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IRACST – International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828
Vol. 4, No.4, August 2015
Importance of website’s attributes in apparel
online shopping
Dr Ipshita Bansal
Professor & Dean, Faculty of Commerce & Management,
BPSMV (A Haryana Govt University)
Sonipat, India
Abstract— Internet is no more a niche technology. It is a mass
media and an absolutely essential part of modern time. As
lives become more fractured and jumbled, it is not surprising
that customers attract to the unrivalled convenience of an
Internet when it comes to searching and buying product. The
quality of your online apparel retail store largely influences
buying decisions. From design to the functionality and content
to online marketing, these factors help in enhancing an
ecommerce store. Whether you are a new startup or existing
one, every retail store owner wants to learn the attributes of
successful online apparel retail stores. So, here the need arises
to review the important attributes of online apparel web stores
in e-commerce by reviewing the possible website elements.
Keywords- online shopping, website attributes, apparel.
I- Introduction
Online Merchandising have become an important part of
company business scope, regardless of their nature of
conducting business as online companies or traditional
companies that are yet to develop online services. As much as
it is important to achieve customer satisfaction with
“traditional” services, companies are also eager to have
satisfied customers by offering their online services.Attitudes
towards e-shopping were mediated by internet search instead
of having a direct relation on e-shopping intention.
Furthermore, subjective norm not only had an effect on the
intention to shop online, but also turned out to affect attitude
towards e-shopping [9].
Implication for online retailers is that they should focus on
making the experience of online shopping more
accommodating and more user-friendly. This is important
because the positive features of online shopping
(‘convenience’, ‘usefulness’, ’ease of use’, and ‘efficiency’)
appear to be more important than the negative features (‘lack
of security’, ‘privacy of information’ and ‘online fraud’) [5].
The transaction factor is an integral part of online shopping.
For many consumers who buy apparel online, convenience,
ease of use, security, usefulness, and value are unmistakably
the fundamental benefits. Above all, the internet search
component is a critical concept in the behavior of online
shopping for apparel. The aim of this review is to identify the
main attributes that affect consumer purchases of apparel.
Mrs Reetika Garg
PhD Researcher in Management, WISDOM
Banasthali University
Rajasthan, India
II- Importance of shopping attributes
Taking fashion to the online market is a dramatic shift in
this social experience. Until recently, the consumers generally
visit online to reserve hotel rooms and buy air, rail or movie
tickets, books and gadgets, but now more and more offline
product like clothes - saris, kurtis, T-shirts-shoes, and designer
lingerie, consumer durables are being purchased online.
Absence of helpful staff can also challenge this experience
especially that fashion products are heterogeneous in nature.
This emphasizes the importance of contemporary technologies
in advancing the online shopping environment for fashion
sites. Hence, the social dimension of fashion shopping might
be met through technology. “Given contemporary advances
in fashion retail systems and information technologies,
social shopping experiences have become even more
complex
and
complicated”[8]. Indeed, contemporary
technologies could mark a new era of online fashion shopping
only if it meets consumer’s needs and offers ways to overcome
the obstacles to online shopping.
To identify the dimensions of websites the represent online
shopper’s perceptions of their favorite clothing websites and to
examine the relationship with the evaluation of the relative
importance of various clothing website attributes and revealed
three variables, the product information, and customer service
and navigation factors, were closely related to each other and
create a well- defined dimension in representing the
respondents perceptions of their favorite clothing websites
[14]. These dimensions were fairly well predicted by the
following set of independent variables: the product
information, navigation, and customer service factors of
general clothing website attributes. Maintaining the Integrity
of the Specifications.
In spite of the rapid growth in online sales of apparel in the
UK, some consumers are reluctant to shop for clothing on the
Internet [12]. Some of the major hindrances expressed by
consumers for not using the Internet are associated with the
risks of not being able to try garments on, feel the fabric, and
read product information on labels relating to care and content
labels [10]. Lack of credit card security and poor product
quality were some of the major problems women associated
with apparel purchasing on the Internet [4]. consumers’
knowledge affects their adoption of e- commerce and their
experience an important factor in online purchasing[18].
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IRACST – International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828
Vol. 4, No.4, August 2015
C u s t o m e r whose lifestyle is more progressive and assertive
in leisure activities use the internet more frequently and
searches information through the internet more often. The
following are the most important attributes of successful
online retail stores.
A) Accessibility and convenience: The possibility to
shop anytime, from anywhere is the most obvious and
most commonly cited advantage of online marketing, and
was found to be the most important perceived consumer
benefit of internet shopping in empirical [7].
B) Global choice: Since the boundaries of online
marketing are not defined by geography or national borders,
consumer will benefit from a wide selection of vendors
and products – including a wider availability of hard-tofind fashion products [1].
C) Ease of Navigation: For anyone shopping online, one of
the simplest ways to make the experience pleasant to make
sure they find what they’re looking for. What this means is
making your online shop easy to navigate through with an
effective categories, filter and search system. Since people
shop online for the convenience, this just makes the whole
shopping experience faster and easier for everyone.
D) Online delivery: For digital products, the whole
commercial cycle, including distribution, can be conducted
via a network, providing instant access to products
immediately when a need arises.
E) Time savings: Consumers may benefit from the
shopping process being faster in the market space than in
the market place as a result of the rapidity of the search
process and the transactions .
F) Possibilities for comparison shopping: By allowing
consumers to shop in many places and conduct quick
comparisons of offerings and prices [6], Internet market
places have the ability to reduce search costs for price and
product information [2].
G) Competitive prices: By embracing online marketing
consumers may benefit from price reductions as a result
of increased competition as more suppliers are able
to compete in an electronically open market place[19], as
a result of reduced selling prices due to reduction in
operational/transaction
costs [17], and manufacturers
internalizing
activities
traditionally
performed
by
intermediaries.
H) Quality evaluation: On the internet, it is more or
less impossible to make sure, beyond doubt, that
(tangible) products have the desired features (e.g. design,
material, color, fit), giving rise to a quality evaluation
barriers to online marketing. T h e need to feel a touch
was the dominating disadvantage for all home-shopping
services.
I) Excellent copy for product descriptions: You can’t be in
more than one place at once which why your product
descriptions act as your sales force. It’s the words and the art
of copywriting that convert people into paying customers.
Luckily copywriting isn’t something that needs a marketing
degree – just a focus on what your customers value the most.
J) Fantastic customer support: Let’s be honest, something
is bound to go wrong – products break, you might be having
server problems or there is problems with delivery. Regardless
of the issues, you need to be prepared to deal with disgruntled
customers. This can be key to retaining and attracting new
customers since it’s so easy to switch brands today. And with
the widespread use of social media, news of bad customer
experiences can spread quickly.
K) Easy & secure payment process: Your checkout page is
the final stop on people’s shopping journey. And one of the
best ways to increase conversions and sales is to make it
hilariously easy for folks to pay you. After all, it’s the place
where visitor finally become your customers.
L) Delivery times: In tangible product categories, any
home-shopping method involves a delivery time which
means that the internet is a disadvantage to physical stores as
it fails to meet the customers need for instant gratification.
Consumers may thus be reluctant to wait for the delivery of
ordered goods for days/weeks if the same product can be
collected immediately in physical outlets.
M) Speed: Due to low bandwidth connections, using the
internet may be time consuming and thus frustrating, Using
the Template
N) Payment Options: Most visitors to online stores prefer
to pay by credit card. If you want to use your ecommerce
shopping cart software to process credit card transactions with
a real-time payment gateway, you'll have to open a merchant
account.
Although the majority of shoppers at online stores will make a
credit card transaction, choosing an ecommerce shopping cart
that also allows you to accept alternative payments will please
customers who remain resistant to providing such information
online. Offering options such as Cash on Delivery, PayPal®,
Google® Checkout, checks, and/or money orders allows more
people to feel comfortable checking out on your site.
O) Site Search & Browse: Visitors to online stores have a
need for speed - and it starts with time-saving search.
Consumers expect online stores to allow them to search for a
product and quickly find the product they want. Customers
also navigate via categories, along with browsing by price,
category and brand distinctions. If your ecommerce shopping
cart does not include a search feature for your site, your visitor
may simply decide to look elsewhere.
P) Wish List/Registry: Customers at online stores often buy
gifts for special occasions, which is why many ecommerce
shopping carts feature a registry option that makes the process
easier. Also, so-called "wish lists" allow customers to save
items at online stores and return at a later date to purchase
those items. In general, when your ecommerce shopping cart
allows your customers to manage their items the way they
want, the result is higher satisfaction.
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IRACST – International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828
Vol. 4, No.4, August 2015
Q) Real-Time Inventory: It's a common complaint from
those who frequent online stores -- a customer goes through a
lengthy process of placing an order, only to find out later that
the item purchased wasn't really in stock. Ecommerce
shopping carts should allow for real-time inventory
management, which ensures that what customers see on their
screen is what's actually available for delivery to their
doorstep.
R) Express Checkout: The checkout process at many online
stores can be as frustrating - if not more so - than standing in a
long checkout line at a brick-and-mortar store. When visitors
are ready to buy, your ecommerce shopping cart must make it
as simple as possible. Some ecommerce shopping carts offer
registered users an express checkout option, which pulls up
their stored payment and billing info when they log in.
S) Order Tracking: An ecommerce shopping cart can help
you keep customers informed every step of the way - even
after their order is placed. Automated order confirmation
emails and shipping notification emails build customer's
confidence in their purchase and in your brand. If a customer
registers, they should be able to track their order by logging
into an account created upon registration.
T) Special Offers: Looking for a way to woo new customers
- or existing customers you haven't seen in a while?
Ecommerce shopping carts can help you promote special
offers like order discounts, coupon codes, free shipping and
gift cards. These offers serve a dual purpose -they encourage
customers to take advantage of a "good deal" while also
helping you compete in today's competitive online
marketplace.
II- Current Issues in Online marketing
As the discussions until this point clearly show, Online
marketing has become a new avenue for examining many
of the traditional principles, models and theories of
marketing with a different perspective. However, there
are many studies that tackle more current issues in an
online context and cannot be grouped under the other major
headings in the framework. Therefore, they are compiled in
this section as hot topics receiving research attention in
recent years and deserving further contributions.
1) Online Customer Relationship Management: The Web
market possesses the potential to collect personal
information about consumers and respond to them in an
individualized manner, which is the most fundamental
requirement of any CRM plan. This attribute of online
marketing has triggered the need to explore how customer
relationships can be built and maintained in the online
environment. Implementing online CRM systems have
inestimable advantages. Reduction in customer service
costs, tightened customer relationships, personalized
marketing messages, and mass customization opportunities
are some of the benefits offered to customers through eCRM applications. Research findings shows that customers
attribute great importance to being satisfied during and
after the sales process compared to the importance they
attach to satisfaction from the purchased offering. This
heightens the criticality of investing in e-CRM and
managing the experience of the customer successfully.
One of the major irony of technology is that major
technological advancements create
isolation
while
assimilating people with a totally new and different
world. This is exactly what happened with the diffusion of
the Internet observable fact into the lives of consumers.
Past research about preset retailing systems show that, this
kind of shopping is a depersonalized experience and that
consumers have a negative attitude toward this effect.
Besides, this problem cannot be limited to shopping
experiences. At a broader level, it is also about the
weakening of social bonds because of the loyalty
individual’s transfer to the communities in the virtual
environment.
The ease of building strong relationships between
consumers and companies can be attributed to the
customized communication between the parties which
cannot be achieved with mass media. However, this still
does not resolve the question about whether the Web can
fully replace the social value of online shopping.
2) Ethical Issues: The Internet was originally designed to
be an environment accommodating a free flow of
communications, thus, the legal framework for Webbased transactions
are incomplete,
unclear
or
contradictory. There is no governing body in this platform
and handshake standards are used, which can work only
as long as users have an implicit agreement to
cooperate and show respect for one an-other. Although
there are many governmental and
non-governmental
units working to develop generally applicable
legal impositions and rules for the cyber market, ethical
concerns and the perceived risks about privacy and
security problems remain as the single most important
factor deterring consumers from engaging in commercial
transactions in the online market without hesitation.
3) Privacy – One of the most commonly mentioned
problems about online markets is the intrusion of privacy,
which refers to the improper access, collection, monitoring,
analysis, transfer and storage of confidential consumer
information. The power of technology might be
intentionally abused by marketers for the purpose of
improving their market knowledge and response
mechanisms. Thus balancing beneficial use of data
sources with the privacy rights of individuals is one of
the most challenging public policy issues of the
information age since consumers have to give up some
privacy in exchange for the benefits of the Web.
4)- Counterfeiting of Digital Property – Another threat
hosted by the Internet is its susceptibility to imitation
especially through the choice of domain names that should
be trademarked by an institution closely affiliated with that
name and in case of apparel unique design which also can
be imitated. The difficulty of applying trademark law in the
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Vol. 4, No.4, August 2015
online environment contributes to this problem. Similarly,
the lack of copyright rules makes it difficult for
companies to guard their Web site. Experience
modification technologies which enable consumers to view
those parts of Web sites they want and to ignore those
they do not want to see is a simple example of how
copyright rules and laws can be dishonored through such
technologies.
IV-Conclusion
The utilitarian attributes, such as price, product guarantee and
returns policy, the security, privacy, information on how to
buy, product images or technical description, achieved high
selection percentages. E-retailers will need to make it easy to
identify and access the variables on their websites which are
most relevant to the task. Online apparel retailers need to
create and maintain superior performance in various
convenience and value factors to build long-term sustainable
competitive advantages. Ability to conduct careful product
evaluation is another distinctive advantage for virtual retailing.
Apparel retail managers need to continue to provide adequate
and easy-to-access product and comparison information to
facilitate online transactions. Enjoyment (fulfilment) is a
factor that cannot be ignored. Online consumers need them in
order to make the decision to buy. The security and privacy
policies are the attributes which are given the highest relative
importance. Especially in case of apparel online shopping Eretailers still have to be very accurate and sure about the
product description. Only good amount of product review
(fabric, size, details, embroidery etc) can turn website viewer
into E-customer.
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AUTHORS PROFILE
Dr. Ipshita Bansal is working as Professor and Dean, Faculty of
Commerce and Management Studies, BPHMV, Sonipat Haryana. She
is also undertaking the charge of Director-IQAC of the University and
Chief Proctor.
Mrs Reetika Garg has completed her Msc.Textiles from SNDT
Women’s University , Mumbai followed by PGDTM from SVPISTM,
Coimbatore. Currently, pursuing her PhD in Management from
Banasthali University, Rajasthan.
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