Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON FLIPKART AND AMAZON:

SPECIFYING ON SMARTPHONE PURCHASE BEHAVIOR WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
DINDIGUL CORPORATION OF TAMIL NADU

Dr. J. Samuel
Assistant Professor
Department of B.Com (Accounting & Finance)
Loyola College, Chennai - 34.
Email:[email protected]

Dr. S. Mariadoss
Assistant Professor
Department of Commerce
St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai – 02.

Abstract

Internet has become the dominant and basic tool for every person’s need and it has
transformed the way people work. By integrating various online information management tools
using internet, various innovative companies have set up systems for taking customer orders,
facilitate making of payments, customer service, collection of making data, and online feedback
respectively. These activities have collectively known as e-commerce or internet commerce.
India has an internet user base of 450-465 million as per June 2017, up 4-8% from 432 million in
last December 2016. Online shopping made so easy for everyone with their product variations
and simple as well as easy way to buy things. It’s a study has been made to critically examine
various corporate and business level strategies of two dominant e-Tailers and those and those are
Flipkart and Amazon. Comparison has been done considering for the two dominant e-commerce
companies in challenges, their business models, survival strategies, shopper’s online shopping
experience, and product offerings. Both these big players made their own mark in India, but who
is going to be ultimate winner in this 21st century. A comparative study of Flipkart.com with one
of the close competitor Amazon.in delivers the full information about the different strategies to
succeed in e-commerce sector and different opportunities available in India.

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Keywords: Internet, E-commerce, E-tailers, online shopping, strategies, shopping experience.

Introduction

As new wave of industrial revolution taking place, many economists, management

experts, and organization theorists has contracted that the world has left the old industrial age, as
professor Tom Canon has started that ‘The new industrial revolution that surrounds us requires
profound change in the way we consider enterprise, develop our businesses, the way we manage
and the structures within which we manage’. Globalization of the marketplace and means of
accessing through national and global superhighways have given a new dimension to the concept
of information. In the beginning, the internet was characterized by slow dial-up connection and
online billboards. Netscape came on the scene in the year 1994 with its point-and-click web
browser that opened the door to the billion-dollar revenues e-tailers enjoy today. The penetration
of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the United States and the United Kingdom but is
growing at much faster rate with a large number of new entrants. The industry consensus is that
growth is at an inflation point. Unique to India and potentially to other developing countries,
cash on delivery is a preferred payment method. India has a vibrant cash economy as a result of
which 80 percent of Indian e-commerce tends to be cash on delivery (COD). However, COD
may harm the business in India in long run, and there is a need to make a shift towards online
payment mechanisms. Similarly, direct imports constitute a large component of online sales. The
advancing technology provides vast opportunities to the seller to reach the customer in much
faster, easier and in economic way. Online shopping is the fastest emerging market in the resent
years. In this 21st generation internet holds the major market in the retail sector. As per the June
2017, 450-465 million use online shopping. On the other hand, the purchasing of product from
traditional market is continuing since years. Many customers go for the purchasing offline so as
to examine the product and hold the possession of the product just after the payment for the
product.

In this contemporary world customer’s loyalty depends upon the consistent ability to
deliver quality, value and satisfaction. Some go for offline shopping, some for online and many
go for both kind of shopping.

The focus on the study is on the customer’s choice to shop smartphones on Flipkart or
Amazon. While making any purchase decision consumer should know the medium to purchase

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
whether in Flipkart or Amazon. Consumer should decide the channel for them which can best
suit to their needs and wants and which can satisfy them.

In this competitive world, how consumers can decide the particular medium for their
purchase of goods is very important to understand in a managerial point of view. Laing and Lai,
2000 said that the internet shopping next comes the e-mail using instant messaging and web
browsing.

These are even more important than watching or getting entertain by the internet or
getting any information or news, this are the two very common thoughts which comes to the
people’s mind when considering the internet users do when they are online. Online sopping also
has to spend time, because customers see many products and choose the best one which suits
him/her.

E-commerce: Electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, or
transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet.

Online shopping: The act of purchasing products and services over the internet.

Objectives of the Study

 To know the profile of the respondents.

 To understand and estimate the consumer perception and factors affecting their behavior
for choosing e-commerce sites for buying smartphones.
 To understand the tactics and the methods those are used by e-commerce players to grab
the customers in India.
 To know how consumers are evaluating e-commerce sites for their purchases.
 To find out new opportunities and to succeed in those procedures.

Overview of the Past Researches

Tabatabaei (2009)1 has explored the opinion of the consumer who are purchasing online
and the consumer who are purchasing from offline market. The objective is to know why the
traditional customer chooses to shop online and what are the factor influences then to purchase
online and what are the factor for them to not use the sites for shopping.
Hahn and Kim (2009)2 they found that the consumer trust in an online retailer was a
significant predictor of perceived internet confidence and search intention for product

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
information through internet retailer. Search intention for product information through the online
store and perceived internet confidence were significant and strong predictors of consumer’s
behavioral intention towards the online shopping. The findings of this study suggest that retailer
of offers an internet channels as part of multi-channels retail strategy and provide consistent
service throughout their various channels.
Jayewardene and Wright (2009)3 they found that the convenience, involvement,
attribute of the web site and merchandising all collectively influence shopper’s excitement. E-
shopper excitement leads to positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and increases the intent to return.
The limitation of this study was that there is no differentiation is made between the types of
goods that e-commerce purchased.
Chaing and Dholakia (2014)4 the study revealed that the accessibility and the
convenience of the shopping sites create the intention in the customer to purchase or not. When
there is difficulty faced by a consumer to purchase online then the customer switch to the offline
shopping for the purchase behavior and the consumer face difficulty in offline purchasing then
they go to the online purchasing. After relating both the medium of shopping the consumer said
that the online shopping is more convenient for them and gives more satisfaction which inspires
the consumer to purchase online in the internet.
Iyer and Eastmen (2014)5 found that the population of senior who are more literate,
more knowledgeable and who are more aware of the technology and those who have a positive
behavior towards online shopping and internet are more into online shopping.

Problem Definition
In India e-commerce evaluated like a giant with huge opportunity and success rate. There
are so many big and small players in market. Are they really going to sustain market for a long
time and is there success rate for them? What are customers expecting from and are they ready to
fulfill their requirements. The study is to understand both parties’ requirements and procedures.

Statement of the Problem

In India e-commerce evaluated like a giant with huge opportunity and success rate. India
isn’t an easy place to build an e-commerce company. The vast, multilingual nation suffers from
creaky infrastructure, a sometimes myopic bureaucracy and an ingrained distrust of the merchant
class. There are so many big and small players in market. Are they really going to sustain in
market for a long time and there is success rate for them? What are customers expecting from

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
them and, are they ready to fulfill their requirements. The online market accounted for almost
33% of total smart phones sales in India in 2016, a share that’s expected to increase to 35% in
2017. The study is to understand both parties’ requirements and procedures.

Significance of the Study

The consumers in today’s era have not only many store choice, but they also have a wide
variety of channels to choose from with the start of numerous channels (e.g. mobile commerce,
E-commerce) and a continuous increase in the competition among channels, the understanding of
what incites consumers to purchase from one channel rather than another becomes progressively
important channel design and management. The study contributes to the current marketing
literature by comparing the Flipkart and Amazon side by side. This study is also contributing
hypothetically and practically to a better understanding of consumer behavior, particularly the
online buying decision process.
Hypotheses
 There is no difference between gender and buying behavior of smart phone purchases.
 There is association between silent features of flip kart and amazon.
Research Methodology
Research design: With the help of this research, the researcher wants to describe the
Specifying the features related to the respondents of Flipkart and Amazon on Smartphone
Purchase Behavior. Therefore, this research is descriptive in nature.
Universe of Study: The study is carried out in state of Tamil Nadu. However, the study
area was confined to Kodaikanal town. Population is infinitive in nature.
Sample size: Since the study is carried as a pilot study 39 respondents have chosen from
the population randomly. The sample are totally the users of the online shoppers. The sample
given importance to the gender equally ie, Male 25, Female 14.
Data Collection: Data was collected both from primary and secondary sources. Primary
data was collected from the public people. Well-structured Questionnaire was used for collecting
data. Informal interviews also taken from the respondents. The secondary data was collected
from policy documents, published reports of similar projects, journals and Ph.D. thesis, journals
and online sources.
Tools for data analysis: Both qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed in the light
of framed objectives. Quantitative data was tabulated and statistically analyzed. Qualitative data

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
was interpreted based on the information collected from the field. T-test model is used by
researcher to analysis the hypothesis.
Table No: 01
Independent Samples t-test on Gender and opinion about the features of Flipkart
Levene's Test for Equality of t-test for Equality of
Flipkart Variances Means
F Sig. t df
Equal variances assumed 2.842 .100 .189 37
Equal variances not assumed .214 36.263
*primary data

The above table shows that there is no significant deference between gender and opinion
about the features of Flipkart at .100 which means both male and female having same opinion
about the features of Flipkart.

Table No: 02
Independent Samples t-test on Gender and opinion about the features of Amazon.
Levene's Test for Equality of t-test for Equality of
Amazon Variances Means
F Sig. t df
Equal variances assumed .044 .835 .455 37
Equal variances not assumed .437 23.931
*primary data

The table no 2 depicts that there is no significant deference between gender and opinion
about the features of Amazon at .835 which means both male and female having same opinion
about the features of Amazon.

Table No: 03
Oneway ANOVA between Age and Opinion about the features of Flipkart
Sum of
Flipkart df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups 115.923 3 38.641 1.244 .308
Within Groups 1087.000 35 31.057
Total 1202.923 38
*primary data

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
The table no 3 shows that there is no significant deference between age and opinion about
the features of Flipkart at .308 which means all the age groups have same opinion about the
features of Flipkart.

Table No: 04
Oneway ANOVA between Age and Opinion about the features of Amazon.
Sum of
Amazon df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups 144.677 3 48.226 .639 .595
Within Groups 2639.682 35 75.419
Total 2784.359 38
*primary data

The table no 4 shows that there is no significant deference between age and opinion about
the features of Amazon at .595 which means all the age groups have same opinion about the
features of Amazon.

Table No: 05
Independent Samples t-test between Occupation and opinion about the features of Flipkart
Levene's Test for Equality of t-test for Equality of
Variances Means
Flipkart
F Sig. t df
Equal variances assumed .030 .863 1.023 37
Equal variances not assumed 1.087 17.559
*primary data

The table no 5 shows that there is no significant deference between occupation and
opinion about the features of Flipkart at .863 which means occupation has same opinion about
the features of Flipkart.

Table No: 6
Independent Samples t-test between occupation and opinion about the features of Amazon.
Amazon Levene's Test for Equality of t-test for Equality of
Variances Means
F Sig. t df

Equal variances assumed .305 .584 -.436 37

Equal variances not
-.513 22.091
assumed
*primary data

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Journal of Xi’an Shiyou University, Natural Science Edition ISSN : 1673-064X
The table no 6 shows that there is no significant deference between occupation and
opinion about the features of Amazon at .584 which means occupation has the same opinion
about the features of Amazon.

The above analysis shows that students are mainly focused in this project because as the
topic is related with the technology related along with the latest aspect of shopping so, we
focused on students for the project. It is also clear that everyone knows about these e-commerce
companies Flipkart and Amazon. It is states by the respondents that in the age group between 20
-25 prefer to shop smart phones in online.

Conclusion

The study consisted with the smart phone purchasing behavior of major e-commerce
players in India, Flipkart and Amazon. How they are performing and how they are running
perfectly in the competitive world has been explained. The innovative thinking of them to reach
more and more consumers is appreciable. They increased their network as much as possible with
ultimate aim of reaching more and more customers. They made consumers work more easy and
comfortable. In this competitive market one has to be lead and rest will follow. Based upon
consumer’s survey we got our clear winner and it is Flipkart. Amazon is also giving very tough
competition to Flipkart even though it is new company when compared to Amazon. May be it
takes some time to overcome, but definitely they are doing very well in Indian e-commerce
market.

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References
1. ManouchehrTabatabaei. (2009). Online Shopping Perception of Offline Shoppers.
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multi‐channel context", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,
Vol. 37 Issue: 2, pp.126-141.
3. ChanakaJayawardhana Len Tui Wright. (2009). An Empirical Investigation into E-
shopping Excitement: Antecedents and effects: European Journal of Marketing,
Vol.43 Issue 9/10 pp.1171- 1187.
4. Kuan –PinChaing& Ruby Roy Dholakia. (2014). Factor Driving Consumer
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5. Rajesh Iyer& Jacqueline, Eastman (2014). The Elderly and Their Attitude Toward
s the Internet: The Impact of Internet use, Purchases, and Comparison Shopping.
Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol.14, No.1.

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