Impact of the Internet on Bangladeshi Consumers in London

Title: Impact of the Internet on Bangladeshi consumers in London in
the pandemic time of Covid-19.
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Contents
Executive summary:........................................................................................................................4
Chapter 01: Introduction 800...........................................................................................................5
1.1 Background 250................................................................................................................5
1.2 Rationale...........................................................................................................................5
1.3 Aims & Objectives............................................................................................................6
1.4 Research Questions...........................................................................................................7
1.5 Research Structure............................................................................................................7
Chapter 02: Literature Review.........................................................................................................8
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................8
2.2 Concept of Internet (150 words)............................................................................................8
2.3 Internet and its Implication (1500 words).............................................................................8
2.3.1 Information accessibility..............................................................................................12
2.3.2 Easiness of Reach.........................................................................................................13
2.3.3 Customized Service......................................................................................................14
2.3.4 Delivery Ease................................................................................................................15
2.4 Conceptual Framework........................................................................................................16
3 Methodology 2000.................................................................................................................17
3.1 Introduction:........................................................................................................................17
3.2 Philosophy.......................................................................................................................17
3.3 Approach.........................................................................................................................18
3.4 Strategy...........................................................................................................................19
3.5 Research method:.................................................................................................................20
3.6 Data collection method...................................................................................................20
3.7 Sampling.........................................................................................................................21
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3.8 Data analysis...................................................................................................................21
3.6 Ethics...................................................................................................................................22
4. Result and Findings: Quantitative Research..............................................................................22
4.1 Demographic data:...............................................................................................................22
4.2 Frequency analysis...............................................................................................................23
5. Discussion:.............................................................................................................................38
6. Conclusion:............................................................................................................................41
6.1 Limitation and future research:............................................................................................43
6.2 Recommendations:..............................................................................................................43
References:....................................................................................................................................45
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Executive summary:
The following research has focused on defining the impact of the internet on the Bangladeshi consumers
in London city during the lockdown period of pandemic coronavirus and the ultimate result has shown
that the factors involved in using the internet have 34% influence on the British Bangladeshi consumers
living in London city only. This research has six chapters to meet four research objectives. In the first
chapter, the researcher has justified research background, rationale, aims and objectives and
research structure finding that during the pandemic situation, all of the countries of the world
locked in their home due to the fear of spreading the highly contagious disease COVID-19 that
has contributed to the drastic change around the world. The second chapter has defined the
research variables to consider and found that the home delivery service with the online platform
has made this platform tangible enough and believable by the target audience as the companies
in the pandemic situation has served their target population with the organisational success in
reaching the doorstep of the consumers; ease of reach, information access, and the opportunity of
customised service are the other independent variables. The third chapter has determined the
research design and suggested to conduct deductive research with the quantitative research
method conducting primary research on the market from 66 respondents. The result of the
frequency analysis has shown that the respondents are supporting the researcher on all points and
the variables explained the changes in consumer behaviour by 34%. The discussion section has
connected the literature with the result and findings and found high consistency. The last chapter
has recommended the UK-based organisations to educate the customers about quality, integrate
augmented reality, influencer marketing, and IMC to use for utilising this platform.
Key words: ease of reach, influencer marketing, integration of marketing communication, brand
awareness, brand advocacy, augmented reality, delivery ease, customised service, personalised
experience.
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Chapter 01: Introduction
1.1 Background
During the pandemic COVID-19, since 18th March, the UK was shut down, even getting out
from home was banned and every social gathering was abandoned by the government to prevent
spreading this highly contagious disease. Therefore, the organisations have shifted their
operation from offline to online services and limited social gathering rather focuses on home
delivery practices with the blessing of the internet. The internet was then the only channel of
business communication for daily shopping and the organisations have tried to accommodate the
new normal with the home delivery service (Laato, et al. 2020). 49% of the Bangladeshis in the
UK lives in the greater London city and like other citizens there, they have also suffered a lot due
to pandemic effect there. The total lifestyle then was dependent on the online marketplace, even
the employment was based on remote team management. As the financial condition of this
population is comparatively lower than that of other ethnic groups and races or local citizens,
they have to suffer a lot due to this effect. The digital divide is acute among the British
Bangladeshis as they are by culture relies on the offline practices that have to shift at this period
and the total population then must have to rely on the internet only for the consumption on
anything. With the information accessible on the internet, the UK consumers get an alternative
channel of physical distribution process in the pandemic period. The UK Bengalis have spent
55% more times on their phone or connected to the internet anyhow that penetrates the success
of the retailers and the manufacturers to be directly connected with them using the online
channel of communication (Stanciu, et al. 2020). The consumers are facilitated with the
customised services designing their service delivery process. The parcel delivery industry has
found a swift shift of 59% in the pandemic period as the home delivery service was the only
channel for the red zones. However, considering all these facts, it is matter to research that the
degree to which internet was contributing to the British Bangladeshi consumer’s lifestyle in the
pandemic period to define the potential usage of internet to support regular life.
1.2 Rationale
The pandemic situation is continuing since March 2020 with comparatively lower effect due to
taking precautions faster; therefore, people should still be aware of this contagious disease and
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concentrate on health and safety of people at social gathering area with public awareness. To
avoid social gathering, all of the regular transaction was conducted in electronic format and
online channels have been flourished with an unexpected shift (Stanciu, et al. 2020). The number
of online businesses has been increased by 32% to grab the opportunity derived by the
dependence of the confined population on the internet for their regular shopping to especial
shopping even to get the medical care services. Therefore, the internet was an indispensable part
of regular life for the British Bangladeshi population though they were once the less responsive
population to the online channel of distribution (Singh, et al. 2020). It is a major matter to
understand the changes in consumer behaviour due to the pandemic situation and the way the
internet has penetrated the changes among the British Bangladeshis.
This research would contribute to understanding the degree of changes in consumer behaviour
anticipating its application in the next decade defining the drastic change notable across the
buying behaviour process where technology has acquired a major portion. However, the British
Bangladesh population used to like shopping at the store physically instead of relying on the
online channel or mobile shopping as 87% of them have opined that they enjoy roaming at the
shops and taking "touch and feel" experience from the brick-and-mortar stores. It is the most
contemporary issue now in the market that the world market is still suffering and no specific
research has been conducted on this issue now (He and Harris, 2020). Therefore, the following
research is supposed to highlight a narrower view to define the impact of the internet on the
British Bangladeshis in London during the pandemic situation understanding the way their
consumption pattern has changed and how their purchasing pattern has been affected by the
innovation in the market.
1.3 Aims & Objectives
This research aims at the understanding impact of the internet on Bangladeshi consumers in
London in the pandemic time of covid-19. Therefore, the following objectives have been defined
to understand the effect thoroughly.
 To evaluate the way the internet is contributing to the regular life in London for the
British Bangladeshi population
 To define the challenges included in internet adoption for regular shopping and
transaction for British Bangladeshi population
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 To examine how the factors included in the adapting online channel of communication in
the pandemic situation for British Bangladeshi consumers in London
 To recommend the way online communication channels can boost customer engagement
with the further pleasing shopping experience and reliability
1.4 Research Questions
General question: What is the impact of the internet on Bangladeshi consumers in London in
the pandemic time of Covid-19?
 How does the internet contribute to regular life in the pandemic situation in the UK?
 What are the challenges included in internet adoption for regular shopping and
transaction for British Bangladeshi population?
 How the factors included in the adapting online channel of communication in the
pandemic situation affect British Bangladeshi consumers in London?
 How does online communication channels can boost customer engagement with further
pleasing shopping experience and reliability?
1.5 Research Structure
Chapter Name Description
1 Introduction The identification of the research background and why to
conduct this research determining the aim, objectives, and
research question
2 Literature Review Constructing the thorough theoretical analysis of the research
to define the variables to consider for further research with
the findings of the previous researchers
3 Methodology The research tools and techniques determined to conduct the
research and successfully meet the research objective
4 Result Analysing the collected data and demonstrating them to meet
the research objective
5 Discussion The integration of research findings from the literature
review and mixed research conducted to understand whether
all the objectives are met
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6 Conclusion The summary of the whole research with the
recommendation and the further research scope
Chapter 02: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Concept of Internet
Internet is basically a network of interconnected networks. It’s a global system of
communicating within network and device. It contains vast things. All kind of information’s we
can get through it. All the news all the resources are available here. One can get all these by
sitting at home. Internet has brought the world closer. one can get all the information’s of one
corner of the world by sitting in another part of the world as delineated by Wirtz, Schilke, and
Ullrich, (2010). It’s the virtual room of meeting people from far away. Also, we can shop
through it from any part of the world from our home. Also, its a virtual market place. It has
larger numbers of users. Ramlall (2004) augued that it has spread into the remote corner of city.
In recent world we can hardly find anyone who doesn’t use internet. It’s too easy to use internet.
Even though illiterate peoples are using internet so fluently.
The internet is a technological revolution that has completely changed the lives of the
individuals. Although it has disadvantages and addiction but the need for internet in the
pandemic situation is highly essential in all around the world as delineated by Wirtz, Schilke,
and Ullrich, (2010). The concept of internet is to connect with people and deliver important
messages from one place to another especially for long distances. However, Ramlall (2004)
argued that although it was mainly regarded as a mode of communication for long distances but
now the internet has revolutionized itself by helping and supporting the individuals to conduct
businesses through online.
2.3 Internet and its Implication
The world is moving faster in the 21st century based on creative and innovative technologies.
Given the economy and infrastructure due to the pandemic situation; companies are not being
able to grow continuously due to lack of technological advancement. According to Ramlall
(2004), as the pandemic situation is impacting the country through lack of technologically
advancement, the multinational companies is facing severe problems in order to meet the
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expected demand of the customers. Technology plays an important role in each and every
companies. However, HR department only needs to deal with this challenge and needs to recruit
people who are quite advanced in the technological software which are being used in the
company or be proactively seeking new technical changes to make the service smoother so that
they can bring changes in company to connect with the customers in such a pandemic situation.
HR managers need to identify specific information technology skills in interviewee during the
time of recruitment in order to stay in market for longer time period as delineated by Mcknight et
al., (2002). For example, the companies use SAP Success Factor in their HR department and
Oracle PeopleSoft in their finance team so the recruit should be knowledgeable enough about
this software or at least have the basic. Additionally, under the risk management department the
HR should also hire employees who can access the risk assessment software. Gruman and Saks
(2011) argued that the proper and advanced knowledge of technology among all the newly
recruited people will help the company, to provide technically advanced services to customers
and will be able to satisfy them in huge scale during COVID-19 situation.
The technological revolution such as the internet is one of the integral issues faced by the
departments of the companies in the pandemic situation. Bangladesh is currently lagging behind
in the development of the infrastructure due to its inability to innovate technology. Technology is
necessary for streamlining various activities of the companies as stated by Gruman and Saks
(2011). Hence, the companies are required to hire IT specialists that are expert in the
technological sector such as the internet to ensure that the companies are upgraded with the latest
technologies to offer better services to the customers. The companies operating through online
channels in the UK requires the employees to have computer skills, Microsoft Office expertise.
Moreover, Rust and Lemon (2001) argued that, the HR department requires basic knowledge of
SAP Success Factor and the Finance department requires basic knowledge of Oracle software.
Technological adaptation assists in making all the services easier and digital which can be
accessed from anywhere in the world by the top management.
The technological advancements and increase in the globalization are reinforcing the companies
to go through unembellished changes. The recent advancements in the 21st century and the
pandemic situation are however different from the challenges that were faced by the companies
in the previous periods. According to (Rust and Lemon 2001; Constantinides, 2004; Liang, and
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Lai, 2002), it is more apparent that all the necessary adaptation to the technologies along with
employee training is the key to surviving in the world with technological revolution in order to
entertain the customers. Service-oriented organizations such as the non-banking financial
institution primarily rely on human resources as they are required to use their people skills to
encourage and retain customers as stated by Gruman and Saks (2011).
It seems that internet implications tend to focus on five factors:
1) inequality
2) community and social capital
3) political participation
4) organizations and other economic institutions
5) cultural participation and cultural diversity.
Inequality (Digital divide)
Inequality or Digital divide refers to gap between the people who are getting benefitted by using
internet and the people who are not. Rust and Lemon (2001) argued that Though internet has
been expanded even in some remote areas but some people are still not aware of it. They are still
deprived of internet. may be for lack of knowledge or for scarcity of availability of network.
They are deprived from all kind of information’s. there life is less smooth from those who have
internet facilities as delineated by Mcknight et al., (2002).
Community and social capital
It helps to make people more socialized than before. Connects different communities at fingertip
through internet. Inter communal relationship has been built stronger. It also helps to gain social
capital as stated by Gruman and Saks (2011). Many unemployed has become self employed by
starting online business. Which has helped to raise the social capital.
Political participation
Internet also helped the politicians in many aspects. Like before politicians used to meet
physically to the public for voting. But now they can ask for votes through online. Also, people
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can see the result of pole in online news portals as debated by Constantinides, (2004). People on
one part can know about the political news of another part through internet.
Organizations and other economic institution
Internet has driven up the productivity which impact the economic growth. Productivity matters
to policymakers. Rust and Lemon (2001) argued that They are the head of economy. Economic
environment has been modernized by the use of internet. By the use of internet many
unemployed youths have become self-employed. Which helps to contribute in economy.
Cultural participation and Cultural diversity
By the use of internet, we can know about different culture from internet. Now we can see the
diversity of culture. As we came to know about different culture from internet. And cultural
participation of people has been raised up than before. It all because of internet. Liang, and Lai,
2002) argued that Diversity is one of the common challenges faced by most organizations.
Nepotism and discrimination are somewhat common in Bangladeshi customers. Based on
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, UK scores 66 on masculinity vs feminism which indicates that it
is a male-dominated country. This type of culture gives men’s decisions more preferences and
men are seen as powerful. However, this practice is now changing as the UK has become more
openminded with the increase in expansion of the multinational companies as delineated by
Mcknight et al., (2002). As a result, to keep up with these multinational companies that follow
diversity, it has become apparatus that the local companies must ensure diversity practices within
their organization. Liang, and Lai, (2002) delineated that Diversity is commonly referred to as
the combination of individuals with different gender, ages, culture, race, religions, etc. A
diversified customer is divided based on demographic, socio-cognitive, and psychological
factors. It is important to consider that customers of the companies are from a culturally
diversified background and their interaction with someone similar to their culture helps to
motivate and satisfy the customers. The Human Resources department of the companies are
responsible for ensuring diversity management within the organization while establishing rules
against discriminatory behavior to help employees engage with the customers regardless of their
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differences as delineated by Patrick and Kumar (2012). Different cultures of customers allow the
company to grow. The promotion of diversity increases the fair treatment of all the customers
during the trading process. As a result, with the help of the internet the companies have the
advantage of creating value among the customers with the help of diversity management as it
increases cohesiveness among the employees while improving their performance and
productivity as indicated by Ramlall (2004).
2.3.1 Information accessibility
One can get all kind of information in internet. one can get all the information by one click
through internet. There are different search engines on the web like google, yahoo, Bing,
ask.com etc. by the use of such engines we can get all kind of information accessibility.
information’s are needed in every field. For research purpose, educational purpose, teaching
purpose etc. we need a lot of information’s. and all these kinds of information’s are available at
internet according to Liang, and Lai, 2002).
During covid 19 pandemic online portals used to provide information’s about this virus and
precautions about how to keep yourself safe from it.
One can know about what is available on foreign market and shop it from home. Though internet
we can shop from home as stated by Ramlall (2004). There is available size and measures all the
information about any product and dress is provided here. Also daily needed things are available
here. Also, medical services are available here. One can have primary medicate service at home
through online.
Scientists are increasing the use of internet for the purpose of gathering information’s. as they
need all the authentic and real data and information. Liang, and Lai, (2002) supported that So,
internet is the safest way of getting authentic data. They gather all the real data and information
and then the do their research.
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Students do their research paper by gathering information’s from web. As its too difficult to visit
on field and gather data physically. So, internet has eased the way of getting all the data by one
click sitting at home. So, it is the easiest way of getting information’s.
With the help and assistance of the internet it is possible to gain data easily that helps to
understand the behavior pattern and preferences of the customers. The internet businesses and
online shopping businesses are able to easily collect the customer’s name, mailing address, email
address, and phone number which are usually cannot be taken during offline channels as debated
by Constantinides, (2004). With these personal details, the businesses can easily connect with the
customers about product updates, discount and other information through the internet as
contradicted by Liang, and Lai, (2002).
2.3.2 Easiness of Reach
Internet has made life easier. And more modernized. One can have the whole world at fingertip
just by one click. It has been possible because of internet. People can get a product from another
country through online shopping using internet. All the news and information around the world
are available on internet. What is happening around the world we came to know about it through
internet. By sitting at home all the grocery items daily needed things or medicines can be
ordered. During lockdown period in covid 19 pandemic people were locked at home as
delineated by (Rust and Lemon 2001; Constantinides, 2004; Liang, and Lai, 2002). They
couldn’t go out for buying their daily needs. In that situation internet helped a lot to survive.
People ordered all the needed products though online and it was delivered at home as debated by
Constantinides, (2004). The people from Bangladesh who was living at London shop everything
from online by using internet. It helped them to survive in this pandemic situation. Internet has
helped a lot to create ease in life. It has ease men’s life in many ways. Now a days they people
can’t survive a single day without it as debated by Constantinides, (2004). If there was less
availability of internet it would have been too difficult to survive in this pandemic situation. And
people were safe and secured by sitting at home, and it happened because of internet.
Voss (2003) delineated the e-service as the services offered through online where both buying
and selling of the services take place. Therefore, Mofazali, (2004) defined e-service as a web-
based service. In addition to that, Boyer, Hallowell and Roth (2002) opined that e-service
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required interaction with the customer with the use of advanced telecommunications,
information, and multimedia technologies. On the other hand, Rust and Lemon (2001), have
defined e-service as true component of the web as it is essential for marketing and information
processes. E-services and e-commerce are mainly increasing due to the pandemic situation which
is why there has been a true need for true interactivity with customers, personalization and real-
time adjustment for customer offering.
2.3.3 Customized Service
Internet services are too much customized and well impoverished. As it is controlled by online
authorities, they have to maintain some protocols and professionalism as debated by
Constantinides, (2004). So, the services which are provided through internet are way more
perfect than other services. It is now so popular that people prefer online shopping more than
traditional one. As its hassle less and easy to shop. And service is better than traditional shopping
as stated by Kim, Lee, Lee, Choi, Hong, Tam, , Naruse, and Maeda, (2004). It strictly maintains
the scheduled time. and make sure that the quality of the product remains same at delivery time.
The internet has made it easier to personalize the internet shopping experiences which is
supporting the customers to conveniently shop through online channels. Different personalized
messages are created through the internet to attract different audiences. This helps to attract the
customers by delivering them with proper and accurate messages as delineated by Boyer,
Hallowell and Roth (2002). The offline shops mainly require the companies to have specialized
sales people to nurture the customers which is not needed in an online business channel because
the online channel mainly focuses on the message and behavior rather than the appearance of the
employees as delineated by (Rust and Lemon 2001; Constantinides, 2004; Liang, and Lai, 2002).
Personalized are easier for the online businesses because it helps to reach different segments of
customers and attract them into visiting their online websites and pages. Moreover, with the help
of the internet it is possible to track the customers and their online behavior and suggest them
with the right products will also help to encourage the customers. The internet allows to monitor
customers’ preferences and choices that help the businesses to personalize their messages in a
way that can help to grab their attention.
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Li and Zhang, (2002), opined that the pandemic situation is the major reason for adopting the
online platform as quickly as it is now Mcknight et al., (2002) supported that the consumers get a
lot of information from the internet with the user-generated contents so that they can compare the
products and services as much as they need and ultimately take the decision of action. Boyer,
Hallowell and Roth (2002) supported that the internet with social media has created a
revolutionary change in the contribution of the internet for communication managing interactive
communication penetrating the success of an online platform to connect people and boost brand
awareness and advocacy. Lee, (2002) added that along with the ease of delivery, the
customization of the services has indulged the customers of the new era to involve in the online
purchasing process. Suh and Han, (2002) argued that it is not the customized system rather the
integration of augmented reality in involving the consumers in the product development process
is penetrating the organizational success in creating personalized experience among the
consumers.
2.3.4 Delivery Ease
In online services delivery date is very important. Online shops strictly maintain the time. It
always provides products within mentioned time. And delivers products at doorstep. Without
going outside of the home one can get products delivered at home as argued by Gruman and
Saks (2011).. At the time of corona pandemic when people couldn’t go outside it helped a lot. As
all kind of products are available here like medicine, foods, grocery, vegetables etc. in pandemic
time people could order daily needed things through it. So that they could kept themselves safe
from this pandemic. As it provided all the needed goods at the door. Delivery sent at the home by
the time.
For the easiness of delivery people are more interested in online shopping. It is the easiest way o
shopping. When anyone go outside home for shopping, he/ she get tired. But now it has been
popular among young and old for both generations. In the study of (Guttman et al., 1999; Mile et
al., 2000; Li and Zhang, 2002, Mcknight et al., 2002, Constantinides, 2004) it is evident that the
behavior of the online customers is completely different from that of the behavior of the
traditional customers. Therefore, the internet is the main reason for the differences in this
behavior as the internet shapes the consumer behavior and modifies their online purchasing
process. On the other hand, the customer behavior is an important and essential segment in an
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online channel context compared to the traditional shopping context. The researchers (Lee, 2002,
Liang and Lai, 2002, Suh and Han, 2002) have delineated that the internet has revolutionized the
shopping experience through online but it differs from traditional shopping experiences based on
trust and confidence. Social media has integrated the general mass on the internet with the
simplest form of sharing picture, content, and experience with their friends and acquaintance as
well as the public whom they want to inform. Therefore, the consumers used to highly engage
with the social media that drives it as a major platform of communication even by the business
organizations to reach their target market and lead a life with them taking part in their regular life
directly or indirectly. The major contribution of social media is generating the contents by the
consumers; social media is nothing but just space where anyone can share their joys and
achievement with the mass people they want as argued by Mcknight et al., (2002). The depth of
the information is enriching with the increasing number of participations in social media.
2.4 Conceptual Framework
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
Source: Author
The internet has made it easier for the customers to obtain products and services easily and
conveniently without the need for walking to the physical stores. The internet has made it
accessible to order online and get the products delivered at their doorsteps. By making it
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accessible in such a pandemic situation has protected the customers from the deadly virus Covid-
19 as deduced by Boyer, Hallowell and Roth (2002). Moreover, various different protection and
precautionary measures have been necessary in order to ensure full satisfaction of the customers.
As a result, the precautions included extra packaging to eliminate contact with the product by the
delivery personnel. Moreover, the delivery people have maintained safety precautions by
wearing protective gloves, masks and suits that ensured the overall safety of the customers as
well as the employees. The researchers (Lee, 2002, Liang and Lai, 2002, Suh and Han, 2002)
have delineated the need for such precautionary measures in the context of the pandemic has
completely met the basic necessities of the customers. The consumers are facilitated with the
customized services designing their service delivery process. The parcel delivery industry has
found a swift shift of 59% in the pandemic period as the home delivery service was the only
channel for the red zones. However, considering all these facts, it is matter to research that the
degree to which internet was contributing to the British Bangladeshi consumer’s lifestyle in the
pandemic period to define the potential usage of internet to support regular life as stated by Kim,
Lee, Lee, Choi, Hong, Tam, Naruse, and Maeda, (2004).
3 Methodology
3.1 Introduction:
The research methodology contributes to determining the appropriate tools and technique
required for particular research according to the characteristics and features of the research
problem. It includes defining the research design, philosophy, approach, method, and data
analysis technique mentioning the ethical consideration followed in this research.
3.2Philosophy
This research aims at defining the impact of the internet on British Bangladeshis living in
London during the pandemic situation due to their different lifestyle in comparison to the native
population. There are four major research philosophies are used to solve the marketing research
problem including positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism (Romeo-Arroyo, et al.
2020). The realism philosophy is used in a situation where the research problem is subjective and
the knowledge and observation ability of the researcher are the only tools to conduct the
research. This research required to know the actual scenario of the market with the opinion of the
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British Bangladeshi consumers where the judgement of the research could not explain their
experience without their direct expression, therefore, realism is not appropriate for this research.
The researcher should include the respondents or the consumers directly with the completion of
the research and their experience was supposed to derive the answer aimed.
The interpretivism philosophy is also followed for the subjective research where the research
problem is not well defined and the researcher needs in-depth analysis of the market data taking
the opinion of the smaller number of respondents whereas to know the effect of the internet, the
research needed the opinion of a larger number of representative customers that have shown that
interpretivism philosophy is not meeting the research aim (Hair Jr, et al. 2019). The pragmatism
philosophy is used when the theoretical background could not meet the research problem and
require additional market data to identify the changes with deep analysis suggesting mixed
research including the qualitative and quantitative analysis. This research is backed by the
theoretical background and contributed to define the research variables that have supported the
researcher to conduct a thorough quantitative analysis but the qualitative analysis was not
possible as the smaller number of respondents were not representative of total British
Bangladeshi consumers in London. A substantial number of consumers were required to use for
this research. However, positivism philosophy suggests the researcher conduct quantitative
research collecting the opinion of a large number of respondents to solve the objective research
problem. This research problem was objective and well-defined supported by theoretical
background; therefore, the researcher has used the positivism philosophy here conducting
quantitative analysis on them. This philosophy helped to find out the contribution of the
identified variables of using the internet in daily life with the consumers buying behaviour so
that the potential utilization of internet can be identified.
3.3Approach
The inductive and deductive research approaches are used in conducting marketing research
where the researchers find the way they should complete the research according to the aim of the
research. In the inductive research, the researcher first observes the research problem thoroughly,
creates its pattern, and ultimately comes up with a theory that can be used in further research to
solve a research problem (Burns and Bush, 2020). On the other hand, in the deductive research, a
research hypothesis is developed with the theoretical background and that is going to be proven
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with the collected data from the respondents or the published resources. The hypothesis will be
accepted or rejected with the research completion. However, this research has followed the
positivism philosophy that directs to follow quantitative research to explore the impact of the
internet on British Bangladesh consumers in London. The consumer behaviour and the
implications of the internet in our regular life are well defined and backed by the theoretical
background, no new theory has to be developed; therefore, the inductive research was avoided in
this research and the research has been completed following the deductive research approach. It
helped to develop the hypothesis generated by the theoretical background and proving the
hypothesis with the first-hand data collected.
3.4Strategy
Research strategy contributes to defining the tool to use for collecting data required for the
research according to the attributes of the research. Seven strategies are suggested in the research
onion to conduct research, such as case study, ethnography, survey or interview, experiment,
action research, archival research, and grounded theory (Malhotra, et al. 2017). Ethnography is
used to solve the research problem relevant to migration and ethnicity and for the inductive
research especially whereas this research is just defining the way internet was used by the British
Bengali consumer while lockdown for their regular consumption that is irrelevant for using
ethnography as the tool to collect data.
The experiment is conducted in a highly controlled environment where no extraneous variables
are going to affect the research result except two variables that are selected to find the
interrelationship. This research had four research variables whose effect was supposed to be
determined that could not be conducted in the controlled environment as the social research must
be influenced by the extraneous variables, therefore, this method will not be applicable for this
research. In action research, the researcher observes the changes in action and its effect on the
respondent in a partly controlled environment (Hair Jr. et al. 2019). This research environment
can not be controlled as the research population is large enough and not possible to observe the
reaction of the population changing the actions each time; moreover, the effect of COVID-19 is
not going to be same always. Therefore, this research strategy does not apply to this research.
The grounded theory is used when the research problem can be solved just using the already built
theory that was not possible for this research problem as it was new to the world problem.
19

The archival research suggests to use the already published data to solve the research problem as
the research problem is new and the published data alone could not define the impact of the
internet on the consumers, this strategy could not be used. The case study is conducted with
different acts of a single organisation but this research did not target any particular organisation
rather society was targeted, therefore, this research strategy could not be used for this research
problem. Lastly, the survey research strategy allows the researcher to take opinions directly from
a large number of customers and understand the way the internet has helped them during this
pandemic situation.
3.5 Research method:
The researcher could any of the three research methods including quantitative research,
qualitative research, and mixed research. The qualitative research is used when the research
problem is subjective and the researcher has to meet the general objective only. The in-depth
research of qualitative research contributes to finding a credible solution with descriptive
research. the researcher used to be involved in the research intensively to create an
interconnection with the respondents to assure that the research findings do not derail from the
central issue of the research. This would be a better method for this research but the researcher
could not use this method due to the objectivity of the research problem that required the opinion
of a large number of respondents. The qualitative research is conducted on a large number of the
population when the research problem is objective and well-defined. The variables can be tested
and measured numerically and presented with graphs and charts to show the summary of the
research extensively, meaningfully, and precisely. The research responses used to be structured
and in a closed-form but the researcher not always actively participate in the data collection
process.
This research followed the quantitative research method that helped the research to answer the
specific research questions with the appropriate measures and tools. The results had been
presented with the graphs and charts to summarise the result of the quantitative research.
3.6Data collection method
Two types of data collection methods are available for the researcher including primary research
and secondary research. The primary research suggests the researcher go directly to the
respondents and collect their responses to prove the research hypothesis. It contributes to finding
20

the relevant and actual data from the respondents avoiding the impact of the extraneous variable
in the research. When the research population is known and can be reached as well as the
particular population can present the research problem, the researcher can use this data collection
method. The secondary research is used when the first-hand data could not represent the scenario
rather the published data can express the whole scenario (Beri, 2013). This research has collected
first-hand data to prove the research hypothesis. The major limitation of this data collection
method is the possibility of scattered data when the respondent's error occurs. If the sample size
and sample are not chosen appropriately, the research may not be representative of the market.
However, the primary data has been collected with the online survey strategy with Google
Form. The questionnaire has been designed avoiding the respondent's error like the
unwillingness of the respondents and the knowledge barrier. However, with the close-ended
question and seven-point Likert scale, the responses have been collected for this research.
3.7Sampling
The target population of this research is the British Bangladeshi population living there during
the pandemic situation. The sampling strategies can be categorised as probability sampling and
non-probability sampling strategy (McDaniel Jr. and Gates, 2018). The probability sampling is
used when the researcher has defined population and all the participants know about the research
problem, thus, they could contribute to the research successfully. They must be reached by the
researcher. On the other hand, in non-probability sampling, the respondents must not have
adequate knowledge about the research problem. The researcher is not sure whether they have an
adequate idea of the research problem. For this research probability sampling method could be
more effective for this research as the researcher could not reach the consumers due to COVID-
19 and direct interactive communication was tough to assure. As a result, in this research, the
researcher has followed the non-probability sampling method with the convenience sampling
method that mentioned that the respondent would be selected from the convenient area of the
researcher; therefore, the respondents are collected from British Bangladeshis in London only.
There are 500,000 British Bangladeshi lives in the UK and 222,000 of them are living in
London. The sample size therefore will .03% of the total population of the research, that means
66 respondents had participated in this research.
21

3.8Data analysis
The collected primary data has been examined with the frequency analysis and regression
analysis technique. The frequency analysis with mean and mode had shown the proximity of the
respondents agreeing or disagreeing with the researcher and the regression analysis has
expressed the degree to which the variables of internet usage is going to affect the consumption
behaviour of the British Bangladeshi population. The mean and mode have been tested with the
standard deviation to know the consistency of the responses and the regression has been
validated with the Cronbach Alpha test with SPSS.
Regression model= A+β0IA+β1 ER+ β2CS+ β3DE
3.6 Ethics
The research involved human participation and few personal data of the respondents have been
collected including their occupation, gender, etc. The researcher provided with full freedom for
the respondents to opine and anytime, they could deny the research anytime but no incomplete
data will be considered for research. The Data Protection Act 2018 of the UK has been followed
for this research. No personal data of the respondents has been published or mentioned anywhere
in the research rather the research was conducted anonymously (Cooper and Schindler, 2016).
No animal substance was used in this research. No fabricated data has been used to prove the
researcher’s point. Furthermore, the researcher has taken the consent of the respondents with the
informed consent form educating them with the purpose of the research and how their personal
information would be kept private. The responses are recorded in excel but after the completion
of the research and when the paper would be submitted, all that data would be deleted.
22

4. Result and Findings: Quantitative Research
4.1 Demographic data:
male female 24 to 34 34 to 44 44 to 54 54 plus
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Demographic data
Figure 2: Demographic data
This research has chosen 66 respondents as per the convenience of the researcher from London.
53% of the respondents were male population and 47% of them were female consumers.
However, 21% of them were from 24 to 34 years old that means the millennials and 24% of them
were chosen from generation x. The majority of the consumers chosen from the ageing
population as the Bangladesh culture suggests the elderly person take care of home with daily
shopping.
4.2 Frequency analysis
1. Information accessibility
IA Information Accessibility
IA1 Internet is full of user-generated content
IA2 internet is the largest database with a variety of data published for the general mass
IA3 Social media has increased the scope and depth of data reached this channel
IA4 Anyone can find any relevant data now just searching on the internet
23

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Frequency
Figure 3: Information accessibility
The above graph has shown the responses of the chosen respondents for information
accessibility. The first query has mentioned that Internet is full of user-generated content where
60 out of 66 people has agreed with the researcher and the other six was somewhat agreeing with
the researcher on this issue as they found that the user-generated content is not only the data
sources rather the online advertisement and google generated resources are enriching the data
sources. The users of the internet create their content and reach the target audience, they use the
internet as the channel of distribution. Therefore, the everyday huge amount of content is
generated around the world that is boosting the database of the search engine.
The second query has illustrated that the internet is the largest database with a variety of data
published for the general mass. Here, 61 out of 66 respondents have agreed with the researcher
considering the vast amount of data available on the internet as the search engine tries to provide
the appropriate answer to the query searched on the internet. Even after the organisation does not
have any online existence, with the inclusion of the GPS and Googles map, the consumers can
find it. The internet has been highly enriched with numerous options including social media and
another digital communication medium where they are interactive or not. 5 out of 60 has been
confused to agree with the researcher as they considered that the internet may have a large
24

amount of data but all that is not right as some of the databases are fictitiously established and
they are providing with the fabricated data. Therefore, the respondents should check the source
credibility before believing the information found there.
The third query has focused that social media has increased the scope and depth of data reached
this channel where all of the respondents have agreed with the researcher but 6 of them were
confused to agree. Social media has integrated the general mass on the internet with the simplest
form of sharing picture, content, and experience with their friends and acquaintance as well as
the public whom they want to inform. Therefore, the consumers used to highly engage with the
social media that drives it as a major platform of communication even by the business
organisations to reach their target market and lead a life with them taking part in their regular life
directly or indirectly. The major contribution of social media is generating the contents by the
consumers; social media is nothing but just space where anyone can share their joys and
achievement with the mass people they want. The depth of the information is enriching with the
increasing number of participation in social media. Primarily, the millennials were the major
users of social media but now it has become an ageless platform wherefrom the babies to the
older people can surf and find the content, they are interested in. This communication platform
has resulted in the introduction of the social media marketing concept.
The last query on this variable was whether anyone can find any relevant data now just searching
on the internet. All of the respondents are undoubtedly agreeing with the researcher on this point
mentioning that they have got any information they want from the internet just searching them
on the prominent search engine. The capacity of the search engine in finding the most accurate
data is the major penetrator of the success of the internet in providing a vast amount of data
available. This platform is contributing to the organisational success in providing as much
information required to provide the customer as possible whereas the consumers can also find the
exact information, they need to fulfil their need from the credible sources. Undoubtedly, the
internet is the largest database, everyday enriching limitlessly.
Information Accessibility IA1 IA2 IA3 IA4
Mean 6.14 6.06 6.09 6.11
Mode 6 6 6 6
25

SD 0.70 0.46 0.52 0.31
Table 1: the mean, mode, and SD
The mean of the responses has shown that on average everyone was agreeing with the researcher
in all context regarding the informational accessibility on the internet. However, the mode of the
responses has shown the similar result that majority of the respondents thought that internet is
the largest database in the world and they can find any information they need just by tapping
their smartphone or searching by computer. The standard deviation has shown that the responses
are consistent enough due to the result of the standard deviation of all four questions were close
to .5 and lower than 1 that reflects the response consistency.
2. Easiness of Reach
ER Easiness of Reach
ER
1
Due to the extravagant participation of people on the internet is increasing its reach across the
world
ER
2
With GPS, the internet has enriched with real-time tracking the people to reach
ER
3
The brands can easily reach their target population with the internet due to digital transformation
around the world
ER
4
The consumers can easily reach the required organisations to fulfil their need due to their online
physical evidence
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
0
0
3
3
48
12
0
0
0
2
4
37
23
0
0
0
2
8
44
12
0
0
0
0
9
34
23
Frequency
ER1 ER2 ER3 ER4
26

Figure 4: Easiness of Reach
The second variable to consider was the ease of reaching the target audience with the internet
from the consumers’ perspective for the British Bangladeshi consumers mainly. The first query
on this issue mentioned that the extravagant participation of people on the internet is increasing its
reach across the world where the frequency analysis has shown that the 60 out of 66 people chosen for the
research are supporting the researcher on this issue mentioning that they are willingly participating in the
social media in generating newer content every day that penetrates the reach of the organisation to their
target population in the market.
The second question has highlighted that with the GPS, the internet has enriched with real-time tracking
the people to reach. Here again, the majority of the participant showed a positive attitude to the
researcher's point on the contribution of the GPS to identify the customers or the required shop by the
consumers. 50 out of 60 has mentioned that the GPS has recorded the organisations and provides the
audiences with the exact location of the organisation as well as the consumers that have penetrated the
operational efficiency of the ride-sharing applications and the parcel or food delivery service. The brands
can reach their consumers with the social media market. During the pandemic situation, the reach of the
internet has supported the consumers from any race and caste have been highly supported by the internet
from purchasing their daily necessities online to taking telemedicine to avoid the infection by COVID-19
by taking service from the hospital. 10 out of 66 has confidently supported the researcher at this point.
The third query has illustrated that the brands can easily reach their target population with the internet due
to digital transformation around the world where nearly 90% of the respondents have supported the
research on this issues mentioning that the world population, as well as the British Bangladeshis, are
highly active in the internet taking part in the digital transformation of the world relying on the internet
for their daily necessities and enjoying the ease and comfort generated by the internet for the people
around the world. However, the organisation can contribute to the knowledge of the target audience with
the repeated interaction with the consumers with the social media advertisement like popping
advertisement while watching any video on YouTube or any other social media and another format of
digital marketing that accelerates the brand awareness among the consumers on this perspective. 10% of
them were confused to agree with the researcher but did not strongly oppose the point.
The last question has demonstrated that the consumers can easily reach the required organisations to fulfil
their need due to their online physical evidence where 57 out of 60 people have supported the researcher
contributing to the research that during the pandemic situation, they were locked at their home and not
even permitted to conduct their daily shopping due to the pandemic virus out there; at that period, they
27

have no alternative to find their necessities on the online platform. They mentioned that they have found
any information they needed about the product or the providers on the internet and the GPS has provided
them with the information about the closest shops and provided with the most accurate information
especially while taking the medical care. 13 out of 66 respondents contributed to the research confusing
supporting the researcher from another point.
E R 1 E R 2 E R 3 E R 4
6.30
6.06
6.15
6.15
6
6
6
6
0.70
0.58
0.50
0.56
mean, mode, sd
Mean Mode SD
Figure 5: mean, mode, and SD
The mean and the mode of these four questions have mentioned that the respondents are supporting the
researcher on every point mentioning that internet has reduced the place limitation of the organisation and
the organisation can reach the customers anytime as well as the consumers can find the appropriate
provider with the internet. The standard deviation has proven the credibility of the findings showing that a
minimum level of inconsistency is notable in the answer that is negligible claiming that the responses are
consistent enough.
3. Customized Service
C
S
Customized Service
C
S1
The interactive communication medium supported by the internet contributes to simultaneous
communication between the buyers and sellers
C
S2
The interactive communication contributes to defining the customer need considering individually
different want
C
S3
the product mix or bundle can be designed according to the individual customers with direct
contact with them
28

C
S4
The service customisation by interactive communication or augmented reality improves the
credibility of the organisation to the customers
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
0
0
3
3
48
12
0
0
0
2
4
37
23
0
0
0
2
8
44
12
0
0
0
0
9
34
23
Frequency
ER1 ER2 ER3 ER4
Figure 6: Customised service
The third variable was the customised service provided by the organisation with the help of the internet
especially by the highly responsive customer service with the interactive mode of communication. The
first query on this variable has mentioned that the interactive communication medium supported by the
internet contributes to simultaneous communication between the buyers and sellers. The frequency
analysis has shown that the 42 out of 66 people chosen for the research are agreeing with the researcher
on this issue mentioning that the great organisations are highly responsive in the social media and tries to
accommodate the changes in the consumer behaviour with the appropriate communication medium. 12
out of 66 participants have strongly agreed with the researcher contributing to the research that the
organisation can manage day-to-day life with the consumers using the internet and try to include the
customers' latent need with the customised services managing the least difference between the promised
service and perceived service. However, only 6 of them were hesitating to support the researcher as they
do not take any help for customised service yet rather they used to go for the discount shop where
customisation is not available.
The second query has depicted that interactive communication contributes to defining the customer need
considering individually different want. 60 out of 66 people have mentioned that they are supporting the
researcher on this issue as the organisation can define the target market and closely monitor them defining
29

every detail of their expressed and unexpressed needs, wants, and demands that can be served by the
organisation; the appropriate interpretation of the customer need can be availed with the internet
providing the customers with the option to design their product or product bundle. Only 6 of the
participants of this research were somewhat agreed with the researcher and they mentioned that the
interactive medium is supportive but not accepting the customised service always with the auto-generated
message service.
The third query has mentioned that the product mix or bundle can be designed according to the individual
customers with direct contact with them. 44 out of 66 respondents have contributed to the research
supporting the researcher that they can choose their product bundle while purchasing goods online that
provides the opportunity for the brand to define the most successful products and what products are
needed by the consumers so that the upcoming product bundle is designed accordingly mitigating the
unnecessary elements. Then, the organisation would not be suffered from the additional cost of a
customised product or service. 12 out of 66 respondents have mentioned that the organisation are trying to
build an automated place on the internet that are supporting them with the opportunity to design their
products or services and even set the price by themselves within the range of the product deserves. 6 of
them were confusingly agreeing with the researcher due to their less concern on the customisation in
product bundling.
The fourth query has mentioned that the service customisation by interactive communication or
augmented reality improves the credibility of the organisation to the customers. On this query, 57 out of
66 respondents have supported the researcher mentioning that the interactive communication medium in
the website, mobile application, and in the social media marketing practices are helping the organisations
to be closer to the consumers and monitor them in the social media and their every digital movement so
that the organisation can define the especial need of the consumers. Considering the contribution of
augmented reality in this context. 23 of them have strongly emphasised that the augmented reality has
opened a new world of reality that simulates the real-world and provides the prototype to the customers to
ensure the knowledge about the ultimate product. 9 of them were somewhat agreed with the researcher
mentioning that the British Bangladeshis does not believe in the portrayal of the augmented reality as the
real product does not match with the expected one.
Customized Service CS1 CS2 CS3 CS4
Mean 6.08 6.14 6.09 6.03
Mode 6 6 6 6
SD 0.66 0.39 0.45 0.25
30

Table 2: mean, mode, and SD
The mean of the responses of all of the questions is close to 6 mentioning that on average the respondents
are agreeing with the researcher on this point. The mode of the findings has shown that the highest
proximity of the responses has been found to 6 that means, majority of them were agreeing with the
researcher on this issue. The standard deviation of the responses has proven that the responses are
consistent enough to claim that the customised service can be provided with the help of internet.
4 Delivery Ease
D
E
Delivery Ease
D
E
1
with the home delivery system, the brands are now conducting distribution to anywhere in the
world even for the remote customers
D
E
2
there is no alternative to home delivery process to distribute products directly to the customers
D
E
3
the brands are using the online distribution channel as the only medium of providing service that
does not require direct interaction of people during the pandemic situation
D
E
4
the ease of delivering the products contributes to the flourishment of the online channel
Figure 7: Delivery ease
31
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Frequency

The fourth variable has mentioned that the ease of delivering the products at the doorstep of the
consumers with eth help of GPS, the organisations are providing with the right product. The first query on
this area has focused that with the home delivery system, the brands are now conducting distribution to
anywhere of the world even for the remote customers. Here, 61 out of 66 respondents have mentioned
that they are agreeing with the researcher on this point as they can order any product from the online
platform and it takes a few days to reach them. They used to order the products online that hardly need
just right then. In case of online food delivery service, they used to deliver the products just in an hour at
home as the domestic and closer restaurants are only serving for them due to the high perishability of the
product.
The second question on this variable has highlighted that there is no alternative to home delivery process
to distribute products directly to the customers where 62 out of 66 people supported the researcher stating
that during the pandemic situation, only the way of purchasing things was the online delivery system
though it was risky for the delivery boys or girls. They have actually worked for the safety of the mass
people taking the risks to be infected while delivering the product. There is no alternative for the online
retailers to send the product to the doorstep of the consumers when they have paid for the delivery
additionally. The hub system can contribute as an alternative but not much popular around the world due
to the hassle to pick the products as mentioned by the 14 respondents who are confused to agree with the
researcher strongly.
The third question has illustrated that the brands are using the online distribution channel as the only
medium of providing service that does not require direct interaction of people during the pandemic
situation. It has been supported by 64 out of 66 people mentioning that in the pandemic situation, the
organisation had no option to deliver the product to the customer without the online product delivery
service as they were not allowed to open the physical stores; furthermore, the customers were scared
about going to the stores to buy things to prevent them from infectious COVID-19. As a result, all of the
brands around the world has focused on the alternative medium, the online platform to reach the
customers and meet their need with the parcel delivery service at their home.
The fourth question on this variable has mentioned that the ease of delivering the products contributes to
the flourishment of the online channel. 56 out of 66 participants have supported the researcher stating that
the online retail chains have gained a swift fat shift in the curve during the pandemic situation as all of the
consumers in the UK used to purchase their regular good from home with the parcel delivery service.
Therefore, both the parcel delivery service and the online retail channel have been facilitated with the
changes in consumer need.
32

Delivery Ease DE1 DE2 DE3 DE4
Mean 6.18 5.97 6.17 6.06
Mode 6 6 6 6
SD 0.65 0.63 0.45 0.60
Table 3: mean, mode, and SD
On an average in all the four questions, the respondents were agreeing with the researcher as per the mean
of the responses for each question. The mode has justified the claim mentioning that majority of the
consumers were agreeing with the researcher on this issue and they were enjoying the home delivery
service. However, the researcher has found that the responses were consistent enough with their
assessment results that are close to .5 and less than 1.
5. Impact on British Bangladeshi consumers
IB
BC
Impact on British Bangladeshi consumers
IBB
C1
The British Bangladeshi consumers enjoyed the information accessibility as the source of
credibility to shift to the online channel
IBB
C2
With the online channel of communication in this digital era, the consumers can enjoy easy
reach to their favourite mall just with a tap on the phone
IBB
C3
The brands are offering customised service for the consumers that penetrates the British
Bangladeshi consumers to accommodate this channel in the pandemic period
IBB
C4
the ease of delivering the products on time at the doorstep has influenced the British
Bangladeshis to use this source as the alternative to direct shopping at the store
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Frequency
Figure 8: Impact on British Bangladeshi consumers
33

The set of questions has been developed to define the impact of the internet on British Bangladeshi
consumers in London during the pandemic situation. The first query on this issue was depicting that the
British Bangladeshi consumers enjoyed the information accessibility as the source of credibility to shift to
the online channel. Here, 62 out of 66 respondents have supported the researcher contributing to the
research that they are currently relied on the online channel of communication due to the easy information
accessibility by the internet; they were effective too previously but nowadays, with the increasing number
of neutral contents, they are currently relying on the internet in the pandemic situation for the information
required.
The second query has focused that with the online channel of communication in this digital era, the
consumers can enjoy easy reach to their favourite mall just with a tap on the phone. 58 out of 66
respondents have supported the researcher on this issue mentioning that they are enjoying the online
shopping experience as they could explore as much as they want, they could compare the sources and
prices in different online malls. 8 of the respondents have mentioned that the touch and feel experience is
absent in the online retail stores, therefore, the organisation should focus on the physical stores too with
the scheduled shopping time managing social distance along with taking the support of internet only.
The third question has demonstrated that the brands are offering customised service for the consumers
that penetrates the British Bangladeshi consumers to accommodate this channel in the pandemic period.
60 out of 66 respondents have supported the researcher that the organisation contributes to the
customisation of services offered as it has engaged its consumers to choose the design of their expected
product and service mentioning their requirement or choosing an option from the limited customisation
opportunity. In the brick-and-mortar store, it is hardly possible to show the customised service required
without the integration of augmented reality.
The last question has described that the ease of delivering the products on time at the doorstep has
influenced the British Bangladeshis to use this source as the alternative to direct shopping at the store.
Here, 65 out of 66 respondents have supported the researcher on this issue mentioning that the home
delivery process followed by the organisation penetrates them to purchase products online. The return
policy of the organisations has contributed to winning the trust of the consumers so that they engage with
the brand that is new to the market playing the role of innovator. 1 of them was confused to agree with the
researcher due to his firm belief that the product is shown online never has higher quality.
Impact on British Bangladeshi consumers
IBBC
1
IBBC
2 IBBC3 IBBC4
34

Mean 6.15 6.00 6.08 6.06
Mode 6 6 6 6
SD 0.71 0.50 0.51 0.30
The mean of the four questions has shown that on an average of all of the respondents are agreeing with
the researcher on this point approaching that they were highly dependent on the internet in the pandemic
situation and they have to shift their concentration from physical store to online one to adapt with the
abandoned situation. The mode of the responses contributes to the research that the higher concentration
of the responses is notable to 6 meaning that the larger portion of the responses is supporting the
researcher. The standard deviation of the responses is lower than 1 depicting that the responses are
consistent.
Regression analysis:
Variables Entered/Removed
Model Variables Entered Variables Removed Method
1 Delivery ease, Information
access, Ease of Reach,
Customised serviceb
. Enter
a. Dependent Variable: Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision
b. All requested variables entered.
Model Summaryb
Mode
l
R R
Squar
e
Adjuste
d R
Square
Std. The
error of
the
Estimat
e
Change Statistics Durbin
-
Watson
R
Square
Chang
e
F
Chang
e
df
1
df
2
Sig. F
Chang
e
1 .585a .342 .299 .249 .342 7.932 4 61 .000 2.035
a. Predictors: (Constant), Delivery ease, Information access, Ease of Reach, Customised
35

service
b. Dependent Variable: Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision
The above table has shown that the model summary mentioning that the relationship has found by 34%
among the dependent variable and the independent variable of the research. After the adjustment, the
contribution is close to 30% only mentioning internet as moderate change-maker in the lifestyle of British
Bangladeshi consumers in London city during the pandemic situation.
ANOVAa
Model Sum of
Squares
df Mean Square F Sig.
1 Regression 1.970 4 .492 7.932 .000b
Residual 3.788 61 .062
Total 5.758 65
a. Dependent Variable: Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision
b. Predictors: (Constant), Delivery ease, Information access, Ease of Reach, Customised
service
The regression of the research has comparatively less effect on the consumption behaviour of the
British Bangladeshi consumers than that of before the pandemic situation that has been proven
with the score of F-test over 7 with no significance level.
Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardize
d Coefficients
Standardize
d
Coefficient
s
t Sig. 95.0%
Confidence
Interval for B
Collinearity
Statistics
B Std.
Error
Beta Lowe
r
Boun
d
Uppe
r
Boun
d
Toleranc
e
VIF
36

1 (Constant) 3.787 .480 7.89
5
.00
0
2.828 4.746
Informatio
n access
.045 .054 .105 .825 .41
2
.153 .064 .668 1.49
8
Ease of
Reach
.226 .057 .425 3.96
1
.00
0
.112 .339 .935 1.07
0
Custimise
d service
.045 .057 .099 .776 .44
1
-.070 .159 .658 1.51
9
Delivery
ease
.147 .053 .298 2.74
5
.00
8
.040 .254 .915 1.09
3
a. Dependent Variable: Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision
The constant of the research is higher than that of the independent variable showing the online
purchase attitude of the British Bangladeshi consumers previously established before the
pandemic. The customised service is the most attractive offer of the organisation with the
integration of augmented reality in operation.
Collinearity Diagnosticsa
Model Dimension Eigenvalue Condition
Index
Variance Proportions
(Constant) Information
access
Ease of
Reach
Customised
service
Delivery
ease
1 1 4.972 1.000 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
2 .013 19.680 .01 .22 .12 .14 .14
3 .007 26.898 .01 .01 .48 .03 .67
4 .005 31.314 .00 .74 .01 .78 .05
5 .003 39.722 .98 .03 .40 .05 .13
a. Dependent Variable: Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision
The eigenvalues of the variables have shown that there is no interconnection between the
independent variables defined for this research and the research is free from multicollinearity
issue.
Correlations
37

Impact on
Bangladeshi
consumer
purchase
decision
Information
access
Ease of
Reach
Customised
service
Delivery
ease
Pearson
Correlation
Impact on
Bangladeshi
consumer
purchase decision
1.000 .034 .497 .132 .407
Information access .034 1.000 .103 .574 .126
Ease of Reach .497 .103 1.000 .093 .245
Custimised service .132 .574 .093 1.000 .180
Delivery ease .407 .126 .245 .180 1.000
Sig. (1-tailed) Impact on
Bangladeshi
consumer
purchase decision
. .394 .000 .145 .000
Information access .394 . .204 .000 .157
Ease of Reach .000 .204 . .230 .024
Custimised service .145 .000 .230 . .074
Delivery ease .000 .157 .024 .074 .
N Impact on
Bangladeshi
consumer
purchase decision
66 66 66 66 66
Information access 66 66 66 66 66
Ease of Reach 66 66 66 66 66
Customised
service
66 66 66 66 66
Delivery ease 66 66 66 66 66
The correlation matrix has shown that the ease of reach, customised service opportunity and the
products delivered at the doorstep of the customers are the major variables affecting the British
Bangladeshi’s consumer experience.
Cronbach's Alpha
Information access .508
38

Ease of Reach .558
Customised service .468
Delivery ease .543
Impact on Bangladeshi consumer purchase decision .541
The Cronbach Alpha test has been conducted to define the inter-item dependency and found that all the
cases are valid and the result from the research is valid too with the satisfactory and closer score for all of
the items.
5. Discussion:
This research aimed to identify the impact of the internet on the Bangladeshi consumers in London city
that has been obtained with the frequency analysis and the regression analysis. Four research objectives
have been designed to meet the aim and the following section is going to conjoin the findings from eth
literature and the research result to obtain the research objectives.
The first objective was to evaluate the way the internet is contributing to regular life in London for
the British Bangladeshi population. Constantinides, (2004) Supported that internet was then the
only medium to express themselves and talk to one another cost-efficiently. Liang, and Lai,
2002) Added that already the technological revolution around the world with the information
technology has been started since a decade, the pandemic situation has penetrated its success
creating the alternative channel to serve the confined population at their home with the support
from medication to regular purchase. Rust and Lemon (2001) Argued that the delivery men and
the workers involved in production could not stay at home in fear of COVID-19 and they are the
real hero in this situation to create a connection between the producers and the consumers. The
quantitative research has shown that the British Bangladeshis used to purchase their daily
necessities from the brick-and-mortar stores but the pandemic effect has also confined them at
home and at that time, they have been highly dependent on the internet for communication,
transaction, and exploring their talents even as agreed by 92% of the respondents. 86% of them
illustrated that they have spent almost 5 to 8 hours at their mobile browsing internet only that has
provided them with information about the world as well as let them work from home. 95% of
respondents have mentioned that they used to go to the discounted grocery shops for their regular
needs but the pandemic has transformed their life to the smartphone but it has provided with the
knowledge of the way, they can save their time for construction works.
39

The second objective has mentioned defining the challenges included in internet adoption for
regular shopping and transaction for British Bangladeshi population. Boyer, Hallowell and Roth
(2002) mentioned that the discount shopping tendency and bargaining tendency of British
Bangladeshis demotivated them to purchase online as there is no chance to bid. Liang, and Lai,
(2002) argued that comparatively British Bangladeshis are poorer than the native one that
hinders them to purchase from the online retail stores for their daily necessities. The quantitative
research has shown that the 88% of the respondents are agreeing with the researcher that the
main reason for avoiding the online shopping is the inaccurate pricing and high price dispersity
across the channels along with the mismatch of the product quality promised and provided. 92%
of them have mentioned that the excessive information in the online stores delays their decision-
making process that often creates confusion too; therefore, they used to avoid the online channel
of communication and do not engage in online purchasing. 95% of the participants in the
research have mentioned that they are supporting the researcher on the point that the touch and
feel and the face-to-face communication are the major contributors to their purchase decision
that are absent in online shopping experience. 75% of them have agreed with the researcher that
the time-lapse to get the parcel at home is another major challenge that hinders them to prefer
online shopping mall and till the day, the parcel comes at the doorstep, they had to cautious that
creates another hassle but the cash on the delivery system introduced in the online purchase
process have penetrated their participation in the online channel.
The third objective has focused on examining how the factors included in the adapting online
channel of communication in the pandemic situation for British Bangladeshi consumers in
London. Rust and Lemon (2001) Opined that the pandemic situation is the major reason for
adopting the online platform as quickly as it is now. Li and Zhang, (2002) supported that the
consumers get a lot of information from the internet with the user-generated contents so that they
can compare the products and services as much as they need and ultimately take the decision of
action. …. supported that the internet with social media has created a revolutionary change in the
contribution of the internet for communication managing interactive communication penetrating
the success of an online platform to connect people and boost brand awareness and advocacy.
Constantinides, (2004) added that along with the ease of delivery, the customisation of the
services has indulged the customers of the new era to involve in the online purchasing process.
Boyer, Hallowell and Roth (2002) argued that it is not the customised system rather the
40

integration of augmented reality in involving the consumers in the product development process
is penetrating the organisational success in creating personalised experience among the
consumers. In the quantitative research, 90% of the respondents have mentioned that they are
agreeing with the researcher on this issue that the internet is the largest database in the world and
it is contributing to their regular life with the most exact data they need to meet their need and
want to find the most suitable solution of the search. 82% of the respondents have supported that
due to the online engagement with the retailers or the brand, their brand inclination increases and
they started to live with the organisation. They have also mentioned that the interactive
communication and instant solution of the customer problem with social media marketing
accelerate their trust in the consumers. 75% of the respondents have supported that the faster
delivery system has been penetrated in the pandemic situation and the home delivery service is
the only reason for the increasing sales growth of the online retailers; especially the British
Bangladeshis have adopted this channel due to the ease of delivery system as well as the easy
return policy of the brand. 83% of the respondents have contributed to the research the
customised products available in the online market contributes to customer satisfaction when
they find they have got exactly the combination; they have asked for.
The last objective has highlighted to recommend the way online communication channels can
boost customer engagement with further pleasing shopping experience and reliability. The
contribution of the augmented reality and virtual reality on the internet is supposed to boost the
organisational success in attaching the consumers in the total order fulfilment process from
production to their doorstep with the simulated real-world as opined by Mile et al., (2000).
According to Mcknight et al., (2002), the British Bangladeshi consumers quite price sensitive
and switches the brand faster than the native British population; therefore, the online retailers
should contribute to boosting the customer trust with the free return policy and the best price of
the products among all other online retail channels. Guttman et al., (1999) argued that the
organisation does not need to reduce price rather focus on quality and educate the price-sensitive
customers that how the quality products are more cost-efficient even if the consumers have to
buy them at a comparatively higher price than that of the cheaper ones. Therefore, the researcher
must adopt the influencer marketing as a medium to communicate the quality of the products to
the target audience as the Bangladeshi millennials in the UK are more affectionate to the
influencers in the social media and try to follow them in their real life. Li and Zhang, (2002)
41

argued that it does not include influencing people rather the brand should focus on informing
people with integrated marketing communication tools where different types of customer
advocacy will be the weapon of attracting and retaining the customers. From the quantitative
analysis, it has been found that 88% of respondents have found the return policy as an interesting
medium to reduce the risks of the products mismatch, 92% of the consumers have mentioned that
the integration of virtual reality or augmented reality in operation can contribute to the
organisational success in reaching and retaining the British Bangladeshi consumers growing in
London, and 95% of them have agreed that they are highly influenced by the influencer
marketing practices of Nike, Gucci, etc. 67% of them have shown their attention on the necessity
of integrated marketing communication to reach the customers.
The aim of the research has been met with the regression analysis summarising the results with the
ANOVA table and validating with the correlation matrix, the ultimate result has found that all of the
variables together can explain 34% changes in the lifestyle of British Bangladeshis using the internet
during the pandemic period.
6. Conclusion:
The above research has focused on defining the impact of the internet on the Bangladeshi consumers in
London city during the lockdown period of pandemic coronavirus and the ultimate result has shown that
the factors involved in using the internet have 34% influence on the British Bangladeshi consumers living
in London city only. However, four objectives have been developed to meet the research aim that has
been met with six different chapters of the research.
However, the first objective of the research was to evaluate the way the internet is contributing to the
regular life in London for the British Bangladeshi population that has been met by the first
chapter of the research where the research background, rationale, aims and objectives and
research structure have been determined. This chapter has found that during the pandemic
situation, all of the countries of the world locked in their home due to the fear of spreading the
highly contagious disease COVID-19 that has contributed to the drastic change around the world
adopting the virtual world as their real-life creating a balance between them.
42

The second objective of the research focused on defining the challenges included in internet
adoption for regular shopping and transaction for British Bangladeshi population that has been
met by the second chapter of the research that has derived the variables to consider to define the
support of the internet for the British Bangladeshi consumers developing the hypothetical
relationship between them that is supposed to contribute to solving the research problem.
However, the findings from the literature review have shown that the British Bangladeshis likes
to go for direct shopping at the store and does not believe in online shopping as in 33% of cases,
the products ordered online brings about highly different from that of the real one.
The third objective has highlighted on examining how the factors included in the adapting online
channel of communication in the pandemic situation for British Bangladeshi consumers in
London and the third and fourth chapter of the research has met the research objective designing
the way this research should be conducted as well as the findings the interrelation among the
variables defined previously. The methodology has been suggested to conduct deductive research
with the quantitative research method conducting primary research on the market from 66
respondents. The findings have shown that the home delivery service with the online platform
has made this platform tangible enough and believable by the target audience as the companies
in the pandemic situation has served their target population with the organisational success in
reaching the doorstep of the consumers.
The last objective has concentrated on recommending the way online communication channels
can boost customer engagement with further pleasing shopping experience and reliability. This
objective has been obtained with the fifth and the last chapter of the research mentioning that the
organisations should integrate influencer marketing, augmented reality, integration of all
marketing communication channels, and educating the customer regarding the quality first to
boost their participation in the online effort of the organisation.
6.1 Limitation and future research:
The major limitation of the research was the scarcity of updated data and particularly focusing on
the consumer's behaviour pattern of the minority and migrated group of people, the Bangladeshi
consumers only. Therefore, this research has used the general consumer attitude as the
representative of the British Bangladeshis while developing the literature review. Therefore, the
research findings to some degree found an inconsistency. Furthermore, the limitation with digital
43

skills has hindered the operational efficiency of the research to present it lucratively. The
upcoming research can be conducted on how the discounted store attracts the British
Bangladeshi consumer. Research on eth acceptance of the influencer marketing by the British
Bangladeshi millennials can be focused on next. the contribution of the augmented reality in
online channel sales-boosting should be identified too to determine the appropriate mix of the
communication channel.
6.2 Recommendations:
Educating the quality:
The British Bangladeshi consumers highly price-sensitive and like to bargain with the
shopkeeper, therefore, the online retailers should contribute to boosting the customer trust with
the free return policy and the best price of the products among all other online retail channels.
That effort is going to assure the consumer's spontaneous participation in recognising the quality
of goods over price.
Inclusion of augmented reality:
The contribution of the augmented reality and virtual reality on the internet is supposed to boost
the organisational success in attaching the consumers in the total order fulfilment process from
production to their doorstep with the simulated real world. Therefore, the organisations should
create a personalised experience for the consumer with this technology and reduce the time
required for action-decision.
Influencer marketing:
As the British Bangladeshi millennials are highly involved with the influencers in the social
media, it can be a better platform to gain the trust of the consumers as well as create social media
community for the brand. It is going to penetrate the acceptance of the brand and its online
channel building a trustworthy relationship even before experiencing the product or service.
Integration of marketing communication
The consistency of the information in different communication channel creates confusion with
high price dispersity affecting the trustworthy relationship of the customers. Therefore, the
organisation should follow the integration of marketing communication channels of the
44

organisation communicating the same message everywhere. It is going to contribute to building a
brand value perceived by the consumers.
45

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Appendix I: Survey Questionairre
Sl no.: …………… Date: ……………………….
Subject: Request to fill the survey form
Dear Concern,
I m conducting an academic research on “the impact of internet on the Bangladeshi Consumers
in London City” and I need your direct participation to get the pure data about your experience
by the mean time. Hope you will join me with the online survey attached.
Thanks in advance.
Survey questionnaire:
stron
gly
Disa
gree
Di
sa
gr
ee
Some
what
Disag
ree
N
e
ut
ra
l
Som
ewh
at
Agre
e
A
g
r
e
e
Stro
ngly
Agr
ee
C
o
d
e
Statements 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I
A
Information Accessibility
I
A
1
Internet is full of user generated content
I
A
2
internet is the largest database with variety of data
published for the general mass
I
A
3
Social media has increased the scope and depth of
data reached this channel
I
A
4
Anyone can find any relevant data now just
searching in internet
E
R
Easiness of Reach
E
R
1
due to the extravagant participation of people in
internet is increasing its reach across the world
E
R
With the GPS system, internet has enriched with
real-time tracking the people to reach
49

2
E
R
3
The brands can easily reach their target population
with the internet due to digital transformation around
the world
E
R
4
The consumers can easily reach the required
organisations to fulfil their need due to their online
physical evidence
C
S
Customized Service
C
S
1
The interactive communication medium supported
by internet contributes to simultenous
communication between the buyers and sellers
C
S
2
The interactive communication contributes to define
the customer need considering individually different
want
C
S
3
the product mix or bundle can be designed according
to the individual customers with the direct contact
with them
C
S
4
The sevice customisation by interactive
communication or augmented reality improves the
credibility of the organisation to the customers
D
E
Delivery Ease
D
E
1
with the home delivery system, the brands are now
conducting distribution to anywhere of the world
even for the remote customers
D
E
2
there is no alternative to home delivery process to
distribute products directly to the customers
D
E
3
the brands are using the online distribution channel
as the only medium of providing service that does
not require direct interaction of people during the
pandemic situation
D
E
4
the ease of deliverying the products contributes to
the flourishment of online channel
I
B
B
C
Impact on British Bangladeshi consumers
I
B
B
C
1
The British Bangladeshi consumers enjoyed the
information accessibility as the source of credibility
to shift to the online channel
I
B
B
C
With the online channel of communication in this
digital era, the consumers can enjoy easy reach to
their favourite mall just in a tap on the phone
50