Abstract
In the globalized era, the internet plays a vital role in communication as well as business convenience. In India, nearly 74 million people use Internet services. India has bypassed Japan to become the third largest Internet user in the world. With a mounting number of households turning towards the Internet and the world of e-commerce to shop, invest, make payments, book train and air tickets, book hotel rooms, and do online banking, new technological advancements will have to come about to make these transactions protected. Despite increased inflation and a decline in demand for goods and services, e-commerce continued to gather steam in the year 2013. It moved strongly ahead, finding great acceptance among consumers as they turned to online portals to purchase products and use services. The online industry is estimated to end 2013 at a market size of $1.8 billion, according to a recent report by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). The objective of the present paper is to identify the most influential factors that influence online shopping in Chennai city. Data were collected from 600 respondents through structured questionnaires. The present study found that five important factors, namely Variety of products and offers, challenges of online shopping, Multiple payment options, Trustworthiness, and convenience, influence consumers to prefer online shopping in Chennai city.
Keywords: Consumers, online shopping, and Satisfaction
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