1MANAGEMENT Abstract This research project has been performed on the investigation of how e-commerce strategies can help to achieve better performance. The study has considered the e-commerce operation of Zara in UK. Analysis in the study has been performed by collecting primary data. A survey has been performed among 50 consumers of ZARA who are presently the consumers of ZARA. To perform the survey, simple random sampling method has been applied to the study. Findings imply that advances of technology are certainly helping the e-commerce fashion sector in UK. Mobile device is one of the significant driver is such growth of e- commerce in the fashion industry. Findings also indicate that e-commerce vendors have to enhance its service quality, as there is high possibility of losing consumer base due to poor service such as almost 17% of consumers had the wrong or defected item delivered to them which represents a significant field of potential enhancement for e-commerce retailers. In order to enhance the performance of e-commerce business, Zara has been recommended with thestrategyofincreasinge-commercesearchusabilitywhichconsiderstheneedsof consumers.
2MANAGEMENT Table of Content CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................6 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................6 1.1 Background to Research..................................................................................................6 1.2 Organizational Background.............................................................................................7 1.3 Significance of the problem.............................................................................................8 1.4 Purpose Statement............................................................................................................8 1.5 Research Aim and Objectives..........................................................................................8 1.6 Research Questions..........................................................................................................9 1.7 Dissertation Structure.......................................................................................................9 1.8 Summary........................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................12 2.1 Theoretical Approaches to Electronic Commerce.........................................................13 2.2 Type of e.-commerce businesses....................................................................................16 2.3 Existing performance of E-commerce in the fashion sector of UK...............................18 2.4 Changing retail as well as e-commerce trends in the fashion industry in UK...............19 2.5 UK Commerce market...................................................................................................21 2.6 Consumer behaviour in United Kingdom......................................................................22 2.7 Opportunities and Challenges........................................................................................22 2.8 E-commerce in UK –Statistics and Facts.......................................................................22 2.9 Factors behind emerging growth of fashion industry in UK..........................................23 2.10 Gaps in the literature....................................................................................................24
3MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................26 3.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................26 3.2 Research Onion..............................................................................................................26 3.3 Research Philosophy......................................................................................................26 3.4 Research Approach........................................................................................................28 3.5 Research Design.............................................................................................................28 3.6 Data Collection Methods................................................................................................29 3.7 Sampling Methods.........................................................................................................30 3.8 Data collection instrument.............................................................................................32 3.9 Data Analysis.................................................................................................................32 3.10 Ethical Consideration...................................................................................................32 3.11 Research Reliability and Validity................................................................................33 3.12 Limitation:....................................................................................................................34 3.13 Summary......................................................................................................................34 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS.........................................................................35 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Conclusion.....................53 5.2 Recommendation............................................................................................................54 References................................................................................................................................55
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4MANAGEMENT List of Graphs Graph 1: E-commerce is effectively supporting the fashion industry in UK...........................33 Graph 2: Online shopping is reliable in terms of personal information...................................34 Graph: Mobile Devices have facilitated the ways of e-commerce..........................................35 Graph 4: Factors influence you to make online purchase from e-commerce site....................37 Graph 5: Factors will negatively influence your online purchase behaviour?.........................39 Graph 6: Online shopping is more effective than conventional outlet shopping.....................41 Graph 7: E-commerce vendor care about after-sale service....................................................42 Graph 8: Type of E-commerce site consumers presently use..................................................44 Graph 9: Consumers’ age group..............................................................................................46 Graph 10: Employment Status of the consumers.....................................................................47 Graph 11: Gender.....................................................................................................................48
5MANAGEMENT List of Table Table 1: E-commerce is effectively supporting the fashion industry in UK............................33 Table 2: Online shopping is reliable in terms of personal information....................................35 Table 3: Mobile Devices have facilitated the ways of e-commerce........................................36 Table 4: Factors influence you to make online purchase from e-commerce site.....................38 Table 5: Online shopping is more effective than conventional outlet shopping......................41 Table 6: E-commerce vendor care about after-sale service.....................................................43 Table 7: Type of E-commerce site consumers presently use...................................................45 Table 8: Consumers’ age group...............................................................................................47 Table 9: Employment Status of the consumers........................................................................48 Table 10: Gender......................................................................................................................49
6MANAGEMENT Topic- HOW CAN E-COMMERCE STRATEGIES HELP TO ACHIEVE BETTER PERFORMANCE IN THE UK FASHION SECTOR? CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction There is no denying that global fashion industry is persistently moving towards a decisive stage of a digital adoption by mainstream consumers along with the growing online sales projected to grow rapidly, especially in emerging nations. Such pace of growth has also been identified that in UK fashion sector where the number of e-commerce vendors is rapidly increasing. The ease of various digital instruments as well as content has amended customer purchase framework from a conventional one to a more complex one across both offline and online platforms. Thus, purpose of this study is to gain a suitable understanding about how e- commerce strategies can help to achieve better performance in UK’s fashion sector. To derive a precise understanding about how organizations in the fashion industry of UK is achieving itsbusinessgoals through e-commerce,e-commerceoperationof Zara,UK hasbeen considered in the study. 1.1 Background to Research It has been identified that initial phrase of e-commerce did not able to gain popularity among retailers in the fashion sector. However, although the initial phrase was slow but organizations in the fashion sector are catching up faster. According to Guercini and Runfola (2015), major fashion brands seek to create an immersive consumers experience that certain amplify as well as enhance tradition in store transactions. It is undeniable that technology plays a crucial role in founding the e-commerce platform because initially even though e- commerce was there, but people had a very limited access to technology.Nonetheless, technology advances have made accelerated the use of e-commerce in the fashion sector
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7MANAGEMENT because are so much accustomed to technology such as Smartphone devices, high speed- internet connectivity. So, according to Escobar-Rodríguez and Bonsón-Fernández (2017) because of this rapid growth in technology, one can shop online sitting at home through their mobile devices.Digital innovation, increasing globalization as well as changes in consumer spending habits have certainly catapulted the fashion sector into the midst of seismic shifts. Brogiet al.(2013) provide cumulative data which is compiled with the fashion and apparel sector report gives a bright portrait with global revenue forecasted to enhance from $481.2 billion in 2018 to $712 billion by 2025. According to Macchion, Danese and Vinelli (2015) consumers in the fashion sector tend to have more buying power because the number of potential consumers is expected to increase over 1.2 billion by 2020. Nevertheless, a more clear fact appears in the eyes of marketers causing tension of sustainability because market environment in the fashion industry has been extremely dynamic in nature. Consumers’ tastes and preferences are changing at a rapid pace. Thus, e-commerce strategy applied a decade ago in UK may not provide the same outcome today as number of competitors in the sector has increased. So, market demands have also changed giving no possible clue for the marketers. Therefore, this study unveils how e-commerce strategies can help to achieve a better performance. 1.2 Organizational Background Zarais known to be a Spanish fast Fashion retailer based in Arteixo in Gallicia. The firm was established in 1975. ZARA is famous for its male and female clothing items across UK. It has been identified that Zara’s profiles and sales in its United Kingdom market soared in its last financial year. It has been identified that in 2007, the brand Zara first established its online e-commerce with Zara Home along with two new distribution centre in Spain. Zara starts to sell its products online in September as well as by 2010, online platform of Zara was developed in 6 European markets (Zara.com 2019). Likewise, the organization has also
8MANAGEMENT increased its reach in the logistic chain. According to the report provided by Inditex, the brand Zara with its more than 7000 outlets focuses on increase retail space 6% to 8% in the coming years (Zara.com 2019). The organization wishes to increase the market share with less capital intensive e-commerce approach. 1.3 Significance of the problem As the technology has made it easy for marketers to shift their focus from traditional selling to online, many retailers in the fashion industry of UK including the small and medium size firms are experiencing an easy access to e-commerce platforms. As the number of players in the sector increases with the growth of e-commerce platform, the market has been relatively competitive in nature. A single or core strategy might not be effective for e-commerce vendors to achieve a desired performance. Thus, it is highly important to perform study on e- commerce to develop suitable strategies which could help to gain desired performance. 1.4 Purpose Statement The major purpose of the study is to investigate how e-commerce strategy can help Zara to achieve better performance in the fashion industry of United Kingdom 1.5 Research Aim and Objectives The aim of the study is to investigate how e-commerce strategy can help to enhance better performance in the fashion industry of UK. The study secondarily aims to examine the relationship between changing market environment and e-commerce strategy. Following are the key objectives to achieve the stated aims of the study To critically investigate existing performance of e-commerce in the fashion industry of UK To analyse the impact of e-commerce on organizational performance of Zara in fashion sector
9MANAGEMENT To assess the organizational performance of Zara after the implementation of e- commerce strategies To develop suitable e-commerce strategies to enhance e-commerce performance for Zara in the fashion sector of UK 1.6 Research Questions What is the existing performance of Zara in the fashion industry? What is the impact of e-commerce strategies on the organizational performance of Zara? How e-commerce strategies can be develop to enhance performance of fashion industry in UK? 1.7 Dissertation Structure Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter of the dissertation introduces the topic and importance of performing a study on e-commerce in fashion industry. Chapter provides clear aim and objectives based on which review of literature has been performed in the following chapter. Moreover, the chapter is also organized with research problems –such as the number of players in the sector increases with the growth of e-commerce platform, the market has been relatively competitive in nature.
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10MANAGEMENT Figure 1: Dissertation Structure (Source: Self-Made) Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter of the dissertation reviews the existing research work performed on e-commerce strategies in fashion industry. The review has been performed considering thirty journal articles and all articles were published after 2014. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This is one of most of vital chapter of the dissertation as it presents and discusses the research techniques chosen and applied to the study.Present uses a primary research method to identify how organizations in the fashion industry can enhance the performance. Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Research Methodology Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation
11MANAGEMENT Thischapteractuallypresentsresearchfindingssuchasexistingperformanceofthe organizations in the fashion industry, relation of e-commerce and fashion industry. The data have been converted to meaningful format and then they are presented with graph and table. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendation This is the final chapter of the dissertation, which concludes the entire research work and provides suitable solutions in the form of strategies to achieve better performance in fashion industry. 1.8 Summary Certainly, this chapter builds the backbone of entire dissertation with detailed background on e-commerce in fashion industry. Chapter also provides a clear aim and based on which research objectives have been formed in the chapter. So, when performing the review of literature, the objectives formed in the chapter has been followed in the following chapter.
12MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Mangiaracinaet al.(2015) carried out a study and stated that e-commerce is more of a financial business transactions that occurs over an electronic network which is often called e- business. In contrast, Yang, Song and Tong (2017) carried out a study and stated the fact that e-commerce platforms today is more of a revenue generator, which means it creates a large percentage of the revenue for businesses that wish to run business over the electronic platform. Even though, there are several type of e-commerce but Business to Business (B2B) has been claimed to be the most common and mostly used platform. Hansen and Bjorn- Andersen(2013)statedthefactthatE-businessformsastructurethatincludesthe transactions about selling and buying of goods and services to create revenue. Such wide flow of revenue certainly generates the revenue. Authors also mentioned the fact Setiowati, Daryanto and Arifin (2015), these activities include the process of generating demands products and services by delivering the support towards the sale and customer service. According to Manuel Hurtado González and Herrero Chacón (2014), due to flexibility offered by technology and computer network and internet advances generates the pathway of traditionalcommerce.Thismeanse-commercegeneratesandprovidesemerging opportunities for carrying out the activities that bring profits over the e-platform. Hansen and Jonsson (2013) mentioned e-commerce develops an easier cooperation between different groups –such as businesses share the information to improve customer relation, businesses join hands for the collaborative initiatives for sharing information about some relevant marketing campaigns.Findings of this above study also categorized the use of internet in businessunderwhichservicecapabilitiesarecoreelementofsuccessfule-commerce initiative. Myriad of activities like buying and selling of products, communicating with consumers, communicating with the businesses, collaborating with others and collecting
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13MANAGEMENT information. Hansen and Jonsson (2013) also added that e-businesses that are able to gain success, are also able to develop their business model around selling an extensive list of products and services. So, by reviewing this paper, it can be added that e-commerce platforms have the ability to generate significant amount of revenue and reduce the cost for business and other related entities. According to Gangeshwer (2013) e-commerce platform has no physical store, so in most of the cases, buyer and seller do not come into a face to face discussion. So, it is worth telling that Web and Telecommunication technologies play a crucial role in e-commerce business. Conversely, Chaffey (2015) opined that even though the goals and objectives of e- commerce and traditional businesses are similar like selling products to generate profits, vendors under the e-commerce platforms do it more efficiently over the e-platforms. . In contrast, Gupta (2014) e-commerce holds the capacity of enormous use of websites as well as online catalogue. 2.1 Theoretical Approaches to Electronic Commerce Even though there is a myriad of theories on e-commerce, some of the theories are relevant and reviewed in the following’ Transaction Cost Theory As put forward by Akter and Wamba (2016), economists usually develop a classified transactional path inside the organization to ensure coordination between sellers and the buyers which involves market transactions as well as a suitable coordination within the organization. According to the author, Vega and Keenan (2014) following figure portrays a typical market hierarchy which clearly progress from “manufacturer” to “Wholesaler”, “retailer” and “consumer”. Verbeke and Kano (2013) commented that choice of transactions could depend upon some particular factors with the inclusion of speciality of asset, the
14MANAGEMENT parties’ interest in transactions and ambiguity and uncertainty in explaining the transaction. Hence, according to the authors, transactions could then be broken down into prediction and cost of coordination. According to Brim (2017), cost of coordination include the cost of transaction of the information processing required for the coordination between the work of people and the machine running the primary process. Figure 2:Transaction Cost Theory (Source: Verbeke and Kano 2013) In this context, Wacker, Yang and Sheu (2016) arguably mentioned the fact that cost of transaction can be viewed as the economic equivalency of frictions particularly in a physical system. This means of the friction is large, no or delayed movement could take place. This activity certainly suggest the fact that if transaction cost are found to be high, no or little economic activity is most likely to take place and according to the authors of the above study, this could include the following type of costs
15MANAGEMENT Search cost- this is known as the cost of searching for products, seller and buyers Cost of contracting- this cost is about setting up and carrying out the contract Cost of monitoring- this cost is about ensuring that the terms of contract have been satisfied Cost of adaption- according to the authors, this is cost is about the one which is incurred in making changes during the life of contract According to Vega and Keenan (2014), organizations could choose transactions that economize on cost of coordination. The authors of the study has also mentioned that as information technology continues its speedy cost performance enhancement, the cost of unit of coordination transaction could approach zero; thereby, it could enable the design of innovative coordination transaction to meet new business needs. Akter and Wamba (2016) also mentioned the fact that the ever-increasing as well as advanced use of WWW to perform business and WW related forms of e-commerce are clear example of organizations’ desire to economize on the cost of transaction. Marketing As put forward by Hadjikhani and LaPlaca (2013), all marketing efforts are quite based on the some fundamental premise that there is a particular consumer audience and consumers are some particular firms or individuals within the sector who have needs which can be fulfilled by other running organizations within a specific market.On the other side, Hunt (2014) mentioned about three major emphases in marketing effort which are identified as customer orientation, product orientation as well as profit orientation. Authors also mentioned the fact that a customer orientation tend to denote an attitude as well as pattern of conduct and the degree to which an organization tries to determine what its consumers want as well as then gives them what they desire. According to Lusch and Vargo (2014) a product
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16MANAGEMENT orientation is predicted on the view that customers could recognize and appreciate products for superior merit and grant their patronage on organizations. Diffusion Fang, Zhang and Thalmann (2013) opined that diffusion is mostly known as social process in which innovation can be interacted through some particular channels over time among the organizational members tied by a social system. On the contrary, Neumeier (2013) in their study added the fact that such technique clearly duplicates the activities in electronic commerce or the transaction should be processed to a set of businesses or consumers. As put forward by Verbeke and Kano (2013), channels of communication are in general selected for the present purpose which is more of electronic data interchange. However, when it is considered from a diffusion perspective, time and cost are two major concern and it can be stated that such electronic diffusion means are usually help to reduce cost and pay attention to channels of reaching and approaching the target consumers. Hence, Fang, Zhang and Thalmann (2013,) that the rate of diffusion as well as adoption is mainly determined by some features of innovation and communication platforms that are selected to determine the possibility of developing an effective relation with the target consumers. 2.2 Type of e.-commerce businesses Guercini and Runfola (2015) mentioned that there are numerous type of e-commerce that are used today but when separating them, type of transaction is mostly considered. Hence, according to the author, types may include Business to Consumers, (B2C), Business to Business (B2B) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C). Business to Consumer E-commerce Escobar-Rodríguez and Bonsón-Fernández (2017) carried out a study and stated that in Business to Consumers, business has the opportunity of selling a diverse group of products to
17MANAGEMENT consumers.SomemajorplayersarethereinthesectorsuchasAmazon.comand Hepsibirada.com and some traditional businesses have got into e-platform by developing some comprehensive website as well as virtual outlets. Hence, Gangeshwer (2013) stated the fact that e-commerce has the potential to supplement the tradition trades by delivering products and services through a different set of electronic channels. The study also provides the fact that electronic giant like Wal-Mart and Gap are two major example of such e- commerce site and hence firm could involves the availability of physical space –this means that the consumers can visit the outlets. Hence, consumers can receive customer service in physical stores. Business to Business e-commerce Laudon and Traver (2016) stated that B2B is another type of electronic commerce which processes electronic transactions among and between the businesses and it creates the relation between all sorts of businesses. Unlike the other electronic platform, Business to Business is the fastest growing under the e-commerce platform. Conversely, Savrul, Incekara and Sener (2014) added the fact that Business to Business e-commerce can simply be stated as the commerce between the firms which means the relation only remains within the businesses. According to Barnes and Hunt (2013) almost 80% of e-commerce platform is B2B and it is most likely to grow faster compared to other sort of B2C. Hence, B2C segment has two basic elements such as e-infrastructure and E-market. Hansen and Jonsson (2013) stated the fact that E-infrastructure is the architecture of B2B which consists of logistics, application service providers as well as outsourcing of some basic functions in the process of e-commerce. Business to Government e-commerce As put forward by Chaffey (2015), Business to Government e-commerce or B2G is usually defined as commerce between organizations and the public sector. According to the
18MANAGEMENT authors, it fundamentally refers to the use of internet for public procurement, licensing the procedures as well as other government related operations. In this context, Mazzarol (2015) commented that such e-commerce has two fundamental element such as first the public sector predicts a pilot/leading role in developing e-commerce and second it is predicted that public sector has the largest need for making its procurement system.C2C e-commerce Consumer to Consumers According to Poggiet al. (2013) Consumers to consumer e-commerce or C2C is simply commerce between private individuals or consumers and such type of e-commerce is characterized by both advances of electronic market places and online auctions, especially in vertical sectors where organizations/ businesses could bid for what they could want among multiple suppliers. More precisely, Yuet al. (2014) mentioned that consumers to consumers or (C2C) consists of electronic transactions of products and services between two customers. These are majorly performed through a third party which provides online platform for such transitions. Business to Administration According to Hesselbarth and Schaltegger (2014), Business to Administration (B2A), is more of e-commerce transaction, in which there are certain dealings between businesses and public administration. Moreover, it could encompasses different services like social security, fiscal measures, etc. 2.3 Existing performance of E-commerce in the fashion sector of UK According to Shafritzet al.(2016), e-commerce revenue in the fashion sector in UK in 2017 observed a significant growth as the overall revenue in the year was found to be around 21.38 billion in 2018 the overall revenue was around 23.44 billion. On the other side, Dzhandzhugazovaet al.(2016) performed study and mentionedthatwithin 2023, E-
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19MANAGEMENT commerce fashion revenue in UK is going to increase to 31.4 billion in 2023. On the other side, Kapooret al.(2016), mentioned that high street retailers announcing dire results and the biggest online fashion retailers like Boohoo has announced increasing sales in the first quarter of 2018, certainly with an impressive 53% increase in three consecutive months. For example, alongside, ASOS reported sales growth of 22% in 2018 which is up to end of June which is actually living the likes of M&S, House of Fraser. In addition to this, Gupta (2014) mentioned that the likes of Boohoo and ASOS have received praise in the recent time for their promotion of plus-size models, inclusivity as well as unedited images of women modelling their clothes. This data findings indicate that the fact they are trying to be more real as well as display relatable body shapes, flaws and shades. 2.4 Changing retail as well as e-commerce trends in the fashion industry in UK As put forward by Mazzarol (2015), there are some particular factors which have led to successful performance of these online fashion retailers compared with some conventional High Street Brands that have been observed such as the growth in mobile shopping, a generation of young shoppers trying more vibrant as well as cutting-edge products and experience and the convenience of making the purchase online. Authors have also stated the fact that a good online performance and even some of the more conventional brands stated above will not essentially save their bricks and mortar stores. On the other side, Ramcharran (2013) performed a study and mentioned the fact that organizations in the fashion industry think of a bigger picture. This means, according to the authors, customer needs have to consider first and it could be easy to learn what the modern shoppers actually want. Authors have added the fact that ASOS and Boohoo tend to understand their target audience and most of the strategies have to be based on consumer centric.On the other side, Hansen and Jonsson (2013) arguably added the fact a fundamental focus has to be on personalization as well integration with social media channel is also highly significant. Authors of this study
20MANAGEMENT specifically have mentioned the fact that by growing a loyal, engaged as well as interactive tribe on Instagram, Facebook, the route to purchase should be more focused. In this context Yuet al. (2014) commented that ASOS has given consumers a large amount of incentives to make purchase online with the help of handy-sizing tools as well as features to control and ease the process of decision-making as well as a significant return policy which control some of the fear factors of buying clothes that might not be effective or fit when they try them at home for the first time. Following image taken from the study gives a clear view about the features how hand in hand for consumers when it comes to making the selection or trying a particular item. Figure 2: E-commerce management of the brand (Source: Yuet al. 2014)
21MANAGEMENT Savrul, Incekara and Sener (2014) argued that the above fact does not make it clear or specify that High Street retailers in the fashion sector of UK is facing plummeting sales as well as store closures. Authors have also added the fact that there are more and more pure- play brands tend to open physical outlets particularly to cater for shoppers who wish to try products who prefer to try products in store before buying online later. (Escobar-Rodríguez and Bonsón-Fernández (2017) mentioned that there are myriad of ways of enhancing retail; strategy to make sure that both the physical stores and commerce websites performance thrives. Hence, the key is to take an Omni-channel approach and cerate balance between both online and offline shopping experience. 2.5 UK Commerce market Kirby-Hawkins, Birkin and Clarke (2018) performed a study and revealed that British CommercemarketdemonstratesthegrowthincommerceadaptionamongsttheUK population with 16.4% of overall retail sales coming from online channels which has been compared to the data 14.7% found in 2016 (Yang, Song and Tong 2017). Growth and upcoming markets As put forward by Chan, Ngai and Moon (2017), turnover of B2C increased to 13,739 which is pushed along by growth rate of 13.65%. This has particularly been set to increase in the coming year. Authors have also stated the fact that clothing is one of the significant choice when it comes to online purchases with UK. When looking at the future of e- commerce market, Macchion, Danese and Vinelli (2015) predicted that Amazon is by far the largest with a staggering 91% of consumers stating that they usually use the market place in comparison to just 56% in globally.
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22MANAGEMENT 2.6 Consumer behaviour in United Kingdom Belk, Price and Peñaloza (2013) performed a study and added the fact that British consumers are mostly the online shoppers but it does not mean they tend to avoid shopping in downtown or the High Street. Authors have performed a study and added the fact that almost 93% of consumers stated that they shop in outlets. On the other side, Fitchett,Patsiaouras and Davies (2014) mentioned that when finding the reasons why consumers in UK tend to choose to buy products online, the range of choice, ability to compare price and the cost play a great role.Findings of this study has mentioned the fact that almost a half of consumes talked about the use of mobile tablets to search for products and then shifting the attention to desktop to place the order item. Authors also added the fact that a large percentage of consumers (93%) chose UK online retailers with 31% choosing retailers from European countries. 2.7 Opportunities and Challenges According to Bailey and De Propris (2014), UK has a robust internet infrastructure with the internet penetration of 95% but when looking at the expectation of consumers, speed of delivery usually ranks greatly as an obstacle. In contrast, Guercini and Runfola (2015) mentioned that almost 17% of consumers had the wrong or defected item delivered to them which represents a significant field of potential enhancement for e-commerce retailers. Findings of this article has also examined the existing status of Brexit negotiations at the time of writing. This means that business can observe both core benefits of deregulation. So, when looking to the future, the end deal could have a significant effect on ecommerce landscape both for the retailers and consumers.
23MANAGEMENT 2.8 E-commerce in UK –Statistics and Facts Macchion, Danese and Vinelli (2015) performed a study and added the fact that if the scenario of 2015 is considered, United Kingdom had the third largest e-commerce sector in the world. Authors added the fact that the most recent UK government figures placed a significant value of UK e-commerce sales at 533 billion British pounds in the same year and the data findings clearly put the value of 60 billion euros in 2016 in e-commerce sector of UK but the net sales of biggest online retailers in UK added up to more than 80 billion (Kirby- Hawkins,Birkin, and Clarke (2018). On the other side, Macchion,Danese and Vinelli (2015) mentioned that almost B2B e-commerce sales through websites reported to 95.6 billion British pounds in 2015. This means E-commerce accounted for almost 19% share of total business turnover in UK in three years before. Presently, 80% of UK internet users did online shopping and this is probably the highest penetration of online shopping in Europe. In contrast, Van Looet al.(2013) performed a study and added the fact that in spite of online retail market maturing, the rate of growth has certainly slowed down in the last eight years. Authors added the fact that particularly in 2015, online retail in UK increased by 12.4%. The growth has particularly been observed in the Mobile e-commerce. In addition to this, Yang, Song and Tong (2017) added the fact that mobile share of online sales in UK increased from 0.4 at the beginning of 2011 to 50% in the first quarter of 2016. Furthermore, it has also been studied that the m-commerce users increased steadily for three consecutive years since the middle of 2013. The above article highlights the fact that when it comes to e- commerce in the fashion industry, click and collect or reserve and collect, plays a great role in UK market with the increase of 23% in online retail sales falling the under the category during the third quarter of the year.
24MANAGEMENT 2.9 Factors behind emerging growth of fashion industry in UK As put forward by Taplin (2014), attitudes of fashion executives tend to evolve consumers behaviours which force the industry players to self-disrupt. This means that footfall in the physical environment would continue to decrease which could further drive the need for brands and retailers to enhance their Omni Channel strategies. On the other side, Pookulangara and Shephard (2013) mentioned the fact media has a role in dictating consumer demand and it is helping small brands grow explosively. Across the sector, speed to marker as well as responsiveness to customer needs are becoming significant or critical success factors. When it was required to reflect on the significance of trends, it was estimated in State’s fashion report, State of Fashion report, executive identified that technology related issues are the top four choices. It was also identified that consumers’ shift enabled by technology particularly proved to be salient with the use of mobile known as the most significanttrendwerepredicted.Likewise,thesecondandthirdmostsignificantare platforms are about the start-up thinking in which highlight that organizations tend to proactively deal with the digital disruption in the fashion sector. It is surprising to find artificial intelligence less highly ranked and it is worth telling that shift may not have reached critical mass in 2018 but it is predicted that it might continue to affect the future scenario of the industry in the upcoming years. According to Escobar-Rodríguez and Bonsón-Fernández (2017),Amazon,Alibaba,Stitch Fixhave made a tremendous growth across multiple areas of the value chain and the rest will follow the chain. Hence, Guercini and Runfola (2015) mentioned about a growing priority which is the sustainability as well as transparency which reflects the growing concerns on the part of consumers and organizations regarding how to alleviate its influence on the environment. Finding of the study has also added the fact that executives tend to look forward to invest to
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25MANAGEMENT add values. Consequently, top sales growth investment is the priority which remains as the development of Omni channel capabilities. 2.10 Gaps in the literature It has been identified that existing papers have talked about the growth of ecommerce in fashion industry of UK but hardly a paper has particularly discussed about the factor that are particularly fuelling the growth. Few studies even predicted the future growth of UK fashion sector but the lack required detail about the factors that influence the growth in ecommerce. In addition, the number of players in the sector is comparatively high but hardly a study performed a competitive discussion. Thus, considering such gaps in the papers, the present study seeks to find the significance of ecommerce in the fashion industry of UK and the fundamental reasons for growth and sustainability.
26MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction Research methodology is the most vital part of the social and business study. Selection of research methods determine the outcome of research methods. This means if the study is required to learn how e-commerce help to achieve better performance in the Fashion sector of UK, certain research methods have to be implemented. Thus, this chapter of the dissertation presents the research techniques that have been applied to learn how e-commerce ishelpingtheorganizationsinthefashionindustrytoachieveabetteranddesired performance. This chapter has particularly discussed each method used in the study and provided adequate justification for selecting each of the method. 3.2 Research Onion Research onion is a framework which holds several other methods as the layer of onion and each layer has its own features and functions application to research. Saunders made this framework to facilitate the understanding of research methods in studies. So, according to Saunders, first layer of this onion model is the philosophical stance which is a set of philosophies often used to judge and analyse the context of the study (Mayer 2015). The next layer of the onion model is the approach which is usually deductive and inductive. The third layer of the framework is ‘Strategies’. Likewise, the fourth layer of the framework is the choice which is mixed method or mono method. Each of layer has been further discussed in the following 3.3 Research Philosophy It has been identified that Research philosophy is a particular way of enhancing knowledgethatdefinethephilosophicalparadigms.Hence,developmentaswellas understanding of knowledge in general depends on some particular assumptions on the basis
27MANAGEMENT oftheperspectivesoftheworld(Longbottom2016).Itisworthtellingthatworld perspectives as well as practical consideration of scholar could be different.Research Philosophy is usually divided into three different groups like positivism, interpretivism, and realism. Mackey and Gass (2015) mentioned the fact that positivism fundamentally considers the actionable work with the social reality that can be observed and the outcome is always the scope of generalization. This is because the case is always about the natural scientists. Another significant characteristic of positivism research philosophy is that when the research context is analysed with this philosophy, the outcome can be quantified. For example, if the scenario of the present study is considered, the result helps to learn how research e-commerce strategies are actually helping the organizations to gain better study outcome; so how it is helping or to what extent it is helping can be quantified,. On the other side, intepretivism research philosophy is fundamentally developed on the basis of understanding human nature and their different role as the social actors. This research philosophy also considers and interprets the social role of other individual according to their own set of perspectives. This means if intepretivism research philosophy is applied to the study, it considers the perspectives of all individuals or parties involved in the study when measuring the effectiveness of e-commerce strategies in the fashion industry (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017). In contrast, Realism particularly refers to the scientific inquiry which focus on the reality projected by sense of humans. It also believes that objects have independent existence from what individual human think. Justifying the positivism research philosophy Positivism research philosophy and been selected and applied to the present study because positivism research philosophy considers the external objects and reality when measuring how e-commerce is helping the businesses in the fashion industry of UK. All
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28MANAGEMENT external facts can be considered when dealing with the reality of fashion industry. In addition to this, outcome can be measured and quantified as this philosophy particularly allow the use of statistical findings and generation of digits and numbers. 3.4 Research Approach There are two different types of research approaches which are such as deductive and inductive research approach. As put forward by Walter and Andersen (2013), a deductive research approach majorly helps to deal with the hypothesis they are made in the study. This means that the existing studies are considered and then the research strategies are used to test the hypothesis. On the other side, inductive research approach is more of inductive reasoning which basically starts with the observation and then theories towards the end of the research process. Hence, this theories is the result of observation. If it is considered characteristically, it should be noted that inductive research approach does not require any sort of hypothesis. So, in the present study, if inductive research approach is applied to the present study, the first the observation regarding how e-commerce so far has helped organizations to shape thebusinessinthecompetitiveenvironment.Theobservationsalsoincludehow organizations presently in UK is finding their ways in e-commerce and leading businesses towards the developed goals. Eventually, theories regarding how e-commerce is effective for the organizations in the fashion industry. Nonetheless, to derive a suitable and precise outcome from the study, one particular organizational scenario has been considered which helps to form the theories at the end. Thus, taking this into account, organizational scenario of Zara has been considered and theories as the outcome gained from the study is on how Zara has achieved the business outcome with the e-commerce strategies.
29MANAGEMENT 3.5 Research Design It can be mentioned that research design can be treated as the general plan of the study which gives the insight about how research responses can be addressed. It has been identified that research design is usually backed up with some research strategies and techniques that are further related to collection of data and analysis. There are three different type of research designs mostly used in academic and business studies such as exploratory, explanatory and descriptive research design. Mackey and Gass (2015) mentioned that exploratory research design fundamentally explores research questions and thus design is not able to provide final or conclusive answers to research questions. It can be stated that such design of study, on the contrary, is more of a scientific method with the inclusion of description and observation. However, this design does not influence the topic in any manner. On the other side, exploratory is a research performed for an issue which has not been researched clearly and helps to enhance the operational definitions. For example, if there is one single factor associated with e-commerce which is not known yet, this research design might help to explore the factor more adequately. In the present study, descriptive research has been selected because, descriptive research design helps to analyse how e-commerce in the recent time is helping Zara to achieve better business outcome. This research design is not bothered about the previous issue of the topic, it just analyses the context of e-commerce without influencing it anyway. Moreover, this research allows quantitative method which helps to gain competitive findings. This is because descriptive method is competitive in nature, is not efficient to open-ended questions. This means the research questions that are designed for the study are close-ended and they are highly required for performing the survey.
30MANAGEMENT 3.6 Data Collection Methods It has been identified that data collection is a technique of gathering information from all relevant sources to respond to research questions, test hypothesis and make proper evaluation of the outcome. According to Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault (2015), data collection methods can be divided into two different categories namely primary data collection and method secondary data collection; both these types have its own functions and use in the study. Secondary Data collection method:As put forward by Brannen (2017), secondary data collection is a kind of data which has already been published in books, newspaper, magazines, portals and other relevant wide reading sources. Unlike the primary data, availability of secondary data sources is abundance irrespective of the nature of the study. However, the present study does not include the secondary data analysis, secondary data has only been used in the review of existing papers performed of e-commerce. Primary data:It has been identified that primary data collection can be categorized in two ways quantitative and qualitative data collection. As put forward by Hyett, Kenn and Dickson-Swift (2014) quantitative data collection methods revolve around the mathematical calculations in some particular formats. In order to perform the analysis of the data, a close- ended questionnaire has been developed. Primary data is usually converted to numerical forms and digits and then they are presented with graph and table. In the present study, to understand how e-commerce is helping Zara to achieve better business result, consumers of the organization who are taking service from Zara have been surveyed. So, through survey, primary data has been collected for the analysis. However, when it comes to primary data collection, there are some other areas to be considered such as selection of respondents, sampling and ethical consideration when choosing the candidates. These areas are further discussed in the following.
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31MANAGEMENT 3.7 Sampling Methods Sampling is one of the most significant area when the study is fundamentally based on the primary data. Sampling in the study is required because populations of interest are too large to work with; this means it is true that researcher find it difficult to process the views of a large population. Thus, sampling often helps to resolve this issue and guide researcher to focus on a particular area of population. Sampling method is usually divided into two different categories namelyprobability samplingandnon-probability sampling method. As put forward by Creswell and Poth (2017), in probability sampling each member of the population has the chance to take part in the study and the process is applied randomly. This respondents are chosen in a random manner. On the other side, in probability sampling, sample groups are selected non-randomly and thereby, in non-probability sampling method only a certain members of the population can take part in the data collection process. In the present non-probability sampling method has been selected and applied because if the success of e-commerce and its effectiveness are required to be learned, it is wise and effective to collect data from the organizational members only. Hence, non-probability convenient sampling method helps to choose members specifically from the individuals who are aware of the context and have knowledge about the context. However, as the consumers of Zara are surveyed for collecting data, simple random probability sampling method has been applied. The following section of the study discusses how target population has been selected using sampling frame and size. Target population:It has been identified that target population helps to represent some particular segment within a population that effectively serve as the most effective data sources for the research. For example, in the present study entitled “How can e-commerce strategies help to achieve better performance in the UK fashion sector”- A case study of Zara, UK,target population consists of the individuals or the consumers of Zara in UK.
32MANAGEMENT Sampling frame:It has been identified that sampling frame is usually known as the list of individuals counted from the target population. Hence, this list of individual take part in the data collection process. For example, in the present study the sampling frame would include the individuals who actually takes part in the study. Thus, the sampling frame includes 60 consumers who are aware of the use and application of e-commerce strategies in fashion items. This means the respondents who took part in the study are taken from this sampling frame.However,theappropriatenumberofindividualswhoparticipatedinthedata collection process are discussed in the following. Sampling size:Sampling size is the basically the number of individuals from the sampling frame who takes part in the primary data collection techniques. Thus, in the present study, in order to collect primary data, 50 customers of Zara taken from the sampling frame has been engaged in the process. 3.8 Data collection instrument In order to collect data from the organizational members of Zara, UK, a questionnaire has been developed. Questionnaire has been developed to perform a survey among the members of the organization. Questionnaire include 11 close ended questions based on how e-commerce strategy is helping the brand to achieve better performance. 3.9 Data Analysis To make analysis, first the collected data has been transformed into expressive data for the interpretation in the most rational manner. The quantitative data which was collected by surveyhasbeenrepresentedwithsuitablegraphandtable.So,whenmakingthe interpretation of the data, the data has been linked to the findings of found in the existing papers. To stand the analysis, primary has been compared to the findings found in the literature review.
33MANAGEMENT 3.10 Ethical Consideration It has been identified that ethical consideration in research is critical. It is worth mentioning that ethics are the norms or standards for conduct that distinguish between the right and wrong and they help to determine the difference between acceptable as well as unacceptable. Especially when the study involves the process of collecting primary data, ethical issues are the significant challenges. It is certain that asking respondents to take part in the study all of a sudden is unethical. This means respondents’ consent must be taken before involving them into the process. As put forward by Gajjar (2013), ethical standards often prevent against the fabrication or falsifying of information for the collaborative work as it encourages an environment of trust, mutual respect among the scholars or researchers. This is particularly significant when considering the issues related to data sharing, co- authorship, confidentiality and several other issues. Thus, it is highly important for scholars to adhere to ethical standards for the public support and believe in the study. In order to avoid the ethical issue in the present study, all ethical norms have accurately been followed. For example before approaching the consumers of Zara, UK an ethical check list form authorized by the University has been submitted to the organization. In the form, it is particularly mentioned that no respondent has been forced to take part in the study, which means participants hold the right of taking part in the process at their own will and withdraw participation at any moment if they wish to. Likewise, according to ethical norms and standards of ethical study, identity of the respondent has been kept anonymous. It has been ensured that in order to collect and keep the data securely, Data Protection Act 1998 has been followed. 3.11 Research Reliability and Validity Reliability and Validity:Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure. However, in the present study, reliability testing includes an internal consistency method, in which same and
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34MANAGEMENT equal outcome can be gained. This means that the researcher can gain some outcome with respect to how e-commerce strategy can help the brand to achieve better performance. On the other side, research validity is a degree to which the scores from a specific measure could represent the variable they are intended to. Study uses a face validity method to consider the interest of respondents. 3.12 Limitation: Even though the study covers a wide field of e-commerce but the analysis is restricted to primary data analysis only. This means that the study did not include any sort of secondary data analysis. Moreover, the sample sized in the study is relatively less. 3.13 Summary This chapter effectively discusses the research methods that have been used and applied to the study to learn how e-commerce strategies is helping Zara to gain suitable research outcomes. Positivism research philosophy has been selected to analyse the research context, while descriptive research design in the study has been used to analyse the data rationally and scientifically.
35MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 1.How far do you agree that E-commerce is effectively supporting the fashion industry in UK? Row Labels Count of 1. Agree28 Disagree3 Neutral1 Strongly agree 13 Strongly disagree 5 Grand Total 50 Table 1: E-commerce is effectively supporting the fashion industry in UK
36MANAGEMENT Graph 1: E-commerce is effectively supporting the fashion industry in UK The graph presented above helps to state the fact that almost 56% of the consumers of Zara in has mentioned the fact that e-commerce is backing the fashion sector in UK. This finding makes it clear that fashion sector in the nation is receiving an enormous support from e- commerce due to technology advances and e-commerce is one technology-based platform where consumers can be targeted accordingly. Moreover, e-commerce is allowing brand to know consumers’ taste and preferences. This means consumers can receive feedback from another or a group of consumers; thereby, consumers are the ‘centred focuses’ of e-commerce strategy irrespective of size and type industry. In the literature review, it was found that e- commerce revenue in the fashion sector in UK in 2017 observed a significant growth as the overall revenue in the year was found to be around 21.38 billion in 2018 the overall revenue was around 23.44 billion (Shafritzet al.2016). So, if these two findings are considered, it is can be mentioned that e-commerce is supporting the fashion sector. 2.How far do you agree that online shopping is reliable in terms of personal information? Row LabelsCountof 2. Agree20 Disagree16 Neutral5 Strongly agree4 Strongly disagree 5 Grand Total50
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37MANAGEMENT Table 2: Online shopping is reliable in terms of personal information Graph 2: Online shopping is reliable in terms of personal information The graph implies that 32% of the consumers have mentioned that information provided online when making purchase is not reliable while, 40% of respondents out of 50 have an opposite view. This finding does not hold much difference as consumers have contradictory view. However, it can be mentioned that as e-commerce is in fashion sector is more of business to consumers, providing consumers with high quality service is always the first priority, consumers’ information are adequately protected. And, technology advances in the e-commerce platform should not go unnoticed, due to such rapid growth in technology, e- commerce is considered to be secure free from all sort of fraudulent activities. In the literature review, it was studied that British Commerce market demonstrates the growth in commerce adaption amongst the UK population with 16.4% of overall retail sales coming from online channels (Yang, Song and Tong 2017). So, it can be stated that reliability of information shared on online when buying items is secure. Nonetheless, there is always a loophole for every layer of security and people need time to overcome with any such occurrence.
38MANAGEMENT 3. How far do you agree that use of mobile devices facilitated the ways of online shopping in UK? Row Labels Count of 3. Agree24 Disagree5 Neutral3 Strongly agree 16 Strongly disagree 2 Grand Total 50 Table 3: Mobile Devices have facilitated the ways of e-commerce Graph 3: Mobile Devices have facilitated the ways of e-commerce
39MANAGEMENT Graph helps to observe the fact that almost 48% of the respondents have mentioned that mobile devices have certainly made it easy for people to shop online and another 32% of the respondents have the similar views. This finding is well-predicted because it certain that development in technology like the invention of Smart Phone devices have made it easy to do any sort of online activities. By using a mobile device, people can shop or surf internet/visit any website of fashion brand anywhere and anytime. Unlike the traditional generation of computer device, mobile device is much easier to use and user-friendly. Due to such advances in technology, use of smart-phone devices are rapidly increasing which is certainly a good opportunity for the brands in fashion sector. This is because they can easily target wide audience and population to promote and sell their products. Moreover, constant development in the mobile device have added a series of new features in which a user can do all necessary tasks that are usually done in a computer device or laptop. Thus, it is worth mentioning that mobile devices have facilitated the ways of e-commerce. Moreover it was found in the review, Fitchett, Patsiaouras and Davies (2014) stated that when finding the reasons why consumers in UK tend to choose to buy products online, the range of choice, ability to compare price and the cost play a great role. Findings of this study has mentioned the fact that almost a half of consumes talked about the use of mobile tablets to search for products and then shifting the attention to desktop to place the order item. Authors also added the fact that a large percentage of consumers (93%) chose UK online retailers with 31% choosing retailers from European countries. Hence, both primary and secondary findings are stating the same fact that due to use of mobile devices, a significant growth in the e- commerce field has been observed. 4.Which of the following factors influence you to make online purchase from e- commerce site? Row LabelsCount
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40MANAGEMENT of 4. Coupons10 Deliveryon time 4 Frequent discount 13 New Arrivals 12 Offersand deals 11 Grand Total 50 Table 4: Factors influence you to make online purchase from e-commerce site Graph 4: Factors influence you to make online purchase from e-commerce site It has been identified that finding of this particular question makes it clear that there are several factors which could strongly impact the consumers to make online purchase from e- commerce site.It has been identified that almost 26% of the respondents have mentioned
41MANAGEMENT that due to frequent discount, they prefer to shop online, while not too less, 24% of the respondents have mentioned that they prefer online shopping because they find new arrivals of fashion items compared to the collection kept in the outlets. Likewise, offers and deals is another significant option chosen by respondents (22%). It is certain that as e-commerce vendors are targeting wide market, reducing a price of a product or providing consumer with the discount is a significant e-commerce strategy of increasing overall sales. On the other side, almost 20% of the respondents of the mentioned that coupon is one such attractive reason they prefer online shopping. Thus, it can be added that all these factors have an equal impact on consumers when making a purchase online. These factors are essential to be considered because e-commerce is a large platform and each day a new deal or strategy appears in the field. In the existing study, it was found that that ASOS has given consumers a large amount of incentives to make purchase online with the help of handy-sizing tools as well as features to control and ease the process of decision-making. This brand also provides significant return policy which control some of the fear factors of buying clothes that might not be effective or fit when they try them at home for the first time (Yuet al. 2014). If this existing finding is considered with the findings found on ZARA, hardly significant difference can be found because above primary findings imply the fact that ZARA is widely known for its constant deals and offers which covers a large amount of incentives like the brand ASOS in UK. 5.Whichofthefollowingfactorswillnegativelyinfluenceyouronlinepurchase behaviour?
42MANAGEMENT Graph 5: Factors will negatively influence your online purchase behaviour? Considering the primary findings found above, it can be stated that almost 23% of the respondents have added the fact that quality of products is one such factor which could negatively influence consumers’ purchase decision, while almost 28% of the respondents have mentioned that expected high price badly affects consumers’ mind. On the contrary, almost 14% of consumers have mentioned that poor communication with the consumers until the delivery of items is another reason affecting consumers’ mind. This is certain that in an outlet a consumer can communicate with the brand person in a face to face manner and frequency of such interaction is high, while in an e-commerce platform, the communication occurs in a systematic manner such as –communication through AI. Thereby, there is a series of queries that customers might have but they often remain unresolved. In addition to this, almost 18% of the respondents have mentioned that some items in e-commerce channel hold hidden cost which are not shown before check out. A visitor in the website usually finds the cost when they make the final payment. This could often disappoint consumers and affect their perspectives towards online shopping. Findings of an existing study gave the data almost 17% of consumers had the wrong or defected item delivered to them which represents a significant field of potential enhancement for e-commerce retailers (Guercini and Runfola
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43MANAGEMENT 2015). This means apart from the given factors in the graph, there are several other reasons like the defected item can negatively influence consumers’ decision making in online purchase. For example, when a consumer has placed an order first time and received a defected clothe item is most likely withdraw his/her interest towards shopping in e-commerce channel. In the above findings, it was found that quality of product a significant driver in which consumers can get influencedonline shopping. So, e-commerce vendor should consider the fact that quality of product and service one top requirement to enhance the overall service of fashion brand in e-commerce platform. 6. Do you believe that online shopping is more effective than conventional outlet shopping? Row Labels Count of 6. Mayb e 9 No7 Yes34 Grand Total 50
44MANAGEMENT Table 5: Online shopping is more effective than conventional outlet shopping Graph 6: Online shopping is more effective than conventional outlet shopping Collection of primary data presented above helps to observe the fact that almost 68% of the respondents believe that online shopping is relatively effective than traditional outlet shopping. Decidedly, technology in last two decades have observed a tremendous growth and especially development in internet is one significant example. Development in internet technology have facilitated the ways of business. This means businesses since last two decades observed rapid pace of expansion and invention because of the technology. E-commerce technology saves time and money of consumers. End users of the products do not have to visit the outlets or burn fuel to visit the outlets. In addition to this, onlineshoppingismore convenientcomparedto offlinetraditionalshopping because conventional shopping sticks to same ideas of serving, while online shopping is relatively exposed to new ideas and innovation.In the literature review, it was found that Hansen and Jonsson (2013) mentioned that e-commerce tends to promote a relatively easier cooperation between different groups such as business sharing information to enhance customer relation, organizationsworkingtogethertodesignanddevelopnewproductsandservicesor multinational organizations sharing information for major marketing campaigns. So, access to
45MANAGEMENT information and experimental is open and large. Thus, all sort of strategies in the e-commerce platforms can be applied to achieve the eventual business goals. 7. How far do you agree e-commerce vendor care about after-sale service? Row Labels Count of 7. Agree24 Disagree11 Neutral6 Strongly agree 1 Strongly disagree 8 Grand Total 50 Table 6: E-commerce vendor care about after-sale service
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46MANAGEMENT Graph 7: E-commerce vendor care about after-sale service The above stated data helps to observe the fact that almost 48% of the respondents have stated that e-commerce vendors provide after –sale service to consumers, while 22% of the respondents have a contradictory view which means e-commerce vendors are quite laidback towards providing the after sale services. Likewise, almost 16% of the respondents of out 50 respondents have the same opposite view. On the other side, in existing papers did not have much to say about the after sale service in e-commerce transaction.However, with the growth in e-commerce technology, vendors in the e-commerce sector is more intended to provide the after sale service as the strategy of consumer retention. However, it is can be added that as the consumers are not supposed to supposed to try the item practically at home unless it is delivered, there is a possibility that the item can be returned by consumers. Thus, in e-commerce platform, after sale service is one of the significant part of the business trend. Likewise, as studied in review, due to mass transactions in the online sector, consumers are most likely to receive defected items, in such situation, after sale service should be top most solution. Hansen and Jonsson (2013) mentioned that many successful e-business have developed their business models around selling a long list of products and services. Hence, e- commerce has the significant capability to generate revenue and minimize costs for business and entities. Such business models often include after sale service when innovating their strategies for developing a better service, and better customer experience in such digital environment.As e-commerce service is not highly different from the conventional trend of shopping in the fashion sector, after sale service, return policy, consumers feedback, welcome gift should not omitted from the overall strategy of e-commerce business of ZARA in the fashion industry. 8.Which of the following e-commerce site do you presently use?
47MANAGEMENT Row Labels Count of 8. Amazon UK 16 Argos3 John& Spencer 1 Marks& Spencer 2 Zara28 Grand Total 50 Table 7: Type of E-commerce site consumers presently use
48MANAGEMENT Graph 8: Type of E-commerce site consumers presently use The above presented data in graph helps to observe the fact that almost 16 respondents outof50respondentshavementionedthattheypreferAmazonUK,almost28 respondents out of 50 have chosen ZARA. This means these two brands in ecommerce platform in UK have dominance over the market. ZARA gains the influence because of its prior presence in the traditional market and thereafter, it has gained popularity over e- commerce due to its large variety of product items and constant new arrivals of fashion items. In addition to this, the brand ZARA has always been a step ahead in terms of quality of fashion items. In the literature review, it was found that within 2023, E- commercefashionrevenueinUKisgoingtoincreaseto31.4billionin2023 (Dzhandzhugazovaet al.2016). High street retailers announcing dire results and the biggest online fashion retailers like Boohoo has announced increasing sales in the first quarter of 2018, certainly with an impressive 53% increase in three consecutive months. ASOS reported sales growth of 22% in 2018 which is up to end of June which is actually living the likes of M&S, House of Fraser. Similarly, there is another study which states the fact that the likes of Boohoo and ASOS have received praise in the recent time for their promotion of plus-size models, inclusivity as well as unedited images of women modelling their clothes. Compared to these brands, ZARA Online sales were up 41 percent in 2017 and represented 10 percent of Zara’s net sales. Thus, it can be mentioned that ZARA is not lagging behind in terms of market share and sales in the e-commerce platform. 9.What is your age? Please choose from the following Row LabelsCount
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49MANAGEMENT of 9. 18 -25 years10 25-35 years34 36 years and Above 6 Grand Total50 Table 8: Consumers’ age group Graph 9: Consumers’ age group It has been identified that almost 68% of the respondents out of 50 belong to the age group of 25 to 35 years and almost 20% of the respondents have mentioned that they belong to the age group between 18 to 25 years, while 12% of the respondents have mentioned that breath. This data fact indicates that a large percentage of respondents belong to 25 to 35 years, thus, it can be mentioned that when developing fashion items and focussing on the target consumers, brand ZARA should pay attention to the stated age group. In the existing papers, it was found that however, the existing studies did not mention much about how the behaviour of the people belonging to particular age group but Belk, Price and Peñaloza (2013) performed a
50MANAGEMENT study and added the fact that British consumers are mostly the online shoppers but it does not mean they tend to avoid shopping in downtown or the High Street. Such findings are widely related to how consumers are related to the trend of –ecommerce but it does not provide insight about how a particular group of consumers should be approached towards a particular brand under e-commerce platform. 10.Please choose your employment status Row Labels Count of 10. Freelance r 4 Salaried39 Self- employed 7 Grand Total 50
51MANAGEMENT Table 9: Employment Status of the consumers Graph 10: Employment Status of the consumers It has been identified that almost 78% of the respondents have stated that they are salaried, while 14% of the respondents have mentioned that they are self-employed and almost 8% of the respondents have mentioned they work as freelancers. Thus, certainly it can be added that when developing e-commerce strategies or its expansion. E-commerce is one such large platform where consumers can be easily targeted because the access is to information is relatively easier than any other platform. So, it can be added that when developing consumer retention strategies, brand should categorize the approach as per the economic ability. 11.Please specify your gender Row Labels Count of 11. Female20 Male26
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52MANAGEMENT Prefer not to say 4 Grand Total 50 Table 10: Gender Graph 11: Gender The graph implies the fact that almost 52% of the respondents have mentioned that they are male, while almost 40% of the respondents have mentioned that they are female. It has been identified that the percentage of both male and female is comparatively high. Thus, it can be added that in the fashion industry strategies for fashion items and approach to e-commerce platforms would be based on both male and female.
53MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Conclusion There is a number of facts which have been both in the existing papers and primary finding is that advances of technology are certainly helping the e-commerce fashion sector in UK. The growth and development of mobile devices have made it easy for UK consumers to choose e-commerce channels when it comes to shop fashion items online. The responses received in first quantitative question makes it clear that fashion sector in the nation is receiving an enormous responses from e-commerce market due to technology advances and e-commerce is one technology-based platform where consumers can be targeted accordingly. In addition, the use of mobile devices have fuelled the growth in the sector. Likewise, the findings in the literature helps to understand the fact that 16.4% of overall retail sales out of total population of UK coming from online channels. Likewise, the primary findings indicate the fact that use of smart-phone devices are rapidly increasing which is certainly a good opportunity for the brands in fashion sector. On the other side, it was found in the literature that e-commerce vendors have to enhance its service quality, as there is high possibility of losing consumer base due to poor service such as almost 17% of consumers had the wrong or defected item delivered to them which represents a significant fieldofpotentialenhancementfore-commerceretailers.Moreover,priceisanother significant factor as high price is a negative driver –consumers often get influenced by unexpected high price. For example, the survey data helps to observe the fact that 28% of the respondents have mentioned that expected high price badly affects consumers’ mind. Despite this fact, it is worth mentioning that almost e-commerce trend in fashion industry of UK is most likely to gain a tremendous exposure in the coming days, because in the survey, it has been learnt that almost 68% of the respondents believe that online shopping is relatively
54MANAGEMENT effective than traditional outlet shopping. However, in order to enhance performance and level of service of fashion brand like Zara, few suggestions related to –ecommerce strategies have been provided in the following. It has been identified that there are different strategies of e-commerce depending on the goals but here strategies are developed considering consumers as the fundamental focus of the strategy. 5.2 Recommendation Maximize e-commerce search usability The organization should have to organize a web store for two groups of potential such as the visitors who know what they would like to buy and the visitor who wish to browse. So, the e- commerce website platform should have the record or analyse what exactly the consumers are searching for. For example, if the online store system is able to keep the record of this, it is certain that the brand is having an effective navigation as well as search capability. So, effectively, consumers who know exactly what they are searching is most likely to find the right information as faster as possible. It should be noted that designing a high-performing search experience is a fundamental feature for users as users cannot find they are looking for and they might it from another website or vendor. Likewise, there are could be some consumers who just want to use the navigation menus as well as move into product categories; thereby, the brand needs to organize the bar and categorize in intuitive easy to use categories.
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