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ABSTRACT.

The number of Internet users is growing, but only small part of them buys products/services

online. The objective of the paper is to highlight the factors that are meaningful to consumer

motivation to shop online. The results of literature analysis show that there are three groups

of factors effecting online shopping: 1) perceived characteristics of the Internet as a sale

channel, 2) consumer characteristics and 3) characteristics of the product. However, the

significance of the factors depending to these groups is mixed or not clearly reported. The

results from the empirical study show that the convenience makes the most important

influence on consumers who shop online. While the limited abilities to get acquainted with a

product/service by means of senses is the most important factor why consumers resist

shopping online.

INTRODUCTION.

Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that serve billion of people

worldwide. It is a network that consist of millions of public, private , academic and business

and government networks from being local to a worldwide scope. The internet carries a vast

range of information resources and services .

The number of internet users in India is continuouslygrowing . The statistics goes by saying

that India is the 5th largest internet user population after USA, CHINA and GERMANY .

When it comes to online buying and internet usage it accounts for 60 million in India. Online

shopping is referred to as E-COMMERCE.Online shopping could be defined as the concept

of buying and selling of goods over the internet.

Online shopping emerged with the development of the internet. Entrepreneurs saw the

potential in online shopping and sprung at the chance to make virtual storefronts, so that

consumers could shop without leaving their homes.The rapidly growing Indian economy is

catching the attention of local as well as global retailers and thereby unlocking the doors for

new genres of online consumer research. The growth of the internet presents a huge

opportunity to online retailers to capture a considerable share of sales. In this context it is

important to understand the factors that motivate Indian consumers to indulge in online

buying; in fact the drivers, enablers and the inhibitors, all need to be identified and addressed.

A framework is needed to structure the complex system of effects of the demographic,

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psychographic and situational factors that impact a consumer's decision to shop online, and

develop an in-depth understanding of consumers' motivation to shop online..

The mode of payment is through credit card or pay pal account which is commonly used by

online shoppers. With the advent of online shopping we can get easy accessibility to goods

sitting at one place making it more convenient than shopping going shop to shop. Online

shopping won million of hearts across the world with the availability of internet at almost in

every house in India saving a lot of time and transportation cost.

What motivates internet users to buy online?

Consumer shopping motivation in the context of online has been well researched. Numerous

consumer needs such as browsing and searching for products, ease and convenience,

obtaining information about firms, products and brands, comparing product features and

prices, shopping 24/7, having fun and excitement, maintaining anonymity while shopping for

certain products, are all fulfilled more effectively and efficiently than conventional shopping.

In fact, the benefits that consumers derive out of the online shopping experience are two fold,

namely, functional and utilitarian dimensions, like “ease of use” and “usefulness”, or

emotional and hedonic dimensions like “enjoyment”; . Such factors are moderated by

exogenous factors like “consumer traits”, “situational factors”, “product characteristics”,

“previous online shopping experiences” and “trust

Sheth (1983), has referred to two broad classes of motives that underlie shopping, namely,

functional and non-functional, the latter also having been mentioned by Tauber (1972). With

convenience, price, product variety and product access as major motives in the context of

online shopping, the functional aspects of shopping motivation have been stressed upon.

However the non-functional motives of online shoppers have also been researched upon by

studying the individual buyer's personal and social motives (Eastlick and Feinberg,

1999; Parsons, 2002).

Suki et al. (2001), speaks of user's motivation and concerns for shopping online and mentions

motivation factors like accessibility, reliability, convenience, distribution, socialization,

search ability and availability; among issues of concern are privacy, reluctance to change,

quality, security, trust, connection speed and non-disclosure of complete product

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information. Rohm and Swaminathan (2004), speak of a typology among consumers, based

upon their motivation for shopping online; namely, online convenience (convenience

shoppers), physical store orientation (variety seekers), information us in planning and

shopping (balanced buyers), and variety seeking in the online shopping context (store

oriented shoppers). Swaminathan et al. (1999), refer to the convenience factor, i.e. being able

to shop 24/7 from one's home as the most compelling motivation. While the Technology

Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 1989), explain easy adoption through

website characteristics and purchase intentions, Lee et al., 2007 propose an e-Com adoption

Model that include “perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk with products

and services, and perceived risk in the context of online transaction”.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE.

In recent years, online user has increased to a larger amount and gained lot of popularity

through social marketing and online marketing. Analysts opine that different people from

different place can get instant access to information at any time and place. The adoption of

internet has been exceptionally rapid in many parts of India.The online market for

personalised goods is over Rs 200 crores. The concept of the internet present a huge

opportunity to online retailer to capture considerable context to understand the factor that

motivates Indian consumers to indulge in online buying.

Research that has been already taken provides the impact on the way ideas are formed and

knowledge is created. Research paper tell us about the strength which includes speed,

immediacy and superior value of the internet.

Internet helps in developing an insight into how consumers trade off among available

attributeswhile selecting an online user. It alsoprovides concrete information about the

specific attributes to be incorporated into internet services, as per customer’s

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preferences.Unlike past focus on the self-elicitation of theimportance of internet services, this

study uses awell-established methodology to derive therelative importance accorded to the

identified salient attributes about the motivation technique. The rapid proliferation of online

usage and creation ofa new channel for marketing. The use of online services through smart

phones has increased the popularity, making the internet theultimate medium for one-to-one

marketing. The present research investigates consumermotivational level online usage by

internet user and the relationship between attitude and behaviour.

Determinants of consumer motivation to buying online:

Pragmatic motivation:

The first and foremost thing that drive customers to go for online shopping is "convenience",

which can be in any form like time, place and the whole buying process. From previous

studies it has been seen that consumers are preferring to go online shopping because they are

free to enjoy window shopping without having the pressure of purchase on their mind.

Online shopping also gives a readymade platform to the buyers to collect various pre-

purchase information and other search activity. From past studies it has been said that

information about a product drives a customer to go for online shopping. Services tend to be

more informative than product oriented.

The perception that online buying is easier and involve minimum effort also has a significant

and positive impact on consumers mind.According to the Technology Acceptance Model, the

easier and useful a technology is, the more likely are consumers to get motivated to use

online technology.

Hassle reduction, motivations inspire consumers to buy online because it is comparatively

trouble free. Online buying is free from hassles of taking out time for marketing, dressing up

to go to market, driving, traffic jams, crowd and finding a place for parking. There is also no

hassle of transporting the goods purchased as internet vendors provide home delivery of

products purchased online.

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Product motivation:

Lack of availability of products also drives customers to go for online shopping. In Products

like CDs, books and air tickets consumers are more likely to go for online shopping with no

fear and apprehension about the need to feel, try, smell or touch the product. High level of

customization is also being offered to the customers with huge price discounts and which is

not possible in normal buying process. The internet provides a platform to view products with

detailed information regarding competitive prices from international locations and thereby

help consumers in learning about new trends. Consumers can also interact with user groups

and find out about latest fads and fashion.

A consumer’s motivation to shop online can be for various reasons, such as Utilitarian

Motive or problem solver. While some internet buyers consider shopping activity as work,

other finds it enjoyable and seeks it for entertainment. Some customers prefer to shop and

browse on the internet due to the fun, enjoyment and excitement involved, that is the

emotional and hedonic pleasures, either as individuals or as social groups.

Service excellence motivation

Service excellence is the factor that motivate a buyer to go for online shopping. This is the

factor that attract customer and each and every day the number of customer are improving

because of improvement in services. This might be promises in terms of price, timely

delivery of products in good condition, cash on delivery,reliability factors such as clearly

stated freight charges, clearly stated product charges.

Demographic motivation

Demographic parameters are another factors that motivates customer to go for online

shopping. Study suggest that different demographic factors like Age,Income,and Education

that make customers inclined toward online shopping. Young professional with high income

group are directly related with online buying.

Social Motivation

From the study we come to know that online buyer are getting influenced by their social

environment. Buying decisions are mainly influenced by people living around the buyer like

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Supportive social environment, perceived norms, family and friends. Human beings acquire

new behaviour by observing others.

Situational Motivation

Consumers with hectic time schedule are more tend to buy online because it saves time.

Situational factors such as time pressure, geographical distance, lack of mobility,

attractiveness of alternatives and need for special items positively influence online buying of

consumers. who are immobile can also shop online. Furthermore, there is no need to travel

long distances for shopping. The need for special items which are generally not available in

local markets also drives consumers to buy online.

RESEARCH METHODOLGY.

The aim of this research is to examine factors that motivate or de motivate respondents to

shop online. The study population is members of academic community. The sampling

methods – convenience sample. The questionnaires were distributed by e-mails, through our

friends &acquaintances, we distributed questionnaires to the undergraduates and graduate

students interested in online shopping. We sent out questionnaires and received 150 in which

ineffective or wrong-written questionnaires are duly rejected.The primary data we have

collected through some face to face interaction and online distribution of questionnaires and

the secondary data is collected from various journals, articles and other web based resources.

The research is a pilot study, thus all findings are applicable only to the study sample.The

questionnaire included four diagnostic blocs: 1) gathered information about the type of online

consumers based on their behaviour (an online shopper or an information searcher), 2)

collected information about the factors that motivate to shop online, 3) collected information

about the factors that de motivate to use the Internet as means for product/service purchasing,

4) comprised questions on demographic characteristics. Individuals were asked to indicate

their agreement with motivation or de motivation items based on the five-point Likert-type

scale from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree.

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The data were analysed using the SPSS 16.0 statistical package. We used the following

methods: 1) descriptive statistics, 2) high-abstraction statistics: factor analysis was used to

identify motivation or de motivation dimensions to shop online.

FINDINGS &CONCLUSIONS

Some of the major findings are:

Online shopping saves time.

Safe and secure transactions.

Availability of merchandise on internet is very broad.

Internet reduces the monetary cost and traditional shopping to a great extent.

The outcome of this proposed research agenda will present an enhanced knowledge of online

shopping consumers and understanding of their purchasing behaviour towards a product. This

will in turn provide consumers with great potential to optimise their buying behaviour online,

which will make an important breakthrough and will affect the consumer motivational factors

towards online shopping.

Online Shopping

Name?

Age?

Sex? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Male

o Female

Education Qualification? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Secondary

o Higher Secondary

o Graduation

o Post-Graduation

o Others

Where do you mostly use the Internet? (Tick the appropriate box)

o At home

o At work

o At College/School

o Others

What is your main purpose for using the Internet? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Shopping

o Work

o Education

What kind of information do you look for on the web when selecting a

product/service? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Detailed information

o Price comparisons

o Location of store

o Availability of product/service

o Other information

In general, you prefer to do your shopping of: (Tick the appropriate box)

Over the Internet Over the Phone In a Retail Store

Jewelry

Airplane Tickets

Cinema/Concert/Theatre

Ticket

Computer Products

Clothes

Furniture

Toys

CD/DVDs

Books

Cosmetics

Fast food

Groceries

Have you been expose to online shopping? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Yes

o No

How many times you go for online shopping in a month? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Once

o Twice

o Thrice

o More than thrice

What situational factors drive you to go for online shopping? (Tick the appropriate

box)

o Hectic time schedule

o Frequent travelling

o Need for special items

o Previous shopping experience

o Others

What are the preferred sites you choose? (Tick the appropriate box)

o Flipkart

o Snap deal

o Mantra

o eBay

o Amazon

o Others

Services you expect from online retailers? (Tick the appropriate box)

o First delivery

o Replacement guarantee

o Cash on delivery

o Others

How does competitive pricing and discounts motivate you to do online shopping?

(Use the 1 – 5 scale below)

1 2 3 4 5

Highly effective Select a value from a range from 1,Highly effective, to 4 ,No t effective,.

Not effective

Please select your level of agreement to the following questions. (Tick the

appropriate box)

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Indifferent Agree

Strongly

Agree

I think shopping on the

internet saves time.

It is a great advantage

to be able to shop at

any time of the day on

the internet.

It is more difficult to

shop on the internet.

I prefer

traditional/conventional

shopping to online

shopping.

Shopping online is

risky.

I believe online

shopping will

eventually supersede

traditional shopping.

I will prefer online

shopping only if online

prices are lower than

actual price,

A long time is required

for the delivery of

products and services

on the internet

Selection of goods

available on the internet

is very broad,

The description of

products shown on the

Strongly

Disagree Disagree Indifferent Agree

Strongly

Agree

web sites are very

accurate,

The information given

about the products and

services on the internet

is sufficient.

Online shopping is as

secure as traditional

shopping,

While shopping online,

I hesitate to give my

credit card number,

Internet reduces the

monetary costs of

traditional shopping to

a great extent (parking

fees etc.)

The fact that only those

with a credit card or

bank account can shop

on the internet is a

drawback,

I would be frustrated

about what to do if I am

dissatisfied with a

purchase made from the

internet.

………......................................................................Thank You……………………………………………………………………………

Bar Chart

46% respondents use internet at home.

When we ask the respondents, what they really do on internet 52% said they search information related to

studies and 44% do shopping.

When asked while selecting a product or information what they mainly do on internet, 43.02% look for detailed

information and 29.61% compare price of the product and information.

In general, you prefer to do your shopping

Our findings found that 67% prefer traditional shopping than online shopping (30%).

When asked what type of products/services they mainly shop online 24.79% book Airline ticket, 21.49% book

cinema/theatre tickets and 13.50% shop books.

30.30% order fast food and 27.27% book cinema ticket over the phone.

12.06% visit retail store for buying furniture, 11.69% buy jewelry, 11.57% buy groceries and 11.44% buy

cosmetic by visiting retail store, because Indian customers have a high involvement.

93% respondents have expose to online shopping.

52% shop online once a month and 23% shop more than thrice a month.

33.07% respondents said they prefer online shopping due to hectic time schedule and 36.22% respondents said

due to need for special items.

From the above graph we can interpret that Flipkart got maximum number of responses. That about 36.41%

people are using Flipkart for online purchase because of esteem needs are getting fulfilled.

From the above graph 36.31% respondent want fast delivery as a services from online retailer whereas

28.49% & 29.05% goes with replacement guarantee and cash on delivery resp.

From the graph 53% of the respondent says that competitive pricing and discount highly effective in

motivating to do online shopping because it satisfy the self-actualization needs of the respondent

From the graph 39% & 36% of the respondent think that shopping in the internet saves times because of the

accusation need get fulfilled

44% strongly agree that through online shopping they can shop anytime from anywhere.

58% of the respondent say that the do not find it is difficult to shop on the internet.

41% have mix response both traditional and online shopping have an importance.

34% disagree and 33% have mis response that online shopping is not risky.

27% have mix response, 25% agree and 20% strongly agree online shopping will supersede traditional

shopping.

34% agree and 27% strongly agree that they prefer online shopping when prices are low.

35% of the respondents have a mix response, 21% disagree and 22% agree. This show that delivery time

depends on geographic location.

According to the survey 42% people think that there is a wide range of goods available for selection

According to the survey 42% people think that there is a wide range of goods available for selection

According to the survey we can say that people are neutral to the statement that description of products shown

is very accurate.

Here in the above fig we can say that people agree as they believe that products and services on the internet are

sufficient.

From the above fig we interpret that 38% people agree to the fact that online shopping is as secure as traditional

shopping.

From the above graph we can interpret that people mostly people are neutral to the fact that people hesitate to

give the card number for online shopping.

According to the survey 35% people agree to the statement that internet reduces the cost of traditional shopping

From the above fig we can interpret that mostly people agree to the fact that only with a credit card or a bank

account can shop on the internet is with 30 %.

Here by conducting the survey we can interpret that 58% people are neutral to the point that they are dissatisfied

with the purchase made from the internet.