MBa proposal for marketing on On increasing online shopping

1. Proposal
Has online shopping contributed towards the recent
decline in UK retail sales.
Master Of Business Administration
Key word: Internet marketing, buying behaviour,
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2. Content
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………..3
2. Background………………………………………………………….4
3. Research Aim……………………………………………………….5
4. Research Question…………………………………………………5
5. Objective of Research………………………………………………6
6. Literature Review…………………………………………………….7
7. Advantage of E –Shopping:………………………………………..9
8. Difference between traditional and online shopping……………10
9. Methodology………………………………………………………….11
(I) Secondary data……………………………………………….11
(II) Primary data……………………………………………………11
(III) Research approach…………………………………………...12
(IV) Inductive approach……………………………………………12
(V) Deductive approach………………………………………….13
(VI) Research Design……………………………………………..14
(VII) Data collection…………………………………………………14
(VIII) Questionaries…………………………………………………14
10. Time Scale…………………………………………………….15
11. Conclusion……………………………………………………..16
12. Reference…………………………………………………………….17
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3. Has online shopping contributed towards the recent decline in UK retail sales
Introduction :
Online retailing is a multi-million pound a year business that is continuing to grow in
strength and importance to the average consumer. The concept of online business
and shopping at your fingertips new to some consumer and a way of life for others.
The concept of shopping at your fingertips is new to some consumers and a way of
life for others. As online shopping increases among all consumers, it becomes
increasingly important for websites to understand their shoppers. This is one reason
why we chose to study the consumers of online retailing. We want to further
understand what makes online shopping appealing to the consumer. Now a day
people are moving towards the new trend of shopping which include shopping via
internet. Online shopping is the process of buying goods and services from
businesses who sell on the internet. With the introduction of world wide web, online
shopping is growing very fast and individuals are finding it convenient to shop over
the internet. In online shopping individuals can visit the web stores to have a look at
the product, without leaving the comfort of their home. For example – If a individual
wants to shop at Bose store, he/ she has to drive to the Bose store , find a parking
place and walk to the store to get the product he/she needs. Then may often need to
stand in a long line to pay for the product.
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4. Back ground :
Online shopping is proven as a very big invention for both the businesses as well as
the consumers itself. It serves the purpose of businesses and consumers to facilitate
the trading between them. Online shopping is done from the online stores which are
called e-shop or s-store. Online shopping is convenient as the individual need not to
go anywhere to look for the product, all he/she needs to do, to look for the product
on various shopping search engines. These search engines not only provide the
picture of the product but also provide the price and characteristics of the product.
Buyers can also get the price of the same product from different vendors which also
help the buyer in saving money. Online shopping also facilitates the availability of all
the latest products, services and promotional offers at a same place. Also the buyer
have the advantage to shop in odd hours like early in the morning or late in the night
as online shopping remains opens 24 hours a day. To shop online the buyer only
require a debit or credit card.
Despite being finding the online shopping convenient, some people prefers the idea
of going to a store and experience the shopping process. Those who wants to buy
clothes like to touch and try the merchandise to get a better feel of the product.
Online shopping doesn‟t allow the buyer to touch the product, also the buyer can‟t
get the product with them on the same day they purchase it.
Shopping online not only give benefit to the buyer but it also helps the business in
saving various expenses like transportation cost (moving the goods from warehouse
to stores), electricity cost, sales person cost etc.
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5. Research Aim :
Every writer has argued that the aims of the research is very important and should
be set before conducting the research, Hussey and Hussey argues that by setting
the aims the researcher get the idea of the field and how they are going to conduct
the research for the benefits of the users so they can get the value on it. With
regards to that the main aims of the research will be to see why consumer towards
the online shopping instead of retail shopping and why them buying behaviour are
change in the UK.
Research of Problem :
According to Bryman and Bell (2003) the research questions are crucial. Research
questions guide the researchers what they are required to do because research is
the process of finding answers and one cannot find any answers to the questions
which have been not set. That is why it is very important that the researchers carry
out a analysis of the industry in which the research is carried out and build some
questions which could help the researchers understand what is required to be done
regarding the business research which is being carried out.
1. Why Consumer Perception towards online Shopping in UK?
2. What is online shopping behaviour of consumer ?
3. Why Online shopping towards the recent decline in UK retail sales?
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6. Objective of Research :
Objectives setting help the researcher set goals for each stage of the research and
help them understand what is need to be done and how it will be done and it is also
important to assess the work of the research by comparing it the actual research with
the set objectives to know whether they have been met or now and if not it hep the
researcher identify the areas where errors have been made.
This research has emerged related to online shopping. The aim of this research is
mainly lack of in depth studies on e consumer segmentation. The main purpose is
identify consumer segmentation according to them attitude and buying behaviour
and relate them to their spending online spending and their willingness to buy online.
In this time people are becoming to technological and they are avoiding to go outside
and they want to buy or shopping from them home so online shopping is the best
option for them. According to that retail shopping is declining now days. we also
identify the changing buying behaviour of consumer. The main aim of this study is
consumer‟s expectation and perception regarding online shopping and advantage
and problem of online purchase.
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7. Literature Review :
Internet shopping has grown almost five-fold since 2000. It still only accounts for just
over three per cent of total retail sales but this share is higher in certain sectors.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers are internet users and over half of these had used
the internet to make purchases. Convenience of use is an important factor in
purchasing decisions but concerns about security of payment and delivery
arrangements are seen as negative aspects of the internet. Internet has as a huge
potential channel, since it allows interaction with consumer offering them a totally
different shopping experience to traditional shopping. Consumer have different
preference for the products and services offered on a market or respond differently
to marketing action, companies can increase huge profit by using a commercial
strategy(Smith 1956). A pioneer study of particular interest on the typology of online
shoppers was carried out by Donthu and Garica(1999). They found significant
difference between Internet shoppers in terms of age and income behavioural and
attitude variable and attitude towards direct marketing. Internet shoppers have a
positive attitude towards Internet ( Park and jun 2003), enjoy surfing the net are more
innovative than non internet shoppers. The customer ability to make a purchase
without prior inspection of the products and usually use other technologies to verify
products( Dholakia and Uusitalo 2002). Internet offers continuous, direct consumer
relations which allow companies to adapt their products and service design to
consumer needs.(Degeratu 2000, Rosembloom 1999). Customer can internet
shopping 24x7 a day, less time available for shopping, the convenience of being able
to shop without leaving home and complete freedom and time to choose (Brown
2003, Sim and Koi 2002). consumers buy or not buy online, online stores would be
able to incorporate suitable marketing strategies, moderate consumers‟ concerns
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8. and convince even more people being transferred from offline to online shopping
(Teo, 2006). Consumer and firms are conducting a substantial and rapidly increasing
amount of business on the internet . According to Forrester research Inc. it was
projected that the web will generate consumer and business to business sales in
excess of £1000 billion by 2010, this is clearly shows the relevance of online
shopping future. From the customer point of view, the internet offered the potential
advantage of reducing shopping time and money spent. The consumer factor is
suggested as an important factor for online shopping and items included under these
are privacy, security, time saving, ease of use, convenience, enjoyment, previous
experience company reputation and tactility. (Komiak and Benbasat 2004). In
conjunction with the increases in Internet capabilities, it is estimated that about 53%
of Internet users in the United States have made an online purchase. UK internet
retail sales in 2005 represented 3.1 per cent of total retail sales of businesses. This
share had risen from 0.1 per cent in 1997. Industry projections suggest that retail
sales on the internet could rise to £21.5 billion by 2010 and represent over 6.8 per
cent of all retail sales. With a large percentage of the population all over the world
accessing the Internet and transacting online.(Keen 2002). E-market as ―an inter
organisational information system that allows the participating buyers and sellers to
exchange information about prices and product offerings.(Meuter 2000).
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9. Advantage of E –Shopping:
Online shopping is convenience to every one, no pressure from retailers and we are
independent for shopping. The main advantage of online shopping is saving time,
consistency between advertised price and site price, no need to driving and no need
to retailers shop door even some time no cost for delivery. On internet the product
information, product comparison easily available, some time price comparison also
available online. The third party shopping sites keeping merchants competitive
hence offering the best product and price 24/7 and 365 days shopping, ease
merchandise cancellation or return, sometimes tracking of shipping available, large
online shopping site some time offering store comparison and some time no taxes.
Shopping online is less stressful than physically shopping. There is no traffic to buy,
you also do not have to stand in lines at cash register or have to deal with a shoppin
cart that has one wheel does not work. Its more beneficial for people who have
disabilities that limit their mobility can experience a significant amount of stress, they
people cant go every shopping mall because there is to narrow lanes and check out,
display and for payment.
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10. Difference between traditional and online shopping:
In traditional shopping you must carry what you buy while in online shopping you will
not carry any load or weight from the items you purchased, and you will just wait for
it to be delivered. In traditional shopping you can check the product by physically,
you touch it, taste it, you can identify the product is defective or not. When ever in
online shopping you cannot touch, taste or smell what you buying. There is a risk
that it might be defective so there has to be a good returns system. In retail shopping
you must drive to the store where you want to buy it. In online shopping you can
have great discount using coupon codes, you can compare and select from a wide
range world –wide without hassle. Simple, click your mouse in browsing the different
products. For the retail shopping you have to go shopping mall or shop in particular
time there is a time limit but in online shopping is open 24x7 and 365 days, you can
shop at your convenience.
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11. Methodology :
The process of the research will be on theoretical point of view in which data
collection and data analysis can not be true or false but differences of data collection
more or less useful in order to conduct research (Hussey and Hussey, 2007).
Reliability and validity of the research is very essential in order to conduct a
research, Malhotra (2009) stated that validity and reliability has ability to gain proper
result of the research. In addition, he also described that validity and reliability is
concerned with the research design and it helps to addressed to research objectives,
questions and the findings of the research. However, reliability is consistency of the
research, where another author could get same finding and use same research
design of the study.
Secondary Research
Secondary research is defined by the author, Malhotra (2009) required data has
already been collected for the previous research which were conducted by the
different authors. In other words, historical data is the secondary data. According
Emroy, (1976) and Zikumund (1997) have asserted that the secondary data is
available to attain. It is therefore, researcher should check all kind of secondary data
for its validity and reliability with well link and reference (Creswell, 2003. If there is
lack of link and validity then data will be vague and it is impossible to conduct a
proper research.
Primary Research
“Research that is collected for the specific purpose of a project”(Baines and
Chansarker, 2002) Primary research can be defined as the collection of data which
are not written or not published in any form (Saunders, et al, 2007). Preece (1996)
points out that the main essence of primary research is to involve the researcher in
direct observation with the real world. ` During the survey, employees of different
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12. shipping companies were briefed on the main aspects of the survey and encouraged
to voluntarily take part in it. Further, participants were encouraged always to clearly
express views and observations in operations. There are number of different method
in the primary research which has number of advantages and disadvantages. It is
therefore, appropriate selection of primary research methods is able to collect data
from the different hotels and restaurants. The following questionnaires and semi-
structured will described in details.
Research approach
Researcher could either use deductive approach or inductive approach. According to
Saunders (2007), it would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that one research
approach is better than another. Business and management research is frequently a
combination of positivist and interpretive, possibly revealing the occurrence of
realism. Following is an explanation of both approaches and also which one is
relevant to the research questions.
Inductive Approach
According to Steinberg (2006), in an inductive approach, the researchers
understanding of the research topic and possible theory comes out from the data. In
other words, the researcher does not go into the study with any defined ideas or
theory. The researcher starts the research process by gathering data, and after that
the researcher looks for the development of an understanding of samples examined.
This finally directs the researcher to build up a theory to help explain the examined
samples (Steinberg, 2006). This is explained by Saunders (2007) that it is an
approach in which the researcher would gather data and build up a theory as a result
of the data analysis. He further argued that induction owes more to interpretive,
although such labeling is possibly confusing and of no real practice.
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13. Deductive Approach
In deductive approach, the researcher has to develop a theory or hypothesis, once
the hypothesis is developed; he/she designs a research strategy to test this
hypothesis. Steinberg (2006) has defined this approach in which the researcher
begins the research by examining the literature, gathering a conceptual framework,
developing a theory, and then testing the theory by collecting data. In our case,
where the research questions are related to employee motivation and work
satisfaction, and factors that lead to high amount of hiring and firing of part time
employees, the researcher has developed some research objectives, which s/he will
be testing by collecting the quantitative data and using the designed research
strategies. This study has chosen inductive approach .The researcher starts the
research process by gathering data, and after that the researcher looks for the
development of an understanding of samples examined. In our case, where the
organization is question is Marriott, and its branches in London area, that meet the
researcher‟s criterion, so a sufficient amount of samples will be collected.
Research Design:
This study has influenced and structured by the research process‟ Onion‟. The
process of „Onion‟ had developed and introduced by Saunders et al, (2007) and they
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14. have stated that the „Onion‟ is the process where research design can be done
through in different way. However, the „Research Methodology‟ of this study has
divided into five sub-topics and each topic has individual aim to provide explanations
in this research process.
Data Collection Method
Questionnaire
The questionnaire is a common and most popular technique for a conduct research
in order to obtained reliable finding from the research. The questionnaires had in set
of questions which were asking Marriott Grosvenor Square and West India Quay,
London. According to Saunders et al, (2003), stated that the set of questions needs
to be asked to the responded in a determined manner. However, this study has done
a intensive secondary research then conduct a primary research in order to better
understanding the relationship between customer service and customer‟s
satisfaction. This study has got helped by this primary research to comparison
quantitative through close questions to the respondents.
Semi-structured Interviews
“An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people”. (Kahn and
Cannel, 1957) The interview is a convenient way to obtained data for the research.
According to North et al, (2003), if interview conducted in the management level then
face to face to interview is the best way to collect data because mangers likes to
provides interview rather than filling questionnaires. Hence, the author has taken
semi- structured interview with the managers of Marriott, all of them located in
London area. The face to face interview has big advantage which is reliability and
validity of the research (Malhotra, 2009). It is therefore, face-to-face interview was
the best method to obtain data despite there were number of method (Figure: 3.4)
was available. Saunders et al, (2003) suggested that this method allowing to collect
validity and reliability data.
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15. Time Scale :
Milestone Time-scale Resources required
Research proposal 2 weeks Journal Articles and academic
books from college library and
online libraries.
Aims and Objective 1 weeks & 2 Recording of observations from
days past studies and records.
Literature Review 2 weeks Identify research design; note it
down and online papers and
journals.
Pilot Study and Primary Data Collection 2 weeks & 3 Interview with participants
days
Data Analysis and Recording 1 week & 1 Make a comparative study and
day represent data in writing and with
graphical representations
Make Final Draft 1 week Submit to Supervisor for opinion
and correction
Incorporate corrections, take prints and 1 week Submit to College
bind dissertation
Total 10 weeks &
6 days
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16. Conclusion :
To purpose of this study is conduct a through analysis of the literature in the area of
online consumer behaviour. A research framework is suggested to better understand
existing studies and to highlight buying behaviour of consumer. This study
investigating is why consumer are prefer to buy online instead of retail shopping. Its
also investigate intention and adoption of online shopping while Continuance
repurchase behaviour. much greatly significant difference was identified between
adopters and non-adopters regarding their particular perceptions on advantages and
problems of online shopping. The emergence of E – Commerce has opened up
opportunities for business and is changing the way consumer shop and buy goods
and services. Its increasing importance, companies needs to understand E-Shopping
behaviour fully order to obtain competitive advantage.
References :
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18. 12. Dong Shen,(2006),‟‟Online shopping behaviour: Key dimension and research
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