Chapter-2

Review of Literature
 CHAPTER - 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

“The literature review is a critical step in the research process. It helps to

direct one’s thinking and moves one towards developing specific research questions.

Primary objective of reviewing literature is to understand previous work that has

been done in the subject and to chalk out a research endeavour with a focus on the

unexplored aspects to the problem” (Kothari, 2004).

Online shopping is still at an evolving stage in India and few studies have

been undertaken for assessing the attitude of male and female towards shopping for

apparel in India. This study focuses on various factors that affect the buying

behaviour of consumers while shopping online. A number of studies have been done

in this field some of which are discussed below:

2.1 Impact of demographic variables on online shopping

2.2 Factors affecting consumer buying behaviour

2.3 Consumer satisfaction towards e-shopping

2.4 Website trust and website design

2.5 Perceived apparel quality

2.1 Impact of demographic variables on online shopping

Anitha (2015) conducted a study to identify the awareness and preferences of

consumers in Chennai related to online retailing and to analyze the various factors

influencing the consumer buying behaviour. A sample size of 120 consumers in the

age group of 25-30, <25, 35-40 and > 45 years was selected. The results found that
Review of Literature 18

respondents belonging to the age group of 25-35 years were more inclined towards

online shopping as compared to other age groups. The results also revealed that the

factors such as convenience, choice of product selection, better prices, ability to find

more personalised gifts, trust, home page and fun, played an important role in

consumer preference towards online shopping.

Impact of demographic variables on consumers buying behaviour and role of

attitude and motivation on consumer’s purchase intention was studied by Rajayogan

& Muthumani (2015). The respondents were taken from 210 respondents and the

data was analysed using ANOVA and chi square test. It was found that there was no

significant difference between gender and their buying behaviour intention. The

results further indicated that consumer buying intention was affected by age, income

and occupation. Majority of online shoppers were working males from age group

26-30 years and consumer with higher income groups shopped more online.

Reddy & Srinivas (2015) conducted a study on 598 respondents in the age

group of 20-30 years, 30-40 years and 40-50 years. The study focused on

demographic factors on online buying behaviour of consumers. The data was

collected through a questionnaire from 6 major Indian cities namely New Delhi,

Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. The results showed that

females from age group of 20-30 years bought more frequently than males. This

indicated that females shopped 3-4 times in a month as compared to males who

shopped only once a month on internet. The results further showed that age, marital

status, income and education did not impact online shopping much in India. However,

family size significantly affected online shopping behaviour of consumers.

Review of Literature 19

A study conducted by Aruna et al., (2015) revealed that online shopping in

India is significantly influenced by various demographic factors that include age,

gender, education and income. Further, the study concludes that assessment of

online shopping behaviour of consumers could contribute to get a better

understanding of online shopping behaviour of consumers.

The study was carried out to find out the impact of demographic factors of

consumers on various online shopping parameters like satisfaction towards online

shopping, purchase intention, online shopping frequency, numbers of items

purchased, and the total spend on online shopping. The sample size of 70

respondents was selected using random sampling method. Analysis of data was done

using ANOVA. The results revealed that demographic factors like age, gender,

marital status, family size and income affects the consumers’ behaviour towards

online shopping. However, occupation does not have an impact on online shopping

behaviour of consumers (Nagra & Gopal, 2013).

Jayakumar & Kumar (2013) focused on the attitude of consumer towards

internet shopping in Chennai city of Tamil Nadu. The data was collected form 100

respondents through random sampling. A questionnaire survey method was used to

measure the attitude of internet shopping. The result revealed that attitude of

consumer towards internet shopping was positively and significantly related to age,

gender and monthly income. However, it was negatively related to educational

qualification, size of family and nature of family. Hence, the results proved that

consumers’ behaviour significantly differs while shopping online.

Review of Literature 20

Dahiya (2012) understood the influence demographic factors have on online

shopping behavior in five cities. The sample size consisted of 598 respondents with

331 males and 249 females from different cities namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,

Hyderabad and Bangalore. Judgmental and snowball sampling techniques were

used. ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The results showed that age does not

influence online shopping in India. Also, females buy more frequently than males

and marital status and income does not influence online shopping but family size

significantly affects the online shopping behaviour of consumers.

Alam, et al., (2008) studied key factors influencing online shopping

behaviour of young Malaysian consumers. This study was conducted on 496

undergraduate students from two private universities of Malaysia. Regression and

ANOVA was done to analyse the result. It was found that young consumers play an

important role in online shopping. There was a variation in buying of the consumers

depending on consumer service, trust and reliability. The result shows that the

increased usage of internet by young generation provides an emerging prospect for

online retailers. It was also found that website design, website reliability, consumer

service and privacy are the four factors which influence young consumers’

perception towards online shopping.

2.2 Factors affecting consumer buying behaviour

Kumar & Sobha (2016) analysed the relationship between various

demographic variables and consumers’ attitude towards online shopping. The data

was gathered through a self structured questionnaire. Two hundred and fifty

respondents were approached to collect the data from Palakkad district in Kerala using
Review of Literature 21

convenient sampling method. It was found that 61% of the consumers had a positive

attitude and 39% showed a negative attitude towards online shopping. Respondents

also reported that online shopping saved time; they could shop at any time of the

day; online shopping was not risky; it gave accurate description of products and

online shopping was as secure as traditional shopping. Results further indicated that

there was no significant relationship between gender, age, area of residence,

educational qualification, monthly income and attitude towards online shopping.

A study was conducted on the factors influencing online shopping behaviour

of consumers in Sweden by Shahzad (2015). This study mainly focused on online

factors that included risk of financial loss, risk of product performance, and risk with

the delivery of products, trust and security. A questionnaire was distributed among

100 respondents to collect the data. The findings of the study revealed that

demographic factors like age, gender, income and education influence consumer

behaviour. It further concluded that higher the age, lesser is the intent to shop online.

The results also indicate that higher income groups are less attracted towards online

shopping. Education was directly related to the online shopping behaviour and the

consumers with better education were more inclined towards shopping online. The

design of the website is the major influencing factor for the consumers to shop

online. The study also revealed that risk of performance, trust and security have a

substantial influence on customer behaviour towards online shopping whereas

financial risk and delivery risk does not affect consumers buying behaviour.

A study was conducted in Mumbai to explore the difficulties and concerns

consumers face while shopping online. One hundred seventy respondents, 85 males
Review of Literature 22

and 85 females were undertaken for the study. The respondents were selected from

diverse occupational backgrounds, education, different age groups, gender and

various religions. Convenience sampling method was used for the selection of

respondents. The results found that 38% online buyers were younger and in the age

group of 20-30 years. Fifty three percent of the respondents made online purchases

in the past one year which mostly included clothes/apparel (58%) and electronics

that were mostly mobile phones (43%). The consumers faced problems with the

security, quality of products and trust and privacy related to online purchases. Results

show that consumer’s online buying experiences, perception of product, safety related

to online payment and customer service have a substantial influence on the buying

behaviour of consumers while shopping online (Malhotra & Chauhan, 2015).

Ganapathi (2015) investigated the factors influencing behaviour of

consumers while shopping online. The data was collected from 300 male and female

respondents from Chennai. Random sampling technique was used to collect the data.

In order to examine the influence of factors affecting online shopping behaviour on

purchasing decision of consumers, the multiple linear regressions was used. The

results indicated that convenience, security, website features and time saving were

positive and significant influenced on the purchase decision of consumers.

Jayasubramanium et al., (2015) conducted a research that focused on

identifying the factors that influenced the consumer’s online shopping behaviour. A

sample size of 50 consumers was used to collect the data. The respondents were

selected using convenient sampling technique. The data was analysed using

percentages and rankings. The result revealed that the consumers prefer shopping
Review of Literature 23

form Flipkart followed by Amazon, Ebay, Myntra, Snapdeal and Olx. They mainly

bought electronics and mobile phones form these websites. The study concluded that

consumer’s reviews played an important part in affecting the consumer behaviour

while shopping online and majority of the consumers were satisfied with online

shopping experiences.

The study by Al-Alwan & Al-Shirawi (2015) aimed to find the factors that

influenced customers’ intentions and attitudes towards online shopping in Bahrain.

Independent variables used were perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, trust,

security, website features, culture and attitude against one dependent factor that was

intention to online shopping. A total of 170 questionnaires were distributed to five

local institutes. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social science

(SPSS) 18. Cronbach’s alpha test revealed that all the tested variables were reliable.

The results of the study showed that trust and security were significantly correlated

with consumers’ attitude. Consumer’s attitudes towards online shopping were

significantly correlated with intention to shopping online.

Bhatt (2014) studied consumer attitude towards online shopping based on

consumer’s behaviour, beliefs, preferences and opinions in Vadodara and

Ahemedabad, Gujarat. The sampling was done by convenient sampling method.

Data analysis was done through SPSS. It was found that perceived information,

perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, security and privacy are the five

dominant factors which influence consumer perceptions on online purchasing.

Online shopping is usually popular among younger generation. However, it has

gained popularity in all age groups in recent times. The results also show that the
Review of Literature 24

consumer of both region of city found that description of product accurate. They

found online shopping to be comfortable because of features like paying for

products upon delivery (COD), customization or personalization of the websites and

home delivery etc. The result reveals that the mode of payment consumers choose is

dependent on their annual income. People with monthly income less than Rs 1,

00,000 prefer to pay for products via cash on delivery and those with income above

Rs 3, 00,000 prefer paying through internet banking. Consumers from various age

groups shop online on a regular basis.

Aimol et al., (2014) explored the factors affecting the consumer behaviour

towards online shopping. The study used purposive random sampling method to

collect the data from 105 respondents i.e. 55 male and 50 female from the age group

18-30 years who had experience of shopping online and the respondents were taken

from trans Yamuna area of Allahabad. The data was analysed using percentages,

frequency and chi square test. The study found that the respondents accessed the

internet daily for their work related queries. However, respondents occasionally

accessed the internet for shopping online. According to the research, the main

factors influencing online shopping behaviour of consumers were saving of time,

convenient shopping, information in detail related to products and easy comparison

of prices. In other words, convenience of shopping and availability of detailed

product information attracted the consumers towards shopping online.

Babar et al., (2014) examined the factors that influence the online shopping

behaviour of consumers. The data was collected through a survey to check the

consumers’ perceptions about e-shopping. Convenient sampling method was

Review of Literature 25

adopted to reach the participants. Data was collected from 132 online shoppers and

analyzed for measures of usefulness, ease of use and financial risk. Among the

variables, usefulness was found to be more significant followed by ease of use and

financial risk in influencing the online shopping behaviour of consumers.

The study conducted by Singh (2014) focused on finding out the attitude of

consumers that used Flipkart for shopping online. The sample size was 40 online

consumers, 25 female and 15 male consumers of Flipkart between the age group of

20-27 years. It was found that younger generation which included consumers in age

group of 18-25 years was more interested in shopping online. The results showed

that the respondents were satisfied with shopping online from Flipkart and were

mainly interested in buying apparel online that included men and women clothing

range along with accessories and electronics. Also, the users preferred shopping

online on a weekly basis, during discounts and festive seasons. The study further

revealed that the success of an online retail business is dependent on the popularity,

branding, image, unique and fair policies.

Lee (2014) explored older women’s experiences towards online apparel

shopping. Interview schedules and observations were undertaken that involved 13

women between the age group of 66-73 years. These women were familiar with

online shopping practice and had purchased apparels at least thrice in the last two

years. The findings of the study revealed that the women were inclined to do shop

for apparels online because of the benefits of shopping online i.e. ease, better prices,

and larger number of product choices. It was also found that the respondents worried

about how the product would fit and if size of garment would be suitable. The
Review of Literature 26

consumers were also concerned about the accuracy of information available on the

websites, the product return policy and the security of electronic payments. The

concerns related to the fit and size of the products was reduced by checking the

product reviews and consumer ratings of the product. Also, the consumer’s purchase

intention was positively affected by availability of shipping information and good

product return policy.

Mathew & Mishra (2014) examined the behaviour of online consumer in

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh,

Hyderabad and Cochin in terms of internet usage, perceived risks, and website

attributes. The respondents were selected using quota-sampling technique. The data

was collected through an online survey using a structured questionnaire that was

distributed to 600 consumers. The results revealed that online buyers in India had a

high level of perceived risk and were worried about the delivery of the products

bought using online shopping. It was also found that information quality, product

range and after sales service were most preferred website attributes which influence

Indian online users behaviour.

Goswammi et al., (2013) conducted a study to understand the consumer’s

attitude on internet marketing. Convenient sampling method was used to collect the

data from 46 respondents. Data was analysed using percentage analysis. The

research revealed that a majority of consumers were satisfied with online shopping.

The results concluded that 35% of consumers purchased books followed by 30%

consumers who bought apparel and 22% consumers who bought other products such
Review of Literature 27

as electronics, pen drives and mobile phones etc. The study further revealed that

13% of consumers purchased gift items online.

A study was conducted by Salehi (2012) to identify factors affecting

behaviour of consumers while shopping online in Malaysia. The study concentrated

on multiple variables that included look of the product, quick loading, security

related to personal information, site map, validity, promotion, attractiveness,

believability, and originality. A survey was conducted to gather the data and face to

face interview were also scheduled. A five point Likert scale was used to measure

the factors affecting consumer’s intent to shop online. The results revealed that the

five out of these nine factors influenced the consumer’s behaviour towards shopping

online and security was identified as the greatest influencing factor that affected

consumers’ behaviour while shopping online. The last four factors i.e. promotion,

attractiveness, believability, and originality did not influence online shopping

intention to a great extent. This indicates that advertisement does not affect attitude of

online buyers. Attractiveness had least impact on online consumer buying behaviour.

Jusoh & Ling (2012) studied the factors that influence consumers' attitude

towards e-commerce purchases through online shopping. The study also investigated

the impact of socio-demographic, pattern of online buying and purchase perception

on consumers' attitude towards online shopping. Convenience sampling method was

used to collect the data. The sample size consisted of 100 respondents of Taman

Tawas Permai, Ipoh. One-way ANOVA were used to assess the differences between

independent and dependent variables. The independent variables taken were age,

income, occupation and pattern of online buying. The dependant variable included
Review of Literature 28

in the study was attitude towards online shopping. The findings revealed that there

was no significant difference in attitude towards online shopping among age group,

occupation group and types of goods group but there is a significant difference in

attitude towards online shopping among income group. Pearson's correlation was

used to assess the relationship between independent and dependent variables. The

independent variables included were experience related to e-commerce, time in

hours spent using the internet, perception of product, customer service of the retailer

and consumers' risk. Also, the dependant variables used included attitude towards

online shopping. The results concluded that there was an important relationship

between e-commerce experience, product perception, customers' service and attitude

towards online shopping among the respondents. However, there was no significant

relationship between hours spent on internet, consumers' risk and attitude towards

online shopping among the respondents.

Javedi et al., (2012) conducted a study on perspective of Iranian consumers

to determine the effect various perceived risk factors had (financial risk, product

risk, convenience risk and non-delivery risk) on online buying behaviour of

consumers. In order to test the hypothesis of the study, online stores were selected

and the data was gathered through 200 questionnaires. Finally, regression analysis

was used on data in order to test hypothesizes of study. It was found that financial

risks and non-delivery risk negatively affected attitude towards online shopping

behaviour of Iranian consumers. However, the effect of product risks and

convenience risk on consumer attitude towards online shopping was not noteworthy.
Review of Literature 29

Yoruk et al., (2011) conducted a study on online shopping behaviour among

Turkey and Romanian consumers. The data was collected from 185 students from

Turkey and 142 students from Romania. The results in both the countries showed

that the consumers were hesitant to shop online. The major reasons for consumers

not shopping online was due to the security while shopping online, consumer liking

to shop from retail outfits, preference to buy on getting a feel of the actual product

and being able to use products instantly. The study concluded that most important

reasons to shop online in both the countries were due to availability of detailed

product information, home delivery, convenience, product quality and lower prices.

It was concluded that consumers showed positive attitude toward shopping online.

Rehman & Ashfaq (2011) examined the factors which prevented the

consumers from opting online shopping. A survey was conducted and data was

gathered from 200 students, 50 housewives and 50 random people, using a

structured questionnaire. Five point likert scale was used to analyse the data. The

results revealed that most of the respondents already used online shopping and

preferred to buy online but some attributes such as psychological, social and

emotional factors along with privacy affect consumer’s online buying behaviour.

The results of the study conclude that various factors affect the consumer buying

behaviour and include better prices, convenience of shopping and recommendation.

The study also concludes that consumers hesitate to buy online due to two major

reasons namely security and privacy.

Jun & Jaafar (2011) conducted a study on Consumers’ attitude towards

online shopping. The research was conducted on consumers from three major cities
Review of Literature 30

in China that included Beijing, Shanghai, and Fuzhou. Perceived usability, perceived

security, perceived privacy, perceived after sales service, perceived marketing mix,

and perceived reputation were used for analysis. Snowball sampling technique was

used in this research. The target respondents of this survey were adults with an

experience of online shopping. The results indicated that there was a positive

relationship among the attributes mentioned above and the consumers’ attitude to

get inclined towards online shopping. However, only two factors namely marketing

mix and reputation were found to have a major impact in affecting the consumers’

attitude to adopt online shopping.

Sultan & Uddin (2011) studied the factors that encouraged the consumers to

shop online. The respondents included in the research were students from Gotland.

The sample size was 100 and data was collected through convenience sampling

technique. The results revealed that the main influencing factor for consumers to opt

for online shopping were design of the website, convenience of online shopping,

time saving and security. Apart from these, some other factors that influenced the

buying behaviour of consumers were lower prices, discounts, customer reviews and

product quality.

Osman et al., (2010) conducted a research on the socio-demographic

background of students, quality of website, purchase perception and consumer’s

attitude towards online shopping. Purposive sampling method was used to collect

the data. A self-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 100

undergraduate students from University Putra Malaysia. The study concluded that

the quality of website, purchase perception, gender of the respondents along with
Review of Literature 31

educational background had a significant influence on the attitude of consumers

while shopping online. The research further established that a good quality of

website includes availability of accurate information and quick launch of webpage.

Further, they concluded that 77% of the respondents buy online because information

of product is available while 76% online consumers prefer buying through websites

with safe and easy to use website design.

Hirst & Omar (2007) studied women’s attitude towards shopping online and

found that women generally show positive attitude towards buying online. Women

are aware of discouraging features of online buying; still they are inclined to buy

apparel online. The sample size used for this study was 210. The study concluded

that positive features of online shopping were convenience, usefulness, ease of use

and some negative features included lack of security, lack of privacy of information

and online fraud.

The study was focused on identifying the factors which buyers keep in mind

while shopping online. Websites design, website reliability, website customer

service and security/privacy policies were the main factors influencing the

perceptions of consumers while shopping online. Results of the study focused on the

Ambience of the website and security related to personal information like physical

address were major concerns for the customers for buying online. Order tracking

features and 3-D view of products offered by various websites were a soothing

experience for customers and website’s customer service encouraged them to buy

online (Shergill & Chen, 2005).

Review of Literature 32

Monsuwe et al., (2004) studied the consumer attitude towards shopping

online and their inclination to shop online. Results show that along with ease of use,

usefulness and enjoyment, the consumer attitude toward online shopping was also

affected by external factors like demographic factors, situational factors,

characteristics of the products, previous experiences while shopping online, and

belief in online buying. The study revealed that breach of consumer trust had a

significant impact on consumer’s attitude towards online shopping. On the contrary,

the consumers had a positive attitude towards online shopping if their personal

information was safe and secure. Trust, therefore, was an important psychological

factor that influenced the customer’s intention to buy online.

Ahuja et al., (2003) focused on examining shopping preferences of

consumers based on purchasing attitudes and behaviour for categories of products

and services. This behaviour was examined in context of both products and services.

A sample size of 265 was taken for the study out of which 190 were college students

and 75 was non-students. Most important reasons for students to prefer online

shopping was convenience (28%) followed by better prices (25%) and time saving

(23%). For non students it was 31%, 23%, 27% respectively for convenience, better

prices and time saving. Convenience and customer service were found to be primary

motivators to buying online whereas unavailability of these factors acts as great

barriers.

2.3 Consumer satisfaction towards e-shopping

Hilaludin & Cheng (2014) identified factors influencing customer

satisfaction and e-loyalty among the young adults. Convenience sampling method
Review of Literature 33

was used and data was collected from 193 respondents from the Klang Valley,

Malaysia. The results revealed that only e-service quality and information quality

had an effect on consumers’ satisfaction. It was also found that consumers

satisfaction had a positively impact on e-loyalty. On the other hand, website design

and security did not show a significant relationship towards consumer satisfaction.

Alam & Yasim (2010) reported that that design of the website, website

reliability, variety of products available and product delivery were the influencing

factors that affect the consumer’s behaviour while online shopping.

2.4 Website trust and website design

Adnan (2014) studied the factors that affect online purchasing behaviour of

Pakistani consumers. These factors were perceived risks, hedonic motivation, design

of the website and various psychological factors namely trust and security factors.

Convenience sampling was used to collect data from 100 online shoppers. The

results indicated that perceived advantages and psychological factors had a positive

effect on the online buying behaviour of consumers while perceived risk had a

negative impact. Also, factors like design of the website and hedonic motivations

did not have any noteworthy impact on the customer’s intent to shop online.

Psychological factors had the highest impact on online shopping behaviour.

Therefore, trust towards online vendors and security issues were considered the

major influencing factors in determining online buying behaviour of Pakistani

consumers.
Review of Literature 34

Suwunniponth (2014) examined the factors that drive consumers’ intention

to shopping online. The data was collected from 350 experienced shoppers through

convenience sampling in Bangkok, Thailand. Descriptive and Path analysis were

used to examine the data. The results concluded that design of the website,

perceived ease of use and usefulness plays a significant role on consumer’s trust in

online shopping.

A study was conducted on different demographic factors and the effect

perceived risk, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use

have on online buying behaviour of consumers (Jain et al., 2014). The sample size

was 160 online shoppers from Delhi who belonged to different age groups, income

groups, occupations and had previous experiences of online buying. The data

analysis was done by statistical package for social science. The study concluded that

perceived risk had a negative impact on consumers’ online shopping behaviour.

However, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment did

not have any significant impact on consumers’ attitude towards online shopping.

The study further revealed that perceived risk had a major effect on online buying

behaviour of consumers in Delhi as the consumers were worried about being

cheated, delivery of inferior quality of products and product return policy etc.

Yeniçeri & Akin (2013) studied the impact of perceived risk on online

buying behaviour of consumers. This study was conducted on internet users. The

quantitative data which was gathered from 237 respondents was analysed. The

results revealed that the product risk is the risk of product not being able to deliver

as per consumer expectations. It was clear from the findings that perceived risk of
Review of Literature 35

consumers affects their online shopping behaviour. Further, the consumers are not

able to access the product properly due to in availability of physical inspection,

namely, touch and feel of the product, brand colours, incorrect or incomplete

information about the features of the product which leads to an increase in the risk

related to product’s performance.

Ariff et al., (2013) studied the impact of website on online purchasing

behaviour of consumers. The data was collected from 310 respondents through

stratified random sampling method consisting ICT undergraduates who had an

experience in online purchasing. The data was analysed using exploratory factor

analysis. The results revealed that mainly five factors affect the consumers’ online

buying behaviour, namely information quality, fulfilment/reliability/customer

service, website design, quick and detail and privacy/security. The result of multiple

regression analysis indicated that quality of information, quick and details and

privacy/security influenced the purchasing behaviour of online consumers. Also,

psychological factor such as trust and security had a positive effect on consumer’s

attitude towards shopping online.

Nazir et al., (2012) reported privacy and security as the major factors that

influenced the online shopping behaviour of consumers. It was also found that the

consumers hesitated while shopping online as they were concerned about the

security offered by the website when they paid for the products. The consumers

hesitated and were worried about their personal details such as full name, delivery

address and date of birth and financial information such as account details while
Review of Literature 36

buying online. Hence, trust and confidence were two significant factors affecting the

consumer behaviour while shopping online.

Yoldas (2012) conducted a study that aimed at investigating the factors

influencing consumer buying behaviour from UK and Turkey. The data was

collected by sending online survey links to various respondents and the sample size

was 170 from both UK and Turkey. Results revealed that British and Turkish

samples were similar in terms of demographic features. The numbers of female

respondents were slightly higher than male respondents for both samples. In both the

countries, online shopping was more prevalent in the age group of 21-30 years. One

of the major factors identified while shopping online was satisfaction level of

consumers. The results indicated that consumers of UK shop more frequently as

compared to Turkish counterparts. Turkish customers had problems such as

concerns related to security, insufficient product information, and not being able to

physically try the goods before purchase which were all linked to trust. Hence, trust

while shopping online was a major concern for consumers from Turkey. There was a

difference in usage of payment methods between the consumers of two countries.

Consumers from Turkey preferred cash on delivery and direct money transfer as

compared to British consumers for online purchases. The results further indicated

that the quality of website also played an important role in affecting the consumer

behaviour while shopping online.

Goi (2011) analysed the impact of a website’s attributes i.e. functionality,

website design, content, originality, and professionalism and effectiveness on

consumer behaviour. The study focuses on finding out the impact of website
Review of Literature 37

attributes on online activities of consumers in relations to communication,

information gathering, entertainment and online transactions in Malaysia. The

sample size used in this study was 200 respondents and the data was collected using

a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed to internet users across

Malaysia. Random sampling method was used to collect the data. Data was analysed

using SPSS and AMOS. The results of the study found that design of a website plays

a critical role in the success of a website and website design significantly affect

consumers behaviour toward shopping online.

A research conducted by Gordon & Bhowan (2005) identified the online

shopping behaviour of consumers in South Africa. The data was collected using

convenient sampling technique and students pursuing MBA were taken as sample

size. The results indicated that mainly younger generation, elite and working adults

were inclined towards online shopping and 34% of people accessing the internet

were online shoppers. However, another group within the same sample of online

shoppers were reluctant to shop online due to security and difficulties with the

online website in terms of navigation.

Ranganthan & Ganapathy (2002) identified the factors which makes a

business-to-consumer website effective. A survey through questionnaire method was

conducted in Illinois, US and four key dimensions of a website i.e. information

content, website design, security, and privacy were used. The sample size was 214

respondents, out of which 60% of respondents were between in age group of 20-30.

More than 80% of this age group had surf the internet for at least 2 years and more

than 70% had at least done two or more transactions in past 6 months. The sampling
Review of Literature 38

technique used was convenience sampling. Factor analysis was used for analysing

the data. Reliability of four factors was tested using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. It

was found that, out of the four dimensions, security had maximum impact on

consumers followed by privacy, website content and design of the website.

2.5 Perceived apparel quality

The purpose of the study is to check the effect of quality of service offered

by websites on attributes like perceived apparel quality, perceived service quality,

consumer value perception of apparel shopping and future purchase intention. Data

was collected from 361 female students from colleges of two different regions in

United States using convenient sampling technique. Ninety seven percent of the

respondents were in the age group of 18 -23 years. Structural equation modelling

technique was used which revealed a positive relationship between the above

mentioned attributes. The study concludes that high quality apparels should also be

offered by online retailers along with good customer service in order to achieve

better satisfaction levels while shopping online and positive behavioural intent (Kim

& Damhorst, 2010).

Research gap

There has been a drastic increase in the usage of internet over the years.

Literature reveals that various researches are available on demographic factors of

online shopping behaviour (Rajayogan & Muthumani, 2015), factors influencing

online shopping (Alam et al., 2008), consumer preferences for shopping online

(Ahuja et al., 2003), impact of website attributes on buying behaviour (Ariff et al.,

2013; Goi, 2011), factors consumers keep in mind while shopping online (Shergill &
Review of Literature 39

Chen, 2005) and factors influencing consumer’s satisfaction and e-loyalty (Hilaludin

& Cheng, 2014). Also, consumers’ behaviour of different cities have been compared

(Mathew & Mishra, 2013; Dahiya, 2012). Literature is also available on impact of

perceived risk factors on online buying behaviour (Yeniçeri & Akin, 2013; Javedi et

al., 2012). But the researcher could not find any studies related to apparel shopping.

Hence, there was a need to explore and identify the factors which affect online

apparel shopping.

A need to compare the online buying behaviour of males and females was

felt since the investigator could not find any literature related to it. Moreover, the

literature revealed that website design, website reliability, product variety and

delivery performances are the four key factors influencing consumers’ satisfaction

of online shopping (Alam & Yasim, 2010). The main influencing factors were

identified as price, confidence, security, convenience, time, after sale service and

discounted deals (Nazir et al., 2012). Since, the researcher was not able to find any

literature related to consumers’ behaviour while shopping online for apparel, the

study was planned keeping apparel online shopping behaviour in mind and to fill in

the research gap. Therefore, the variables included in the study are website trust,

website design and perceived apparel quality to identify the role of these attributes

in affecting the online shopping behaviour of consumers while buying apparel

online. Though studies were available on comparison of websites but aspect of

apparel in specific was not found by the researcher. Therefore, the study focused on

identifying the bottleneck and create guidelines for consumers for better shopping

experience.