A Study on Consumer’s Purchasing Behaviour Towards E-retailers with Special Reference to Coimbatore City

This article aims to explore consumer purchasing behavior towards online retailers. With the increasing trend of online shopping, e-retailers have become an important platform for consumers to purchase products. The research focuses on understanding the factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions, including price, product quality, brand reputation, and convenience. Research methods include a comprehensive review of existing literature on consumer behavior and e-retailers, followed by his survey of 500 participants. The results show that consumers consider convenience and price to be the most important factors when purchasing from e-merchants. In addition, product quality, brand reputation, and website design also play an important role in shaping consumer perceptions of e-retailers. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for e-retailers and recommendations for future research.


INTRODUCTION
The growth of electronic retailers, also known as online retailers, has revolutionized the way people shop. Advances in technology have enabled consumers to purchase goods and services online easily, conveniently and at their own pace. This trend is changing consumer behavior as more and more people shop online instead of in stores. As a result, understanding consumer buying behavior towards eretailers has become an important research area for companies operating in this space. Consumer behavior is a complex area that studies how individuals make decisions regarding the purchase of goods and services. This includes understanding the factors that influence the decision-making process, such as: B. Attitudes, beliefs, or perceptions of a particular product or brand. For e-retailers, factors that influence consumer behavior include website design, ease of navigation, payment options, customer service, and delivery times. This project aims to study and analyze consumer buying behavior towards e-retailers, with a focus on understanding the factors that influence the decision-making process. By examining the various factors that influence consumer behavior in the e-retail space, businesses can develop effective strategies to attract • Email: editor@ijfmr.com

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Volume 5, Issue 2, March-April 2023 2 and retain customers, improve their online shopping experience, and ultimately increase sales. You can devise a strategy.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To study about the socio-economic background of the consumers.
To identify the factors influencing purchasing decision of consumers on E-retailers.
To investigate the level of satisfaction of consumers towards e-retailing services.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The problem for consumer e-retailers is that despite the growth of online shopping, many consumers face issues and challenges that affect their overall shopping experience. Some of the main problems consumers face when shopping online are difficulty finding the products they want, lack of trust in payment and personal information security, slow delivery times, poor customer service, product quality issues, etc. These issues can lead to frustration, dissatisfaction, and ultimately loss of business for e-retailers. Therefore, understanding and addressing these issues is critical for e-retailers to improve customer satisfaction, increase customer loyalty and ultimately drive business growth.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
The purpose of this study is to assess the factors that influence consumer purchasing behavior towards eretailers, especially the decision-making process. This study focuses on the factors that drive consumers to shop from e-retailers. B. Convenience, price competitiveness, product diversity, and customer service. Additionally, the study explores the impact of technology on consumer buying behavior and satisfaction with their online shopping experience.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The term "research methodology" refers to the theoretical study of procedures appropriate to a particular field of study, or a collection of practices and policies specific to a particular field of knowledge. Area of the study: This study focuses on the area of purchasing behavior and awareness about the Eretailers, within Coimbatore city.

Data collection:
The data for the study is collected through random sampling method. Surveys: Conduct surveys of consumers to understand their purchasing behavior towards e-retailers, such as what motivates them to purchase from e-retailers, their reasons for choosing specific eretailers, and their satisfaction with the e-retailing experience.
Online reviews: Read and analyze online reviews of e-retailers to understand what consumers think of their services and products. Sample size: Totally 50 random samples has been collected for the further analysis of the study.

Limitations of the study:
Limited geographical scope: The study was conducted in a limited geographical region; thus, the results may not be applicable to consumers in other regions with different cultural and economic backgrounds. Limited sample size: The sample size used for this study was relatively small, which may limit its representativeness of the population and may lead to biases in the results.

Time constraints:
This study was limited to a short period of time; thus, the results may not be applicable to future consumer behavior.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on the topic. A literature review examines scientific articles, books, and other sources related to a particular research area. The review should list, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and explain this previous research. VikramTyagi, VaishaliDhingra (2021 ) 1 her article shows that Selling a product is not the only offering of any online seller. Equally important is the volume of returns management inquiries, which creates a strong return policy to retain customers. The problem with many e-sellers is still that they focus on a onetime sale of a product, which leads to customer dissatisfaction. Deepa Nathwani (2022) 2 Her article states that The virus has disrupted the world economy and consumption patterns. Consumers play a key role in the economy, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the gross domestic product. A period of foreclosure, foreclosure and financial uncertainty changed consumer behavior and thinking. This has greatly affected their buying habits, these rapid changes have a major impact on consumer goods. Consumers avoid large gatherings, store visits and less contact with retail stores. This paved the way for e-commerce giants. Consumers appreciate brands that focus on their needs during this pandemic. Due to economic fluctuations, the basket size decreases. Emerson Wagner Mainardes,(2023) 3 His article shows The outbreak and lockdown of COVID-19 has encouraged more online shopping. Due to defective products, misleading pricing methods, failure to protect customer privacy, non-delivery of goods and misleading advertising, the ethical concerns of emerchants have grown with the growth of online shopping.

AN OVERVIEW OF E-RETAILERS E-RETAILERS
Electronic retailing (e-tailing) is an online sales platform where consumers can buy and sell goods online directly from the company without physically inspecting the goods. When selling products online, logistics and distribution are crucial to ensure that customers are satisfied with the timely delivery of their purchases. This is directly related to why companies like Amazon focus on finding ways to reduce delivery times and offer options such as "same day shipping".

E-retail transactions subcategories:
Business-to-Business (B2B) e-tail: Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce occurs when a business purchases a product or service from another business's website for its own use or to use as part of its own products. The business model for online B2B transactions is changing, as fast delivery, quality and price become increasingly prominent. Usually, a company buys a large amount of goods when it buys online in bulk. That is why it is important to negotiate reasonable prices with fast delivery and safe handling. To develop the best e-commerce business model for B2B business, a wholesaler must offer volume discounts, fast enough deliveries and ensure that the goods remain undamaged. Electronic transfer of business to consumer (B2C): Business-to-consumer (B2C) email transactions are when a consumer buys a product or service from a company's website, such as shoes from a sportswear company's website. The business model differs from B2C transactions in terms of things that happen online, because consumers are very demanding and expect fast delivery and guarantee that the quality of the product matches the online description. This makes delivery times and processing standards very important in any company's e-waste business model.

Types of electronic retail (e-store)
o There are two main types of electronic service companies: Pure Play E-tails: Pure play e-commerce stores are the type of businesses that only offer e-commerce and do not operate physical stores for customers to walk into. Some of pure-play e-retailers are Amazon, Ali Express, Ali Baba and drop-shipping companies. Brick and Click E-tailers: Click-to-order e-tailers are companies that both offer online shopping and operate brick-and-mortar stores where customers can shop. Almost every major business uses some form of e-retail, but the most prominent brick and click retailers that offer exceptional service are Apple, Foot Locker, and Sport Check.

DATA INTERPRETATION
This chapter presents the analyzes and interpretations of 50 selected respondents from the city of Coimbatore on the topic Consumer's purchasing behaviour towards E-Retailers, with particular reference to the city of Coimbatore. The opinion and relevant information of respondents were collected through a questionnaire consisting of personal and learning factors. The collected data were classified and tabulated and completed according to the research objectives with the following statistical tools.

PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS:
Percentage analysis is mainly done to determine what percentage of respondents fall in each category. This analysis also helps to standardize the respondent's views on various aspects. This analysis was performed for all questions in the questionnaire. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 32 % of the respondents are below 20, 42% of respondents are between 20-30 age, 16%of respondents are between 30-40 age and 10 % of respondents are above 40 age. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 48% of the respondents are female and 52% of the respondents are male. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 6% of respondents are SSLC, 10% of respondents are HSC, 62% of respondents are Degree holders, 16% of respondents are UG and 6% of respondents are others. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 62% of respondents are student, 20% of respondents are self-employed, 14% of respondents are private employees and 4% of respondents are others. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 64% of respondent's family monthly income are below 20000t, 20% of respondent's family monthly income are 20000-30000, 12% of respondent's family monthly income are 31000-40000 and 4% of respondent's family monthly income is above 40000. The table shows that out of 50 respondents 76% of respondents are unmarried, 24% of respondents are married. The Majority 76% of respondents are unmarried. The chi square test has proven that age has significant effect on the awareness of E-retailers.

SUGGESTIONS
Improve website usability: The survey found that consumers value the ease of use and navigation of an e-merchant's website. Therefore, e-merchants should focus on making their websites user-friendly and easy to navigate. This includes simplifying the ordering process, improving search functionality, and optimizing his website for mobile devices. Improved product information: Consumers also value detailed product information when making online purchasing decisions. E-retailers must provide accurate and comprehensive product descriptions, images, and videos to help consumers better understand the products they purchase.
Overall, e-retailers should prioritize creating a positive and seamless customer experience to attract and retain customers. By focusing on website usability, product information, pricing, payment options, customer support, and customer feedback, e-retailers can improve customer buying behavior toward brands. Encourage customer feedback: Online retailers should encourage customers to post feedback on their website, social media platforms and third-party review sites. This feedback can provide valuable insights into the customer experience and help online retailers make improvements where needed.

CONCLUSION
In summary, the study sheds light on consumer buying behavior toward online retailers. The results suggest that convenience and accessibility play an important role in influencing consumer behavior. Consumers tend to prefer e-merchants that offer easy navigation, an easy checkout process, and multiple payment options. Additionally, consumers may engage with online retailers who provide detailed product information and product reviews. The study also shows that trust and security are key factors influencing consumer behavior toward e-retailers. Consumers typically choose online retailers with reputable brand images, secure payment methods, and reliable delivery services. Additionally, personalized and relevant product recommendations can have a significant impact on consumer purchasing behavior. Overall, this study highlights the importance of e-merchant efforts to improve the overall shopping experience and build trust with customers. E-retailers need to focus on improving their website design, user interface, and security measures to accommodate consumer preferences and create a seamless shopping experience.