transactions. When ordering merchandise online, the item may not work properly, it may have defects, or it might not be the same item pictured in the online photo. But now the companies also provide the 30 days replacement against the product if in case of any defect (Lee, 2011).

Merchants also risk fraudulent purchases if customers are using stolen credit cards or fraudulent repudiation of the online purchase. Many resources offer advice on how consumers can protect themselves when using online retailer services (Park, 2003). These include: Sticking with well-known stores or attempting to find independent consumer reviews of their experiences; also ensuring that there is comprehensive contact information on the website before using the service, and noting if the retailer has enrolled in industry oversight programs such as a trust mark or a trust seal. Before buying from a new company, evaluating the website by considering issues such as: the professionalism and user-friendliness of the site; whether or not the company lists a telephone number and/or street address along with e-contact information; whether a fair and reasonable refund and return policy is clearly stated; and whether there are hidden price inflators, such as excessive shipping and handling charges. Ensuring that the retailer has an acceptable privacy policy posted. For example, note if the retailer does not explicitly state that it will not share private information with others without consent.                

Prices of a product can be varied as per the size and Colors. Additional fees such as shipping are often not visible until the final step in the checkout process. The problem is especially evident with cross-border purchases, where the cost indicated at the final checkout screen may not include additional fees that must be paid upon delivery such as taxes and other shipping charges, Privacy of customer information and Payment mode is the biggest concern in online shopping as in this kind of interface there are multiple levels where the customer needs to fill the information about the address location and payment modes such as credit/debit cards details and other banking details, Lack of Information privacy can lead a customer to cybercrime or many spam notification calls.

Decision making can be dependent on the specific culture or society in which one person is living. Moreover, religion, culture, and society are effective on the behaviour as well. Culture can be defined as a specific set of belief and ideas that are related to different societies or group of people. In this way, it can be observed that the modern world is experiencing in cultures, religion, and social values. By considering these points and issues it can value that the future demand of customer can have different variation and differences. The business has to consider the demand, cultural values, social structure and religion of the country before launching any product in that specific country.

American society and the Indian society are very different. India is a moderate country concerning individualism having 48 scores while America is the highest country in terms of individualism with 91 scores (Dr.Geert,2019). Thus the framework of demand would be different in these countries as well because the people in India live in the form of families. India and America are following the different cultures so it has been observed that India is a male dominant country and male have a preference in different places like the workplaces, homes and other places (Khare,2011). India is the country that is experiencing a different kind of groups that are enjoying the particular type of powers or preferences on others. People consider the power as their self-satisfaction so they enjoy the specific preferences at different places. The markets in India are very scattered and distributed so it can be difficult to cover these scatter markets and different strategies are required for capturing the market in India. Thus the people in India avoid taking the risk in the market because these people are trapped in a vicious circle of poverty while the American people can take the risk due to their resources.            

Online shopping is a different experience to make the shopping creative over the internet as you get used to it. Online shopping is a convent and using the tips provided can help you to save on the purchase and keep your money in your wallet. Analysis of data it can be concluded that consumer buys goods from the online shopping websites based on factors like more offers and discounts, more variety of product available, free home delivery, website user-friendliness, cash on delivery, card payment, EMI payment available, lots of payment options, easy to return. Online shopping becomes more enjoyable and easier than real-world shopping.

Online shopping is not giving the freedom to the customer only but it also gives many benefits to the company as well as there is no need to invest more money for the physical presence of the company or the investment in physical assets such as like land, machinery and other utilities, neither the huge need of man power, or the storage units such as selves and other office furniture as you can easily operate the business from a single room flat…the biggest example of successful online business start-up is flipkart as its founder start the company from a 2BHK flat in its initial stage and then later on touch the sky of success.

So hare by after the entire the study we came to the conclusion that the upcoming time will be more focused and based on online shopping as its gives the ease of doing the transaction within the comfort of the both customer and company. companies needs to be more precise about the product offering, price relative to there competitors to stay ahead in the competition regardless of the growth and invention of new products, as the need to be updated about the new products and inventions as when we talk about technology we can not stick to a place because technology contently evaluate itself and we always consider it from A-Y instead of A-Z as every single day something new technology being invented.

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