Internet and Online Shopping Issues - Essay Example

?I. Results Introduction This chapter explains the results obtained by the researcher. The following discussion chapter will discuss the results in detail. The research questionnaire was distributed to 200 hundred British citizens. In total 189 of these questionnaires were received back and subsequently analyzed. General assignment of using internet and online shopping Demographic aspects Of the questionnaires analyzed, 41.8% were from female respondents. Male respondents subsequently totaled 58.2%. Of these male and female respondents 45% indicated they were married. In terms of age, the most significant portion of respondents was in the 26-35 year age bracket, with 41.3% of respondents. 40.2% of respondents were in the 36-45 year age brackets. High school respondents totaled 58.2% of respondents. 64% of the respondents were currently employed. Internet usage and online shopping Many respondents had Internet experience. 29.6% had more than ten years Internet experience using the internet more than ten years. Those who had experience with online shopping more than once a month reached to 42.9%. Online shopping experience 77% of respondents indicated that they faced no difficulty using the internet. To what extent is the use of the Internet risky 51.9% of respondents thought that the internet is sometimes is risky. 39.7% that argued that the internet is not risky at all. Tesco and Asda direct Respondents who have full experience in Tesco (37.8%) direct were more than those with experience with Asda's (28.1%). The rest of the customers did not have experience with either. Factors that affect customer confidence toward online shopping Factors that affect consumer confidence towards online shopping was limited to seven categories: the impact of demographic factors on consumer confidence, product, price, promotion, distribution and customer service, the impact of technological issues and finally the impact of social issues on customer confidence. This chapter looks at each factor. The next chapter explains the factors in detail. 1- Product Almost 60% of the British population use the Internet to buy products such as clothing, food, and music insurance (Hall, 2012). The column below proved that the most popular buying products through the internet are (1) clothing 67.6% (2) books 66.5% (3) 64.3% electronics. In general the researcher found that Asda has overtaken Tesco in achieving customer trust. For example: The table above illustrates that Asda provide high readability of accessing details. Around 60 of respondents voted for Asda in readability of information, whereas only 55 of respondents voted for Tesco. 3- Price Respondents gave an equal percentage to Asda and Tesco when asked about who provided the lowest price product. However, a later question had Asda as the high percentage at 73.1%. The researcher designed two similar questions in different styles to reduce sensitivity when answering question. Low price and club card The majority of respondents indicated that low prices are more important to confidence than the club card. 3- Promotion Promotion was considered in relation to the extent it was a nuisance to the consumer. Mobile as an annoying tool came in at the top with 56.2% for Asda and 55.6% for Tesco. Email was the next most annoying tool, accounting for 28.1% with Asda and 26.1% with Tesco. Finally, the post is the least annoying with Asda and Tesco both at 25%. 4- Delivery and customer service The majority of respondents found the request of payment and delivery information easy. 53% of Asda's customers support the point whereas 15.9% reject it. 49% of Tesco respondents support the point and 12.6% rejected it. The respondents were asked about several factors in delivery service that affect their behavior and confidence toward online shopping. Tesco offers more different method of delivery according to respondents. Asda comes in the top in Charge of delivery. The cost of delivery, as well as the correct and efficient arrival of the product was strongest with Asda. Customer Service As demonstrated above, Asda (blue lines) excels in customer service over Tesco. The table below illustrates the percentages. Customer service Asda Tesco 1- The delivery staffs are very friendly and customer service is their first priority. 34% 32.7% 2- The customer service staffs are fully aware in which stage my order is in. 25.3%  24.7%  3- When I collect my order in store the staff are fully aware where my item is exactly 23.3%  21.3%  4- If I do not find the product in the store, the staff directs me to the nearest store that has the product. 20.7%  18.0%  5- The website offers me common questions and answers which I need “F.A.Q” 35.3%  34.7%  6- When I want to return my product the company accepts it easily. 32.0%  31.3%  7- The refund comes to my account in a short period of time. 26.0%  24.7%  8- The staff is very flexible when I return the product and they serve me effectively. 26.0%  22.7%  9- The website survey is available where I can assess the service, products or website in general. 26.8%  28.9%  3 - Effect of technological issues on customer confidence toward online shopping The webpage is an important consideration in terms of gaining consumer confidence. Good design depends in several factors as the tables below illustrate them. Asda's had high percentages in designing an attractive webpage. Tesco's design facilitates an easy search about products and services, according to 35.5% of respondents. Asda and Tesco had a convergent percentage in offering a comfortable colour for the website page, in accessibility from one page to another, and loading from the website and browsing the product page easily. Technological issue Asda Tesco Definitely yes Some time never Definitely yes Some time never 1- The design of the website page is very attractive. 31.8% (49) 41.6% (64) 16.9% (26) 29.2% (45) 32.5% (50) 13.0% (20) 2- The web page divides products and services into different categories that make it is easy to find what I need. 37.9% (58) 33.3% (51) 17.6% (27) 36.6% (56) 26.1% (40) 14.4% (22) 3- The design facilitates an easy search about products and services. 32.0% (49) 41.8% (64) 16.3% (25) 35.3% (54) 25.5% (39) 14.4% (22) 4- The colour of the website page is comfortable. 40.4% (61) 35.8% (54) 15.9% (24) 41.1% (62) 21.2% (32) 13.9% (21) 5- It is easy to browse from page to page in the website. 39.2% (60) 34.0% (52) 16.3% (25) 38.6% (59) 24.2% (37) 13.1% (20) 6- There is no slow load from the website when I try to open several pages. 17.0% (26) 33.3% (51) 39.9% (61) 11.8% (18) 22.2% (34) 41.2% (63) 7- I can browse the product easily. 40.5% (62) 33.3% (51) 17.0% (26) 40.5% (62) 19.6% (30) 13.7% (21) 8- I can add the product to my basket easily. 46.1% (70) 28.3% (43) 17.1% (26) 46.7% (71) 14.5% (22) 13.8% (21) 4 Effect of social issues on customer confidence toward online shopping The table illustrates that Tesco has clear responsibility toward support a health-orientated lifestyle. 31.8% indicated that Tesco definitely introduced fresh food. Asda was at 31.8% percentage. II. Discussion The effect of Technological issues as marketing's micro environment with confidence of customer toward online shopping An attractive website depends on the design of the interface. Interface design is based on four factors: division of products, ease of dealing with the search engine, ease of and finally the ability to adjust the colour of the electronic webpage eye. The research compared webpage elements between Asda and Tesco. The researcher found that Asda and Tesco are similar in the ways they attract customers through their websites through the four factors of attractive design. In terms of the division of products and services, Asda and Tesco divide products clearly to their customers. Asda holds a slightly larger proportion than Tesco, at approximately 37.9%. In terms of ease of handling search the engine, Tesco had 35.3% while the Asda was at 32%. It is possible then that the design of the Tesco interface is the best. In terms of ease of movement from one page to another, Asda is considered as the easiest. Asda scored 39.2% compared to the Tesco site 38.6%. There was little difference between the companies in terms of colours of the interface, with a 0.7% difference. Technological features may attract customers. CEO Laura Wade Gery claimed that Tesco get 1 of 10 British consumers because of its fast and easy music downloading feature. 41% of respondents confirmed that they do not face any problems when downloading music on the Tesco website compared with the Asda site. The impact of demographic factors as an essential element of the external marketing environment that affects British consumer's behavior towards online shopping The relationship between job status and using internet for shopping purpose The above findings demonstrate that online shopping is primarily used by individuals that are employed. This is seemingly because these individuals need the added convenience of this form of commerce, as well as because of their increased income levels. These findings support the notion that online shopping is a tool to gain customer satisfaction that it is an easy way to complete the procurement process. The relationship between education level and using internet for shopping purpose Young people who had a high level of education have a higher buying rate than others Walker (1979). The above chart demonstrates that young people are a higher proportion of online shoppers in the current day. 1- The relationship between sex and number of online shopping times The above chart demonstrates the females were more frequent shoppers than males. The success of Tesco in targeting a certain category of consumers Bold (2003) suggests Tesco aims to attract married shoppers because they do not have time to conduct traditional shopping. This belief was confirmed by the above chart which demonstrates the strong amount of Tesco shoppers that were experienced shoppers (approximately 44%). This supports evidence regarding Tesco’s marketing strategy as targeting specific socioeconomic demographics. The impact of delivery and customer services as marketing's micro environment on customer confidence toward online shopping 1- Delivery Consumer confidence in terms of delivery was considered in terms of seven factors. The above chart demonstrates that Tesco has placed significant emphasis on customer satisfaction through developing online delivery services. This process allows Tesco to avoid human errors. Evening Standers (2007) indicated that Tesco has been competitive in its delivery rate. Still, Tesco is recognized as having a delivery rate than Asda. This higher rate is reflected in many subsequent elements consumer confidence elements. 2. Customer service Because of the link between customer service and customer confidence the questionnaire sought to identify these elements. CRM Chaffey (2006) mentioned that benefits of E-CRM include managing product quality. Thus, the researcher measured the quality of Tesco’s and Asda’s E-CRM using the factors which illustrates on the column below. In general, the above findings indicate that Asda has excelled in customer service elements over Asda. The effect of promotion as marketing's micro environment on British's customer confidence Promotion Advertisement A - The relationship between advertising and customer response Because of the strong link between advertising and consumer confidence, the research examined these elements in a specific advertisement in the Daily mail. Consumer trust was a major area of focus. b- Catalogue and customer confidence Tesco Asda questions 10 28 1- The catalogue offers me my search item without an exhaustive search. 18 30 2- The catalogue is a good advertising tool outside of the computer. 10 20 3- In the catalogue, I find all products available online those are not available in a traditional market. 14 26 4- The catalogue has a perfect and convenient feature to search the products in a traditional way either in store or website. The customer catalogue is an important element in terms of customer convenience. The above chart indicates that Asda has generally overtaken Tesco in providing this feature. The effects of price on British customer's adoption and confidence As demonstrated above, Asda greatly has outpaced Tesco in terms of consumer perspectives on low price. There is a significant literature that points to Asda’s marketing campaigns as contributing to the development of these consumer perspectives. The relationship between products and British customer's confidence There are eight factors that affect consumer confidence towards choosing a product. The research examined these factors in terms of Asda and Tesco. 2- Products details Ghose (2009) indicates that missing or erroneous product information on the commercial website makes it difficult for customers to predict the product's suitability for their needs, leading to the creation of uncertainty between the seller and the buyer. This was considered in the research. 3- Product availability The above chart indicates that because of product availability issues Tesco has faced consumer trust challenges. 4- Quality of product In terms of quality of product, Asda demonstrates greatest consistency than Tesco. 5- Display of product There is a positive relationship found between product display and customer trust (Midgley et al, 1978). As the column shows that there is equality between Asda and Tesco in displaying a clear product image. 6- Product ranking The column demonstrated that Asda held the high percentage in the factor (1) where 52% vote that rating of product according to previous customer usage is available in Asda direct whereas there is equality between Asda and Tesco in availability of previous customer's products. Asda, however, still held position one in achieving British customer's confidence. 7- Quality to price As demonstrated above, Asda held a notably higher percentage than Asda in terms of consumer confidence in the quality to price category. III. Conclusion The development of the Internet has not only provided a technological tool but also an essential tool for commercial dealings. In recent years, business people and their customers have increasingly used the Internet for a variety of purposes. Businesses use the Internet and other online functions such as electronic mail as a means of advertising their products and popularizing their brands to their prospective customers. The Internet has also made it possible for consumers to research the brands and products they intend to buy and then purchase their desired products online. Businesses that have embraced the use of the Internet have seen their organizations grow at the same time that they have seen their costs of advertising shrink (Evans, 2009). Such firms have also witnessed an increase in overall sales levels due to increased online shopping. Industry related sources such as the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG, 2012) anticipate that Internet sales just in the UK will be approximately seventy seven billion pounds or more by the end of year 2012. Great Britain has experienced the fastest growth in terms of electronic shopping in the entire Europe, having estimated sales of sixty eight billion pounds in the year 2011 representing an increase of 1.6% (Wood, 2012).Online shopping has become so common today that numerous retailers, such as electronic stores, now offer innumerable products and services online to satisfy customer’s needs. E- Business has a massive potential. As a result, Internet commerce attracts a variety of sellers, including unscrupulous dealers. This fact creates a situation in which users are highly vulnerable to possible attacks that may compromise customer confidentiality. Consumers are aware of this vulnerability and thus require and exchange a great deal of information through the Internet which can both improve or harm the credibility of the company. A high or low degree of protection for consumers overall will affect consumers’ confidence in relation to online shopping in general as well as in their determination to purchase from a specific retailer. To improve understanding of these factors, the researcher will look at seven factors in the electronic marketing frame. They include; product, promotion, distribution, price, customer service, technological factors, demographic factors, and social factors. The rationale of choosing the two specific companies, Tesco and Asda, is that these two multi-channel stores have been successful in traditional selling as well as online selling. The results were obtained and studied by quantitative research. Specifically, a questionnaire method was implemented. The results illustrated that to achieve customer confidence businesses have to establish a competitive advantage. Moreover, through the study, it turns out that consumers' confidence was built on their satisfaction toward what the company was offering to them through its website. The study illustrated that a positive correlation with a company’s website will increase customer satisfaction and confidence. The comparison between Asda and Tesco was implemented to supply more clear images about the factors that affect customer. Study limitation This study is a pilot study restricted to a certain number of consumers. Perhaps if the sample size was larger than it would increase the validity. Also the sample size is specified only for British citizens. Finally, because the researcher made comparisons between the two biggest rivals in Britain, there could be sensitivity issues by loyal customers (Asda direct, Tesco direct). Recommendation 1- Because the researcher selected the two popular competing companies in Britain, it was possible to find some of sensitivity from loyal customers either to Asda or Tesco. So, it is recommend that the study to be in the larger vicinity of the company or the country. 2- Study the impact CRM as an influential factor on consumer confidence towards company either online or offline. 3- According to the study Tesco has the greater share than Asda in UK Environment but through consumer reviews Tesco has a weakness in attracting customers and achieving confidence compared to Asda. So, many Tesco clients are the result of loyalty towards the company; it is proposed to study the impact of low price strategy to convert customers from one company to another company 4- It is recommended -- to maintain the connection between customers and employees -- an electronic mailing order system be implemented in order to continue the relationship between the company and customers 5- Customers view the design catalog as a source of comfort and portability. While Tesco has designed a catalog for minimize the size of its stores this will be the cause of erasing the company’s brand image because some customers prefer to shop locally to enjoy or enjoy seeing and touching the products. Read More