Reflections Journal of Management (RJOM)

Volume 5, January 2016

Available online at:
http://reflections.rustomjee.com/index.php/reflections/issue/view/3/showToc

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON ONLINE V/S OFFLINE

SHOPPING OF EYEWEAR
Lopes Priyanka and Prabhutendulkar Tanaya
Abstract
The eyewear industry is a fast growing industry. Consumers are very particular about their
products. The eyewear industry has grown tremendously in India. The consumer preference is
also changing as people now prefer to shop online rather than offline shopping for eyewear
products. This research aims to study the comparison of consumer for eyewear purchase for
online vs. offline channels. We look at factors like awareness, willingness, average monthly
spend on eyewear, preference amongst others. The survey was conducted for the Mumbai region,
where respondents provided details using online Google forms and statistical analysis and tests
were conducted to confirm the assumptions and hypothesis formed.
Key words: Online shopping, eyewear, Offline shopping, buying behavior.
Cite this article: Lopes Priyanka and Prabhutendulkar Tanaya, A comparative study on online v/s
offline shopping of eyewear, Reflections Journal of Maanagement,6,
http://reflections.rustomjee.com/index.php/reflections/issue/view/3/showToc

Introduction
The eyewear industry is a fast growing industry. Eyewear industry involves prescription glasses,
sunglasses and many other varieties of glasses. It is now also becoming part of fashion and
making a style statement. Consumers are now very particular about choosing the right frame,
with the right quality and paying the right price. The providers of eyewear are also increasing.
With the advent of online commerce, it was inevitable that eyewear as a product line makes an
entry in the online space.
The eyewear industry was earlier all depended on offline shopping. But now there has been a
drastic change in consumer preference. Now-a-days people prefer to shop online rather than
offline as there is an increasing trend of shopping online for any product. The eyewear industry
in India is expected to grow to US$14.856 million by 2018, a massive growth on its 2007 figure
of just US$1.247 million. The figures come in the India Eyewear Market Outlook to FY'2018
The Rising Popularity of Online Eyewear Portals report and highlight the growing role played by
online retailers in the sector. Some on the online retailers in this sector are lenskart.com,
lensclues.com, crizal.in and many more.

In view of this, it was found vital to conduct a research on a comparative study of online and
offline shopping of eyewear. We look at factors like awareness, willingness, and preference
amongst other factors while conducting the research.
Research objectives
To compare consumer behavior for online and offline shopping for eyewear.
One of the main objective was to find how much amount on an average, will a consumer be
willing to pay to buy eyewear. We look at a monthly figure which will give us an idea of the
overall spending for eyewear. Also we wanted to study the preference of the people for online
shopping of eyewear. We feel that more people prefer online shopping as compared to offline
shopping. Even though it is an upcoming channel for eyewear, people prefer to explore the
online channel. The number of people aware of online shopping is independent of gender. We
feel men and women dont think differently when it comes to shopping for eyewear product and
we want to prove this assumption. The awareness of online shopping portals for eyewear is
independent of income of people. We want to know whether people with low income are also
aware about the online availability of eyewear.
Methodology
The method used for collecting data was primary and secondary as well.
Primary Data Collection:
It is collected through sampling from different age groups, income groups and from different
occupations. The basic is to get reliable information; the best way is to ask questions. By this we
get the idea of current situation and also get available of reliable data .Through Questionnaire
form method, the data is been derived by looking at the responses given by respondents. The
respondents were made aware of the main topic and reason of the survey. The questionnaire,
were non-disguised because the questionnaire were constructed so that the objective is clear to
the respondents. They knew why they were asked to fill the questionnaire. Questionnaire link is
send and posted via emails, blogs etc. to the respondents and they were asked to answer the
questions in the questionnaire.
Secondary Data Collection:
For collecting secondary data, we looked at various sources. One of the main sources
was information available on internet. We visited websites containing information about
eyewear, trends in purchase of eyewear. We visited various eyewear companies and collected
information for both offline and online eyewear company. We selected some the prominent
eyewear companies which sell eyewear online. These companies were lenskart.com, crizal.in,
lensclues.com. This data was further studied for designing questionnaire.
Sample Design and Sample Size
Sample Size: Quantitative data collected through survey varied based on

Difference in age
Difference in gender
Difference in income
Difference in awareness
Difference in preference

Sample size is 74. It is drawn on the basis of those who avail the services of online and offline
shopping of eyewear products. All the respondents are from Mumbai.

Descriptive Statistics

Annual income
The annual income of any individual could
affect their interest of buying what they
would prefer as far as brands, quality
aspects and prestige eye wear products are
concerned.

6
Annual Income lakhs&abo
ve
1%

4-6 lakhs
6%
2-4 lakhs
15%

People with lower income level would not

prefer high branded products that would be
expensive and would prefer going to local
eye wear store and purchasing a cheaper
product.
0-2 lakhs
78%

Awareness of online
eyewear shopping
6.70%

Yes
No

93.30%

Awareness of people who prefer online

shopping is at a huge proportion in
comparison to people who do not prefer it.
This maybe because people might be
getting high variety online which would
help them have a clear interface about what
they exactly want to buy. As far as people
who do not prefer online shopping for
eyewear are concerned they would rather go
and buy themselves to have a tangible feel
of the product.

Preference Of online
shopping

37.30%
Yes

The percentage of online

preference for eye wear shopping is
at a huge rate i.e. 63%. This may
be due to increasing trend of
shopping online or more
availability of variety online.
Online shopping also provides
range of products under one roof.

No
62.70%

The percentage of responses from

male and female is approximately
same so it is not biased. Both male
and female prefer different
varieties for eyewear.

Gender
45.30%
Male
Female
54.70%

Survey Findings
HYPOTHESIS 1 - Average willingness to spend online is more than Rs. 2,000
t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means

Mean
2,605.77
Standard Error
125.35

Mean

2,000.00

Variance

Median
Mode
2,000.00
Standard
Deviation
Sample
Variance
Kurtosis

903.89
817,024.89

Skewness

Pearson
Correlation
Hypothesized
Mean
Difference
df

1.22

2,605.77

2,605.77

817,024.89

0.00

52.00

52.00

0.00
-

51.00

Range

t Stat
3,000.00

(0.00)

Minimum
2,000.00
Maximum
5,000.00
Sum
135,500.00
Count
52.00
Confidence
Level(95.0%)
Null hypothesis
Alternate
Test
Tail
Alpha
Probability

P(T<=t)
tail
t Critical
tail
P(T<=t)
tail
t Critical
tail

one0.50
one1.68
two1.00
two2.01

251.65

Critical t values
Observed t values

Variable 2

Observations

0.54

Decision

Variable 1

Reject the Null

Ho 2000
Ha > 2000
T test
Right Tail test
5%
95%
1.68
x' - =4.83
s
sqrt(n)

1.68

4.83

It was found that the willingness to spend on eyewear through online shopping was more than Rs. 2,000.
HYPOTHESIS 2.

More than 90% of people prefer online shopping for eyewear

x

p'= x/n

q=1-p

p'-p

q*p

q*p/n

47

74

64%

90%

10%

-26%

9%

0.00

Null
Alternate
Test
Tails
Alpha
Probability
Critical

Ho : p
90
Ha : p >
90
P test
Right tail test
0.01
0.99
2.33

Observed

p' - p

(0.26)

(7.59)

sqrt(p*q)/n 0.03
P value
Alpha
Decision

0.99
0.01
Accept the null

2.33

-7.59
0

It is found that the preference for online shopping for eyewear is more comparing to offline.

HYPOTHESIS 3.
Awareness of online shopping for eye care products is independent of gender.

Null
Alternate
Test
Tails

Ho : Awareness of online shopping for eye-care products is

independent of gender
Ha : Awareness of online shopping for eye-care products is not
independent of gender
Chi-Square test
Right tail test

Alpha
1%
Probability 99%
Critical
6.63
Observed
1.31
P value
0.25
Alpha
Decision

0.01
Accept the null
0

Fo Observed Data
No
Female
1
Male
4
Total
5
Fe

Expected Data
No
Female
2.23
Male
2.77
Total
5

Yes
32
37
69

Total
33
41
74

Yes
30.77
38.23
69

Total
33
41
74

Yes

Total
0.73
0.59
1.31

1.31

Proportion
45%
55%

(fo-fe)^2/fe
No
Female
Male
Total

0.68
0.55
1.22

0.05
0.04
0.09

X02

It is found that awareness of online shopping is irrespective of gender. That means both male and
female both are aware about online shopping equally.

6.63

HYPOTHESIS 4
Awareness of online shopping for eyewear is independent of income
Ho: Awareness of online shopping for eyewear is independent of income
Ha: Awareness of online shopping for eyewear is not independent of
income
fo
income
0-2 Lakhs
2-4 Lakhs
4-6 Lakhs
6 Lakhs and above
Grand Total

Observed Data
No
4
0
0
1
5

Yes
51
11
4
3
69

fe
income
0-2 Lakhs

No

Yes

2-4 Lakhs
4-6 Lakhs
6 Lakhs and above
Grand Total

Grand Total
55
11
4
4
74

3.72

Grand Total
51.28
55.00

0.74
0.27
0.27
5.00

10.26
3.73
3.73
69.00

11.00
4.00
4.00
74.00

0.00
0.05
0.02
0.14
0.22

Grand Total
0.02
0.80
0.29
2.11
3.22

proportion
74%
15%
5%
5%

`
(fo-fe)^2/fe
income
0-2 Lakhs
2-4 Lakhs
4-6 Lakhs
6 Lakhs and above
Grand Total
Ho:
Ha:
Tail
Test
Alpha
Probability

No

Yes
0.02
0.74
0.27
1.97
3.01

3.22
11.34

Awareness of online shopping for eye-care products is independent of income

Awareness of online shopping for eye-care products is not independent of income
Right tail test
chi square test
1%
99%
3
Critical
11.34
Observed
3.22
P value
0.36
Alpha
0.01
Decision
Accept the null
It is found that irrespective of income the awareness of online shops for eyewear does not differ.

Limitations

All the information collected belongs only to the mindset of the consumers of Mumbai
City. So we dont have the clear and perfect idea about the choices and responses for the
same questions of the respondents of the other cities or throughout the world.

The information collected is subjective as it is collected through asking questions to the

sample of respondents which is logically limited. So it can be biased as it is collected
from Mumbai city only (according to the preference and choices of people residing in
Mumbai).

As the data is available through online forms responses data may not be universally
acceptable.

As the Data was collected online, respondents have filled it as per their favorable time
when they feel they are free. So it was time consuming to get the final data to get to a
conclusion.

Conclusion

Based on our survey and study on the topic comparison of eyewear shopping for both online and
offline channels, we conclude that the online and offline shopping for eyewear is independent of
gender as well as incomes. Which means that men and women preferences for online and offline
shopping are the same. Also the low and high income people are equally aware of the online
shopping of eyewear. Moreover we have found the average amount that a consumer is willing to
spend monthly for eyewear is 2000 Rs.

Bibliography

http://www.lenskart.com/
http://www.lensclues.com/
http://www.crizal.in/

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