CUSTOMER’S PERCEPTION TOWARDS E-COMMERCE-A STUDY

Abstract

In this digital era, the usage of smart phones especially 4G technology phone has been increased. This led to increase in the consumer awareness about e-commerce and its advantages. India ranks second in the world in terms of internet users, china being ranked first in the world.   The number of internet users is around 45 crores accounting to 40 per cent of the population compared to 65 crores i.e., 48 per cent of the population in China. Still in terms of e-commerce penetration it is not sufficient to compete with the developed markets like US in which the penetration is 84 per cent and the number is 26.6 crores followed by France in which penetration is 81 per cent and the number is 5.4 crores. Almost 7.2 crores of internet users are added every year by which it can be said that the growth rate is exceptional. Majority of the e-commerce payments are done through cash on delivery mode. When compared to domestic suppliers or distributors the demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is growing at a faster rate. The largest e-commerce companies in India were Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon India, and Paytm. As there is an increase in the e-commerce activities there is a need to understand the concept of e-commerce and its implications in a country like India where rural population is more in number. In this paper an attempt is made to evaluate the e-commerce scenario in India. It also highlights the statistics related to e-commerce