A Study on Opportunities and Challenges of Online Shopping in India

The phenomena that world is fast shrinking into a Global Village because of Internet and other communication mediums is not completely reflective in the Indian context. While developed and fast developing countries have understood the power of Internet, India still has a long way to catch up. Internet has brought nearly the entire world just a click away from us. The retail industry canvass has been repainted by Internet and the rules of the game in retailing are fast changing. The western culture has affected each and every aspect of our Indian society. The life is becoming fast not only in the metros but also in the normal cities. The number of nuclear families is increasing and both husband and wife are working, as they have less time to go to the market for purchasing every now and then. Some other reasons like these, say shortage of time, traffic jams, late working hours, versatility of plastic money and above all the approach of internet at the door step of whosoever desires it.
The purpose of study is to understand the influence of normative beliefs, age, and gender on online shopping attributes and consequently on consumers' online shopping behavior. Indian consumers' attitude toward online shopping being “convenient” is determined by their “perceived usefulness” and “ease of use” of the Web site. Online shopping behavior is moderated by normative beliefs and gender. Consumers' attitude toward online shopping differs across age categories and a Web site's “ease of use” attribute. The findings can enable online retailers to improve consumers' perceptions toward a Web site's “convenience” attribute. Online retailers targeting Indian consumers should make the Web sites user friendly and easy to understand
Online retailers have improved their service and are providing more and more convenience to the customers. From advance payment options they moved on to payment on delivery. From fixed delivery timings they have moved on to convenient delivery timings at the choice of the customer. India has opened the doors for foreign direct investment in retail.
KEYWORDS: Internet, Online Shopping, Online shopping decision making ,consumer online shopping fears, opportunities, factors attracts consumers, Delivery, existing regulations, security in electronic payments,challenges –specific and common, creating trustworthy relationship, and Foreign Direct Investment.