FACTORS AFFECTING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS ON E-COMMERCE SHOPPING WEBSITES UNDER GUWAHATI CITY OF ASSAM: A CASE STUDY ON AMAZON, FLIPKART, MYNTRA AND SNAPDEAL

Abstract

To examine the level of awareness and preference of selected consumer’s respondents toward online purchase from e-commerce websites this paper attempt to analyse the various factors which generally motivate the consumer to purchase the product from an e-commerce site. The study area is Guwahati city and selected e-commerce sites are Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and Snapdeal. Necessary data have been collected through field surveys, observation, personal interviews and questionnaires. From Guwahati city, 250 respondents have been selected by using the convenience non-probability sampling method. The study finds out that the majority of respondents are aware of online shopping and well acquainted with popular online shopping e-commerce websites namely Amazon for books and furniture, Flip kart for electronics and kitchen appliances, Myntra for clothing and footwear and Snap deal for cosmetics and furniture are most popular e-commerce website admitted by majority respondents. Price, convenient return, a wide range of product ratings of past users etc. factors are mostly considered by the majority of respondents. To attract more customers, in this paper it is suggested that the online e-commerce sites should emphasize more on affordable price, convenient return, a wide range of products, reviews rating etc. The websites should take a zero fault approach for customer satisfaction. Snapdeal.com should check the reasons for consumer dissatisfaction. A loyalty program should be conducted for attracting new customers as well as for retaining a past customer. India is expected to earn revenue from USD 39 billion in 2017 to USD 120 billion in 2020. The annual growth rate of this sector is 51%, which is the sixth position in the world. Discounts and deal offered by the market places, faster delivery including one-day delivery and access to a large product range, especially in tier II and tier III cities, flourishing feedbacks of satisfied customers in the form of ratings and reviews help to gain customers trust in products of the specific websites. More customized and interesting loyalty schemes and bonuses are another way of customer retention for online websites.

Keywords: E-Commerce, Marketing, Amazon, Flip Kart, Myntra, Snap Deal, Loyalty Scheme, Shopping.