MAJOR PROJECT REPORT

ON
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AMAZON & FLIPKART IN TERMS OF DIGITAL
MARKETING STRATEGIES
IN
BRAND BUILDING ON INTERNET
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
PROF:-AMANDEEP KAUR
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENT FOR THE
DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

2013-16
SUBMITTED BY:
SHABIR AHMAD
BBA 6TH SEM
ROLL NO : 1340095
SRI SUKHMANI INSTITUDE OF HOSPITALITY AND MANAGEMENT
DERA BASSI

DECLARATION
I, Shabir Ahmad hereby declare that the project work titled "COMPARATIVE STUDY OF
AMAZON & FLIPKART IN TERMS OF DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES
IN BRAND BUILDING ON INTERNET " is the original work done by me and submitted to Sri
Sukhmani Institute of Hospitality and Management, DeraBassi for the fulfillment of requirement
for the award of Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration .

Signature of student.

Acknowledgement

It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with this project. The project was a joyous
learning process. The presentation of the report in the was required has been made possible by
the way of contribution of various people.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Jaspreet Kaur for her help and
encouragement. I am very thankful to her for her advice, assistance, and constant support
throughout the preparation of this report.
I would like to thank all my beloved teacher for their support and confidence in me.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the respondents whose response was of utmost
importance for the project.

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Topics
Declaration
Acknowledgement

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Introduction
What is Brand
Characteristics of Successful Brand
Amazon.Com
SWOT Analysis Of Amazon .Com
Flipkart.Com
SWOT Analysis Of FlipKart
Amazon Vs Flipkart
Research Methodology
Data Interpretation And Analysis
Limitations of Brand Building on Internet
Conclusions And Findings
Bibliography
Questionnaire

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing strategy builds on and adapts the principles of traditional Marketing, using the
opportunities and challenges offered by technology and the digital medium. User-centric
thinking, which involves placing the user at the core of all decisions, is vital when looking at
building a successful digital marketing strategy.
The advent of new technologies means the digital marketing strategist of today is offered not
only a plethora of new tactical possibilities, but also unprecedented ways of measuring the
effectiveness of chosen strategies and tactics. The fact that digital marketing is highly empirical
is one of its key strengths.

Everything can be measured: from behaviours, to actions and action paths, to results. This means
that the digital marketing strategist should start thinking with return on investment (ROI) in
mind. Built into any strategy should be attesting framework and the ability to remain flexible and
dynamic in a medium that shifts and changes as user behaviours do.
Building a strong brand is a complex task. This chapter spells out the traditional brand building
process, highlighting important factors that contribute to the success of each step along the way.
The major characteristics of successful brands are also reviewed.
Different kinds of digital marketing tools are being widely used in the business environment. An
all rounded marketer has to be acquainted with knowledge not only in traditional marketing but
also in the digital marketing regime.
This programme provides participants with the applications of the emerging digital media
technologies from marketing perspectives and to facilitate their full integration with marketing
management and practices.

WHAT IS A BRAND?
According to Rita Clifton, CEO of Inter brand Newell and Sorrell - a leading specialist brand
Consultancy firm - a brand is:
"A mixture of tangible and intangible attributes, symbolized in a trademark,
Which, if properly managed, creates influence and generates value4"
This definition truly captures the essence of a brand, and highlights the importance of brand
management. Branding is about creating 'value', both for customers, and for the company.
This value stems from the products and services that companies create and bring to the market,
but extends further to encompass added values derived from factors such as the brand-customer

relationship, the brand's emotional benefits and its self-expressive benefits other common
descriptions of a brand include - a 'relationship', a 'reputation', a 'set of
expectationsand a 'promise'. It is a company's promise to consistently deliver a specific set
of features, benefits, and services to customers.

BUILDING SUCCESSFUL BRANDS ON THE INTERNET THE VALUE

PROPOSITION
Added Value
. Experience of Use
.User Associations
. Belief in Efficacy
. Brand Appearance
. Manufacturers' Name and Reputation
Distinctive Brand Identity
. The Brand Core
. The Brand Style
. The Brand Theme
DEVELOPING THE FRAMEWORK & COMMUNICATING THE VALUE PROPOSITION
. Awareness
. Interest
. Evaluation
. Adoption

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL BRANDS

Several factors contributing to the success of brands have been identified19, including:
A Quality Product / Service Experience: - Satisfactory experience is the major determinant
of brand values. If the quality of the experience deteriorates, or if the brand is surpassed by
superior offers from competitors, then its position will be undermined.
First-Mover Advantage - Being first into the market does not necessarily bring success,
but it makes the task easier. It is easier to capture a share of the consumer's mind and

build a customer base, when the brand has no competitors to rival its position.
Unique Positioning Concept - If the brand is not the innovator, it must have a unique
Positioning concept - a segmentation scheme, value proposition or augmented brand,
which will add value and distinguish it from competition.
Strong Communications Programme:- A successful brand requires an effective selling,
advertising or promotional campaign, which will communicate the brand's existence, its
function and psychological values, trigger trial and reinforce commitment to it. Without
building awareness, comprehension and intention to buy, the brand is meaningless.
Time and Consistency - Traditionally, brands were not built quickly. It often takes years
to build up the added values, and establish a trusting relationship.

KEY FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL

ONLINE BRAND
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for building a successful brand on the Internet, however,
the extensive research and in-depth case studies provided in this dissertation indicate certain
common underlying characteristics which can be summarised as follows:
A Compelling Value Proposition
Successful online brands are exploiting every capability offered by the Internet to deliver
compelling value propositions that appeal to customers, by offering more value than
attainable through traditional 'bricks-and-mortar' establishments. They are providing
greater convenience (24x7), lower prices, wider selections, and access to more
Information on the products or services being provided, and enhancing this with layers of
added-value through the '7Cs' - Convenience, Content, Customization, Community,
Connectivity, Customer Care and Communication.
A High Quality Online Experience
Strong Internet brands are those that create a high quality engaging online customer
experience. The 7Cs framework allows companies to deliver a tangible customer
experience. Successful online brands meet the demands inherent in each of the 7C
categories, by ingraining convenience and making the site easy-to-use, quick-to-load and
easy-to-navigate, delivering compelling content, customizing the experience, developing a
community feel, making connectivity easy, integrating customer care, and establishing
two-way -communication.
A Reputation for Excellence (Delivering on their e-Promises)
Fulfilment and delivering on e-promises is the acid test of online brands. The successful

brands are those who are investing heavily in logistics, distribution centres, and customer
care to ensure a completely satisfying end-to-end customer experience.
Strong Communications Programme & Efficient Customer Acquisition Strategy
The key Internet brands have made major commitments to building awareness and have
developed multifaceted, integrated customer acquisition strategies, ranging from online
methods to traditional offline media.
Unique Positioning Concept & Distinct Brand Image
Strong brands are developing unique positioning concepts, to distinguish themselves from
competitors. Yahoo!'s success can be largely attributed to its unique positioning strategy
and distinct image that appeals to its target market.
Strong Partnerships and Strategic Alliances
Rather than doing everything on their own, leading brands have focused on building
strong partnerships and alliances, particularly to secure content and widen reach to new
customer segments and niches.
Intense Customer Focus
Leading online brands have an intense customer focus, and develop a detailed
understanding of their customers' needs. These brands are accumulating knowledge about
customers, through past transactions and solicited input, and by focusing on customer
needs, are leveraging this customer knowledge (learning) to nurture relationships (relate),
by providing better services, customisation and customer care. Customer focus builds
trust and credibility that is central to developing a strong brand-customer relationship

AMAZON.COM
In July 1995, Amazon.com launched with a mission to use the Internet to transform book
buying into a fast, easy, and enjoyable experience. Amazon.com has since evolved from
being an online bookseller into a one-stop shop with "Earth's Biggest Selection TM" of more
than 18 million products, ranging from books and music to auctions and zShops (a portal /
marketplace that online sellers can use to sell their products), and has equity investments in
several e-tailers
Amazon.com has become synonymous with e-commerce, and is one of the few Internet

brands that is recognised all over the world. It is the 57th most valuable brand in the world47,
and the most widely recognised e-commerce brand name in the US (with 60% awareness48).
Amazon serves over 23 million customers from 160 countries, and has sales of over $2
billion. In addition, it is the most visited e-commerce website in America, and one of the top
two or three in Britain, France, Germany and Japan.

History & Growth of Amazon. In:

Amazon.com, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, is an American electronic commerce
company with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. JeffBezos incorporated the
companys Cadabra on July 5, 1994, and the site went online asAmazon.com in
1995. Bezos changed the name cadabra.com to amazon.com because it sounded
too much like cadaver. Additionally, a name beginning with A was preferential
due to the probability it would occur at the top of any list that was alphabetized. It
is the largest Internet based company in the United States. Amazon.com started
as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs ,VHSs, CDs, video and
MP3Downloads/Streaming, Software,Video Games, Electronics, Apparel,
Furniture, Food,Toys, and Jewellery. The company also produces consumer
electronics notably, Kindle, Fire Tablets, Fire TV and Phone and is a major
provider of cloud computing services. Amazon has separate retail websites for
United States, United Kingdom & Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, The
Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India and Mexico, with
sites for Sri Lanka and South EastAsian countries coming soon. Amazon also
offers international shipping to certain other countries for some of its products. In
the year 2011, it had professed an intention to launch its websites in Poland, and
Sweden. In early June 2013, Amazon.com had launched their Amazon
India marketplace without any marketing campaigns. In July, 2013, Amazon had
announced to invest $2 Billion (Rs 12,000Crores) in India to expand business, after
its largest Indian rival Flipkart too had announced to invest$1Billion.
Brand-Building Strategy
Amazon has attracted traffic in a number of ways. Through the first half of 1996, Amazon
had primarily relied on word-of-mouth among tightly knit online communities (newsgroups
and chat rooms) to create a 'cyberbuzz' and improve its visibility. In the second half of 1996,
it began to advertise in print media and online - a move that along with the novelty of its
business model and the newness of the Internet, helped generate publicity and stories about
the company in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Business
Week, Newsweek, New Yorker and The Economist.

In July 1996, Amazon inaugurated the Associates Programme under which other websites
could display the Amazon.com hot-link and offer specific books of interest to their visitors.
This enabled Amazon to reach more customer segments and niches (Figure 6.2). Instead of
paying directly for this exposure, Amazon offered Associates referral fees of up to 15%,
which only applied to sales that resulted from the initial click-through, and not subsequent
purchases. The Associates Programme has been phenomenally successful, attracting member
sites of all sizes, and by 1999 it had over 200,000 members, increasing to over 500,000 by
August 2000.

Business Strategy
The Company's objective is to become the best place to buy, find and discover any product or
service available online.
Amazon.com will continue to enhance and broaden its brand, customer base and electronic
commerce expertise with the goal of
creating customers' preferred online shopping destination, in the United States and around the
world.

Customer Service
The Company believes that its ability to establish and maintain long-term relationships with its
customers and to encourage repeat visits and purchases depends, in part, on the strength of its
customer support and service operations and staff. Furthermore, the Company seeks to achieve
frequent communication with and feedback from its customers to continually improve the
Amazon.com stores and services. The Company offers a number of e-mail addresses to enable
customers to request information and to encourage feedback and suggestions.

Conclusion
Amazon has achieved a customer base of over 23 million people and an annual revenue run
rate of over $2 billion in less than five years. The key factors driving its growth and high
retention rates, stem from its compelling value proposition and high quality end-to-end
customer experience.
Amazon has also benefited from a first-mover advantage giving it an edge over competitors,
however, Amazon's intense focus on customer needs and continual innovation, have kept it
ahead. This customer-centricity is a key hallmark of a successful Internet brand.

Amazon also recognised that service quality is a perception, not necessarily a reality.
Amazon delivers on its promises of a wide inventory of products, secure payment procedures,
speedy delivery and good value.

SWOT analysis of Amazon

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Amazon
1.

Strong background and deep pockets Built on its early successes with books,
Amazon now has product categories that include electronics, toys, games, home and kitchen,
white goods, brown goods and much more. Amazon has evolved as a global E-commerce giant
in the last 2 decades.

2.

Customer centric: Companys robust CRM has created customer centric processes in
order to carefully record data on customers buying behavior. This enables them to offer
individual items, related items or bundle them as an offer, based upon preferences demonstrated
through purchases or items visited. Also, the company claims that 55% of their customers are
repeat buyers resulting in low cost of acquisition of new buyers.

3.

Cost leadership: In order to differentiate itself, company has created several strategic
alliances with other companies to offer superior customer service. The most important strategic
tie ups are with logistics provides who control costs. Because of playing on economies of scale,
Amazon is able to lower the inventory replenishment time.

4.

Efficient delivery network: With its strategic partners & due to its Amazon fulfilment
centers, Amazon has created a deep & structured network in order to make the product available
even at remote locations. It also has free of cost delivery charges in certain geographies.

5.

GLOCAL strategy: By using the strategy of Go global & act local, Amazon is able to
fight with domestic E-commerce companies through absorbing & by forming / partnering with
supply chain companies. The branding too is done as per local taste. For example- In India,
Amazon is currently using the AurDikhao campaign to encourage users to browse more of
their products.

6.

Acquisitions: Acquiring companies like Zappos.com, Junglee.com, IMBD.com,

woot.com etc. has proven to be a successful and revenue generating step for the E commerce
giant.
Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Amazon

1.

Shrinking margins: Due to extensive delivery network & price wars Amazons margins
are shrinking, which is resulting in even losses. In India, Amazon had a loss of $359 crs in the
year 2013-14.

2.

Tax Avoidance issue: Amazon has attracted negative publicity on account of Tax
Avoidance in countries like U.S & UK. Most of its revenue is generated from these well
established markets.

3.

High Debt: In many developing nations Amazon is still struggling to make the business
profitable thereby affecting the overall profitability of the group resulting into High debt.

4.

Product flops Amazon launched the fire phone in the US which was a big flop. At the
same time, Kindle fire did not pick up as strongly as Kindle did. Thus, there were several product
flops which caused a dent in Amazons deep pockets.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Amazon

1.

Backward Integration: Amazon can come up with its In-house brands in different
product categories. They can also differentiate their offering. This will help them make profits in
highly competitive E-commerce market.

2.

Global Expansion: Expansion mainly in Asian & developing economies will help
Amazon because those are the markets with low competition in E-commerce industries & are not
saturated like developed economies.

3.

Acquisitions: By acquiring E-commerce companies it can decrease the competition level

& also can use the specialized capacity of the other company.

4.

Opening physical stores outside U.S: By doing this Amazon can help the customers to
engage with the brand, resulting in increase in repeat purchases & increase in loyal customer
base.
Threats in the SWOT analysis of Amazon

1.

Low entry barriers of the industry: Low entry barriers affect the current players
business as more & more company means tough competition, price wars, shrinking margins &
losses resulting into questioning the sustainability of the players.

2.

Government regulations: Not having clarity on the issues related to FDI in multi brand
retail, has been a big hurdle in the success of the E-commerce players in many developing
nations.

3.

Local competition India has snapdeal and Flipkart who are local E commerce retailers
and are taking away majority of the market. Similarly, there are many local players who take
bites from the market share thereby making it hard for a big player like Amazon to make profits.

FLIPKART
It is an e-Commerce company founded in the year 2007,by Mr.Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal
both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. They had been working for
Amazon.com previously. It operates exclusively in India, where it is headquartered in Bangalore,
Karnataka .It is registered in Singapore, and owned by a Singapore based holding company.
Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name DigiFlip, Flipkart also recently
launched its own range of personal healthcare and home appliances under the brand Citron.
Flipkart is presently one of the largest online retailers in India, present across more than 14
product categories & with a reach in around 150 cities. Flipkart is currently a 10,000 member
strong team, with 3000 sellers on its platform and delivering 5 million shipments per month.

Flipkart marketing strategy

Flipkart has been mostly marketed by word of mouth advertising. Customer satisfaction has
been their best marketing medium. Flipkart very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
and Google Ad-words as the marketing tools to have a far reach in the online world.
Flipkart.com official Facebook page has close to 9 Lac' likes'. Flipkart recently launched a series
of 3 Ads with the tag line - "No Kidding No worries". Kids were used to create the adverts to
send out the message - if a kid can do it, you can also do it.
The message is very clear to make people more comfortable with Flipkart, to generate a great
customer relationship and loyalty on the basis of great product prices and excellent customer
service. All in all to create a great customer experience.

Flipkart business strategy

Flipkart's business model is much deeper and much expansive that could possibly elaborate here.
However, a few key points
1 Rationalized supply chain - Inbound logistics
2 Strategic warehousing and distribution capability - Operations

3 Well aligned fulfillment process - Outbound logistics

All the three processes are extremely well integrated - first by a sound strategy, around which the
organizational structure is built (Strategy drives structure - Chandler)
So they have a strategy, and a complementing structure to support their strategy. The third critical
success factor for Flipkart is the technology as an enabler. A strong information systems is at the
core of the organization, which drives visibility and end-to-end integration across their supply
chain processes (inbound - operations - outbound) resulting in a well lubricated efficient
machine.
Flipkart, must be seen as a logistics company rather than a retail business. Although it sells
products to consumers, and hence is academically classified as a B2C business, the core of the
business lies in its efficient logistics, which allows it to sell products at attractive prices.

SWOT analysis of Flipkart

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart.
1.

Indias Largest E-commerce Retailer:- Flipkart is the Indias largest E-commerce

company & had sold GMV (gross merchandising value) of $1 billion till now.

2.

Experienced founders: The Founders of Flipkart, Sachin&Binnybansal are Ex-Amazon

employees. Having prior experience in the E-commerce industry helped the founders to work
strategically and differentiate their business in a highly competitive market.

3.

Acquisition: With its series of acquisitions like Letsbuy.co,, chakpak.com, weread.com,

Mine360 & the recent one Myantra in 2014 has helped the company to expand in the Ecommerce space & used the capabilities and existing resources of acquired companies.

4.

High Brand recall: Flipkart has established itself as a renowned E-commerce company
in India through TV ads, online branding and through its presence on social media. Brand
activities like the Big billion day have really increased the brand recall of the company.

5.

Own Payment gateway & Logistic arm: Having its own Logistics arm E-kart &
payment gateway Pay zippy has helped the company to control its Expenses. Thereby passing the
benefits to the end customers.

6.

Exclusive & broad range of products: From having Exclusive rights to launch some
products like MotoG MotoX, Xiaomi Mi3 as well as personal designers segments in garments
category, has helped the company to differentiate and localize its offerings.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1.

Limited Distribution channel reach: Although its logistics arm has kept costs low, the
reach has been affected which is a weakness for Flipkart. Due to use of outsourcing, Global
giants like Amazon & eBay can deliver the product anywhere in the country. However, Flipkart
is still struggling in this field.

2.

Cost of Acquisition: Due to stiff competition in the market & low customer retention,
the cost of Acquisition is high because Flipkart acquires a lot of customers through online
advertising. As per Flipkart data, the company spends R.s 400/- on acquiring a new customer on
an average.

3.

Power in the hand of buyers: Since this industry is flooded with many players, buyers
have a lot of options to choose. Switching costs are also less for customers since they can easily
switch a service from one online retail company to another. Same products will be displayed in
several online retail websites. Product differentiation is almost absent and the fight then begins
on the basis of price only.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1.

Expansion of business: By targeting other emerging markets company can increase their
revenues as well as it can have Economies of scale.

2.

Expanding their Product categories: This will increase their customer base & at the
same time will reduce the cost of acquisition and customer switch.

3.

Changing mentality of Indian customers: With increasing numbers of customers

getting comfortable with online shopping & increase in numbers of Internet users in India, there
is huge potential in this Industry.

4.

Supply chain: By optimizing their supply chain they can compete with the other players
& can manage the loosing sales on account of not making the product available due to delivery
constraints.

5.

Establishing in other developing economies: Like Amazon, Flipkart can slowly start
expanding out of India and establish operations in other countries as well which will help
improve revenues.
Threats in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1.

Competition: Stiff competition from the global players like Amazon, eBay as well as
local player like Snapdeal, Tolexo and Shopclues who are continuously trying to eat each others
market share.

2.

Government regulations on the issues related to FDI in multi branding retail has been a
big hurdle in the success of the E-commerce industry in India.

Future Prospects: Flipkart.com &Amazon. In

Flipkart.com:
With the entry of Amazon in the Indian market, Flipkart needs to renovate & expand its business
in order to sustain or increase its present market share. Flipkarts plans for the future mainly
include scaling up the size of its business.

It plans to have 10 to 12000 sellers on its plat form within the next few years. Also, on
acquisition of Myntra,Flipkart, currently owns about 50 percent of the organized life style market
in India. It plans to increase this figure to70 percent. It has more than 1,000 sellers now, & it
wants to scale up this number to 10,000 to 15,000 in a years time, & to a few lakhs in 4 to 5
years. Around 40 percent to Flipkarts online traffic now comes from Mobiles. It thus wants to
add more features to its mobile shopping app to increase customers satisfaction& loyalty.
Flipkart is also trying to develop its IT infrastructure, as online shopping is heavily dependent on
technology. It wants to customize its IT framework to perform 2 functionalities. One, its ability
to recommend its buyers to what other purchases can be bought to complement a product that has
been already purchased from Flipkart like recommending a Stereo Headset for a Mobile Phone,
and second one is to simultaneously conduct a live survey by siphoning a small portion of this
data to analyze customers purchase patterns& preferences respectively. Flipkart is also
considering having their own logistics so asto reduce dependability on the third party companies
to provide it. Flipkart has also freshly launched its own Digital
Accessories brand Digiflip, & its apparel brand Flipped, is yet to see how it is likely to perform
in the market. Also, part of its agenda is to be present in more number of Cities, & for that it is
contemplating on having large number of warehouses. It has also increased automation units
supply chain system. Flipkart also wants to include more categories of products in its domain, &
plug the gaps in its existing categories.

Amazon. In
As part of its expansion plan in India, Amazon has been pushing its Kindle tablet, especially the
Kindle Fire range which can automatically act as a catalyst for promoting its merchandise sales.
As customers are majorly shifting from
Computers to Mobile Handsets, they will be majorly benefited from reading e- books &
streaming live Music &Videos through the Kindle devices. Amazon is mostly interested its cash
flow per share valuation rather than percentage margins. Thus, they are likely to offer even larger
discounts to push sales. The company is also in talks with leading retail chains of India like
Future Group, Spencers Retail, Woodlands, Shoppers Stop & Crosswords to act as a selling
platform for their products. Amazon is also planning to introduce its very own mobile handset in
the future through which it hopes customers will have more access to its online store & its
contents. But, perhaps the most interesting & path-breaking service that Amazon is about to offer
yet is using Drones, or unmanned
aerial vehicles to deliver packages to customers. According to Media Reports, Amazon came up
with this concept in the year 2013& will supposedly be launching it first in India in late
2014.The drone, known as Amazons Prime Air is an octocopter, that is fitted with 8 Rotors,
weighing less than 25 kilogram (kg), and travelling at over quickly, especially as nobody else in
the industry has raised as
much money as it has.

Flipkart Vs. Amazon :

Flipkart is Amazons biggest competitor in Indian market. Today we are comparing

their catalogues for different categories, examine common products offered by them, better seller
in terms of price, to see how they stand against each other. We have considered 4 categories
under consumer electronics viz. Mobiles, Laptops,
Tablets and Cameras to dig out some interesting trends. The data for these categories is sourced
from our data partner Find Yogi A buying decision platform Indian consumers, as part of our
Ecommerce Insights Series. Only new products that are under manufacturer warranty and
available as on 4 Week of April 2014 is covered in this report. Flipkart has 1706 SKUs in stock
under these four categories whereas Amazon has 1535 SKUs in stock. Flipkart has 4172 offers
for 1706 SKUs.
Whereas Amazon has 2244 offers under 1535 SKUs. Each SKU can have multiple offers under it
so for standardization we have considered different color variants of the same product as single
SKU. Bigger Catalogue flipkart or Amazon In Mobiles category Flipkart has about 7% more
SKUs than Amazon For Laptops category the gap is wider with Flipkart having a 45% bigger
catalogue size. Tablets category is a close fight. In Cameras category, Amazon leads the race with
284 SKUs against Flipkarts 256 SKUs. Looking at the graph we know the competition is neck
to neck, but marginal differences add up to 11% lead for FlipKart. A lot of this is also because
there are a lot of new/little known mobile brands who are yet to discover Amazon.
Overlapping Products? Since the report covers standard product categories, we should note the
catalogue overlap between the two marketplaces There are about 57% FlipKarts catalogue is
also available on Amazon. Whats interesting is that there are 558 products available on Amazon
but not on FlipKart. The overlap in catalogue is below expectation since there are very few
officially exclusive products with the two players viz. the Moto Series and the Kindle. Both
players have to catch up in getting sellers from their competition on their platform.
In our next report from this series we shall discuss individual categories. We would
evaluate their catalogue size, SKUs, common SKUs and better seller in terms of price out of
these common SKUs.

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The objectives of this dissertation are as follows:

1. To gain an understanding of the role of brands and how they have traditionally been built.
2. To explore how the Internet is changing the brand-building environment, and to identify new
sources of value, tools and strategies to build brands on the Internet.
3. To identify the key factors and characteristics that contributes to the development of
successful Internet brands.

NEED OF THE STUDY

1. The study help us to know about the customer perception towards Amazon and Flipkart.
2. It also helps to assess the real opinion and mind set of consumer to meet out their
expectations in future turn that will increase the value of sale.
3. To know about the awareness level of Amazon and Flipkart.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Source of Data
Primary Data: Data has collected through direct interaction and customer intercept survey using
questionnaire.
Secondary Data: Data is collected through internet and newspaper
Sample size 50 For Amazon And 50 For Flipkart

DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

Question Regarding Flipkart
1. Your monthly income is about
Income

No.

Percentage

A. Under 10000

10

20%

B. 10000-20000

15

30%

C. 20000-30000

25

50%

Total

50

100%

According to the survey, out of 50, 20% are under 10000, 30% are 10000 to 20000, 50% are
20000 to 30000.

20%

under 10000

50%

10000-20000
20000-30000
30%

Table 2:-. Profession

Profession
Students
Private employee
Government employee
Others
Total

No.
10
15
20
5
50

Percentage
20%
30%
40%
10%
100%

According to survey out of 50,20% are Students, 30% are private Employee, 40% are
Government employee, 10% are Others.

15%
31%
Student
Private employee
23%

Government employee
others

31%

Table 3. What kinds of products do you purchase on Flipkart.com?

purchase on Flipkart.com
Books
Clothing, shoes & jewelry
Electronics & computers
health &beauty
Others
Total

No.
10
15
5
10
10
50

Percentage
10%
30%
10%
20%
20%
100%

According to Survey out of 50, 10% people Buy Books 30% Clothing, shoes & jewelry, 10%
Electronics & computers, 20% health &beauty, 20% Others.

16%

21%
Books
clothing
Electronic

21%

Health
Other

32%
11%

Table No.4:- Gender

Gender
Male
Female
Total

No.
30
20
50

Percentage
60%
40%
100%

According to Survey Out of 50, 30% are Male And 40% are Female

40%
Male
Female
60%

Table 5:- Individual service of flipkart.com

Services of Flipkart
Very good
Good
Not Enough
Very bad
Total

No.
20
15
10
5
50

Percentage
40%
30%
20%
10%
100%

According To Survey, Out of 50, 40% are very Good , 30% are Good ,20% are Not enough,
10%are Very Bad.

5%
21%
Very good

42%

good
Not Enough
Very bad

32%

Table 6:- . Do you think Flipkart distribution is faster than the other online shopping website?
distribution is faster than the other online
shopping
Extremely agree
Agree
Disagree
Completely disagree
Total

No

Percentage

20
15
10
5
50

40%
30%
20%
10%
100%

According To Survey out Of 50,40% Are Extremely Agee,30% are agree,20% are Disagree, and
10% are Completely Disagree with the distribution is faster than the other online shopping
website

22%
35%

Extremely Agree
agree
Disagree

17%

Completely disagree
26%

Question Regarding Amazon

Table 1:- Your monthly income is about
Income

No

Percentage

A. Under 10000

15

30%

B. 10000-20000

15

30%

C. 20000-30000

20

40%

Total

50

100%

According to the survey, out of 50, 30% are under 10000, 30% are 10000 to 20000, 40% are
20000 to 30000.

30%
40%

Under-10000
10000-20000
20000-30000

30%

Table 2 :-Profession
Profession
Students

No.
5

Percentage
10%

Private employee
Government employee
Others
Total

15
20
10
50

30%
40%
20%
100%

According to survey out of 50,5% are Students, 15% are private Employee,20% are Government
employee, 10% are Others.

5%
15%
Students
Private employee
Government employee
60%

20%

Others

Table 3 :-What kinds of products do you purchase on Amazon.com

purchase on Amazon.com
Books
Clothing, shoes & jewelry
Electronics & computers
health &beauty
Others
Total

No.
5
20
10
10
5
50

Percentage
10%
40%
20%
20%
10%
100%

According to Survey out of 50, 5% people Buy Books 20% Clothing, shoes & jewelry, 10%
Electronics & computers, 10% health &beauty, 5% Others.

22%

11%
Books
Clothing, shoes & jewelry
Electronics & computers

22%

health &beauty

44%

Others

Table No.4:- Gender

Gender
Male
Female/
Total

No.
35
15
50

Percentage
70%
30%
100%

According to Survey Out of 50, 70% are Male And 30% are Female

30%
Male
Female
70%

5. Individual service of Amazon.com

Services of Amazon
Very good
Good
Not Enough
Very bad
Total

No.
25
15
5
5
50

Percentage
50%
30%
10%
10%
100%

According To Survey, Out of 50, 50% are very Good , 30% are Good ,10% are Not enough,
10%are Very Bad.

10%
10%
Very good
50%

Good
Not Enough
very bad

30%

Table 6 :- . Do you think our distribution is faster than the other online shopping website?
distribution is faster than the other online
shopping
Extremely agree
Agree
Disagree
Completely disagree
Total

No

Percentage

20
15
10
5
50

40%
30%
20%
10%
100%

According To Survey out Of 50,40% Are Extremely Agee,30% are agree,20% are Disagree, and
5% are Completely Disagree with the distribution is faster than the other online shopping website

19%
Extremely agree
Agree
57%

14%

Disagree
Completely disagree

10%

LIMITATIONS OF BRAND-BUILDING ON THE INTERNET

It would be unrealistic not to acknowledge some of the limitations to what the Internet can
offer the brand-building process:
The Internet does not have the penetration of other promotional mediums (e.g. TV, Radio).
The Internet supports brand-building activities where there is a need to build a
relationship. Certain product categories, such as groceries and convenience goods, do not
lend themselves to a need for customers to build a relationship with the brand .
Brand-building favours products that can be sold online. However, it is not economically
feasible to sell certain products, especially in small quantities, due to high delivery and
transaction costs (relative to the value of the product).

CONCLUSION & KEY FINDINGS

This dissertation set out to explore how the Internet is changing the brand-building
environment, in order to identify the new sources of value, the new brand-building tools and
strategies, and to outline the key factors that contribute to the development of a successful
online brand. With power shifting to customers, the success of an online brand is largely
determined by customer choice. The repeated choice of a certain brand by customers and

business partners generates the transactions and repeat business that counterbalances the costs of
customer acquisition and infrastructure. Repeat transactions provide the basis for a relationship
that, when properly cultivated, creates value for both the company and its customers. This
relationship is the basis for the customer loyalty that creates a successful online brand.
The companies that are successfully building relationships and fostering brand loyalty are
those that recognise that their brand's perceived value hinges on the total end-to-end customer
experience, from the promises made in the value proposition, to its delivery to the customer.
It is about enticing customers, gaining their trust, and making the experience so satisfying that
they are confident in their choice and will return again, and will tell others about it. It aims to
create" apostles", instead of "terrorists". As such, brand-building on the Internet extends
beyond the traditional focus of positioning, advertising, promotions, catchy logos and slogans,
to creating a business that can deliver complete, and completely satisfying, experiences.
As outlined in Chapter 5, the tools for building an online brand include the 7Cs Framework
(Convenience, Content, Customisation, Community, Connectivity, Customer Care and
Communication), and the Interactive Brand-Building Model (Attract, Engage, Retain,
Learn, and Relate). These frameworks highlight the key components and sources of added value
for developing a high quality experience, and the process of building a customer base
and nurturing brand loyalty. The case studies provided a useful and practical insight into the
application of these tools. As such, the next section concludes the dissertation with a
discussion of the key factors that contribute to building a successful online brand.

Bibliography
Fournier, S., 'Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer
Research', Journal of Consumer Research, March 1998

McWilliam, G., 'Building Strong Brands through Online Communities', Sloan Management
Review, Spring 2000, pp. 43-54
Anonymous, 'Amazon.com: It's an Ocean, Not A River', A Report by Goldman Sachs
Investment Research, November 11, 1999
Rhodes, D., Dea, J., & Hemerling, J., 'Building a Successful Experience Brand', A Boston
Consulting Group Report, 1999 (www.bcg.com)

Hunter, M., (2009), The 5 Types of Customers increase your loyal customer to increase your sales,
Journal of Small Business, Volume.16, No.2, pp.22-45.
Lee, G.G. &Lin, H.F.,(2005), customer perceptions of e-service quality online
shopping,International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Volume.33, No.2, p161-76.

Questionnaire
Question Regarding Flipkart.com
1. Your monthly income is about
Ans
A. Under 10000

B. 10000-20000

C. 20000-30000
2. Profession
Ans
Students
Government employee

Private employee
Others

3. What kinds of products do you purchase on flipkart.com

Ans
Books

Clothing, shoes & jewelry

Electronics & computers

health &beauty

Others
4. :- Gender
Ans
Male

Female

5. Individual service of Flipkart.com

Ans
Very good

Good

Not Enough

Very Bad

6. Do you think our distribution is faster than the other online shopping website?
Ans
Extremely agree

Agree

Disagree

Completely disagree

Question Regarding Amazon.com

1. Your monthly income is about

Ans
A. Under 10000

B. 10000-20000

C. 20000-30000
2. Profession
Ans
Students
Government employee

Private employee
Others

3. What kinds of products do you purchase on Amazon.com

Ans
Books

Clothing, shoes & jewelry

Electronics & computers

health &beauty

Others
4. :- Gender
Ans
Male

Female

5. Individual service of Amazon.com

Ans
Very good

Good

Not Enough

Very Bad

6. Do you think our distribution is faster than the other online shopping website?
Ans
Extremely agree

Agree

Disagree

Completely disagree