Preferred online shopping platform

A RESEARCH PAPER

Presented to the Faculty of Senior High School Department

Saint Columban College- Senior High School

In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for Practical Research

School Year 2017 - 2018

Abcede, Jasmin Grace A.

Agonoy Trisha Mae D.
Almazan, Shannefamel P.
Berwin, Carl Don S.
Camache, Allyn June M.
Caseñas, Loufelle Joice T.

October 2017
 Acknowledgement

This study was not an easy task. It required time and effort for the collection of data,

computations, and giving solutions and recommendations to the chosen problem. Through hard

work and cooperation, the researchers made everything successfully.

The researchers would like to express their profound gratitude and appreciation to the

following persons, who in their own special way, had also helped along the way in making this

study.

Ms. Francis May S. Valmorida, the adviser, for the unwavering guidance and the invaluable

suggestions, and for the painstaking effort in editing this work.

The family of the researchers, who supported and prayed perpetually for the success of this

study.

The Senior High School Students, who gave full support and participated during the data

gathering stage of this study.

Above all, the Almighty God, the omnipotent and omniscient One—for the love and

wisdom bestowed on the researchers.

To God be the glory.

 CHAPTER I

I. Context and Rationale

In our society today, technology is a prevalent force. This has inspired many people,

inclined or not, to adapt to the progressive flow of acquiring their needs and wants through a

common and rather efficient avenue – Online Shopping. Unlike before, we only depend on the

products and services offered by our malls.

We cannot deny the reality that as we grew and as new generation arise, we tend to be

lazier in everything we do. With this, we look for a more convenient way of doing things. As a

result, new technologies emerged such as shopping online.

According to Verma (2014), its other terms could be e-web store, e-shop, e-store, Internet

shop, web shop, web store, online store, online store front and virtual store. This activity is where

people buy goods and services over the Internet.

Online shopping has ascended along with the customers increasingly using their mobile

devices for various online shopping activities (Verma, 2014). In recent years, it usually trends

during holiday season because many prefer to avoid crowded stores when shopping. A successful

online store is not about having great technical features but its credibility. It aims in making a bond

between them and the customers while making money at the same time. It offers more discounts

on products and is cheaper which are commonly offered by retailers. This condition offered by

retailers is an advantage for those who are on saving money specially students.

We highly believe that this survey does not only encompass adults but also has covered the

audience of young individuals who are also, if not more, knowledgeable in navigating the

technology within reach today.

 In lined with this, we, the researchers, have been impelled to conduct a study regarding the

most preferred online shopping platform by the senior high school students of Saint Columban

College, as we are focusing on a more reachable and attainable extent within our community.

I. Research Objectives

This study addresses the problem of identifying the preferred online shopping platform in

Saint Columban College - Senior High School Department. Based on the formulation of the

problem, this study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What online shopping platform is preferred by the 80 respondents of Saint Columban

College-Senior High School?

2. What factor influenced the Senior High School preference of online shopping platform?

3. What payment method was most preferred by the respondents?

4. Based on the findings, what online shopping platform can the researcher recommend to

Saint Columban College-Senior High School online shoppers?

II. Scope and Limitations

The proposed study focuses on identifying the most preferred online shopping platform of the

students. Our study limits only to 80 Senior High School students of Saint Columban College,

Pagadian City, who have bought product or services online. We will conduct the said study with

in the first semester of the school year 2017-2018 at Pagadian City.

Subject Matter

The subject matter of the study is the most preferred online shopping platform of the

students who have bought online.

Research Environment

The environment of the study is the Senior High School Department of Saint Columban

College in Pagadian City.

Saint Columban College is a private educational institution run by the Roman Catholic

Diocese of Pagadian in Pagadian City, Philippines. Founded in 1957 as Saint Columban School,

Saint Columban College is the largest among the Diocesan Schools of Pagadian. Columban offers

elementary, secondary, and tertiary education. Saint Columban College is located at Corner V.

Cerilles Sagun Streets, San Francisco District, Pagadian City.

Research Participants

The participants of the study are the Senior High School students of Saint Columban

College. The researchers selected only 80 students from the said school through convenience

sampling, specifically those who have already experienced online shopping.

 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Pradana (2017) states that shopping online is done through the application of Internet as

the medium, with the usage of website that serves as catalog. Thus, the advantage of purchasing

online is that customers can request their preferable design.

People of today tend to rely on virtual stores in getting the things they need or want. Online

shopping provides people an easy-to-access venue to transact with online sellers which can be

done comfortably at home or offices. Customers would avoid long lines or searching from store to

store for a particular item. It also gives online shoppers the freedom to choose the seller or the site

they want to shop. Shopping on virtual stores is undeniably convenient and rewarding, however,

it also has disadvantages (http://www.investopedia.com).

With its ability to compare other shops, search for favorable discounts and make purchases

with a few mouse clicks, online shopping could be wise consumer’s best buddy (George Karp,

2009). On the other hand, online shopping is one of the tinderboxes raised by the US in the

upcoming NAFTA negotiations and as a result, shoppers could have a break on US purchases

(Levy, 2017). For years now, online shopping has been causing the low pricing of U.S retailers,

similarly, Canadian retailers fear that e-commerce companies such as Amazon and eBay will also

make their prices at a lower rate – even with the U.S. dollar worth almost 30 per cent more than

the Canadian dollar (Levy, 2017).

Ong (2011) emphasizes that nowadays, consumers consider the reviews of the online

shoppers which are mostly written and posted by buyers, users, visitors at the website. Shopper’s

reviews will become more frequent e-tailing in the near future. On the other hand, marketing
literature still lack of knowledge of how shoppers perceive and use online reviews in their purchase

decisions. Thus, this study explored shopper’s decision toward positive and negative reviews. It

will examine the impact of buyer’s attitudes on their perceive helpfulness. The interesting part here

is that, those consumers who pay attention to positive reviews gave more credible and usefulness

ratings that those who focus on the negative reviews.

According to Gunasekaran, A., Marri, H. B., McGaughey, R. E. and Nebhwani, M. D.

(2002) in their study on E-commerce and its impact on operations management, Electronic

Commerce (EC) is a revolutionary application of information technology with its supply-chain

management and the potential for manufacturing, retail and service operations.

The dimensions of web site design, reliability, responsiveness, and trust within e-service

affect overall service quality and customer satisfaction within customer purchase intention in

online shopping (Lee & Lin, 2005).

The literature review of Monsuwe, T., Dellaert, B. and Ruyter K. (2004) on what drives

consumers to shop online shows that attitudes toward online shopping and the intention to shop

online are not only affected by ease of use, usefulness, and enjoyment, but also by exogenous

factors like consumer traits, situational factors, product characteristics, previous online shopping

experiences, and trust in online shopping. In lined with this, the phenomenon for electronic word-

of-mouth (eWOM) communication has risen through web-based technologies, affecting online

retailers as this easily accessible information could alter the online consumption decision. Social

media has also been linked to as a source of product information within the millenials today.

Product evaluations based from online reviews are related to as factor considered in online

shopping (Mangold & Smith, 2011).

 According to Mujiyana and Elissa (2013), the increase usage of internet in communities

paved the way for online business to flourish. In this way, the actuality of Internet started to shift

from conventional to online purchase.

The vast use of internet and emergence of worldwide economic entities plays a major role

in both consumers’ and firms’ daily activities. In addition, it is also one of the top distribution

channels for cultural and artistic content. Online platforms lie at the core of today’s generation as

it provides a key engine for growth and social development locally and internationally. The decent

variety of online platforms regarding the activity, sector, business model, and size is outstanding.

Platforms range from small-income generating website with a local reach to overall organizations

producing billions of incomes. They offer varied services such as Internet search engines (Google,

Yahoo, Bing), online market places (eBay, Booking.com, Asos, Allegro, Amazon), video-sharing

platforms (e.g. Dailymotion, Vimeo, YouTube), music and video platforms (e.g. Deezer, Spotify,

Netflix, Canal Play), social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), collaborative economy platforms

(AirBnB, Uber, BlaBlaCar, Ulule, Crowdcube), online gaming (Steam), etc. (Oxera, 2015).

According to European Commission (2015), online platform is an undertaking operating

in two (or multi)-sided markets, which uses the Internet to enable interactions between two or more

distinct but interdependent groups of users so as to generate value for at least one of the groups.

Certain platforms also qualify as intermediary service providers.

 CHAPTER III

Methodology

I. Research Methods

The researchers chose the descriptive research design for it will enable us to have a clear

and concise data from the respondents.

The survey was conducted online through Google forms and passed through the target

respondents of Senior High School students from Saint Columban College. The findings collected

from the respondents and their respected responses to our survey will serve as the answer to the

problem for this research.

A. Sampling Technique

Convenience sampling was conducted for the selection of respondents in this study for it

allows the researchers to obtain basic data and trends regarding the study without the complications

of using a randomized sample. A convenience sample is made up of people who are easy to reach.

This sampling technique is also useful in documenting that a particular quality of a substance or

phenomenon occurs within a given sample, given that the respondents have already experienced

online shopping.

B. Research Instrument

The researchers conducted the survey through the use of online survey questionnaire such

as Google forms. Google Forms is a full-featured online forms tool that comes free with a Google

account. Researchers can add standard question types and gather responses in Forms or save them

to a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Above the survey questions, the researchers also include a little
background on the topic given and made sure that the senior high school respondents from Saint

Columban College have sufficient knowledge before answering the survey questionnaires. The

survey consists of questions which answers the objectives of this study.

C. Data Collection

This study is based on a survey done through online form, specifically Google forms. The

researchers asked some senior high school students of Saint Columban College through social

media to fill up the form. The data collector gathered and compiled the data from the form filled

by 80 people.

The respondents will first fill-up necessary information about him or her which some are

stated as optional. The respondent will then answer on what online shopping platform they use the

most. Afterwards, the respondents will be then redirected to rate their preferred online shopping

platform according to the quality of the product they bought, credibility of the platform, and

customer service. The respondents will also answer on what payment method they use when

buying online. Lastly, the respondents will be prompted if the inputted data will be submitted.

D. Ethical Issues

In conducting the survey through Google forms, the researchers made the names of the

research participants optional so that they may have the freedom to choose whether to reveal their

identity or not. Nonetheless, even if participants would allow their names to be known, the data

collectors would still keep its confidentiality. Only the data collector will know and analyze the

results of the survey.

 E. Data analysis

The researchers conducted a survey that allowed them to determine the preferred online

shopping platforms of senior high school students from Saint Columban College. Each

questionnaire had 5 questions that enable them to gather the sufficient data needed in finding the

answers of the aforementioned research objectives. The statements are comprehensive and the

questionnaire itself is purposely made easy taking less time in completing it. The instrument was

structured on a 5-point scale, ranging from Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Fair and Poor. The target

respondents were then asked to check the box in accordance with the degree of their agreement

with the questions in the survey.

The study is based on the primary survey of the most preferred online shopping platform

of Senior High School students of Saint Columban College. The researchers will then measure and

analyze the data results in percentage. The researchers will also use percentage scaling which

corresponds to the previous percentage data results from the conducted survey in order to know

what the most preferred online shopping platform is. Data were collected and analyzed using

frequency distribution and weighted mean.

VI. Workplan

Research Timeline

Date Activities
August 2-16, 2017 Submission and approval of proposal
October 5-9, 2017 Conduct of data gathering
October 10, 2017 Tabulation of data and analysis
October 11, 2017 Continue data analysis and
interpretation
October 12, 2017 Writing up of the report
October 13, 2017 Submission of report
 CHAPTER IV

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

This chapter presents the results of the collected and analyzed data by the researchers for

their study on the preferred online shopping platform of Saint Columban College – Senior High

School students. The research findings in this chapter are based on the online survey questionnaire.

Table 1

What online shopping platform do you prefer? Frequency Percentage

1 Facebook Groups 26 32.50%
2 Lazada 38 47.50%
3 Shopee 8 10.00%
4 Zalora 8 10.00%
Overall Mean Response 80 100%

Table 1. Preferred online shopping platform of Saint Columban College Senior High School Students

Table 1 shows the frequency distribution from the response of the preferred online

shopping platform with respondents totaling to 80. The table also presents that Item No. 2 Lazada

got the highest percentage of 47.50% with 38 respondents voted for it. Item No. 3 Shopee and No.

4 Zalora both got the lowest percentage totaling to 10% and garnered equal respondents of 8.
 Table 2

Items Weighted Mean

1
Quality of the product you bought 4.131579
2
Credibility of the platform 4.052632
3
Customer Service 4.078947

Table 2. Level of the factors that influenced the Senior High School students’
preference for the online shopping platform

As shown in the table 2, the overall weighted mean of 4.087719. The table presents that

Item No. 1 Quality of the product you bought got the highest weighted mean of 4.131579. On the

other hand, item No. 2 Credibility of the platform posted the lowest weighted mean of 4.052632.

The factor that most influenced the Senior High School students’ preference for an online shopping

platform is the quality of the product.

The results are associated with the conception of Ong (2011) which emphasizes that

“nowadays, consumers consider the reviews of the online shoppers which are mostly written and

posted by buyers, users, visitors at the website. Shopper’s reviews will become more frequent e-

tailing in the near future. On the other hand, marketing literature still lack of knowledge of how

shoppers perceive and use online reviews in their purchase decisions. Thus, this study explored

shopper’s decision toward positive and negative reviews. It will examine the impact of buyer’s

attitudes on their perceive helpfulness. The interesting part here is that, those consumers who pay

attention to positive reviews gave more credible and usefulness ratings that those who focus on

the negative reviews.”

 Table 3

Which payment method do you use mostly when

Frequency Percentage
buying products online?
1 Cash on Delivery 32 84.21%
2 Credit Card 3 7.89%
3 Palawan Express 1 2.63%
4 PayPal 2 5.26%
Overall Mean Response 38 100%

Table 3. Most used payment method when buying online

As indicated in table, the overall frequency distribution of table 3 is equivalent to 38. The

table also presents that Item No. 1 Cash on Delivery garnered the highest percentage of 84.21%

with 32 respondents. Item No. 3 Palawan Express got the lowest percentage of 2.63% with only 1

respondent who voted for it.

 Chapter V

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

This chapter presents the summary of the study. It recaps the problems that this study aims

to answer. The conclusion formulated based on the research findings is presented in this chapter

and lastly, the recommendations of the researchers from the overall study.

Summary of findings

The study answers to its research objectives. The gathered data from the 80 respondents

were interpreted through tables using weighted mean as the statistical tool and narrative analysis.

1. What online selling platform is mostly used by the 80 respondents of Saint Columban College-

Senior High School?

The first table shows the overall response of the most preferred online shopping platform

with Lazada garnering the highest percentage.

2. What factor influenced the Senior High School preference of online shopping platform?

The second table indicates the overall weighted mean of the qualities within the given

online shopping platforms. This has been associated with how the consumers consider and give

regard towards the reviews of online shoppers. These said reviews impact a buyer’s attitude and

affect their purchase decisions.

3. What payment method was most preferred by the respondents?

The third table presents the overall frequency distribution of the payment methods

preferred by the respondents with Cash on Delivery earning the highest percentage.
4. Based on the findings, what online sshopping platform can the researcher recommend to Saint

Columban College-Senior High School online shoppers?

Within the coverage of our study, the researchers recommend the online shopping platform

that gained the highest percentage of users from the respondents which is Lazada, to online

shoppers of Saint Columban College-Senior High School. The survey showed the ratings of the

qualities of the site given by 80 online shoppers of the department that indicates the satisfaction

from the services and products that they have availed.

Conclusion

The researchers aim for this study to identify the most preferred online shopping platform

of Saint Columban College- Senior High School Students. This also addresses the problem of

choosing the best online shopping platform for regular and new online shoppers in Saint Columban

College. The respondents participated in the survey and answered the questionnaires signifying

related concepts to the study. The Google forms were shared to the 80 respondents from October

5 to 9, 2017.

The respondents of the study are the Grades 11 and 12 of senior high school, chosen

through convenience sampling. They have identified what online shopping platform do they use

the most and how satisfied they are as to the qualities that it could offer to the various customers.

The data gathered were then analyzed and were presented through tables and descriptive form. The

research resulted with Lazada as the most preferred online shopping platform with corresponding

ratings as to the qualities it has in accordance to the services and products provided to the

customers. With this study, the researchers believe that online shopping has transcended through
the different age groups of the society and has been incorporated in the efficiency of everyday

activities through the rise of technology.

Recommendations

Based on the study conducted, the researchers would like to recommend the following:

Consumers. For the consumers who would like to start shopping online, the researchers

would also like to recommend to shop using the online shopping platform Lazada, which is very

accessible to everyone. Lazada gives variety of choices for the shoppers to choose and is credible.

Payment Method. The researchers recommend choosing Cash on Delivery for the safety

of the cash and the personal information that a shopper needs to give when doing it Cash before

Delivery.

Future Researchers. The researchers recommend that future study will include the

perspective of online sellers as to what platform they prefer in online selling.

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 Full text transcript of the online survey questionnaire

Preferred online shopping platform

We, the researchers, is conducting this study to find out the most preferred online selling
platform of senior high school students of Saint Columban College in relation to what qualities of
a platform they are looking for and the products and services it may offer.

Name: _________________________________
Grade level: O Grade 11 O Grade 12

Answer the following questions truthfully. Kindly select the circle that corresponds to your
answer.

1. Have you ever purchased something online?

Yes No
2. What online shopping platform do you use the most?
Amazon.com eBay
Facebook Groups OLX (Formerly known as Sulit.com.ph)
Lazada Shopify
Zalora Other: ________

Rate your most preferred Online Shopping Platform according to the products and
services it provides.

3. Quality of the product you bought

Excellent Good Satisfactory Fair Poor
4. Credibility of the platform
Excellent Good Satisfactory Fair Poor
5. Customer Service
Excellent Good Satisfactory Fair Poor
6. Which payment method do you use mostly when buying products online?
Cash On Delivery Google Checkout
Credit Card PayPal
Debit Card Other:________

Thank you for answering and have a nice day!