ONLINE SHOPPING VS LOCAL SHOPPING
"whoever said that money can't buy happiness simply didnt know where to shop"
INTRODUCTION
GREETINGS,THIS IS A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT US!
OUR FIRST VIDEO CONFERENCE
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OUR RESEARCH WALL!
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summary of the Internet research about online shopping
Growth- Amazon and Ebay both were launched during the tender years of the tech bubble(also known as the dotcom bubble) in 1995, which gave people huge faith in technology based companies. People were investing profusely in technology based companies mainly for speculation based purposes and also indulging in activities relating to the internet after the internet became open to the public in 1991.But the dotcom bubble finally burst in 2001 which caused a huge number of companies to go out of capital. Only a meagre 48% of the tech companies survived the bubble burst. This caused a huge drop in faith of digital transactions. People lost trust in these companies and tried not to put their money on it but companies with core e-commerce principals were able to grow back the trust. Behemoths like Amazon famously lost money for its first 17 straight quarters as a public company, bleeding a combined $2.8 billion. Once Amazon did start making money, it made very little of it. Amazon would report tens of billions of dollars of sales each quarter but a mere tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of profit. Such e commerce companies started gaining their popularity slowly and had many rough patches as online shopping wasn't conventional practice back in the early 2000s.
Covid effect-As the global pandemic engulfed a myriad number of jobs and forced thousands and lakhs of businesses to shut down, IT companies continued to flourish . As online shopping is based largely on technology it joined the sparsely populated echelon of profitable companies during the pandemic. As people were adhering to the social norms and were scared of the epidemic , the plebian resorted to shopping products online , everything at the click of a finger. There were definitely some hindrances in the beginning phases of the pandemic as majority of the governments had prohibited a delivery agent to enter any area as a reason to stop the proliferating virus at its early stages but soon as the restrictions got lifted the e-commerce companies got back on track. As the current pandemic has handicapped the local markets,many local vendors have also shifted to online shopping to survive and thrive in this growing online bubble .The local vendors have contracted out their goods on a website or ecommerce company and they have their own physical shops functioning too.
Growth- Amazon and Ebay both were launched during the tender years of the tech bubble(also known as the dotcom bubble) in 1995, which gave people huge faith in technology based companies. People were investing profusely in technology based companies mainly for speculation based purposes and also indulging in activities relating to the internet after the internet became open to the public in 1991.But the dotcom bubble finally burst in 2001 which caused a huge number of companies to go out of capital. Only a meagre 48% of the tech companies survived the bubble burst. This caused a huge drop in faith of digital transactions. People lost trust in these companies and tried not to put their money on it but companies with core e-commerce principals were able to grow back the trust. Behemoths like Amazon famously lost money for its first 17 straight quarters as a public company, bleeding a combined $2.8 billion. Once Amazon did start making money, it made very little of it. Amazon would report tens of billions of dollars of sales each quarter but a mere tens or hundreds of millions of dollars of profit. Such e commerce companies started gaining their popularity slowly and had many rough patches as online shopping wasn't conventional practice back in the early 2000s.
Covid effect-As the global pandemic engulfed a myriad number of jobs and forced thousands and lakhs of businesses to shut down, IT companies continued to flourish . As online shopping is based largely on technology it joined the sparsely populated echelon of profitable companies during the pandemic. As people were adhering to the social norms and were scared of the epidemic , the plebian resorted to shopping products online , everything at the click of a finger. There were definitely some hindrances in the beginning phases of the pandemic as majority of the governments had prohibited a delivery agent to enter any area as a reason to stop the proliferating virus at its early stages but soon as the restrictions got lifted the e-commerce companies got back on track. As the current pandemic has handicapped the local markets,many local vendors have also shifted to online shopping to survive and thrive in this growing online bubble .The local vendors have contracted out their goods on a website or ecommerce company and they have their own physical shops functioning too.
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SURVEY |
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- How did you invite people to respond?
- How many people have been invited?
- What is the response rate?
- Which group member(s) designed the questions and sent out the questionnaire?
- Which platform have you used (mail, social media, survey monkey, others?)
- Who has processed the results?
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Define the region you will investigate with a short explanation
Mumbai- Western Suburbs The city of Mumbai lies on Salsette Island. Administratively it has two official divisions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district. The western part of Mumbai Suburban district is called the Western Suburbs and the eastern part of the district is called the Eastern Suburbs. The Western Suburbs is the western precinct of the city of Mumbai, India. They are some of the oldest suburbs of the city. |
map of the region showing major shopping areas
different types of shopping in the region (shops, malls, departmental stores, supermarkets, etc.)
Mall
Malls have chains of stores of various international brands to buy multifarious products. Nowadays malls are huge and are not only meant for shopping. There are various social activities like enjoying movies, having meals, playing in the arcades and even gardens in some malls, in fact it is a place to relieve all stress. The shopping malls are constructed beautifully to attract more and more customers. They even have babysitting centers so that the parents can leave their children and enjoy their time. Phoenix Marketcity is the largest shopping mall in India, situated in Kurla, Mumbai. The mall includes 2.1 million sq ft of retail space. It has more than 500 stores including both domestic and foreign brands, PVR Cinemas, and even 70 restaurants.
Departmental stores
You want to do all your shopping in a single stop then departmental stores are your right choice.
Departmental stores are retailers that provide myriad products such as clothes, cosmetics, foods, furniture, stationeries, electronics, and many other household requirements under a single roof. It not only offers an expansive range of products but also provides a vast assortment of designs, colors, and styles that are needed by consumers. Various sections of the departmental store operate independently. Buying, supervision, accounting, advertising, and external communications are handled directly by the central management of a departmental store. It is a pleasant experience as the experts supervision various departments, adopt a liberal credit, have free delivery service, recreational facilities, and even courteous treatment, etc., are some important services that customers can enjoy while shopping at departmental stores.
Kamdhenu stores, amarsons, reliance are some of the famous departmental stores that one can find in Mumbai
Street shopping
Shopkeepers hawking their wares loudly ranging from toys to clothes, ready-made garments, and cosmetics on top of their voices to attract customers is always invigorating. Having the option of bargaining is the best part. Trendy Bandra, in Mumbai's western suburbs, is a well-known shopping place.
visitors come to Linking Road, to spend their money on the latest apparel and footwear. The others include hill road, Colaba causeway, hindmata market, the Crawford market, etc.
Supermarket
supermarket mainly has self-service setups where the prices are comparatively low and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store. The supermarket typically has aisles for meat, fresh veggies, dairy, and baked stuff. There are shelf spaces that are reserved for canned and packaged goods and various non-food items such as home electrical appliances, medicines, and pet supplies. Supermarkets make up for their low margins by a high volume of sales, and with higher-margin items bought by the attracted shoppers.
The method of shopping carts decreases labor costs and lots of supermarket chains are opting for self-checkout service for further curtailment.
Some of the famous supermarkets are apna bazaar, dmart.
General stores
A general store is a commonplace where the products are available in limited quantities. One can find staple food such as bread, milk, grains, eggs or sometimes stationery items, or even electrical supplies.
Medical store
A medical store is a retail shop that provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. The medicines are of reasonable prices. At the store, a pharmacist checks the fulfillment of medical prescriptions and is available to advise on their offerings of over-the-counter drugs. They usually assist both the flow and reality of supplies from source to the user and economically and reliably as possible without significant wastage loss or quality loss theft The primary purpose of a medical store is to receive Hold and dispatch stocks of medicines and other drugs.
different types of shopping in the region (shops, malls, departmental stores, supermarkets, etc.)
Mall
Malls have chains of stores of various international brands to buy multifarious products. Nowadays malls are huge and are not only meant for shopping. There are various social activities like enjoying movies, having meals, playing in the arcades and even gardens in some malls, in fact it is a place to relieve all stress. The shopping malls are constructed beautifully to attract more and more customers. They even have babysitting centers so that the parents can leave their children and enjoy their time. Phoenix Marketcity is the largest shopping mall in India, situated in Kurla, Mumbai. The mall includes 2.1 million sq ft of retail space. It has more than 500 stores including both domestic and foreign brands, PVR Cinemas, and even 70 restaurants.
Departmental stores
You want to do all your shopping in a single stop then departmental stores are your right choice.
Departmental stores are retailers that provide myriad products such as clothes, cosmetics, foods, furniture, stationeries, electronics, and many other household requirements under a single roof. It not only offers an expansive range of products but also provides a vast assortment of designs, colors, and styles that are needed by consumers. Various sections of the departmental store operate independently. Buying, supervision, accounting, advertising, and external communications are handled directly by the central management of a departmental store. It is a pleasant experience as the experts supervision various departments, adopt a liberal credit, have free delivery service, recreational facilities, and even courteous treatment, etc., are some important services that customers can enjoy while shopping at departmental stores.
Kamdhenu stores, amarsons, reliance are some of the famous departmental stores that one can find in Mumbai
Street shopping
Shopkeepers hawking their wares loudly ranging from toys to clothes, ready-made garments, and cosmetics on top of their voices to attract customers is always invigorating. Having the option of bargaining is the best part. Trendy Bandra, in Mumbai's western suburbs, is a well-known shopping place.
visitors come to Linking Road, to spend their money on the latest apparel and footwear. The others include hill road, Colaba causeway, hindmata market, the Crawford market, etc.
Supermarket
supermarket mainly has self-service setups where the prices are comparatively low and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store. The supermarket typically has aisles for meat, fresh veggies, dairy, and baked stuff. There are shelf spaces that are reserved for canned and packaged goods and various non-food items such as home electrical appliances, medicines, and pet supplies. Supermarkets make up for their low margins by a high volume of sales, and with higher-margin items bought by the attracted shoppers.
The method of shopping carts decreases labor costs and lots of supermarket chains are opting for self-checkout service for further curtailment.
Some of the famous supermarkets are apna bazaar, dmart.
General stores
A general store is a commonplace where the products are available in limited quantities. One can find staple food such as bread, milk, grains, eggs or sometimes stationery items, or even electrical supplies.
Medical store
A medical store is a retail shop that provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. The medicines are of reasonable prices. At the store, a pharmacist checks the fulfillment of medical prescriptions and is available to advise on their offerings of over-the-counter drugs. They usually assist both the flow and reality of supplies from source to the user and economically and reliably as possible without significant wastage loss or quality loss theft The primary purpose of a medical store is to receive Hold and dispatch stocks of medicines and other drugs.
Investigate the different online stores and the products marketed by them.
India holds an impressive ranking in the ranks of Unicorn startups. Unicorn startups refers to the echelon of the companies which have passed $1 Billion in their valuation. There are multiple startups in India each having hit their own milestones .Some of the behemoths in the game are Flipkart ,Myntra , Snapdeal etc.
Flipkart is the largest online retailing company of India. It was one of the only companies in the world giving a tough fight to Amazon in the online retail space until it was bought by a foreign venture. Flipkart almost being indistinguishable from Amazon in terms of its business sells every product one can think of.
Myntra being a product of Indian workforce is the largest online fashion store. It sells clothes and relevant accessories for men , women and children. Myntra started in 2007 and has hustled its way to the top and maintain the position ever since.
Big Basket being the largest online grocery store of India provides quick and reliable groceries delivered at your doorstep just at the click of your finger. Having shown steep profits since the lockdown, Big Basket competes fiercely with Grofers.
Medlife being the largest online pharmacy store in India. Medlife became very beneficent for the citizens during the lockdown during the global pandemic. People prevented stepping out of their houses to buy medicines so Medlife offered direct delivery of verified medicines at the customers doorsteps.
India has start ups and online stores in every sector. These online ventures are the result of the government of India helping these startups at a tender stage as the Budget involved injecting huge amounts of money in these MSMEs.
Investigate whether people of your region prefer physical shopping or local shopping and why ?
1 - Anuja
Age 46; a lawyer
She prefers online shopping as she can order products by just sitting in her house instead of spending time travelling to places and would get her products at the door step. The process of returning products are also easier than physical shopping as in local stores they wouldn't refund the money back and we would have to get another product of the same price even if we don't like it. There are a wide range of product choices and options of filtering to make it easier to find your requirement which can not be done at a local store and the best part is they offer at a comparatively cheaper price.
2- Arathi
Age 19; a student
She prefers physical shopping because it gives a real feel and excitement to touch the clothes or accessories and try them on before purchasing and the best part is there is no wait to receive the product, it gives a better judgement on how it fits and hence saves time of returning and exchanging as incase of online shopping. Physical shopping is joyful experience on its own when you interact with multiple shopkeepers and bargain or go together with friends and family and return home with lots of shopping bags!
3- Kevin
Age-16 ; a student
He prefers online shopping because it provides a huge variety of products all while sitting at the comfort of his home. He says it saves him time and energy rather than travelling to the markets and he finds it cheaper as compared to the local stores where he can't avail special offers and use coupons. He also says that he saves a lot of time by not having to go to a physical store. He says that he is able to look at the description of the products and look at reviews from certified customers and also compare the different products available from different brands.
4- Ashna
Age-37 ; a housewife
She prefers local shopping as she is able to select her desired products by physically touching and seeing them. She says that some of the products she received after ordering online were not of the same colour or quality as she had expected. She says that although shopping online saves a lot of time, she doesn't normally go for online purchase because of its spurious products. She also says that ordering online causes causes less connection to her local community and that there is a risk of fraud when it comes to online shopping and that returns are very complicated when it comes to online stores as compared to local stores.
5- Lakshya
Age- 16 ; a student
Lakshya prefers online shopping as according to him a large variety of options are available at different prices. To go through the same amount of choices while shopping locally would consume a large amount of time. Online shopping is more convenient as it only requires a few click to get your desired product delivered at your comfort of your house
6- Aadi
Age- 18 ; a student
Online shopping is more preferable as it saves a huge amount of time as well as money .Travelling time is a huge factor in this case due to heavy traffic spots outside malls in Mumbai . The cost of travelling to the shop is also taken into account. Online shopping is easier as there is no wastage of time and no travel fee . Plus there is a larger variety of shopping stores or items that u can find online compared to a local shopping
7- Ishal
Age- 21; a student
She prefers online shopping over local shopping as she is a student and does not have time to roam about in the market. The prices are also a key factor for her as she gets a limited amount of money to spend on items. Online prices are cheaper according to her especially during a sale.
8- Rajkumar
Age- 72; a businessman
He prefers local shopping as he is not very tech savvy and hence can not use the online platforms very well. He also does not own a digital method of payment like debit or a credit card and because of that he cannot really use any of the websites which do not provide cash on delivery. He prefers the traditional method of going to a store to buy items as he trusts his own eyes the most. He likes to touch and see from where his items are coming. He also likes to enjoy the shopping experience which includes going to a place,interacting with the salesperson and etc.
India holds an impressive ranking in the ranks of Unicorn startups. Unicorn startups refers to the echelon of the companies which have passed $1 Billion in their valuation. There are multiple startups in India each having hit their own milestones .Some of the behemoths in the game are Flipkart ,Myntra , Snapdeal etc.
Flipkart is the largest online retailing company of India. It was one of the only companies in the world giving a tough fight to Amazon in the online retail space until it was bought by a foreign venture. Flipkart almost being indistinguishable from Amazon in terms of its business sells every product one can think of.
Myntra being a product of Indian workforce is the largest online fashion store. It sells clothes and relevant accessories for men , women and children. Myntra started in 2007 and has hustled its way to the top and maintain the position ever since.
Big Basket being the largest online grocery store of India provides quick and reliable groceries delivered at your doorstep just at the click of your finger. Having shown steep profits since the lockdown, Big Basket competes fiercely with Grofers.
Medlife being the largest online pharmacy store in India. Medlife became very beneficent for the citizens during the lockdown during the global pandemic. People prevented stepping out of their houses to buy medicines so Medlife offered direct delivery of verified medicines at the customers doorsteps.
India has start ups and online stores in every sector. These online ventures are the result of the government of India helping these startups at a tender stage as the Budget involved injecting huge amounts of money in these MSMEs.
Investigate whether people of your region prefer physical shopping or local shopping and why ?
1 - Anuja
Age 46; a lawyer
She prefers online shopping as she can order products by just sitting in her house instead of spending time travelling to places and would get her products at the door step. The process of returning products are also easier than physical shopping as in local stores they wouldn't refund the money back and we would have to get another product of the same price even if we don't like it. There are a wide range of product choices and options of filtering to make it easier to find your requirement which can not be done at a local store and the best part is they offer at a comparatively cheaper price.
2- Arathi
Age 19; a student
She prefers physical shopping because it gives a real feel and excitement to touch the clothes or accessories and try them on before purchasing and the best part is there is no wait to receive the product, it gives a better judgement on how it fits and hence saves time of returning and exchanging as incase of online shopping. Physical shopping is joyful experience on its own when you interact with multiple shopkeepers and bargain or go together with friends and family and return home with lots of shopping bags!
3- Kevin
Age-16 ; a student
He prefers online shopping because it provides a huge variety of products all while sitting at the comfort of his home. He says it saves him time and energy rather than travelling to the markets and he finds it cheaper as compared to the local stores where he can't avail special offers and use coupons. He also says that he saves a lot of time by not having to go to a physical store. He says that he is able to look at the description of the products and look at reviews from certified customers and also compare the different products available from different brands.
4- Ashna
Age-37 ; a housewife
She prefers local shopping as she is able to select her desired products by physically touching and seeing them. She says that some of the products she received after ordering online were not of the same colour or quality as she had expected. She says that although shopping online saves a lot of time, she doesn't normally go for online purchase because of its spurious products. She also says that ordering online causes causes less connection to her local community and that there is a risk of fraud when it comes to online shopping and that returns are very complicated when it comes to online stores as compared to local stores.
5- Lakshya
Age- 16 ; a student
Lakshya prefers online shopping as according to him a large variety of options are available at different prices. To go through the same amount of choices while shopping locally would consume a large amount of time. Online shopping is more convenient as it only requires a few click to get your desired product delivered at your comfort of your house
6- Aadi
Age- 18 ; a student
Online shopping is more preferable as it saves a huge amount of time as well as money .Travelling time is a huge factor in this case due to heavy traffic spots outside malls in Mumbai . The cost of travelling to the shop is also taken into account. Online shopping is easier as there is no wastage of time and no travel fee . Plus there is a larger variety of shopping stores or items that u can find online compared to a local shopping
7- Ishal
Age- 21; a student
She prefers online shopping over local shopping as she is a student and does not have time to roam about in the market. The prices are also a key factor for her as she gets a limited amount of money to spend on items. Online prices are cheaper according to her especially during a sale.
8- Rajkumar
Age- 72; a businessman
He prefers local shopping as he is not very tech savvy and hence can not use the online platforms very well. He also does not own a digital method of payment like debit or a credit card and because of that he cannot really use any of the websites which do not provide cash on delivery. He prefers the traditional method of going to a store to buy items as he trusts his own eyes the most. He likes to touch and see from where his items are coming. He also likes to enjoy the shopping experience which includes going to a place,interacting with the salesperson and etc.
Are local shopkeepers threatened by online shopping?
Conducting interviews we have found out that currently shopkeepers have been threatened by the inevitable growth of online shopping.This growth has not only reduced their sales but has also reduced their product supply largely .Customers have stopped coming to the shops physically as they have everything at the click of the finger today.Considering the lockdown and spread of infection the public had resorted to mainly online shopping but a huge part of the Indian economy still depended on local shops because either they could not afford online shopping or they did not have access or knowledge regarding its go abouts.Many local shopkeepers have been compelled to take untrodden paths for a local shopkeeper. Some have shifted online by coming into contracts with online sellers while some have come up with the idea of launching their own online services through their app or website to keep up with the changing times. If we keep both the realms of shopping under scrutiny we see that both have their own advantages and disadvantages and the results are subjective because it all comes down to the person to the customer's personal choice.Some may prefer having multifarious options on their screen and finalizing the product within a short time and at much more convenience.While some customers may prefer going to the shop and interacting with the shopkeeper and having hands on feel with the product.Some may prefer having the product in their possession immediately e while some may be patient in the delivery comes from the online store. However strong online shopping for E-Commerce may be now or it may become it will not eliminate local shopping or brick and mortar stores completely because local shopping has its own perks which cannot be matched .
Make a list of suggestions for local shop owners to be more competitive, customer friendly and customer centric.
Being customer friendly is not just about delivering decent products or only having a contact center. It becomes a traditional way for an organization that affects everything from faculty engagement to customer assistance. Brands with outstanding consumer service obtain 5 times more sales than their competitors.
The local shops can attract more customers if they have innovative displays regarding the products they have. The shops should change their stocks like every 6 months so that the customers are not bored with the same products. They must hold an in-store event which makes it more exciting for the buyers. The stores can offer frequent seasonal discounts. For the stores to get more popular they can advertise on famous sites like google ads. one can Design a "selfie wall" with a background from which people can take photos in front and even modify it occasionally and place a hashtag on the store which would offer buyers discounts on uploading on social media by tagging or mentioning the shop.
The stores should provide an option of returning the product in a limited period if he or she didn't like the product, and even alterations if needed. A shop can also have the option of ordering online and collecting it from the stores. They should have a toll-free number which would be available for 24/7 hours. The enterprise can also send greetings on their emails for their birthday and even offer them a certain amount of discount. they can Offer shoppers a discount at Store A if they show a receipt from Restaurant B.
The salesman can also be more friendly by helping the customers with their requirements. The shops can offer refreshments like cool orange juice or lemonade on a hot sunny day. The shops can send special coupons which could only be redeemed in their store.
Conclusion
Yes online shopping or e-commerce has caused a substantial amount of damage to the local shopping realm. In the inexorable growth of technology, it was inevitable for online shopping to increase at an outrageous rate. The world is becoming more comfortable with a device in their hands rather than venturing out for the products .
Flipkart is among India's dominant e-commerce platforms.Started by the Bansal brothers, Flipkart was started in 2007. This online venture had initially begun as an online bookstore but as the firm's fame escalated, it grew and expanded its activities and had soon become the largest e- commerce site in India.Flipkart was the only company which posed a threat to Amazon, the largest e commerce site in the world until Flipkart was acquired by a foreign company .
While the big names like Amazon ,Flipkart and Myntra flourish profusely in the online shopping space there are many small e commerce startups which pose as ancillaries in this elastic hierarchy .When you search up a product you will see the search engine suggesting you the product being sold my many sites which are new to you and you weren't aware of them .These are the small Indian startups which sell products bought from local shops.
For the best way for local businesses to survive and thrive in this tech storm will be to expand the business.They should not see this as their nemesis but they should exploit this opportunity and see this online shopping as another platform for them to conduct business.They should contract out their products to online sites and also open local stores in busier areas of the city.
To give a concluding statement we cannot say that someday the complete shopping community will be owned by the online shopping because the local shops are as much important.In the most oblique of situations let's assume the online or e-commerce end up owning the complete 100% of the shopping market ,the economy will not sustain .The economy needs these local shops.Yes we can say that the former has affected the latter in many ways but as you cannot clap with one hand we definitely need both these sectors working hand-to-hand to maintain sustainability.
photos of online and local shopping
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Evidence of communication with our counterparts
This journey of eumind was amazing. We learnt about so many useful values and cultures of people living over there. Our first meeting with the students of Netherlands was group meeting wherein all the five group were allotted to join a meeting and discuss a few questions with the Netherlands students. They asked us how long it takes to receive the products we order. To that we answered that it normally takes one to two days and sometimes due to delay it may take six to seven days maximum.
Later we got their details like email Ids and phone numbers through which we formed a whatsapp group where all the members of our team and their team where included. In the group itself we had a question answer session where we typed and our questions and they replied back. We asked them if people over there prefer online shopping or local shopping and the reply we got was local shopping but only due to lockdown all the shops over there are closed. Whereas nowadays in India people are inclining towards online shopping because its more convenient and it’s a way to prevent the spread of the virus. They asked us what are the top 3 biggest and most famous local shops in India. We replied that Sarojini market in Delhi, Colaba Causeway in Mumbai, FC road in Pune are the most famous and biggest local shopping markets in India.
We also a formed a group over the social media platform discord. We chose that platform as it was available for everyone, familiar to use. We had a small session there where we saw each other and greeted. Then we shifted to a whatsapp video call. The call was up to 45 minutes long. This time it was only the students of our group and their group. We got to know a lot about them in the call and some of the factors amazed us too. In India we have fixed timings for school whereas they have timings depending upon what class they have. They usually eat dinner by 6-and we eat our dinner by 9-9.30. They like brands like H&M , Zara which are pretty famous here too. Their currency is Euros where one Euro= Rs. 88.9. They do not really like online shopping ad package takes time and heavy shipment
Later we got their details like email Ids and phone numbers through which we formed a whatsapp group where all the members of our team and their team where included. In the group itself we had a question answer session where we typed and our questions and they replied back. We asked them if people over there prefer online shopping or local shopping and the reply we got was local shopping but only due to lockdown all the shops over there are closed. Whereas nowadays in India people are inclining towards online shopping because its more convenient and it’s a way to prevent the spread of the virus. They asked us what are the top 3 biggest and most famous local shops in India. We replied that Sarojini market in Delhi, Colaba Causeway in Mumbai, FC road in Pune are the most famous and biggest local shopping markets in India.
We also a formed a group over the social media platform discord. We chose that platform as it was available for everyone, familiar to use. We had a small session there where we saw each other and greeted. Then we shifted to a whatsapp video call. The call was up to 45 minutes long. This time it was only the students of our group and their group. We got to know a lot about them in the call and some of the factors amazed us too. In India we have fixed timings for school whereas they have timings depending upon what class they have. They usually eat dinner by 6-and we eat our dinner by 9-9.30. They like brands like H&M , Zara which are pretty famous here too. Their currency is Euros where one Euro= Rs. 88.9. They do not really like online shopping ad package takes time and heavy shipment
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Evidence of communication
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A little voice audio from the video conference 2
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Comparison
Comparing research work.
Considering the current pandemic there aren't any striking differences between the shopping trends in the Netherlands and India as a major chunk of the society has been compelled to shop online due to the social norms there are a lot of branches to consider before coming to a conclusion .
In India local shops have been shut down during the pandemic so the people have resorted to online shops. Many people who enjoyed shopping locally had to shift to online shopping for a couple of months during the strict lockdown. People stopped going to online shops to prevent the spreading of the virus. The local shop owners who did not have enough resources to shift to online selling due to the pandemic were facing crucial financial crisis as the main source of income had stopped. After the government lifted the restrictions ,local shops started opening up slowly and started attracting a small crowd. The lifting of the restrictions was a big boon for the local shops.
On researching about the question that if local shops suffer due to the trend of online shopping we have found out that the local shops definitely do suffer but they have their own pros and cons .The online shopping sector of India has improved phenomenally since the past one decade. Many reforms have been added just to amp up the convenience of the customer. To make online shopping more prevalent and to fuel its growth in India ,Flipkart introduced “Cash On Delivery” as many Indians were not comfortable with the aspect of paying online which created many apprehensions in people against online shopping .In India due to the high demand products are usually found in stock on online sites and the average delivery time ranges ranges from one day to max to max two weeks.Looking at the level of efficiency of the online shops and convenience of the shoppers , the online shops have acquired a huge fan base .Due to business digitalization people prefer to have everything on their online gadgets and online shops are doing just that.All the hassle of going to the shop and choosing from a limited variety of goods and increasing the risk of contracting the infection has been solved by online shops.
On the contrary we have observed that in Netherlands the services provided by E commerce sites aren’t very efficient and majority of the people prefer local shopping .The common people prefer having the feel of the product rather than waiting for a long time and not knowing what the product looks or feels like.The average delivery time taken by a package ordered online would range from 3 weeks to more than a month.This causes a major setback and is one major reason why people prefer to shop locally in Netherlands .Another major reason is that the influx of local shops and outlets of big exclusive brands in Netherlands gives many options and increases the bracket for better prices and comparison.
There are some differences between local shops of India and the local shops of the Netherlands .In India a major chunk of these local shops are used by the plebeians to buy groceries for some household items and following it are clothes etc.In India with high levels of diversity you also get large gap between the income levels.A major chunk of the society cannot access online sites or they cannot afford hence they are relying upon the local stores and this is not the case with a small number of people, this is a case with tens and hundreds of millions of people who cannot afford these online platforms and hence local shops are a driving force of the economy.In India talking about famous ,reliable and exclusive brands like H&M, Zara etc usually do not have a single building store room in India but they have small outlets in many major malls across the country These big companies like H&M ,Zara also have an online website to boost up their sales and have one more source of income apart from the physical stores .This advantage of having online websites has given them a leverage during the pandemic as people were already aware of these big brands having their online sites .On the contrary, our counterparts in Netherlands have a different setup.In Netherlands buying from thrift shops also known as thrifting is a famous practice .Thrift stores are places where you get mediocre to good quality clothes at a low price.
Although many people in India rely on local shops for grocery, big companies like BigBasket and Grofers are very prevalent in India. These companies have their core businesses in grocery delivering .Majority of the cases your groceries will be delivered to you the very next morning while it can also be delivered within the next five to six hours .
A somewhat similar case with companies like Swiggy and Zomato these companies deliver you food from restaurants whenever you order it.The average time taken by the delivery personnel to reach you ranges from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours.
These apps have the names and menus of thousands of restaurants which you can choose from and your payment can either be made online or by cash on delivery. On the contrary our counterparts in the Netherlands have a somewhat similar scenario with small changes. The practice prevalent in the Netherlands is to call up the restaurant personally and order the food and the time taken by the restaurants varies place by place.
Methods used:-
We had taken about 3 interviews and conducted a debate . Our interviews were of a local shop owner ,an online thrift store owner and a man who had been in the Retail Industry for more than 25 years. The debate had been held between two teachers of a school Bina and Usha the debate topic. The topic was “Local shopping is better than online shopping”. Mrs Usha was for the topic while Mrs Bina was against the topic.
The method used by our counterparts consisted of interviewing local stores like Nike and Bijenkorf. Bijenkorf is a local store which had an online website too, so valuable intel was acquired through the interview.A shop owner of a local candy store was also interviewed.
Conclusion
On the basis of a research we've drawn the conclusion that the people of the Netherlands prefer local shopping to online shopping .The reason why local shopping is more prevalent in the Netherlands is because The common people prefer to have the touch and feel of the product and in case of clothing the people prefer to know how is the fit of the product etc rather than waiting for a long period in online shopping and going through the hassle of returning products in case of online shopping.
But in India online shopping is more preferred . But local shopping too is a substantial element of the economy. Besides providing employment to millions it also creates a cheaper and more accessible market for millions of people. Due to the pandemic a lot of local shops have turned to selling their products online which has turned out to be an another source of income and proved profitable for them too. Many people were forced to switch to online shopping due to pandemic as they did not want to increase the chances of spreading the infection.
Coming to the conclusion that how much is the importance of online shopping in today's time.From a futuristic point of view, online shopping is the way to go . People have been accustomed to having the day to day activities more convenient and clearly if you can review a myriad number of products just from a screen, online shopping will prevail.
Comparing research work.
Considering the current pandemic there aren't any striking differences between the shopping trends in the Netherlands and India as a major chunk of the society has been compelled to shop online due to the social norms there are a lot of branches to consider before coming to a conclusion .
In India local shops have been shut down during the pandemic so the people have resorted to online shops. Many people who enjoyed shopping locally had to shift to online shopping for a couple of months during the strict lockdown. People stopped going to online shops to prevent the spreading of the virus. The local shop owners who did not have enough resources to shift to online selling due to the pandemic were facing crucial financial crisis as the main source of income had stopped. After the government lifted the restrictions ,local shops started opening up slowly and started attracting a small crowd. The lifting of the restrictions was a big boon for the local shops.
On researching about the question that if local shops suffer due to the trend of online shopping we have found out that the local shops definitely do suffer but they have their own pros and cons .The online shopping sector of India has improved phenomenally since the past one decade. Many reforms have been added just to amp up the convenience of the customer. To make online shopping more prevalent and to fuel its growth in India ,Flipkart introduced “Cash On Delivery” as many Indians were not comfortable with the aspect of paying online which created many apprehensions in people against online shopping .In India due to the high demand products are usually found in stock on online sites and the average delivery time ranges ranges from one day to max to max two weeks.Looking at the level of efficiency of the online shops and convenience of the shoppers , the online shops have acquired a huge fan base .Due to business digitalization people prefer to have everything on their online gadgets and online shops are doing just that.All the hassle of going to the shop and choosing from a limited variety of goods and increasing the risk of contracting the infection has been solved by online shops.
On the contrary we have observed that in Netherlands the services provided by E commerce sites aren’t very efficient and majority of the people prefer local shopping .The common people prefer having the feel of the product rather than waiting for a long time and not knowing what the product looks or feels like.The average delivery time taken by a package ordered online would range from 3 weeks to more than a month.This causes a major setback and is one major reason why people prefer to shop locally in Netherlands .Another major reason is that the influx of local shops and outlets of big exclusive brands in Netherlands gives many options and increases the bracket for better prices and comparison.
There are some differences between local shops of India and the local shops of the Netherlands .In India a major chunk of these local shops are used by the plebeians to buy groceries for some household items and following it are clothes etc.In India with high levels of diversity you also get large gap between the income levels.A major chunk of the society cannot access online sites or they cannot afford hence they are relying upon the local stores and this is not the case with a small number of people, this is a case with tens and hundreds of millions of people who cannot afford these online platforms and hence local shops are a driving force of the economy.In India talking about famous ,reliable and exclusive brands like H&M, Zara etc usually do not have a single building store room in India but they have small outlets in many major malls across the country These big companies like H&M ,Zara also have an online website to boost up their sales and have one more source of income apart from the physical stores .This advantage of having online websites has given them a leverage during the pandemic as people were already aware of these big brands having their online sites .On the contrary, our counterparts in Netherlands have a different setup.In Netherlands buying from thrift shops also known as thrifting is a famous practice .Thrift stores are places where you get mediocre to good quality clothes at a low price.
Although many people in India rely on local shops for grocery, big companies like BigBasket and Grofers are very prevalent in India. These companies have their core businesses in grocery delivering .Majority of the cases your groceries will be delivered to you the very next morning while it can also be delivered within the next five to six hours .
A somewhat similar case with companies like Swiggy and Zomato these companies deliver you food from restaurants whenever you order it.The average time taken by the delivery personnel to reach you ranges from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours.
These apps have the names and menus of thousands of restaurants which you can choose from and your payment can either be made online or by cash on delivery. On the contrary our counterparts in the Netherlands have a somewhat similar scenario with small changes. The practice prevalent in the Netherlands is to call up the restaurant personally and order the food and the time taken by the restaurants varies place by place.
Methods used:-
We had taken about 3 interviews and conducted a debate . Our interviews were of a local shop owner ,an online thrift store owner and a man who had been in the Retail Industry for more than 25 years. The debate had been held between two teachers of a school Bina and Usha the debate topic. The topic was “Local shopping is better than online shopping”. Mrs Usha was for the topic while Mrs Bina was against the topic.
The method used by our counterparts consisted of interviewing local stores like Nike and Bijenkorf. Bijenkorf is a local store which had an online website too, so valuable intel was acquired through the interview.A shop owner of a local candy store was also interviewed.
Conclusion
On the basis of a research we've drawn the conclusion that the people of the Netherlands prefer local shopping to online shopping .The reason why local shopping is more prevalent in the Netherlands is because The common people prefer to have the touch and feel of the product and in case of clothing the people prefer to know how is the fit of the product etc rather than waiting for a long period in online shopping and going through the hassle of returning products in case of online shopping.
But in India online shopping is more preferred . But local shopping too is a substantial element of the economy. Besides providing employment to millions it also creates a cheaper and more accessible market for millions of people. Due to the pandemic a lot of local shops have turned to selling their products online which has turned out to be an another source of income and proved profitable for them too. Many people were forced to switch to online shopping due to pandemic as they did not want to increase the chances of spreading the infection.
Coming to the conclusion that how much is the importance of online shopping in today's time.From a futuristic point of view, online shopping is the way to go . People have been accustomed to having the day to day activities more convenient and clearly if you can review a myriad number of products just from a screen, online shopping will prevail.
SELF REFLECTION
Being a part of EUMIND was a new experience all together. It was my honor to become the leader of the group online vs local shopping. Getting to know that we wouldn't be able to meet our counterparts was little disheartening but communicating with them online was also a wonderful experience. We learnt a lot of their cultures and traditions as well as tried our best to tell them about ours.
The way of living in both the countries are very different Conducting interviews and surveys online were a hefty task but nonetheless it was equally informative and exciting. We did take a little time to break ice with our group members as well as our counterparts over there but once we got to know each other it was a smooth sailing from that. We spoke about our strengths and how each one of us can help with the project. I personally was very excited about my topic and to explore more about it. I just wish we had the opportunity to meet our friends that live abroad. thank my school and teachers for providing me with this opportunity and also EUMIND for conducting this programme in the middle of a pandemic.
AVISHI
The way of living in both the countries are very different Conducting interviews and surveys online were a hefty task but nonetheless it was equally informative and exciting. We did take a little time to break ice with our group members as well as our counterparts over there but once we got to know each other it was a smooth sailing from that. We spoke about our strengths and how each one of us can help with the project. I personally was very excited about my topic and to explore more about it. I just wish we had the opportunity to meet our friends that live abroad. thank my school and teachers for providing me with this opportunity and also EUMIND for conducting this programme in the middle of a pandemic.
AVISHI
|
The year 2020 has been a difficult year for most of us, but even though we could not travel anywhere the E platform helped us all. During this academic year my participation in eumind was one of the most exciting things that I would cherish. Although we could not go to Netherlands we had a lot of fun connecting online in the comfort of our homes.
Each member of my team is very cooperative and supportive. We usually think that without being physically present in life we cannot make a difference but this was not so. We all adjusted for each other, covered up the mistakes but most importantly we learnt to work in a team. In the beginning of this project it was very difficult for me to cooperate but slowly and steadily things changed, I really started enjoying the company of my peers and gave my best to the work. Our team had many meetings over the months and each every meeting was very productive. If I had a chance to do something differently than it would have been the introduction video where probably we could reflect something more about us. The meetings with our peers were also fascinating I was really surprised to know some facts that are followed there like eating dinner around six p.m. and that they do not have fixed timings for schools. Over and all this journey has been amazing and it has been wonderful being a part of Eumind. - VIDHI Being part of the eumind 2020-2021 was a remarkable experience as even in the lockdown they arranged us an exciting project which helped us to develop many skills like on how to manage time, develop better communication skills, collaborate everyone's idea and also to interact and work with new people that I met virtually. It was refreshing as even during the pandemic I got the opportunity to indulge in an activity that was different from the usual tasks. Working in a group was different from regular assignments as each member had a different idea and when we combined, it had a fabulous outcome. It helped to know each other's qualities and weaknesses and
complete work on time, split work accordingly. I gained an understanding of the shopping industry, what the customers preferred, the various shopping areas in the region, how the pandemic boosted online shopping as it had non-contact delivery and other such facilities, and about the different online stores and the products marketed by them. I got to know how the local vendors were severely affected due to the trend of online shopping and how their business was significantly dropping. It was very informative to know the views of people of different age groups whether they preferred online or local shopping and the perspective of both the local and online sellers, We stayed in touch with the dutch by forming groups via Whatsapp and discord. It was an enjoyable experience to converse with them via video conferences to know about the lifestyles, heritage, and cultures of our peers in the dutch. we told them how the local shops were very famous in India and they gave us an insight into their local shops by showing us pictures and describing the place and why people preferred local shopping over online. For me, this project was very stimulating as we acquired knowledge of many things not only about India but also about dutch. I am very happy and lucky to be a part of this project - RIYA |
I was part of the group online shopping versus local shopping. As this was one of the core sectors of the world economy that were affected due to the pandemic there was a lot of quality content that we could improvise upon. We had our partner group in the Netherlands, a group of four other students who were given the same topic as us and we were supposed to compare our research .Alongside the formal interaction we had regarding the the topic and research we also had some informal discussion and we got to know a lot about each other and a lot about each other's cultures and countries. I was enthralled to know about the contrasting differences between our lifestyles and how different an idea I had in my mind about the Netherlands.
Due to the obvious reasons we couldn't enjoy the foreign exchange part of the program which was definitely the most exhilarating part of Eumind but we were fortunate enough to have a well grounded program which did not make us feel like we were missing out on the foreign exchange segment. Majority of the different segments of the program were well planned and forecasted by our group and we were not blind blindsided at any point Teamwork proved to be our major asset here and we helped each other out in our hindrances. There are not a lot of aspects of the program that i would have approached differently but i wish i could have had more opportunities to interact with my Netherlands peers on an informal note so i could explore more about their culture and country through whatsoever resources i was present with. - ARJUN EUMIND 2020 has been an excellent opportunity for me to build my confidence and break out of my comfort zone. It has helped me pass through this lockdown with the amazing projects we had to complete and it has helped me to learn about the different cultures in other countries like the Netherlands and how the people there are buying their products both online and offline. I was shocked at knowing some facts about the Netherlands like the fact that it takes up to one month for the products to be delivered after being ordered it has also allowed me to make friends from the Netherlands and learn how they go about their daily lives. I was deeply saddened on knowing that the physical exchange could not be possible because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic which has shut the gates for international travel and has caused many hardships to everyone around the world but most of the part of the exchange has been successful because of platforms like google meet, zoom, Whatsapp, etc. the research part and the communication part went well as I was able to learn a lot about the beautiful country of Netherlands which I wish of visiting one day after this pandemic and my own country India and its rich heritage. There was a small problem in the communication part as we were not able to see them nor hear them properly in the first round of video chats but we were then able to resolve the issue for our second one but that was the only thing that I would have done differently as all the other aspects was a success.
- RAYAN |
